Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 20:14
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
14. And when ] Omit ‘and.’ Perhaps she becomes in some way conscious of another Presence.
saw ] Better, beholdeth, as in Joh 20:6 ; Joh 20:12.
knew not ] Christ’s Risen Body is so changed as not to be recognised at once even by those who had known Him well. It has new powers and a new majesty. Comp. Joh 21:4; Luk 24:16; Luk 24:37; Mat 28:17; [Mar 16:12 ].
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Knew not that it was Jesus – She was not expecting to see him. It was yet also twilight, and she could not see distinctly.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 20:14
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back.
Why? Simply because she had now no care about glimpses of a mere heaven–felt no interest in the discourse of mere angels, but only longed to have her grief out uninterruptedly? Perhaps. But some of the earliest teachers of the Church thought that it was because at this point of the dialogue she saw a new expression rise on the faces of the two shining ones, as if suddenly looking at some august appearance dawning behind her. This explanation is more fascinating, and not less likely to be true; but we cannot know: we only know that she turned–perhaps turned mechanically, turned without interest or expectation. (C. Stanford, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. She turned herself back] Or, , she was turned back, i.e. to go again with the other women to Jerusalem, who had already departed; but she had not as yet gone so far as to be out of the garden.
Knew not that it was Jesus] John has here omitted what the angels said to the women, about Christ’s being risen; probably because it was so particularly related by the other evangelists: Mt 28:5-7; Mr 16:6-7; Lu 24:5-7. Mary was so absorbed in grief that she paid but little attention to the person of our Lord, and therefore did not at first discern it to be him; nor could she imagine such an appearance possible, as she had no conception of his resurrection from the dead. She was therefore every way unprepared to recognize the person of our Lord.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And presently Christ himself appeareth to her, though at first she did not know him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11-15. But Mary stood without at thesepulchre weeping, &c.Brief was the stay of those two men.But Mary, arriving perhaps by another direction after they left,lingers at the spot, weeping for her missing Lord. As she gazesthrough her tears on the open tomb, she also ventures to stoop downand look into it, when lo! “two angels in white” (as fromthe world of light, and see on Mt 28:3)appear to her in a “sitting” posture, “as havingfinished some business, and awaiting some one to impart tidings to”[BENGEL].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when she had thus said,…. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, before she could have an answer from the angels:
she turned herself back; perceiving, either by the looks and gesture of one of the angels, or by hearing a noise, that somebody was behind her:
and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus; she saw a person, but did not know who he was, by reason of the form of his appearance, the difference of his clothes, and not expecting to see him alive; or through modesty, she might not look wistfully at him; and besides, her eyes were filled with tears, and swollen with weeping; so that she could not see clearly; and her eyes might be holden also, as the disciples were, that as yet she might not know him: so sometimes, in a spiritual sense, Christ is with, and near his people, and they know it not: Christ, as God, is omnipresent; he is every where, and in all places; the spiritual presence of Christ, is more or less, in some way or another, always in all his churches, and among his dear people; but the sight of him is not always alike to them, nor does he appear to them always in the same form; sometimes against them, at least in their apprehensions, nor always in a manner agreeably to their expectations; nor is his grace always discovered in the same way, nor has it the same effect.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
She turned herself back ( ). Second aorist passive indicative of in an intransitive and almost reflective sense. In the disappearance of the aorist middle before the aorist passive see Robertson, Grammar, p.817. See also (second aorist passive participle) in verse 16. On see John 6:66; John 18:6.
Standing (). Second perfect active (intransitive) of . Instinctively Mary felt the presence of some one behind her.
Was (). Present active indicative retained in indirect discourse after (knew).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Turned herself back. Canon Westcott, with that beautiful subtilty of perception which so eminently characterizes him, remarks : “We can imagine also that she became conscious of another Presence, as we often feel the approach of a visitor without distinctly seeing or hearing him. It may be, too, that the angels, looking toward the Lord, showed some sign of His coming.”
