CHAYYEI YESHUA

A Devotional Commentary on the Weekly Besora Reading

Rabbi Kaplan

John 20:1-18 - The First Witness of the Resurrection

Though they differ in the details, all four besorot describe women as the first witnesses to the resurrection of Yeshua (cf. Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12). John presents a fully developed tale of Miriam of Magdala (on the Sea of Galilee north of Tiberias) and her encounter with the risen Yeshua. John's story comes in two parts.

In John 20:1-10, we read about Miriam, followed by the Beloved Disciple and the Shimon Kefa finding the empty tomb. Their responses to the absence of Yeshua's body are varied. The Beloved Disciple may have some incipient faith experience. He "went in, and he saw and believed" (John 20:8). Perhaps he believes that Yeshua has risen. Or, more simply, perhaps he believes Miriam's report (John 20:2) having now witnessed the empty tomb himself. Shimon Kefa seems to have no response to the empty tomb. John tells us that "as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise form the dead" (John 20:9). Both return to their homes (John 20:10).

Miriam, on the other hand, remains near the tomb, weeping (John 20:11). Peering into the tomb again, she encounters two angels on either end of where Yeshua's body has been lying. They pose a simple question to her about why she is weeping (John 20:12-13). The question has a double valence. On the one hand, it is the socially appropriate question to ask when you encounter someone weeping. On the other hand, the question suggests that there is no need to weep. Miriam's response suggests that she understands the angels to mean the first valence and not the second. This lack of recognition and understanding about what is happening continues as she turns around and encounters Yeshua without recognizing him (John 20:14). Yeshua posses the same question to her - "Woman, why are you weeping?" - as the angels. But she still does not recognize him (John 20:15). Then Yeshua's speech becomes intimate and he calls her by name, "Miriam" (John 20:16). When he calls her name, she recognizes him clearly and calls out back to him, "my teacher." In this intimate and familiar exchange, Miriam recognizes who Yeshua is, the resurrected Messiah.

Yeshua's response is to command her not to hold on to him but to allow him to complete his journey "to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20:17). The repetition here is unique and emphasizes that Miriam's recognition of the living, resurrected Yeshua binds her to the fullness of God revealed in and through Yeshua. It names her as a child of the living God. Miriam's response to this divine encounter is to testify to the disciples concerning what she had seen and heard. Thus she becomes the first witness to the resurrection, testifying to her intimate encounter with the risen Yeshua.