The Empty Tomb

The Empty Tomb  John 20

When I read this chapter on Easter Sunday, I saw some things that I had not taken notice of in the past.  For instance, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb not once but twice.  The first time was in the darkness, before the first light.  Perhaps she carried an oil lamp but even so, it would be difficult to see anything beyond that circle of dim light.  Even in that light, she saw something that at first startled her and then frightened her! The stone that had sealed the tomb had been rolled to the side.  The tomb was open!  Her first reaction was panic!  Had someone come during the night, opened the tomb and stolen Jesus body?  In her fear and panic, she turned to run for help, to the home where Peter was staying.  She had to tell him!  Maybe he could do something about it. 

Apparently, John was also staying in the same place as Peter because, upon hearing Mary’s distraught message, both set off at a run towards the tomb.  (Where were the other disciples?  Most likely somewhere behind locked doors because of their fear that what had happened to their Teacher would soon happen to them!)

But Peter and John had to check this out for themselves.  Apparently, Mary ran along behind, returning to the tomb for the second time.

John outran Peter and arrived first, but did not dare to enter.  It was probably daylight by now and the scene would have been much more evident.  John looked into the tomb but did not enter. He saw the linen burial wrappings lying there.  Peter ran up and, without hesitation, entered the tomb!  Now John entered behind him and they first noticed the burial wrappings lying in a heap.  And then they noticed something else.  A separate linen cloth that had wrapped Jesus’ head was neatly folded and lying separately from the body wrappings.  How strange!  Why would grave robbers unwrap the body before stealing it away?  And why then would they neatly fold and place this wrapping in a separate place?  Surely, this was not the work of grave robbers!  The bible says that “he (referring to John) saw and believed”!

Peter and John, apparently ignoring the presence of Mary, left to return to wherever they were staying.

Mary, left alone, stood outside the tomb weeping.  As she wept, she looked into the tomb.  And what she saw was even more alarming than the fact that the grave had been standing open! She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

“Why are you weeping?”, one of the angels asked. 

“Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid Him”, she responded. 

Just after she answered the angel’s question, she turned around and saw another person, a person she thought to be the gardener.  And when this “gardener” asked her the same question, “Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” her response was “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

At this point, Jesus, seeing into her heart and the depth of her grief, simply said “Mary!”  And it was in this instant that Mary recognized her risen Lord!

An unanswered question:  Why hadn’t the angels appeared to Peter and James?    

Leaving this question, and the Gospel of John, for a moment, I remember the story in Luke 24 where we find the two disciples walking on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  This was the afternoon of the same day that Jesus had revealed Himself to Mary, just outside the garden tomb.

These two disciples were walking on the road, most likely returning home following all that had happened over the past two or three days. The very public and notorious crucifixion was followed by Shabat and the Passover.  Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims and worshippers who came to observe this very sacred feast.  As they walked, they talked about all that had happened these past several days.  Their dream of the coming Messiah, the one who would liberate Jerusalem and Judea from the tyranny of Rome, the One who would reestablish the throne of King David, had been crushed!  Jesus had been crucified! 

As they walked, deep in conversation, they are joined by a fellow traveler, a stranger.    The stranger, upon joining them, asked the obvious question:  “What kind of conversation is this that you are having?  Why are you so sad?” 

Their answer:  “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things that have happened there in these days?”  And with this question, the door opened, providing Jesus the opportunity to share with them a thorough review of the scriptures, “…beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus expounded to them the things concerning Himself.”

When they reached their destination, they invited Him to stay so that they could continue their conversation and share a meal.  Luke states that when Jesus “broke the bread, suddenly, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him”.  And then, just as suddenly, He disappeared!

But that wasn’t the end of the story!  Upon recognizing Jesus, and after recovering from their shock, the two disciples rushed back to Jerusalem.  And I’m sure that now they were anxiously excited, rejoicing as they hurried back along road just traveled, bursting to share this great news with the other disciples who were still in hiding in a locked in the room “for fear of the Jews”. 

And in the very midst of this grieving and frightened bunch of disciples, and even while these two were trying to share their exciting news, Jesus appears in their midst! He spoke to them, “Peace to you.”

To relieve their terror, believing that they had seen a ghost, Jesus showed them His flesh-blood-and bone resurrected body, invited them to “handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  And as an encore, He asked them if they might have something to eat!

With love, He chastised them for their unbelief.  In verse 45, Luke records – “Then He opened their understanding so that they might comprehend the Scriptures”.

But getting back to the Gospel in John, something else came into focus. It was about Jesus’ resurrected body, His glorified body, His flesh and blood and bone body.  His body was the same body that had been nailed to the cross.  He proved this by inviting them to touch the nail prints in His hands, to see the wound that the spear had made in His side, wounds that had been inflicted by His crucifixion.

But what about the other wounds on His body, wounds that were so starkly evident as He hung on the cross? The Bible tells us, in the Gospel accounts and in the prophecies of the Old Testament, that Jesus’ suffered horrendous wounds before He was nailed to the cross.  His body was so marred by the scourging that He would be barely recognizable.  The scourging left hideous wounds all over His body.  Psalms 129:3 describes it as “The plowers plowed upon My back; they made long the furrows.”  And the crown of thorns, jammed down on His head, surely would have torn His scalp and perhaps His face.

But the only wounds still evidenced in His resurrected body were the wounds inflicted by the crucifixion, inflicted prior to the cross.  These wounds, evidence that “the sins of the world were laid upon Him”, were no longer evident, completely healed and gone!

The crux of the matter (and did you know that one of the meanings for “crux” is cross?):  The day is coming when we, too, will “be risen”. We, too, will have a resurrected body, just like Jesus!  The apostle John, in his first letter, assures us that “As He is, so are we in this world!”  On the cross, our Lord Jesus bore all our sins, all of our diseases and infirmities, all our guilt and shame.  When Jesus stepped out of that tomb, He stepped out without them!  When we are baptized, we are buried with Him.  When we came up out of the water, we came up without sin, sickness or shame.  And the day will come when we will be resurrected, given new bodies, ever living bodies, bodies that will walk and talk and eat and rejoice evermore in the Presence of our LORD on a new earth! 

A joyous celebration of Easter to all and on every day!.