Saw [] . Present tense. Rev., beholdeth. She looks at Him steadfastly and inquiringly as at a stranger. The observance of these distinctions between verbs of seeing, is very important to the perception of the more delicate shading of the narrative.
Knew not [] . Indicating a knowledge based on spiritual fellowship and affinity, an inward, conscious, sure conviction of His identity.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when she had thus said,” (tauta eipousa) “When she had said these things,” to the inquiring angels, Joh 20:13.
2) “She turned herself back,” (estra phe eis ta opiso) “She turned back,” turned away from the tomb entrance, to meet Jesus face to face, the source of comfort for all one’s grief, 2Co 1:3-4.
3) “And saw Jesus standing,” (kai theorei ton lesoun hestota) “And she observed Jesus standing there,” right before her, at hand to help. Heb 13:5; Joh 14:1-3.
4) “And knew not that it was Jesus.” (kai ouk edei hoti lesous estin) “And she did not know, recognize, or perceive that it was Jesus.” It was not only because her eyes were dim from weeping but also because of His altered or changed resurrection appearance that she did not instantly recognize Him, as she had for more than three years since He cast the seven devils (mentally deranging spirits) out of her, Mar 16:9; Mar 16:12; Luk 24:16; Joh 21:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
14. And seeth Jesus standing It may be asked, Whence arose this mistake, that Mary does not recognize Jesus, with whom she must have been intimately acquainted? Some think that he appeared in a different form, but I think that the fault lay rather in the eyes of the women, as Luke (Luk 24:16) says of the two disciples, their eyes were withheld from knowing him We will not say, therefore, that Christ was continually assuming new shapes, like Proteus (197) but that it is in the power of God, who gave eyes to men, to lessen their sharpness of vision whenever he thinks proper, that seeing they may not see.
In Mary we have an example of the mistakes into which the human mind frequently falls. Though Christ presents himself to our view, yet we imagine that he assumes various shapes, so that our senses conceive of any thing rather than of the true Christ; for not only are our powers of understanding liable to be deceived, but they are also bewitched by the world and by Satan, that they may have no perception of the truth.
(197) Proteus, ( Πρωτεύς,) a king of Egypt, is mentioned by Herodotus, who relates that at Memphis, his native place, a magnificent temple was erected for him. The historian quotes as his authorities, the Egyptian priests with whom he had conversed, and who detailed to him the most mentorable transactions of that reign, connected with the carrying of Helena into Egypt; and he produces passages from the Iliad and the Odyssey, to prove that Homer was well acquainted with the leading facts, though he chose to disguise or palliate them, so as to make a better figure in his story, (Herodotus, Book 2 112-116.) The key to the present allusion, however, must be found in the fabulous accounts of Proteus, as a sea deity, whom Ovid describes as Protea Ambiguum, the shape-changing Proteus, (Metamorphoses, Book 2. Fable 1. 5:9,) and whose alleged habit frequently changing his shape passed into a proverb. “he had (says Lempriere) received the gift of prophecy from Neptune, and from his knowledge of futurity mankind received the greatest services. He was difficult of access, and, when consulted, he refused to give answers, by immediately assuming different shapes, and eluding the grasp, if not properly secured by fetters.” Proverbial references to this fable occur frequently in the ancient writers. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) And saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.There is no need to imagine an external cause for her turning round, and if there was one it is useless for us to ask what it was. She has expressed her woe, and turns aside again to weep, when she sees another form. Weighed down by her sorrow, not looking intently, it may be, or seeing indistinctly through tear-filled eyes, she does not recognise her Lord. We know not what the appearance was. Figure, feature, clothing, there must have been; but these differing, in this as in other manifestations, from those with which they had been familiar. She, perhaps, hardly looked at all, but supposed that the only person there at that early hour would be the keeper of the garden.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Turned herself back Simply her recoil from her stooping posture and turning to her natural position.
