Opening illustration: I think of Eric Liddell. The movie Chariots of Fire depicts how his sister Jenny tried to persuade Eric to give up his running, and go to China with her to be a missionary. He said, "No, God has made me fast and called me to run." It would have been wrong at that point to be a missionary. Of course, Liddell had other opportunities to take up the cross. At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, he would choose to forfeit his chance to win a medal in the 200 meter dash, something he very much wanted to do, because he believed the Lord did not want him to race on Sunday.
Then a number of years later, he would take up the cross quite literally and go to China as a missionary where he would later be killed by the Japanese.
Eric was one who ran for Christ, let us catch with the race to the tomb story and see what these people had in common and what were they really pursuing by running frantically on Easter morning. Let us turn to John 20 in our Bibles.
Introduction: A lot of running took place early on that first Easter morning. We know that Mary Magdalene ran from the tomb to the Upper Room when she saw that the stone that had sealed Jesus’ tomb had been rolled back and his body was not inside. In response, Peter and another disciple raced from there to the tomb. If today’s sites are accurate (and that is close to certain), you could walk the distance comfortably in about 15 minutes and run it fast in five. Why did the apostles want to save 10 minutes? They must have been excited by Mary’s news. They must have believed time was of the essence.
Perhaps they wanted to check out the area before anybody else arrived. It was still very early in the morning. Maybe they thought they could tell from the ground whether there were footprints or hoof prints or other clues about what had happened to Jesus’ body and in what direction it had gone.
When they arrived at the site, they felt as though they were on sacred ground. The “other†disciple, who got there first, did not dare go into the tomb. When he followed Peter in, he “saw and believed.†Peter, for his part, witnessed to the burial cloths and the rolled-up head covering. This was not the scene burglars or government or religious workers would leave after removing a body.
In fact, they now realized, Jesus’ body had not been removed but had departed on its own power. Christ was alive! That news was worth running about. It still is.
Why was there a lot of running on Easter morning?
1. Mary ran for help out of ‘Love’ (v. 2) ~
No one had loved Jesus as much as Mary Magdalene. Luke tells us that out of her there had gone seven demons. Jesus had done something for Mary that no one else could ever do, and Mary could never forget. Amongst the people it was known that Mary was a scarlet sinner, who Jesus reclaimed, forgave and purified. Mary had sinned much and Mary loved much, and love was all she had to bring.
It was always the custom in Palestine to visit the tomb of a loved one for three days after the body had been laid in the tomb. They believed that for three days the spirit … Jesus’ friends could not come to the tomb on the Sabbath, because to make the journey on that day would have been to break the law. Therefore Mary came very early in the morning. It was dawn and according to the Jewish timetable it was between 3 AM – 6 AM. It was still gray dark when Mary came, because she could no longer stay away.
After arriving at the tomb she was shocked to see the stone that was sealed moved away and did not really care to see what was inside. She would have probably thought three possibilities ~
• The Jews took the body: that not satisfied with killing Him on a cross, they were inflicting further indignities on His dead body.
• The tomb robbers must have taken His clothes and other belongings after breaking in and desecrated His body.
• The Romans relocated His body without letting anyone know so that there would be no more problems which had occurred in their kingdom because of Jesus.
This was a situation that Mary felt that she could not handle herself; so she ran to the city to seek Peter and John. She needed help desperately! There were some formalities to procure the body and only men could do that ~ knowing this, she wanted the help from Jesus’ inner circle. Mary is a great example of bewildered love; Mary is the supreme instance of one who went on loving and believing even when she could not understand; and indeed is the love and belief which in the end finds its glory.
Result (vs. 2, 11 - 18): Told Peter (considered the leader after Jesus’ death) and John but because of her passionate love for Christ, she continued to hang around the tomb (even though Peter and John left) till she was satisfied and knew about the whereabouts of Jesus. She wanted to reach to the root of the issue of ‘Christ’s disappearance.’ Her patient love for Christ paid off ~ she was the first to meet Christ and spread the news to all disciples and the ministry circle.
2. Peter ran to ‘check out the truth’ (vs. 3 – 7) ~
Even though Peter and John began together, he lost the race to the Tomb. He came in last but went in first - imagery of the first being last and the last being first. Peter with typical impulsiveness not only looked in, but went in. For a moment Peter was amazed at the empty tomb, but things were happening in John’s mind. Peter’s impulsiveness to venture out of the boat and walk on water in order to imitate Jesus, made him to stick out again as John feared to walk into the empty tomb. His bold move to chop of the ear of a Roman soldier during their apprehending spree to capture Jesus made him to walk into the empty tomb, fearless. He wasn’t thinking with his head nor being contemplative about entering the tomb. He just stepped into the tomb with faith like he got out of the boat. He knew Jesus had lain there; obviously the power of God had prevailed so why should he have any fear. Moreover he carried that guilt of denying Christ thrice so he wanted to reconcile for his betrayal by being overly bold and brave. He was the only one who had testified Jesus to be the Christ when Jesus inquired. He had run to check out whether Mary was speaking the truth. In those times and in that society, a woman’s word was not taken seriously and neither could a woman’s testimony turn the verdict in a court hearing.
Result (vs. 6 – 10): Peter came, saw the testimonies, was unsure of his belief and went home. Peter was not yet free as he knew the truth of Mary’s story but had not yet believed in the TRUTH. It would take some time for him to reconcile with that. For him it was seeing is believing. Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’ He had seen but had not perceived that Christ was resurrected.
3. The Other Disciple (John) ran to ‘Check out the TRUTH’ (vs. 3 - 8) ~
We see John outstripping Peter in this race to the tomb. The passion Jesus had for him and vice-versa, drove him to surpass all obstacles, boundaries and he went full throttle turbo (all out / full pelt) to reach the destination (i.e. the place where Jesus was buried). He was reluctant to go in, fearing accusation for the disappearance of the body or anticipating some untoward event. He was thinking with his head and being overly cautious. He only took the step after Peter had come and was brave enough to venture into the tomb. He was not as bold or brave as Peter but had immense Passion for Christ His Lord. He was a follower not a leader in true sense. John had raced to the tomb to see for himself whether Jesus was alive, gone or done with. He possibly wanted to witness Christ first hand and check out the testimony which He bore and articulated during His ministry.
Result (v. 8): John came, saw and believed in Christ as Savior, Lord and King and finally went home. Even though the TRUTH had set him free, he did not do anything with the TRUTH that he believed in.
Role of Love: The part that love plays in this story is extraordinary. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb. It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and who loved Jesus, who was first to believe in the ‘Resurrection.’ That must be John’s great glory. He was the first man to understand and believe. Love gave him eyes to read the signs, and a mind to understand. His spiritual eyes and ears were open and rewarded. What does our love for Christ impact?
Application: We should join that race to the tomb. Peter’s speech, quoted in the first reading from Acts, provides one reason: “Everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.†Receiving a clean slate in our relationship to God is an outstanding reason to hurry to the tomb. Paul offers an even greater incentive: “When Christ your life appears, you too will appear with him in glory.â€
All of us are running in this world. Some are running for this and some for that … Some are running to God, some trying their level best to run away from Him. How far will they go? The psalmist says, ‘Where will I go from Your presence …’ No one can run far enough to be distant from God though their lifestyle may be far away … Apparently the best place to run to is our Father’s bosom, where all the love and security abides. For in it is everlasting joy and …
Just think of how high the stakes have grown. The prize is everlasting life.
So we should be running in a spiritual way. All our focus needs to be on the tomb where Jesus rose to new life and will take us with him to glory. Will we direct our run to Christ and Him alone?
