John 20:15 Commentary and Bible Study

It is a gentle rebuke. The Lord had given her all the words she needed to avoid this sorrow. His word is a shield to us just because he knows what we are going to face in the future and arms us with the necessary promises and insights into his purposes so that we should not be carried away by sorrow or doubts. But for the moment, Mary cannot recognise her Lord whom she loves so much, and fails to obtain the comfort available to her. She sees only cause for further gloom in this figure in front of her, and continues to seek the dead body of her Lord when the living person of her Lord is standing in front of her. Our expectations of the Lord can often be unworthily low.