💫WEB · John 20:15
What does John 20:15 mean?
"Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”"
— John 20:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
They told her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”
Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers, and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.
Explanation
John 20:15 captures one of the most tender and human moments in the resurrection narrative. Mary Magdalene has come to Jesus' tomb early in the morning, only to find it empty. Overwhelmed with grief, she assumes someone has taken the body. In this verse, Jesus himself appears to her, but she doesn't recognize him. He asks her two simple, probing questions: "Why are you weeping?" and "Who are you looking for?" Not realizing she is speaking to the risen Lord, Mary mistakes him for the gardener and pleads with him, in her sorrow, to tell her where the body has been placed so she can retrieve it herself.
The context is essential to appreciating this scene. John's Gospel was written, as the author states later in the same chapter (John 20:31), so that readers "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." Mary Magdalene had been a devoted follower of Jesus, one from whom he had cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2), and she remained faithful even through the crucifixion, watching him die and now coming to tend to his body. The garden setting is not incidental; tombs in that culture were often located in gardens, and it would have been entirely reasonable for Mary to assume a caretaker was nearby. Her grief has clouded her perception so completely that even the sight of Jesus himself does not immediately register.
Theologically, this moment underscores several important truths. First, it shows the reality of the resurrection — Jesus is not a ghost or a memory, but a physical, encountered presence who spe
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