This Easter season, I wanted to spend a little time talking about the best part of the story. This is a season of rejoicing for us as Christians, because what we celebrate at this time is the most important event in history. Our focus during this season is on the resurrection of the Messiah. A friend of mine told me that he and some members of his church were going to participate in a Passover Seder. As I began thinking about that, I began to wonder about the reactions of certain people in the biblical account of the Easter Story. In this article, I will focus on the 3 people mentioned in John 20. Specifically, Mary Magdalene, John and Peter.
Here is the text of John 20:1-10 (NASB)
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
John doesn’t provide as many details as the other Gospel writers in this area. But what he does provide is the bare details that allow us to peek into the thoughts of those involved.
Mary Magdalene was the first person to come to the tomb where they had laid Jesus. She couldn’t wait to get there, as it was still dark on the first day of the week. Had it not been for the Sabbath, she would have been likely to have come on the day before. John does not mention anyone besides Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb that morning, though there were other women there. As Mary approached the tomb, she noticed that the stone which had been placed to seal the tomb had been moved. Her purpose in going in the first place was to annoint him with oils, but how was she to move the large stone that she knew had been placed in front of the tomb? I find it very interesting that her love for Christ, born with his forgiveness earlier in his ministry, compelled her to go in spite of the certain knowledge that she could not do for him what she wanted. At least not in her own strength. Jesus still calls his people to do the same thing. It is often true that he calls us to do great things for which we feel completely unequipped. This happens on a personal level, at the church and organizaional level and all the way up to the entire body of Christ on this earth. We are called to share the gospel message with all the world and outside of the strength that Christ himself provides, we would be completely unable to do as he commands us. Like Mary Magdalene, our love for Christ should be so strong that it drives us to fulfill our calling, in spite of the circumstances that we see that would make doing so an impossible. For, as Paul said, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13, NIV).
She was so surprised to see the stone rolled away that she ran to get the help of Simon Peter and John, who often refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. She feared that Jesus body had been stolen from the tomb and she didn’t know what else to do. Now I find it interesting that this woman, who was familiar with Jesus’ teachings, would have no inkling of the resurrection. She was not the “insider” that Peter and John were, but it seem likely that she would have at least heard of Jesus predictions of his resurrection. Let’s not be too hard on her, though. After all, when we are in our own darkest moments, doesn’t it often take hindsight for us to see the glorious answers that God provides, right before our eyes, for what they really are? Surely, once she had the conversation with Christ (shortly after this event), she realized the full extent of the meaning of the stone being rolled away, but it wasn’t her first thought. It seems that Mary and many of us have the same problem with recognizing God’s work in our lives.
Peter and John run toward the tomb to see the truth of what Mary had told them. The other gospels tell us that all eleven of the disciples were told the news, but only Peter and John went to investigate. These were two of the three men who were part of the inner circle of Jesus and as such, they had a responsibility to the others, and Mary, to take the risk of service to investigate. Don’t forget the reality of what these risks were. The political heat was not over, yet, and they ran the risk of seeing the same fate that Jesus did just 3 days earlier. They were well aware of that risk, as were the other nine. But they did it anyway. Serving Christ is not without risk, even today. These risks may not include death, at least not in the U.S. (for now anyway), but we may risk losing our businesses or jobs for standing up for our beliefs. We risk ridicule and name calling from others. We risk being seen as judgemental by others and more. The lesson to take from John and Peter is that we should be willing to follow through with our service to Christ anyway.
Note that, though John reached the tomb first, it was Peter who first entered the tomb. John approached the tomb and stooped down to look inside, but did not immediately proceed any further than Mary did. Peter, however, boldly stepped inside to get a better view. By his willingness to lead the way, there were a couple of immediate blessings. First, he noticed something very special that I don’t want you to miss. John describes the scene this way, “he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.” Let me interject something here. There is a story going around Facebook regarding the napkin (face-cloth) and the special meaning of that. Do not be mislead. This story, while it sounds good, is not true. What Peter saw was the body linens in disarray and the face-cloth in a separate location. It is likely that this happened as Jesus was resurrected and sat up, freed from the bonds of death AND freed from the burial clothes. As he sat up, the face-cloth would not have fallen in the same spot, but would be separated from the other. It is possible, as well, that the face-cloth was separated only slightly from the body linens, and that when he was resurrected, he physically passed through the cloth wrappings and they fell separately and that the face-cloth, which would have been wrapped around and over his head, was still wrapped together – “folded” – as it fell from his body. In any event, the TRUE story is magnificent enough without the need to enhance it. Back to Peter and John now. What Peter saw must have confused him a little bit. His understanding of what the Messiah was to do PRIOR to Jesus death had been stretched greatly at the crucifixion. Even Jesus words at the Passover meal, apparently did not give him the full understanding of the truth. That being said, I believe that Peter MUST have begun to realize, at least to some extent, the truth of the resurrection when he stepped into the tomb. This is a tremendous blessing for him, who had just recently been too weak in his faith to even acknowledge knowing Christ. His willingness to push forward in seeking Christ, even when those around him (John) had paused, is an important step for him. The same is true for us today. When we are called to complete something for Jesus, we need to be willing, like Peter, to follow through and complete it, even if others are not willing to go with us. The end result of our willingness to do this, is the same kind of blessing that Peter received.
But something else happened when Peter stepped inside. Seeing Peter’s courage, encouraged John to step inside, too. When we are willing to lead, Christ will supply the needed helpers. John was not willing to do this on his own, but Peter’s faith increased John’s. Friends, don’t miss the importance of remaining faithful can have on others. This is what our church family is supposed to do and be for each other. Ephesians 4:12 says, “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”. Our purpose IN the church is to build up the church, for the express purpose of building up the body of Christ. That is, we build each other up so that we can reach others. Ephesians 4 is a WONDERFUL chapter that is worth studying in detail. It talks about how we should treat each other as well as how we, as Christians, should be behaving.
I believe that these two men must have begun to realize the truth, although they still did not have a complete understanding of the truth. John says they “believed”, but it is not clear exactly what they understood about what they had seen. As I read this, I think they understood that a miracle had occurred, but were not certain of exactly what it all meant. In retrospect, you and I know what this event means, however. The PHYSICAL resurreciton of Christ is the most important event in history. Jesus had to die, but he also had to be raised again. Romans 5:10 reads, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Both are important, but one without the other is worthless. But the completion of this work of Christ will not end until he returns again. He IS coming back! And when that day happens, it will eclipse, by a LONG SHOT, the amazing story of the resurrection. The return of Christ is our great hope. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Rejoice, friends, Jesus IS RISEN! He is alive and he is coming back! He is our mediator and he is our salvation!