Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 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.” Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.  John 20:1-18 NASB

*for the modern English reader, the translators changed the present tense of the original Greek, to the easier to understand past tense of modern American English.

One of my favorite resurrection morning songs is “I’ve Just Seen Jesus.” I was always awed by this inspired duet by Sandy Patty and Larnelle Harris.

The Mary mentioned here love the Lord. Death did not change her love. She was not deterred by the pre-dawn darkness, by being at a tomb, by the large stone rolled over the tomb opening. She just wanted to be where Jesus is. We are told to seek Him while He may be found. She sought for Jesus even when Jesus was dead and buried. I don’t know if the other women returned to the tomb with her along with Peter and John, but Mary returned, and even when the disciples went back to their own homes after seeing the empty tomb, Mary lingered. She wasn’t going anywhere. Her love is persistent. I loved the other Mary that anointed the Lord for burial with the broken vial of expensive spikenard. She loves the Lord. What a comfort to the Savior before the brutality of the Cross. And I love this Mary, whose love would not let the Lord go, even in death. So, even when all hope seems lost, we can still love the Lord like Mary, and in the midst of our brokenness and sorrow, we might hear our Lord in Resurrection call us by name! I want to testify, too, “I have seen the Lord!”