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 those 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 is it may, I think Mary Magdalene’s failure to recognize Jesus is a phenomenon that helps us understand the nature of Jesus’ resurrection.
Jesus’ resurrection was not a simple resuscitation of a corpse – as was the case of Lazarus, Jairus daughter, or even perhaps the widow’s son at Nain. Something happened to Jesus that made his post-resurrection appearance seem “different.” 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.
Resurrection transformed Jesus, and those to whom he appeared also needed to be transformed in order for them to recognize him. Mary Magdalene had to “open” her eyes and ears to the voice of 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. For the resurrected body of Jesus speaks to all our senses. We have to be alert on all fronts to get to encounter the resurrected Jesus.