On that morning the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty, and one disciple thought it was important that all of history knew that he ran faster than Peter. As they inspected the tomb, I’m sure their minds must have been reeling. They watched Jesus get arrested, tortured, and crucified for seemingly no reason. They’ve been fearing for their own safety, not knowing what would happen because of their association with him. And they’ve been grieving, not just for the loss of their friend, but also for the loss of the future they had envisioned for themselves.

As they stand there—some weeping, some scrutinizing the tomb—all confused and scared, people appear and start asking them questions. John 20:12-15 says, “12 And she [Mary] saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 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.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 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.”

If you’ve heard this story, you know what’s about to happen, but we must always remember that the disciples don’t. Their lives are about to get flipped even more than they could conceive. Verse 16, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” In that instance they recognized that he was no ordinary gardener!

All that weird stuff that Jesus said about dying and returning was actually true. He was fulfilling his promises then just like he does today. We live life like the disciples. We don’t know the end of our own stories. We don’t know when our weeping might be changed to joy. However, we do know that we have a loving savior that came back for us.