John Calvin Commentary John 20:11

"But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;" — John 20:11 (ASV)

But Mary stood at the sepulcher without. The Evangelist now begins to describe the manner in which Christ appeared both to the women and to the disciples, to testify his resurrection. Though he mentions only one woman, Mary, yet I think it is probable that the other women were also with her; for it is not reasonable to suppose, as some have done, that the women fainted from fear. Those writers wish to avoid a contradiction, but I have already shown that no such contradiction exists.

As to the women remaining at the sepulchre, while the disciples return to the city, they are not entitled to great praise on this account; for the disciples carry with them consolation and joy, but the women torment themselves by idle and useless weeping. In short, it is superstition alone, accompanied by carnal feelings, that keeps them near the sepulchre.