Working text
NRSV
John 20:11
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look
into the tomb;
ESV
and the NASV uses the word ‘stooped’ instead of ‘bent over’. The NIV however
retains ‘bent over’ but instead of ‘weeping’ it is translated as crying. In the
NKJV we see the usage ‘stooped down’, and that Mary was standing outside ‘by’
the tomb.
NRSV John 20:12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting
where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the
feet.
The ESV has a similar kind of verse but in the NAS
the word ‘beheld’ is used instead of ‘saw’, the NIV uses the same words but uses ‘seated’ for
‘sitting’ and the words laid has been omitted and it ends with ‘been’, NKJ there
is not much changes as it resounds the NRSV.
NRSV John 20:13 They said to her,
"Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken
away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
ESV and the NIV resounds the same as the NRSV but in
the NAS and the NKJV, the question is being reasoned with ‘because’ and in the
NIV
NRSV John 20:14 when she had said this,
she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it
was Jesus.
ESV opens ‘Having said this’ whereas the NAS starts
with ‘When she had said this’ and uses ‘beheld’ instead of saw. The NIV opens with
‘At this’, and the word realize instead of know, the NKJV starts with ‘Now when
she had said this’ and continues as in the NRSV
NRSV John 20:15 Jesus said to her,
"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him
to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away,
tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
ESV and NAS uses ‘seeking’ instead of ‘looking for’
and the latter continues to use ‘seeking’ instead of ‘looking for’ NIV opens with ‘"Woman," he said’
rather than Jesus said to her and uses ‘crying’ instead of weeping and ‘Thinking’
instead of “supposing’ and the NKJV reframes the NRSV
NRSV John 20:16 Jesus said to her,
"Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (Which
means ‘Teacher’)
ESV, the NAS, NIV and the NKJV restate the same using
the same words.
NRSV John 20:17 Jesus said to her,
"Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But
go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.'"
ESV uses ‘cling’ rather than ‘hold’, and NAS significantly
uses ‘Stop clinging to Me’. The NIV uses ‘returned’ instead of ascended and
adds the word ‘instead’ “Go instead to my brothers” and the NKJV John 20:17 also
uses ‘cling’ instead of ‘hold’
NRSV John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went
and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told
them that he had said these things to her.
ESV resounds the NRSV here, and in the NAS we see that
Mary Magdalene ‘came announcing’ and NIV states what Mary was announcing ‘with
the news’ NKJ in this verse we see the usage of ‘told’ than ‘announced’
Interpretation
Historical description
This narrative shows some traces of the
literary influence of the short Marcan resurrection story, but in substance it
is independent. This means that the
historical value cannot be accurately assessed. Mary visiting the tomb early
morning on Sunday finds it open. She supposes that either the enemies or tomb robbers have taken
the body away and informs Peter and the beloved disciple, who run to the tomb,
find it empty and see the clothes in which the body of Jesus was wrapped. The
beloved disciple, who was the first to reach the tomb followed Peter into in
and when he saw, believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Mary had followed the two men, and when she
they left she remained outside the tomb. Looking in she saw two angels. She
tells them the reason for distress, but from that point the angels play no part
in the story, for Mary turning round sees Jesus himself, though it is only when
he addresses her by name that she recognises him, but Jesus warns Mary not to
hold on to him. He then sends her to the disciple with the message of his
ascension, which she duly conveys to the other disciples. This makes Mary the
first person to carry the gospel of resurrection, to the disciples.[1]
Mary Magdalene
Jesus healed Mary Magdalene who was
possessed by evil spirits. She became his faithful disciple and ministered to
him out of her own sources (Lk. 3: l-3).105 She played supportive roles
during Jesus’ hour (hora), the crucial moment of Jesus’ ministry that made
God’s love and salvation a reality to the world.
Significantly, on the third day, the
first Easter Sunday, the women, especially Mary Magdalene, discover the empty
tomb. Both in the Synoptics and in John the women continue their place in the
resurrection story. Whereas the men are the commanded, the women are the
mourners, observers and messengers at the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb where he
addressed her as "woman" (gunai), a term of endearment or respect when
used in address (Jn. 20: l6).
John singles out Mary Magdalene as the
only woman who first discovered the empty tomb (Jn.20: 1-2) and who received
the first Easter Christophany as well as the apostolic commission to announce
the good news of Jesus’ resurrection (Jn.
