Have you ever mistaken someone you see to be someone else? Have you seen someone you know but did not recognize them? Has either of those situations caused you to be embarrassed? What if you were to meet someone you knew well and did not recognize them?
When Mary was sitting outside the empty tomb, she did not recognize Jesus. Her first thought was that He was the gardener or caretaker of the tombs and their surrounding area. We might think of them as someone who maintains a cemetery today.
Why didn’t Mary recognize Jesus? There are a number of valid reasons. First, we often do not see what we have no expectation of seeing. This very reason is often how criminals walk among us in broad daylight. Second, she may not have actually looked up into His face. She may have merely turned her head slightly and seen Him from the waist down.
We may wonder why she didn’t recognize His voice. The first reason is the same as above. She didn’t expect to hear Him speaking. Second, in her grief and feeling of complete loss now that the body was gone, she may not have had the capacity to recognize His voice between sobs.
The lesson for us is not that we should judge Mary. No, we should learn to keep our eyes and ears open, searching for additional possibilities rather than only what we expect. It is in those other possibilities that we will see God working, just as Mary did.
I pray we all understand why Mary may not have recognized Jesus. I pray we keep our eyes and ears open. I pray each one of us searches for possibilities outside of our normal expectations. Keep your eyes and ears open for Jesus. Look for possibilities outside what is normal.
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).
Marty Pressey 