She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus but she did not recognize Him… She thought He was the gardener. John 20:14,15
Mary Magdalene was standing at the tomb weeping because it was empty and she supposed someone had stolen the body of Jesus.
Interestingly, Jesus was standing right over her shoulder, in fact He spoke to her, but she mistook Him for the gardener. She didn’t recognize her closest friend.
Maybe her eyes were so full of tears she simply didn’t get a good look. But I suspect there was more to it than that.
I think she was so consumed in her sorrow she paid no attention to the one behind her. She was too caught up in her own emotions.
It makes me ask myself, when I am faced with a crisis, how often do I become so self absorbed that I fail to recognize Jesus standing over my shoulder? How often are my eyes so blinded by fear or pain that when He speaks, I mistake Him for the yardman?
Jesus promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. Through good times and bad… and especially in bad, He’s right by our side.
Twenty four, seven, three sixty five. And an extra day on leap year, He is there.
November 27, 2006 at 7:45 am
Del, I often asked myself why the disciples and Mary didn’t recognise the risen Christ. It makes a lot of sense that he closed their eyes because they weren’t looking for him. That is they didn’t yet understand that he had to be raised up, and they had lost faith that he was the Messiah. Mary, grieving for Jesus, too caught up in her own emotions… And he opened her eyes and the others’ cos he wanted them to see. It fits in with every other time he opens or closes our eyes to him I think… and it’s a great feeling to know that we’re in his presence. That he’s there now and he always will be. Thank you.
Diana