Day 1218: He believed! - John 20 vs 1 - 10

1-2 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

3-7 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8-9 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. John 20:1-10 English Standard Version

We come today to John's account of the Sunday that immediately followed the crucifixion. He tells us that it was Mary Magdalene who was the first to visit the tomb where the Lord had been laid. Luke's gospel says that, during Jesus' ministry, “some women who'd been healed of evil spirits and infirmities - Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others - provided for them out of their means.” (Luke 8:2-3) And Mark's gospel says that “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.” (Mark 15:47) Many women who'd followed Jesus saw Him being crucified, and saw where Joseph and Nicodemus had entombed Him.

Mark also tells us that it wasn't only Mary Magdalene who made that trip 'just after sunrise', but that two other women had also bought spices to anoint Jesus’ body. As they went they asked each other “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:1-3) This doesn't contradict John's account, it adds more detail. John's focus, however, is on Mary Magdalene. Her initial report was that the body of Jesus had been taken away. Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb, with John being the first to get there.

Then comes the account of Peter going into the tomb, and observing that the linen cloths which Jesus had been wrapped in were lying there, and the face cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. The grave had obviously not been robbed! And then John also went into the tomb. What was his reaction? (vs 9-10)

The implication is that John believed that what Jesus had been saying would happen, had come to pass! The mention of the linen cloth that had been on His face shows detail, but perhaps something more. It was John who told us, in John 11:44, that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he had come forth with his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. And Jesus had said: “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The expositor Arno Gaebelein wrote that: “The linen clothes were lying in the proper place. The napkin was folded inwards (which is what “entetuligmenon” means) in a place by itself. Jesus had detached Himself in a miraculous way without disturbing them at all. It is an evidence of His resurrection in His own power as the Son of God.” The body was not secretly stolen by the authorities, or by the disciples.

Initially the disciples went to their homes. But soon they would see Jesus for themselves. The apostle Peter would later testify that, although the Jews had killed Jesus by hanging Him on a cross - “God had raised Him on the third day, and caused Him to appear, not to all the people, but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.” Peter then goes on to explain the implication of what God had done, and says: “He commanded us to preach to the people and testify that He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” The question is, have we, like John, believed?