The First Witness

The First Witness
By Albert Edelfelt

“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’ 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 is to say, ‘Master’.
John 20:15-16

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In the garden outside the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene wept. The stone had been rolled away, and her Lord was gone. Through her tears, she mistook the risen Jesus for the gardener—until He gently spoke one single word: ‘Mary.’ It was not a sermon or a miracle—not even the presence of angels in the tomb—that opened her eyes to the risen Lord, but simply hearing the Savior call her by name. This tender moment fulfills the promise of the Good Shepherd: “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name… and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice” (John 10:3–4). The Good Shepherd knows each of us intimately—not just as part of a flock, but as individuals. And as a true disciple of Jesus Christ, Mary knew and recognized the Savior’s voice.

This is the essence of discipleship: learning to recognize the Savior’s presence even in moments of fear or confusion. Linking this moment at the tomb with an earlier scene of distress and then sudden recognition on the Sea of Galilee, Rev. Matthew Henry observed: “Christ’s way of making himself known to his people is by his word, his word applied to their souls, speaking to them in particular. … This one word, Mary, was like that to the disciples in the storm, It is I.” In both moments, the Savior didn’t overlook His disciples in their pain—He found them there and spoke to them personally. As C.S. Lewis reflected, “What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing.” Whether they were standing in sorrow or in fear, the Savior called out to His disciples across it.

The risen Christ still calls us by name. In our own gardens of sorrow, doubt, or even routine distraction, He speaks—not always with fanfare, but with personal familiarity. When we listen for Him, we begin to see Him. Mary became the first witness of the Resurrection because she lingered—and because she responded when He called. So today, pause and listen. The Good Shepherd knows your name. He has not forgotten you. He lives and is near. And when you hear His voice, let your heart answer as Mary’s did—with joy, with faith and with love.

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