Resurrection Appearances of Jesus - The Appearance To Mary Magdalene

The Appearance To Mary Magdalene

While Mark doesn't mention when the incident occurred, Matthew states that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and "the other" Mary while they were returning to tell the disciples what they had seen. John, on the other hand, presents a completely different incident. John's account parallels the synoptic Gospels' accounts of Mary's first visit to the tomb, though in John, Mary has already been to the tomb once, and Peter has already inspected it. Unlike the first visit, the second visit, reported in John, is much more similar to the synoptic Gospels' account of the empty tomb, with Mary peering into the tomb and witnessing two angels inside dressed in shining white. Having been questioned by the angels about her concern for the tomb's emptiness, Mary turns and sees Jesus, according to John.

Why John describes Mary as remaining outside the tomb is unknown, though Augustine of Hippo proposed that "when the men went away, a stronger affection kept the weaker sex firmly in place". F.F. Bruce suggested that Mary was hoping someone would pass by who could give her some information. It is wondered why Mary does not seek out Joseph of Arimathea, the owner of the tomb, for information. One theory is that Joseph was so senior to Mary in terms of social class that it would not be right for her to approach him directly. A more obvious solution is presented by Schnackenberg—the Codex Sinaiticus version of John has Mary waiting inside rather than outside, and this may be the original form—though that does not explain why she was waiting at all.

John depicts Mary as weeping, ultimately causing her name to be associated with Maudlin (a corruption of Magdalen, "typifying tearful repentance"). Both the angels address Mary as woman, and then ask why she had been crying. This is not as uncouth as it may first appear since the underlying Greek term—gynai—was the polite way to address an adult female. While the synoptic Gospels demonstrate an awareness of Jewish beliefs, and people at the tomb are presented as being shocked and afraid of angels, John demonstrates no such awareness. Instead, he presents Mary as responding straightforwardly. While some believe that this is due to Mary's not recognising the figures as angels, due to grief or tears, some scholars attribute it to issues surrounding the author of John. The conversation itself differs considerably from the one reported by the synoptics, and the angels are brief and do not give any hint of resurrection having happened. Calvin attempted to justify this by arguing that John was only including what was necessary to back up the resurrection. At this point the angels abruptly disappear from the narrative, and John and the synoptics begin to share the order of events again.

Mark mentions Mary's post-tomb encounter with Jesus but gives no details, though he does remark that Jesus had cast seven devils out from her, presumably indicating an exorcism. Matthew instead reports that Jesus met Mary and Mary as they were returning to the other disciples; that they fell at his feet and worshiped him; and that he instructed them to tell the disciples that they would see him in Galilee.

John presents a far more elaborate conversation. According to John, once Mary has explained to the angels about her concern at the emptiness of the tomb, she turns and suddenly sees Jesus, but mistakes him for a gardener. In John's account of the conversation, Jesus repeats the angels' question of why Mary is weeping, and Mary responds similarly, by requesting to know what Jesus (whom she does not yet recognize) has done with Jesus' body. After this response, John states that Jesus says Mary's name. She turns, realises who he is and cries out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus enigmatically tells her to Touch not, for not yet ascended to father (see Noli me tangere). He then instructs her to inform the disciples. To resolve the differences between the Gospels, some inerrantist commentators like Norman Geisler believe that after the events recounted by John, Mary runs into another group of women, whereupon the events of the synoptic accounts occur, though there is no evidence for such a conclusion from John's Gospel.