The Meaning of John 20:15 Explained

John 20:15

KJV: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

YLT: Jesus saith to her, 'Woman, why dost thou weep? whom dost thou seek;' she, supposing that he is the gardener, saith to him, 'Sir, if thou didst carry him away, tell me where thou didst lay him, and I will take him away;'

Darby: Jesus says to her, Woman, why dost thou weep? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing that it was the gardener, says to him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

ASV: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Jesus  saith  unto her,  Woman,  why  weepest thou?  whom  seekest thou?  She,  supposing  him to be  the gardener,  saith  unto him,  Sir,  if  thou  have borne  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou hast laid  him,  and I  will take  him  away. 

What does John 20:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jesus addressed this heartbroken disciple by respectfully calling her "woman" (Gr. gynai), as had the angels ( John 20:13; cf. John 2:4; 1 Corinthians 15:35-49). He also asked the same question they had asked ( John 20:13). Jesus" first recorded post-resurrection words were these in which He combined compassion and mild rebuke. He also asked whom she was seeking as preparation for His self-revelation to her. He meant, what type of Messiah did she think Jesus was?
Mary did not answer either of Jesus" questions. Her grief had made her somewhat irrational (cf. John 11:21; John 11:32). However there seems to have been something about Jesus" resurrection body that made immediate recognition of Him difficult for many people ( Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16; John 21:4; cf. John 19:26). Perhaps this was due partially to the terrible beatings that He had received. Instead she asked this apparent gardener for Jesus" body and promised to assume care of it. Her request revealed her devotion to Jesus. She thought that the gardener had removed it for some reason. Her "sir" (Gr. kyrie) here obviously was a courteous address, not a confession of faith.

Context Summary

John 20:11-18 - The Joy Of The Resurrection
Mary wept with hopeless sorrow, with no thought that Jesus was risen, and anxious only to secure the body of her dear Master and Friend. It is because we know so little of the inner meaning of events which are happening around us, under the hand of God, that we weep so bitterly. What we suppose we have lost is really close at hand, and what we count disastrous is part of the process designed to irradiate our lives for evermore.
In her grief Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener, but who shall say that she was greatly mistaken? for surely Jesus is the Keeper of the Church, which may fitly be compared to a garden. At that moment He had come into it to lift up one drooping flower. She recognized the intonation of His voice, for speech is ever a telltale. In the resurrection we shall hear again tones that we have not heard since childhood. In John 20:17 women receive the highest authority for acting as evangelists. Let them tell out the glad news of a love that is stronger than death, and which passes through death undiminished and unchanged. Our beloved are waiting for us in the garden of Paradise. We shall hear and see them and be with them forever. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 20

1  Mary comes to the tomb;
3  so do Peter and John, ignorant of the resurrection
11  Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene,
19  and to his disciples
24  The incredulity and confession of Thomas
30  The Scripture is sufficient to salvation

Greek Commentary for John 20:15

Sir [Κυριε]
Clearly not “Lord” here, for she thought him to be “the gardener” Condition of the first class. Note emphasis on καγω — su (thou). A new idea struck Mary as mistaken as the other one. Jesus had repeated the question of the angels, but she did not recognize him. And I (kagō). Emphasis and crasis. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 20:15