20:11-18). Barrette comments that, in John 20:1-18, John has skilfully combined two traditions of Jesus’ resurrection,
resurrection appearance, and the discovery of empty tomb is correct, then Mary Magdalene is the unifying figure of
the two traditions. She saw the risen Christ first and bore witness to him
(cf. Mk. 16:9-10). Mary’s proclamation to
the male disciples saying,
"I have seen the Lord" (Jn. 20:18), has apostolic significance.[2]
Theological focus
The narrative is infused with theological
themes of a Johannine kind: seeing and believing, and the ascent of Jesus to
the Father. The central place is given to the beloved disciple, and this focus
can actually affect the historical estimate of the story accordingly, as it is
thought that, the beloved disciple represents a serious historical source or
not. The older the tradition says, nothing of an appearance to Mary Magdalene,
and the oldest traditions the resurrection were probably richer and more varied
that those which have come down to us, and once more it is quite possible that
John is using traditional materiel, but presenting it in his own way. There is no doubt that the present passage
shows dramatic writing of great skill and individuality. The beloved disciple
appears once more in the company of Peter, and, though Peter is the first to
enter the empty tomb, the former is the first to believe in the resurrection,
and he still holds in this sense a primacy of faith.
The resurrection is presented is a stage in the
process by which Jesus ascends to the Father. No further ascension narrative is
recorded, could be because John intends his readers to think of the one
compound event of crucifixion and resurrection as the means by which Christ
departed to Christ.
Critical reflection and Insights
This narrative of the John’s gospel has made
rounds at several instances. We see this passage in the light of feminist
theologies to interpret it. It is very evident that a woman is being used as an
important character in this narrative by the evangelist. When we look back into
the Jewish cultural setting, we see that the women were not being regarded or
given any kind of importance in the Jewish society, but is stunning to note
that in this episode of Jesus’ appearances, it is said that he appeared to a
woman (Mary Magdalene) and is said to have commissioned her to spread the news
of resurrection to the other disciples.
In this passage we see the main element as a
missiological dimension to the passage. Go to my brothers and say (v17)
clearly shows the sending out of Mary to inform the other disciples. This verse
is indeed a significant one as read in the context. Jesus is being radical in
sending forth a woman as a messenger to pass on the message of his ascension to
his Father. This shows that he had considered the women and regarded them for
their works. it is astounding to note that the other disciples had left and
carried their emotions with them but it was Mary who remained at the tomb and
‘weeping bitterly’ she sat at the tomb. As a normal human being she was puzzled
when she knew that the body of Christ was missing.
Hence was worried and asked the angels and then
Jesus himself without knowing who he was until she realised that it was him.
Mary replied ‘Rabboni’ which the author translates as ‘teacher’, but the
literal meaning of the word actually means ‘my teacher’. Just then Jesus says,
‘do not touch me’ this is a problematic part because later Jesus allows Thomas
to touch him but here he denies permission to Mary asking her not to touch him.
but the later part of the statement gives us the answer for this question, as
Jesus wanted to make sure to Mary that he would not be with them in the same
form as they have known him all these days but in Spirit in fact through the
Holy Spirit he will be present and not in body. It is this truth that Mary was
yet to learn. Mary then returned with the message which can in some measure be
the message every believer who encounters the risen Christ. She said it very
clearly ‘I have seen the lord’ (v18) simply meaning, Jesus is alive, death has
not held him, he is risen.[3]
We see
it very clearly that the women enjoyed a role in the life and ministry of
Jesus, and that Mary Magdalene had played a vital role in it. I am sure that
the intended meaning was to include women in the ministerial work of the
church. This very act of Jesus in considering her important to pass on the
message of resurrection itself is an act of acceptance of women as a partners
and co workers in the ministry of the church.
Historical interpretation of the text
Early Church Fathers[4]
Chrysostom: As a woman, Mary was full of
feeling and more inclined to pity, he goes on to say that in this case one
might wonder, how is it that Mary wept bitterly and the tomb while Peter, was
in no way affected. For ‘disciples’ the passage says, ‘went away to their own
home’ but Mary stood there shedding tears. This was because hers was a tender
nature, and she as yet did not have an accurate account of the resurrection.
The question arises, why didn’t they immediately go to Galilee as that is what
was commanded before the passion? They waited for the others, perhaps, and
besides they were yet at the height of their amazement.
