Called by name · the risen Jesus meets Mary Magdalene
A Bible story to tell as a family · John 20:11–18 · ages 4–12 · 10 min
The story
It was still dark that Sunday when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been taken away and ran to tell Peter and the other disciple: they had taken the Lord! The two came running, saw the linen cloths lying inside, and then went back home. But Mary stayed.
She stood outside, by the tomb, weeping. Mary loved Jesus very much; Luke tells us he had set her free from great suffering. Now it seemed that even her Lord’s body had been taken from her. Weeping, she bent down and looked inside.
Inside there were two angels dressed in white, sitting where Jesus’ body had been: one at the head, the other at the feet. They asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” And she answered, “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.” It seems not even angels could take her attention off her grief.
Then she turned around and saw a man standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. He asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” and then, “Whom are you seeking?” Mary thought he was the gardener, the man who looked after the place, and said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” Imagine: a woman alone wanting to carry someone’s body. Only love thinks that way.
Then Jesus said just one word. He said her name: “Mary.” She turned and answered, “Rabboni!” which means “Teacher!” In an instant, her tears of sadness turned into something else. Mary recognized the voice. It was the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and calls them by name.
Mary wanted to hold on to him, like someone who never wants to lose a person again. But Jesus told her, “Do not cling to Me,” and added, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” And he gave her a mission: to go to his brothers and tell them he was ascending to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. What news! Jesus’ Father is now called the disciples’ Father too.
And Mary went. The woman who had arrived weeping left running with the news. She announced to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and told them everything he had said to her. In John’s Gospel, she is the first person to see the risen Jesus and the first to announce that he is alive.
11But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, 12and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not recognize that it was Jesus. 15“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.
What the Bible says
- v. 15: Jesus asks Mary why she is weeping and whom she is seeking.
- v. 16: Jesus says her name, and Mary recognizes him and calls him Teacher.
- v. 18: Mary Magdalene announces to the disciples that she has seen the Lord and tells them what he said.
What we learn
Jesus meets Mary in her sadness and knows her by name. He is not a distant God who treats people like a crowd: he knows each person in our home by name. Mary didn’t recognize Jesus with her eyes, but by his voice. Sometimes sadness keeps us from noticing Jesus close by, and he keeps on calling. And Jesus entrusted the greatest news of all to a weeping woman, making her his messenger. No one is too small to announce that he is alive.
Questions to talk about
For little ones
- Who did Mary think the man in the garden was?
- What did Jesus say so Mary would recognize him?
For kids
- Why do you think Mary only recognized Jesus when he said her name?
- Jesus said his Father was also the disciples’ Father. What does that mean for us?
For teens
- Mary was so sad that she didn’t recognize Jesus right beside her. Has sadness ever hidden good things from you that were close by?
For adults
- What would it be like to say the name of each person in our home with the tenderness with which Jesus said Mary? Who here needs to be called by name, and not by the problem?
Activity
Called by name: one at a time, someone keeps their eyes closed or blindfolded; a family member says their name very softly, and they try to guess who called just by the voice. Then each person writes their own name on a piece of paper with the phrase Jesus knows me by name and sticks it up near their bed.
To memorize: John 20:16
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you know each one of us by name. When we are crying, speak to us and open our eyes to see you near. Give us courage to tell others that you are alive. Amen.