but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
“But” stands Mary in contrast to the two disciples who went home. Either she arrived after Peter and John left or before their departure.
“wept” = klaio = the noisy wailing common to Easterners (John 11:31). This is not a soft, restrained shedding of tears, but a loud lamentation.
John 11:31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
She stooped and looked into the tomb, much as John did upon his arrival there (John 20:5). Though she had previously been at the tomb (John 20:1) this is the first mention of her looking inside. At her previous visit, she had apparently assumed that the tomb was empty when she saw that the stone was rolled away, but now it seems to occur to her that she has still not looked into the tomb at all so she stoops down and peers inside.
John 20:5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.