“Now when she [Mary] had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus…. Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher.)” John 20:14, 16

The Spoken Word

I used to squint up into the skies, looking for a glimpse of Jesus. I knew He was up there, and of course I also knew I was not likely to see Him walking on the clouds (not in this life, anyway.) But there I would stand in an open field, or on the shoreline, or on a hilltop, and just stare at the heavens. Maybe, maybe, today would be the day He showed Himself. Maybe today I would walk away with a miracle, a special one-time gift of seeing the unseeable.

In today’s verse, Mary saw Jesus standing at the open door of His tomb, but she didn’t recognize Him when she saw Him. Indeed, her eyes were not opened to it, much as our own eyes are generally not open to the spiritual world around us (reference Elisha’s and the young man’s experience in 2 Kings 6:16-17).

The word used for saw, when Mary “turned around and saw Jesus” means to view attentively, perceive, look with a prolonged and continuous gaze. It is looking with a purpose, interest, and close scrutiny.* And no matter how hard she looked, how much she squinted and stared and scrutinized, she did not know it was Him.

But what happened when He spoke? Then she knew it was Him. She didn’t recognize what she was seeing, but she recognized His voice. Her own understanding—what she was expecting to see—deceived her, but His words to her opened her eyes. “The sheep follow him [their shepherd],  for they know his voice…” (John 10:4).

While looking into the skies for Him to appear, in the back of my mind runs the Scripture, “…Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). It is in believing that we have LIFE in His name (John 20:31). That day in the door of the tomb, Jesus opened Mary’s eyes by His word to her, and her life was forever changed.

Father, You spoke Your Word at various times in various places, and those very words were written down, that we might believe. Though our eyesight is very limited in this life, we always have Your sure Word that calls out to us and opens our eyes to spiritual things. “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). Thank You for the ever-present gift of Your Word.

 

*Life Application Study Bible, 1997. Wheaton, Il: Tyndale House Publishers.