- Mary Magdalene goes alone to the tomb on Sunday morning (John 20.1).
- She runs to warn Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, probably John (John 20.2).
- Simon Peter and John go to the tomb to verify the facts (John 20.3-9).
- Simon Peter and John then return home (John 20.10).
- Mary Magdalene stays behind (John 20.11).
- She sees two angels and enters into a conversation with them (John 20.12-14).
- Jesus the Messiah appears to Mary Magdalene (John 20.15-17).
- Mary Magdalene informs the disciples of this event (John 20.18).
Mary Magdalene is the central figure of this account. John's text seems to indicate two distinct trips made by Mary Magdalene (John 20.2 and John 20.18). She appears alone before the risen Messiah, Jesus. We will analyze the chronology and the details provided by John in order to understand his method of presenting this event.
John 20.1: Although John mentions only Mary Magdalene, there is no objection to her having been accompanied by Mary, the mother of James and Joses, as well as by Salome. Evidently John concentrates on the testimony of Mary Magdalene.
John 20.2 reports that Mary Magdalene leaves to inform the disciples that the tomb is empty. No mention is made of angels or of any details concerning the rolled-away stone.
John 20.3-9 reports that Peter and John go to the tomb to verify Mary Magdalene's claims. They appear there alone. This detail is corroborated by Luke, who does not mention John's presence.
John 20.10 Peter and John return home, probably that of Mary, the mother of John called Mark, the author of the second Gospel. This detail is also confirmed by Luke, who does not specify John's presence.
John 20.11 introduces an episode distinct from the return of Peter and John. The apostle John provides a detailed description of Jesus' first appearance to Mary Magdalene. Two angels are present, and Jesus engages in a dialogue with her. Matthew and Mark confirm this event while mentioning other additional persons.
We understand that John is referring to an event that took place before Peter and John went to the tomb. Mary Magdalene would thus be part of the group of women mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 28.1; Mark 16.2-4; Luke 24.1; John 20.1). Consequently, John would be resuming his account in order to include additional details. John 20.2 and John 20.18 would describe the same event.
Verses John 20.11-14 and John 20.15-17 describe events similar to those reported in the Synoptic Gospels. Thus, we interpret the passage of John 20.11-18 as a reiteration of John 20.1, but including all the relevant details.
John 20.2 and John 20.18 relate the same event. In this context, why did John not directly describe the scene with the details provided in John 20.11-18?
It is proposed that, after writing the text from John 20.1 to John 20.10, the apostle John decided to include in his account the first encounter of Jesus the Messiah with Mary Magdalene. After relating the events (John 20.1 to John 20.10), he chose to add more personal details, notably the testimony of Mary Magdalene (John 20.11-18).
Furthermore, Simon Peter and John did not see an angel, which suggests that they had already left. If Mary Magdalene met Jesus after their departure, this would imply that the angels disappeared during the apostles' visit and reappeared for Mary, which is unlikely. We therefore prefer the hypothesis that Mary had already met Jesus. This is thus the hypothesis that seems to us the most probable.