John 2:4 Woman []
Implying no severity nor disrespect. Compare John 20:13, John 20:15. It was a highly respectful and affectionate mode of address. [source]
John 12:6 Not because he cared for the poor [ουχ οτι περι των πτωχων εμελεν αυτωι]
Literally, “not because it was a care to him concerning the poor” (impersonal imperfect of μελει — melei it was a care). John often makes explanatory comments of this kind as in John 2:21.; John 7:22, John 7:39. But because he was a thief Clearly the disciples did not know then that Judas was a petty thief. That knowledge came later after he took the bribe of thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus (Matthew 26:15), for the disciples did not suspect Judas of treachery (John 13:28.), let alone small speculations. There is no reason for thinking that John is unfair to Judas. “Temptation commonly comes through that for which we are naturally fitted” (Westcott). In this case Judas himself was “the poor beggar” who wanted this money. And having the bag took away what was put therein This is the correct text. This compound for the earlier γλωσσοκομειον — glōssokomeion (from γλωσσα — glōssa tongue, and κομεω — komeō to tend) was originally a receptacle for the tongues or mouth-pieces of wind instruments. The shorter form is already in the Doric inscriptions and is common in the papyri for “money-box” as here. It occurs also in Josephus, Plutarch, etc. In N.T. only here and John 13:29 in same sense about Judas. αλλομενα — Ballomena is present passive participle (repeatedly put in) of βαλλω — ballō to cast or fling. The imperfect active (custom) of βασταζω — bastazō old verb to pick up (John 10:31), to carry (John 19:17), but here and John 20:15 with the sense to bear away as in Polybius, Josephus, Diogenes Laertes, and often so in the papyri. [source]
John 5:39 Ye search [εραυνατε]
Proper spelling as the papyri show rather than ερευνατε — ereunāte the old form (from ερευνα — ereuna search) as in John 7:52. The form here can be either present active indicative second person plural or the present active imperative second person plural. Only the context can decide. Either makes sense here, but the reason given “because ye think” The plural with the article refers to the well-known collection in the Old Testament (Matthew 21:42; Luke 24:27). Elsewhere in John the singular refers to a particular passage (John 2:22; John 7:38; John 10:35). In them ye have eternal life Indirect assertion after δοκειτε — dokeite without “ye” expressed either as nominative Bernard holds that in John δοκεω — dokeō always indicates a mistaken opinion (John 5:45; John 11:13, John 11:31; John 13:29; John 16:20; John 20:15). Certainly the rabbis did make a mechanical use of the letter of Scripture as a means of salvation. These are they The true value of the Scriptures is in their witness to Christ (of me, περι εμου — peri emou). Luke (Luke 24:27, Luke 24:45) gives this same claim of Jesus, and yet some critics fail to find the Messiah in the Old Testament. But Jesus did. [source]
Acts 9:5 Lord [κυριε]
It is open to question if κυριε — kurie should not here be translated “Sir” as in Acts 16:30 and in Matthew 21:29, Matthew 21:30; John 5:7; John 12:21; John 20:15; and should be so in John 9:36. It is hardly likely that at this stage Saul recognized Jesus as Lord, though he does so greet him in Acts 22:10 “What shall I do, Lord?” Saul may have recognized the vision as from God as Cornelius says “Lord” in Acts 10:4. Saul surrendered instantly as Thomas did (John 20:28) and as little Samuel (1 Samuel 3:9). This surrender of the will to Christ was the conversion of Saul. He saw a real Person, the Risen Christ, to whom he surrendered his life. On this point he never wavered for a moment to the end. [source]

What do the individual words in John 20:15 mean?

Says to her Jesus Woman why do you weep Whom do you seek She thinking that the gardener He is to Him Sir if you have carried off him tell me where you have laid and I him will take away
λέγει αὐτῇ Ἰησοῦς Γύναι τί κλαίεις τίνα ζητεῖς Ἐκείνη δοκοῦσα ὅτι κηπουρός ἐστιν αὐτῷ Κύριε εἰ σὺ ἐβάστασας αὐτόν εἰπέ μοι ποῦ ἔθηκας κἀγὼ αὐτὸν ἀρῶ

λέγει  Says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
αὐτῇ  to  her 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
Γύναι  Woman 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Feminine Singular
Root: γυνή  
Sense: a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow.
τί  why 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: τίς  
Sense: who, which, what.
κλαίεις  do  you  weep 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: κλαίω  
Sense: to mourn, weep, lament.
τίνα  Whom 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: τίς  
Sense: who, which, what.
ζητεῖς  do  you  seek 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ζητέω  
Sense: to seek in order to find.
Ἐκείνη  She 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
δοκοῦσα  thinking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: δοκέω  
Sense: to be of opinion, think, suppose.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
κηπουρός  gardener 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κηπουρός  
Sense: a keeper of a garden, a gardener.
ἐστιν  He  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
αὐτῷ  to  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Κύριε  Sir 
Parse: Noun, Vocative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
ἐβάστασας  have  carried  off 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: βαστάζω  
Sense: to take up with the hands.
εἰπέ  tell 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
μοι  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ποῦ  where 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ποῦ  
Sense: somewhere.
ἔθηκας  you  have  laid 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: τίθημι  
Sense: to set, put, place.
κἀγὼ  and  I 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Nominative 1st Person Singular
Root: κἀγώ  
Sense: and I.
ἀρῶ  will  take  away 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: αἴρω  
Sense: to raise up, elevate, lift up.