Knew not that it was Jesus Her eyes doubtless being half covered with weeping, she did not fully glance at him until she fully turned round, at Joh 20:16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jesus appears to Mary:
v. 14. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
v. 15. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if Thou have borne Him hence, tell me where Thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away,
v. 16. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
v. 17. Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.
v. 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her. While Mary was still in the midst of her bitter complaint to the angels, she may have heard some noise behind her, a footstep or a rustling, which caused her to turn around quickly. She noticed that there was a man standing there, but somehow she did not associate this man with her Lord. It was not merely that her eyes were dim with tears, but that Jesus now appeared in a form from which all lowliness had vanished, and which was also glorified, spiritualized. As Jesus chose, He could make Himself visible and invisible, be present now in one place, now in another; He could either assume the old familiar aspect in which His disciples knew Him, or He could appear before them as a stranger whom they in no way associated with their former Master. So it was in this instance. Even His voice He had changed. His sympathetic question, therefore, couched in the same words as that of the angels, only causes a new outburst of resentment and grief. She took Jesus for the gardener, the man that certainly should know something about the disappearance of her Lord. If he was responsible for the removal of the body, he was to give her the necessary information at once, in order that she might go and carry Him away. The idea may have struck Mary that the gardener had seen fit to take the body to some other grave nearby, because this tomb was to be used for another body. Note the love of Mary: Weak woman that she is, she will undertake single-handed to carry the body of her beloved Lord away. But Jesus felt that the time had now come for Him to reveal Himself. In the old familiar voice which all the disciples knew and loved, He spoke only that one word: Mary! The form of the speaker might have been unfamiliar, His body might have been glorified. but by that voice Mary would have known Him anywhere. From the depths of a heart transported with joy her shout broke forth: Rabboni; my Master! He was there, alive and well; and nothing else mattered. And she may have thought that the old, familiar intercourse would again be resumed, that she could touch Him, assure herself definitely as to His identity. But the time of intimate companionship between Master and pupils had now gone by. Jesus warns her not to touch Him; this was not His permanent return to visible fellowship with His disciples. He gives her the reason for this prohibition: Because I have not yet ascended to My Father. After His glorification had been fully accomplished, His disciples might enter into closer communion with Him than ever before, in the manner which He had explained to the apostles in the last discourses on the evening before His death. By His ascension, Jesus entered into the full and unlimited use of His divine majesty, and thus also of His omnipresence. And therefore He is now closer to His disciples than ever before. By faith all the believers have Jesus in their own hearts, a much more intimate, a much closer communion than ever that was which obtained between Christ and His disciples in the state of His humiliation. It is a wonderfully beautiful message which Jesus incidentally entrusts to Mary, which she should commit to His brethren: I ascend to My Father and to your Father, to My God and to your God. There is a world of comfort in the word “brethren. ” “These words should fittingly be written with great and golden letters, not simply on paper nor into a book, but on our hearts, that they might live therein: Go, and tell My brethren. That surely should be a word to make a Christian joyful, and to awaken and stimulate love to. ward Christ. If one would consider rightly how rich and comforting these words are, he would become intoxicated for joy and desire, as Mary Magdalene was intoxicated with devotion and love toward the Lord. Who of us would believe certainly and firmly in his heart that Christ is his Brother, he would come along with leaps and say: Who am I to be honored thus and to be, and be called, the son of God? For I surely am not worthy that such a great King and Lord of all creatures should call me His creature. But now He is not satisfied to call me His creature, but wants me to be and be called His brother. Should I, then, not be happy, since that Man calls me His brother who is the Lord over heaven and earth, over sin and death, over devil and hell, and all that may be named, not only in this world, but also may be in that to comet?” The words of Jesus are unmistakable: He gives to His believers the high and great honor, placing them absolutely on the same level with Himself. That is the glorious fruit and result of His work of redemption. Mary Magdalene, for her part, now believed. She was convinced that the resurrection of Jesus was the seal of the completed redemption. And she brought her message to the disciples. She stated, without doubt or hesitation, that she had seen the Lord, and that these were His words to them. A true believer will always testify of the faith in his heart. And if, in addition, such a person is commissioned and called by the Lord to make known the fact of the resurrection to others, the testimony should be made with all gladness and with the assurance that carries conviction.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Joh 20:14-15 . Her conversation with the angels is interrupted, as she turns round and sees Jesus standing by, but unrecognised by her.
