She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.
Parallel translations
- WEB When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus.
- KJV And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
- BSB When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not recognize that it was Jesus.
- NKJV Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
- NASB When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Mary turns and sees Jesus but does not recognize him. The risen Lord stands before her unrecognized.
Overview
For reasons John leaves unstated, perhaps grief, tears, or divine restraint, Mary fails to recognize Jesus. The detail underscores that the resurrection was unexpected, not a wishful projection. It also sets up the tender moment when Jesus reveals himself by name.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 24:16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
- Mark 16:9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
- Song 3:3–4The watchmen who go about the city found me; “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
- John 21:4But when day had already come, Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples didn’t know that it was Jesus.
- Matt 28:9As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
- John 8:59Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
- Luke 24:31Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
- Mark 16:12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country.
- Luke 4:30But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 20:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.