Cyril of Alexandria: The wise disciples, after
having gathered sufficiently satisfactory evidence of the resurrection of our
saviour, were unsure, as it was what to do with their confirmed and unshaken
faith. Comparing the events as they had actually occurred with the prophecies
of Holy Scripture, they went back home and most likely hurried to see their
fellow works to recount the miracle and afterward consider what course should
be pursued[5].
Jerome: None of the evangelists describe the
actual resurrection itself, for it was witnessed by no one. The Gospels and 1st
Cor 15:4-7 witness to the fact of the resurrection, however, by testimony to
the empty tomb on Easter morning and the appearances of the risen Christ to his
disciples. It is not correct to distinguish two forms of this testimony as
though the ides of the empty tomb had been afterthought; an attempt to
‘objectivise’ what had originally been subjective experiences of the disciples
to whom Christ appeared after his death. The testimony to the empty tomb is
also present, although implicitly, in the oldest of the written New Testament
testimonies found in 1st Cor. John’s witness to the resurrection, then,
though it is distinctively his own, is no respect ‘later’ than the rest of the
new testament testimonies.[6]
Modern theologians
Schnackenburg: It is easy to recognise in this
passage that various traditions have worked together: the women’s visit to the tomb;
the disciples’ inception of the tomb, appearance of angels, Jesus’ appearance
to Mary Magdalene, the instruction given to Mary Magdalene to carry on a
message to the disciples. From a stand point in history of tradition, there is
conflict, above all, between the visit to the tomb and the appearances, and
here again between the appearance of the angels and the appearance of Jesus. He
goes on to summarise Wellhause to Bultmann, of singling out an original story
in which Mary Magdalene alone plays a part: she comes to the tomb, finds the
stone rolled away, looks into the tomb, and searches in vain for the body of
Jesus. The end of the story is, it is true, variously assessed. Wellhause
eliminates the angels and has the scene end with the appearance of the Jesus:
Hirsch, retains as part of his basic gospel both the appearance of the angels
and that of Jesus; Bultmann thinks that the evangelist has broken off the
conclusion of the Mary-narrative belonging to the synoptic type replacing it
with the appearance of Jesus.[7]
Moody Smith: John’s similarities to the
synoptic accounts are so obvious that any differences stand out. We see in v2,
ending of what might seem a very brief story of Mary alone discovering the tomb
empty. Yet again in v18 Mary goes to report to the disciples. Not surprisingly,
some exegetes have suggested that in this episode at least two narratives, once
independent, have been combined. Also the characteristic of john is the
dramatic encounter of Jesus and Mary alone v14-18, yet even this has a synoptic
parallel. In Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary encounter Jesus as they
leave the tomb and Jesus repeats the instruction they have just received from
the angel.[8]
Native cultural comparison
The Johannine narrative of the first apparition
of the risen Jesus to Mary Magdalene is very significant. The weeping of Mary
reveals the depth of her love for Jesus. He affectionately calls her by name
‘Mary’ and she immediately recognises the gardener as the Risen Jesus. She is
commissioned by him to be the first announcer of his resurrection to the other
disciples. She becomes the first witness of the great news of resurrection of
Jesus. He corrects her understanding and entrusts upon her a mission of
announcing this great event of Jesus entering into glory of the Father which
will bring about the new economy in which he will be present to them through
the Spirit and his Father will become their Father too.[9] That
among all his disciples a woman disciple is made by Jesus the first witness of
the risen lord is very significant in the Jewish context where the witness of a
woman is always undermined.
By making a woman his first witness, Jesus
upholds the worth, dignity, and importance of women who are marginalised and
treated like the second rate citizens. Mary, who has been weeping out of her
sadness and hopelessness of seeing the empty tomb, now declares openly to
others that she has seen the lord. Whenever Dalits experience the liberation
from all that has been dehumanizing them, it has to be proclaimed and
celebrated. The Dalits witness of such experiences is a proclamation of God’s
presence and power being expressed through them.[10]
Exegetical essay
Mary remains at the tomb, and she looks in, it
is no longer there, it is empty. The two angels appear, she repeats the story
about the violation of the tomb. The angles however are forgotten and disappear
from the story as she turns and sees the one whom she takes to be a gardener.
