Jesus saith unto her, woman, why weepest thou
The same question he puts to her, as was put by the angels:
adding,
whom seekest thou?
for she was not only weeping for the loss of him, but was
inquiring after him, if anyone saw him removed from thence, and
where he was carried:
she supposing him to be the gardener;
that had the care of the garden, in which the sepulchre was; for
not the owner of the garden, who was Joseph, but the keeper of it
is meant; she could not imagine that Joseph should be there so
early in the morning, but might reasonably think the gardener
was:
saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me
where
thou hast laid him, and I will take him away;
she addresses him, though she took him to be but the gardener, in
a very civil and courteous manner; which was rightly judged,
especially since she had a favour to ask of him: she does not
mention the name of her Lord, but imagined he knew who she meant,
being so lately buried there; and suggests, that perhaps it might
not have been so agreeable to the gardener to have his body lie
there, and therefore had removed it; and would he but be so kind
as to let her know where he was put, she, with the assistance of
her friends close by, would take him away with them: so in a
spiritual sense, a truly gracious soul is willing to do anything,
and to be at any trouble, so that it may but enjoy Christ; it
dearly loves him, as this good woman did; it early, and
earnestly, and with its whole heart, seeks after him, as she did;
and absence of him, or loss of his presence for a while, sharpens
the desire after him, and makes his presence the more welcome.