. ] Whether accidentally only, or as seeking after her Lord, or because she heard the rustle of some one present, is not clear. Unauthorized, however, is the view of the scene adopted by Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Euth. Zigabenus, that the angels, on the sudden appearance of Jesus, had expressed their astonishment by their mien and gestures, by which Mary’s attention had been aroused.
, . . .] The unfamiliar clothing, her own troubled and weeping glance, and, along with this, the entire remoteness from her mind of the thought of the accomplished resurrection all this may have contributed to the non-recognition. The essential cause, however, is to be found in the mysterious alteration of the corporeity and of the appearance of Jesus, which manifests itself from His resurrection onwards, so that He comes and disappears in a marvellous way, the identity of His person is doubted and again recognised, etc. See on Mat 28:17 . That John imagined a withholding of her vision, as in Luk 24:16 (Calvin, Grotius, comp. already Ammonius), is in nowise indicated. Again, the , Mar 16:12 , does not apply here.
] Naturally, since this unknown individual was in the garden , and already so early. Quite unnecessary, however, is the trivial assumption that He had on the clothing of the gardener (Kuinoel, Paulus, Olshausen, and several others), or: He was clothed with the loin-cloth , a piece of raiment used for field and garden labour, in which He had been crucified (altogether without evidence, comp. on Joh 21:18 ) (Hug’s invention in the Freib. Zeitschr . VII. p. 162 ff., followed by Tholuck).
] Address arising from her deeply prostrate, helpless grief.
] With emphasis, in retrospect of Joh 20:13 .
] She presumes that the supposed gardener has heard her words just spoken to the angels.
. ] in order to inter Him elsewhere. Her overflowing love, in the midst of her grief, does not weigh her strength. “She forgets everything, her feminine habits and person,” etc., Luther.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Ver. 14. She turned herself back ] As not able to abide the brightness of those glorious angels any longer. To the gardener therefore she addresseth herself for further direction. See what a happiness it is to be taught by the ministry of men, like ourselves, and to have angels about us, but invisible.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
14. ] having her attention attracted by the consciousness of some one [being] present near her not perhaps by the approach of Jesus. Or it might be (Stier, Ebrard) with intent to go forth and weep again, or further to seek her Lord. Chrysostom’s reason is very beautiful, but perhaps hardly probable: , , , ; , , , , , , , . Homil. in Joann. lxxxvi. 1. We need not surely enquire too minutely, why she did not know Him. The fact may be psychologically accounted for she did not expect Him to be there , and was wholly preoccupied with other thoughts: or, as Drseke (cited by Stier, vii. 12, edn. 2) says, “Her tears wove a veil, which concealed Him who stood before her. The seeking after the Dead prevents us from seeing the Living.”
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 20:14 . “And she sees Jesus standing and did not know that it was Jesus”; not merely because her eyes were dim with tears, but because He was altered in appearance; as Mark (Mar 16:12 ) says, . So little was her ultimate recognition of Jesus the result of her expectation or her own fancy embodied.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
when, &a. = having said these things.
turned . . . back: i.e. turned half round.