She fails to recognise the appearance of Jesus, but not his voice as he calls her
by name. The good shepherd calls his own sheep by name, and they know his
voice. Jesus reply to her exclamation calls for some explanation. ‘Do not hold
me’ represents the Greek sentence which literally means ‘stop touching me’ or
‘do not attempt to touch me’. The prohibition itself is contrasting, and the
reason given is even more obscure. ‘I have not ascended to my Father yet’. It
seems to imply that there will be a later moment, after the ascension when
touching is permissible. This seems hardly intelligible, though some have held
that John believed the ascension to have taken place between 20:17 and v27.
The emphasis on the ‘coming’ signifies that
Mary left her lord at once to convey his message. ‘I have see the lord’ is
direct speech, but the other half is indirect; ‘she told them that he had said
these things’. Here we find that resurrection appearance is given as her
personal testimony for this Mary becomes the first to witness the resurrection
of Jesus. But the message Christ had asked her to deliver, means that not only
she had seen the risen Christ but had also heard him say these things, hence
becoming an apostolic witness of the Lord.[11] In
the last words of v17 Jesus distinguishes between himself and his relation to
God, and his disciples and their relation to God. To each, God is ‘God and
Father’; he calls them his brothers. Yet he is God’s son eternally, and they
are God’s children only through him.[12]
In the context of our society today it is very
much necessary for us to give importance for women. Women over the historical
age have lived a life succumbed to various atrocities and dominion. In the
light of the passage, we have learnt that Jesus was indeed a person who treated
al equally and made sure the women also were treated with respect and dignity
and with importance.
Bibliography
Barrett C.
K., The Gospel according to John; SPCK: London 1955
Elowsky
C. Joel. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament.
Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 2007
Vanderlip,
D. George., John the Gospel of life; Judson Press –Valley Forge 1993.
Smith, D
Moody. Abingdon New Testament
Commentaries; Abingdon Press Nashville 1999.
Ed. Brown, E. Raymond. and Joseph A. Fitzmyer,, The
Jerome Biblical Commentary, Vol II; Published: TPI 1968.
Gen. ed.
Black, Matthew. Peake’s Commentary on the Bible; Published: Thomas
Nelson and sons LTD, London, 1975.
Vellanickal,
Matthew. Studies in the Gospel of John; Published: A.T.C. Bangalore
1997.
Rao, O. M. The
Fourth Gospel: Essays and Exegetical Notes on Selected Passages; Published:
Theological Book Trust, Bangalore 1998.
Irudaya,
Raj. Dalit Bible Commentary: New Testament, vol-4; Published: C.D.S. New
Delhi 2009.
Schnackenburg,
Rudolf. The Gospel according to St. John; Vol: III, Published: Burns
& Oates, 1982.
Moloney, J. Francis, Glory not Dishonour:
reading John 13-21; Published: Fortress Press, Minneapolis 1998
T. Johnson,
Chakkuvarackal. Bangalore Theological Forum, Volume 34, Number 2,
December Published: the United Theological College, Bangalore, India. 2002.
[1] C. K.
Barrett, The Gospel according to John; SPCK: London 1955 pg. 466
[2] T. Johnson Chakkuvarackal Bangalore Theological
Forum, Volume 34, Number 2, December 2002, Published: The United
Theological College, Bangalore, India page. 58.
[3] D.
George Vanderlip, John the Gospel of life; Judson Press –Valley Forge 1993
pg.129
[4] C.
Joel. Elowsky Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament.
Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 2007
[5] C. Joel. Elowsky Ancient Christian Commentary on
Scripture: New Testament. Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press, 2007
[6]Ed. Raymond Brown. E and Joseph A. Fitzmyer,, The
Jerome Commentary, Vol II; Published: TPI 1968 pg.463
[7]
Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel according to St. John; Vol: III, Published:
Burns & Oates, 1982 pg.303
[8] D.
Moody Smith, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries; Abingdon Press Nashville 1999
pg.375
[9]
Matthew Vellanickal, Studies in the Gospel of John, Published: A.T.C. Bangalore
1997, pg.222
[10] Raj Irudaya, Dalit Bible Commentary: New
Testament, vol-4; Published: C.D.S. New Delhi 2009, pg.169
[11] O.
M. Rao, The Fourth Gospel: Essays and Exegetical Notes on Selected Passages;
Published: Theological Book Trust, Bangalore 1998, pg.294
[12] Gen.
ed. Matthew Black, Peake’s Commentary on the Bible; Published: Thomas Nelson
and sons LTD, London, 1975 pg. 867
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