She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him and I will take him.” What was the nature of Jesus’ resurrection? This is the question that comes to mind whenever we read the accounts of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in which those to whom Jesus appears fail to recognize him. It sounds rather strange that after only two days or so since Jesus died, Mary Magdalene and the others seem to have forgotten Jesus’ appearance! It sounds strange (and it should) because it would take decades for us to forget the appearance of someone with whom we have lived – even if we only did so for a couple of years. Be that as it may, I think Mary Magdalene’s failure to recognize Jesus is a phenomenon that helps us better understand the nature of Jesus’ resurrection.
Jesus’ resurrection was not a simple resuscitation of a corpse – as was the case with Lazarus, Jairus daughter, or even perhaps the widow’s son at Nain. Neither was the resurrected Jesus a mere phantom. The risen Jesus had a physical body as the several post-resurrection appearances clearly attest to. He was Jesus, yes, but not the old Jesus. Something happened to him that made his resurrected body appear different.
Resurrection transformed Jesus. In as much as there was continuity between the “old” and new body, a transformation had taken place. The “old” was now in the “new,” a fact that required that those to whom he appeared also be transformed if they were to recognize the “new” Jesus. Mary Magdalene had to “open” her eyes and ears to the voice of the “new” Jesus in order to recognize her resurrected master. She had to “listen” keenly by turning around and facing him. She had to “look” into his face if she was to recognize him.