Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 20:13

"And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." — John 20:13 (ASV)

The question the angels asked Mary brought from her only an expression of grief and frustration. The death of Jesus, which she had witnessed, was in itself distressing and unnerving; the disappearance of the body from the place of burial added apprehension and mystery to her grief. She had hoped for the sad consolation of completing the burial, and even that had now been taken from her.