“I Will Take Him Away”

After Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb, Mary was among the women who got some additional spices so that they could later apply them to his body. (Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 23:54-56) Then she rose early in the morning after the Sabbath was over. Picture her walking along the darkened streets with other women, heading to Jesus’ tomb. On the way, they wondered how they could roll away the heavy stone that blocked the entrance. (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-3) Yet, they did not turn back. Their faith evidently moved them to do what they could and entrust the rest to Jehovah.

Mary may have been ahead of the others as she arrived at the tomb. She stopped in her tracks, shocked. The stone had been rolled away—and the tomb was empty! A woman of action, she ran back to report to Peter and John what she saw. Imagine her breathlessly exclaiming: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him”! Peter and John rushed to the tomb, verified that it was empty, and then went back to their homes.a—John 20:1-10.

When Mary returned to the tomb, she lingered there alone. Very early in the morning, the silence of that empty tomb descended on her, and she was overcome with weeping. She stooped forward to look into the tomb, still not believing that the Lord was gone, and she received a great shock. Two angels in white sat there! “Why are you weeping?” they asked. Baffled, she repeated what she had said to the apostles: “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have laid him.”—John 20:11-13.

She turned, and there was a man standing behind her. She did not recognize him, so she assumed that he was the gardener who tended the place. This man kindly asked her: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Mary answered, “Sir, if you have carried him off, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” (John 20:14, 15) Think of what she said. Could that lone woman have really picked up and carried off the body of Jesus Christ, who had been a strong and vigorous man? Mary did not pause to think of such things. She only knew that she must do what she could.

When we face sorrows and obstacles that seem to be more than we can bear, can we imitate Mary Magdalene? If we focus only on our weaknesses and limitations, we may be paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. But if we resolve to do all that we can and entrust the rest to our God, we may accomplish far more than we can imagine. (2 Corinthians 12:10; Philippians 4:13) Most important, we will please Jehovah. Mary certainly did, and he rewarded her in a most unusual way.

“I Have Seen the Lord!”

The man who stood before Mary was not a gardener. He had once been a carpenter, then a teacher, and then Mary’s beloved Lord. But she did not recognize him, and she began to turn away. Mary could not have imagined the truth: Jesus had been raised to life as a mighty spirit. As such, he materialized in human form, but not in the body he had sacrificed. In the thrilling days after his resurrection, he often went unrecognized even by those who knew him well.—Luke 24:13-16; John 21:4.

How did Jesus let Mary know who he was? It was the way he uttered a single word: “Mary!” She spun around and cried out, uttering the familiar Hebrew word she had no doubt used to address him countless times—“Rabboni!” It was her beloved Teacher! Joy flooded through her. She took hold of him and did not want to let go.—John 20:16.

Jesus knew her thoughts. “Stop clinging to me,” he said. We may imagine his saying the words kindly, perhaps with a warm smile, as he gently disengaged himself from her grip and reassured her, saying: “I have not yet ascended to the Father.” It was not quite time for him to depart for heaven. He still had work to do on earth, and he wanted Mary to help. Mary, of course, was all ears. “Go to my brothers,” he told her, “and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.’”—John 20:17.

What an assignment from her Master! Mary was one of the first disciples privileged to see the resurrected Jesus, and now she was entrusted with the privilege of passing along the good news. Imagine the joy, the eagerness, that impelled her to find the disciples. Picture her breathlessly uttering the words that must have echoed in her mind and theirs long afterward: “I have seen the Lord!” She told them everything Jesus had said, her words rushing out in sheer excitement. (John 20:18) Her account added to what the disciples had heard from the other women who went to Jesus’ empty tomb.—Luke 24:1-3, 10.