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.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? - questions which, redoubled, so tenderly reveal the yearning desire to disclose Himself to that dear desciple.
She, supposing him to be the gardener. Clad, therefore, in some such style He must have been. But if any ask, as too curious interpreters do, whence He got those habiliments, we answer, with Olshausen and Luthardt, where the two angels got theirs. The voice of His first words did not, it seems, reveal Him; for He would try her before He would tell her. Accordingly, answering not the stranger's question, but coming straight to her point with him, she
Saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence - borne whom? She says not. She can think only of One, and thinks others must understand her. It reminds one of the question of the spouse, "Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?" (Song of Solomon 3:3.)
Tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Wilt thou, dear fragile woman? But it is the language of sublime affection, that thinks itself fit for anything if once in possession of its Object. It is enough. Like Joseph, He can no longer restrain Himself (Genesis 45:1).