back. Greek. eis (App-104.) ta opiso.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
14.] -having her attention attracted by the consciousness of some one [being] present near her-not perhaps by the approach of Jesus. Or it might be (Stier, Ebrard) with intent to go forth and weep again, or further to seek her Lord. Chrysostoms reason is very beautiful, but perhaps hardly probable: , , , ; , , , , , , , . Homil. in Joann. lxxxvi. 1. We need not surely enquire too minutely, why she did not know Him. The fact may be psychologically accounted for-she did not expect Him to be there, and was wholly preoccupied with other thoughts: or, as Drseke (cited by Stier, vii. 12, edn. 2) says, Her tears wove a veil, which concealed Him who stood before her. The seeking after the Dead prevents us from seeing the Living.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 20:14. , having said thus, she turned) She does not attend to what one might speak, or who might speak it, in the sepulchre. It is Jesus that she is seeking.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 20:14
Joh 20:14
When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.-Jesus was standing near and as she turned from speaking to the angels she beholdeth him. She was so troubled in spirit that she did not look with care and did not discern that it was Jesus.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
and saw: Son 3:3, Son 3:4, Mat 28:9, Mar 16:9
and knew: Joh 8:59, Joh 21:4, Mar 16:12, Luk 4:30, Luk 24:16, Luk 24:31
Reciprocal: Gen 42:8 – but they knew Joh 20:25 – We
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
While this conversation was going on, Jesus had returned to the tomb and was standing near Mary. She knew not that it was Jesus. One meaning of the Greek word for knew is “to perceive.” The circumstance here was perfectly natural because of the unexpectedness of the appearance of Jesus. Mary was so positive that the body of her Lord had been stolen, that it caused her eyes to be restrained from their usual functioning. (See the notes on Luk 24:15-16.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 20:14. When she had thus said, she turned herself back; and she beholdeth Jesus standing, and perceived not that it was Jesus. Mary has answered the inquiry of the angels; and, satisfied that the Lord is not in the sepulchre, she turns round to see if information regarding Him can be obtained from any other source. Could we think that the morning was still dark, it might be possible to trace Marys non-recognition of Jesus to that cause: but, if light was already dawning when she came first to the sepulchre, day must by this time have fully broken. That she did not know Jesus must, therefore, have proceeded from some other cause. This could not be the outward glory of His appearance, or she would not have supposed Him to be the gardener (Joh 20:15). Nor does it seem desirable to resort to the explanation offered by many, that glorified corporeity has the power of making itself visible or invisible,. or of assuming different forms of manifestation at its pleasure. Much may be attributed to Marys total want of preparation for the fact. The idea that Jesus had risen from the grave had not yet dawned upon her: the form now in her presence could not be His: no supposition lay so near as that it was the gardener who had drawn near. More, however, must be said; and the key to the solution of the difficulty is to be found in Luk 24:16 (see also chap. Joh 21:4). Her eyes were holden that she should not discern her Lord. She was not yet ready for any such recognition as might correspond to the new stage of existence upon which He had entered. She would have seen the human friend,Jesus as He had been, not as He now was. Some further training, therefore, is still needed, and then the glorious revelation shall be given.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Joh 20:14-15. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back Probably hearing a sudden noise behind her, and being affrighted; and saw Jesus standing Near her; but knew not that it was Jesus His habit being changed, her eyes also overflowing with tears, and her mind being so far from any expectation of his appearance, and so much distressed, that she probably did not so much as look up to the face of the person who appeared; Jesus saith With his usual tone of voice and accent; Woman, why weepest thou? These were probably the first words Christ spoke after his resurrection. Why weepest thou? I am risen. The resurrection of Christ has enough in it to allay all our sorrows, to check the streams, and dry up the fountains of our tears. Here we may observe, Christ takes cognizance, 1st, Of his peoples griefs, and inquires why they weep? 2d, Of his peoples cares, and inquires whom or what they seek, or what they would have; when he knows they are seeking him, yet he will know it from them; they must tell him whom they seek. She, supposing him to be the gardener The person employed by Joseph to dress and keep his garden, who she thought was come hither thus early to his work; saith, Sir, if thou have borne him hence If, for any unknown reason, thou hast taken him away from this place, where the master of the sepulchre saw fit so honourably to lay him but a few hours ago; tell me where thou hast laid him Where I may find his corpse; and I will take him away Will take effectual care that his corpse shall be removed and decently interred elsewhere. Here we may observe, 1st, That her taking Jesus for the gardener intimates, that there was nothing very splendid in his dress: accordingly when he appeared to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus they seem to have taken him for a person of a rank not superior to their own. 2d, That she accosts this stranger in respectful language, even when she took him for a servant, prudently reflecting, that an error on that hand would be more excusable than one on the other, supposing he should prove a person of superior rank in a plain dress. 3d, That she does not name Jesus, but speaks in indefinite terms; If thou have borne him hence Intimating that he was the one person of whom her own thoughts and heart were so full, that she took it for granted every one must know whom she meant. 4th, She seems to have supposed, that this gardener disdained that the body of a person who was ignominiously crucified should have the honour of being laid in his masters new tomb, and that therefore he had removed it to some sorry place which he thought fitter for it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 14-16. After having spoken thus, she turned herself back; and she sees Jesus standing there, but without knowing that it was Jesus. 15. Jesus says to her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing that he was the gardener, says to him: Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16. Jesus says to her, Mary! She, turning herself, says to him, in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means, Master.
