One of the principles that I love talking about is that of going the extra mile. Simply put, this principle implies doing more than the minimum required and going beyond where others stopped. When applied, this principle will give you an advantage over others. We can say that Mary applied this principle. Both Peter and John came to the tomb as Mary did. When they could not find the Lord’s body, the men returned home. However, Mary stayed put to see the end of the matter. Her tenacity paid off. When she took a second look into the tomb, she saw two angels sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where Jesus had been laid. The men who had retired home could not interface with these heavenly beings.
Another thing is instructive in the text. What were the angels doing in the tomb? The initial argument could be that they were stationed there to guard the Lord’s body. That would sound plausible. However, if that was the only reason for being there, they should have left the moment the Lord rose from the dead. I believe they did not leave immediately after the resurrection so they could be a guiding light to Mary and the other disciples. John did not say this much in his own account, but it was these angels who submitted to the inquirers that the living is not found among the dead. “Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,” Luke 24:5-6 NKJV. Take this lesson to heart: in all our godly adventures, God has both angels and people planted in strategic places to serve as guiding light.