All four gospels say that the tomb was found open and empty very early in the morning, and name Mary Magdalene as one of the first to go to the tomb. Only John's gospel describes Jesus' appearance to her, although the longer ending of Mark's gospel makes a brief reference to this (Mark 16:9-11).

The Word of God was born into the world (1: 14), the child of a Jewish woman, and it was from another Jewish woman that the disciples heard the first human witness to the Resurrection of God's Son. When Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus she still did not know him (20:14-15); her mind was still filled with the terrible picture of the tortured, dead body hanging on the cross, for she had been with the mother of Jesus and the disciple whom Jesus loved (19 :25).

It was not until Jesus spoke her name that she believed that this fully alive One was Jesus (20: 16). In what Jesus then said, he showed her that the new spiritual relationship which he had spoken of in his great prayer had already begun between himself and his followers. In telling Mary not to hold on to him, Jesus indicated that the new relationship was no longer confined to physical space and contact. He was about to ascend to his Father, the final stage of his glorification (3:13,6:62,7:33,13:1,3,14:28,16:17,28,17:13). Jesus told Mary Magdalene to go and tell this to the disciples, which she did, believing.