Mary, after having stooped down into the sepulchre, raises herself and turns about, as if to seek for Him whom she is asking for. Perhaps she heard some noise behind her. The supposition of Mary has been explained by the garment which Jesus wore. But she might easily suppose that the one who was there at that early morning hour and who thus interrogated her was the gardener. And as to garments, workmen were not often clothed except with a girdle (Joh 21:7).
The difficulty of recognizing Jesus arose from two causes; notwithstanding the identity of the body of Jesus, there was wrought a change in His whole person by His passing into a new life; He appeared , says Mark (Mar 16:12). His disciples, in seeing Him again, experienced something like what occurs in us when we meet a friend after a long separation; we need more or less length of time in order to recognize him; then, all at once, the simplest manifestation is enough to make the bandage fall from our eyes. But there was also an internal cause. Mary’s want of faith in the promises of Jesus caused the idea of His return to life to be absolutely foreign to her present thought.
Jesus, as always, adapts His action to the needs of the soul which suffers and loves. What is most personal in human manifestations is the sound of the voice; it is by this means that Jesus makes Himself known to her. The tone which this name of Mary takes in His mouth expresses all that which she is for Him, all that which He is for her.
It follows from the word , having turned about, that she had turned again towards the tomb. For she was agitated, and was searching on one side, then on the other. And now, at the sound of this well-known voice, trembling even to the depths of her soul, she in turn puts all her being into the cry: Master!and throws herself at His feet, seeking to clasp them, as is shown by Joh 20:17.
Rabbouni, which is found only here and Mar 10:51, is a form of the word Rabban. The is either the paragogic or the suffix my. In the second case, it may gradually have lost its signification, which explains why the evangelist does not translate it. The word , in Hebrew, which is read in the most ancient Mjj., is suspicious; it may be defended, however, by recalling to mind how the word rabbouni was strange to the ears of the Greek readers of the Gospel.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 14
Turned herself back; to go home.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
20:14 {3} And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
(3) Jesus witnesses by his presence that he is truly risen.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Mary’s near hysteria could account for her failing to recognize Jesus at first too. She apparently withdrew from the tomb and saw (Gr. theorei, cf. Joh 20:6) Jesus standing outside it. She beheld Him attentively, but she did not recognize Him for who He was.
"The fact that He appeared to Mary rather than to Pilate or Caiaphas or to one of His disciples is significant. That a woman would be the first to see Him is an evidence of Jesus’ electing love as well as a mark of the narrative’s historicity. No Jewish author in the ancient world would have invented a story with a woman as the first witness to this most important event. Furthermore, Jesus may have introduced Himself to Mary first because she had so earnestly sought Him. She was at the cross while He was dying (Joh 19:25), and she went to His tomb early on Sunday morning (Joh 20:1)." [Note: Blum, p. 342.]