Easter According to St. John
John 20:1-18
Today we remember the most important day in human history, the day Jesus rose from the dead. This is a day of great joy to us. We put the sorrows of Jesus death behind us and celebrate that Jesus lives.
There are basically five accounts that talk about the day Jesus rose from the dead. These are the four gospels plus 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. There are some differences in the details recorded, which one would expect on such a tumultuous occasion. Today we will look primarily at the account in John’s gospel.
Like the other gospels, Mary Magdalene is mentioned coming to the tomb in the pre-dawn gloom. John does not mention the other women, but other women came with her. John also does not mention the reason they came to the tomb, to anoint the body of Jesus with spices they had purchased. Nor does he mention the discussion they had about who would help them roll away the stone. Mary Magdalene apparently saw that Jesus’ body had been removed from the tomb, and bolted from the scene to tell the men that the stone had been rolled away and the body removed, before the other women who remained behind saw the youth in bright clothing and heard his message that Jesus had risen from the dead and to tell Peter He would go before Him in Galilee. These women did not go immediately back to the men with the report, as they were completely overwhelmed. But these women left the scene before Peter and John came at the summoning of Mary. Mary reported to the men that the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus removed, and Peter and John ran to investigate. Mary Magdalene ran out after them back to the tomb. The other returning women apparently took a different route back and did not pass them. They returned with the report of what they saw, which was not at all believed by the men who were there. This is my guess at the sequence of events.
John goes on to say that he and Peter ran to the tomb. John was a faster runner than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. John who was the disciple whom Jesus loved looked down into the tomb and saw the linen cloth they had buried Jesus in, but not the body of Jesus. He did not at this point enter the tomb. Peter, who finally caught up with John did enter the tomb and saw the linen cloth as well as one more detail, he saw the cloth which had covered the face of Jesus neatly folded in another place in the tomb. It is interesting that great emphasis is placed upon the fact that this facecloth was in a different place than the cloth. There was something special about this facecloth which we shall see shortly.
John, who had come first but then did not enter, entered after Peter and saw something Peter had not. Both had seen the same evidence. They saw the linen cloth and the facecloth, but it says that John also believed. To Peter, the empty tomb was a mystery to him as it was to Mary. What did John see that made Him believe? It seems that it had to do with the facecloth and the fact that it was placed in a different location. Some commentators note that the word for facecloth is the same as that for a dinner napkin. When the master of the feast was done eating, he would neatly fold up the dinner napkin and place it apart from the meal as an indicate that he was finished. One thinks of one of Jesus’ last words from the cross, “It is finished.” John was reminded of what Jesus had said concerning His resurrection. He knew what the folded napkin symbolized.
We today have a mystery of the shroud of Turin, whether this was the shroud which Jesus’ body had been placed in, saying that this is the linen cloth mentioned here. It probably is an elaborate forgery as the gospels seem to indicate than the linen cloth was strips of cloth used to wrap the body and not a shroud. At any rate, the greater emphasis is placed on the symbolism of the facecloth and not the linen cloth, be it a shroud or strips of cloth. John was the first believer that Jesus had risen. He was the first to understand the Scripture, that it prophesied that Jesus would be raised from the dead. It would take additional proof and a special appearance to Peter by Jesus at some point that day to convince Peter of the fact. It would be the testimony of Peter and not the women that would start the other disciples who did not come to the tomb to believe. They did not believe the testimony of the women. So much did they unbelieve that Cleopas and another disciple left to return home to Emmaus
John goes on now to record Jesus’ first resurrection appearance. Mary Magdalene remained behind, wailing and bewildered. She was still convinced that grave robbers had stolen the body of Jesus. John adds another interesting detail that there was a garden outside the tomb. At some point she looked down and saw two angels dressed in white in the tomb, one at the head and another at the foot of where the body of Jesus lay. This could only add to her terror and bewilderment. They asked her: “why are you crying?” This seems to be quite ironic. Not only would I be crying, but now I would be shaking in fear. I cannot imagine what terror was in Mary’s mind. Maybe she thought she was hallucinating. But she had the composure to answer them that she was weeping because someone had taken away the body of her Rabbi and she did not know where it was. Did she think these angels had? It is indeed strange, but this was a surreal day.
Some have compared what Mary had seen as symbolic of the Ark of the Covenant. In the Old Testament, Moses had been commanded to construct an ark and cover it in gold. On top of this ark was something called the “mercy seat.” Over the mercy seat on each end was a golden angel. There outstretched wings touched over the center of the mercy seat. Once a year, the High Priest came into the most holy place to sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal upon this mercy seat as an atonement for the sins of Israel. These commentator see a similarity here as one angel was at the head and another at the foot of where the bloody body of Jesus had been laid. Perhaps there was still bloodstains where the blood had oozed out from the body after death. This is an interesting idea, but we can’t be sure of this. But it is indeed the blood of Jesus and not that of an animal that brings atonement for our sins.
The text continues to say that Mary turned around after seeing the two angels and saw a man standing there. She was not aware at this point that it was Jesus. But she was still distraught and weeping. This man, whom she believed to be the one who tended the garden, asked her why she was weeping. She must have thought he had something to do with the removal of Jesus’ body. Ironically enough, she was right. He had removed Himself from the tomb. So she requests that if He was the one responsible for removing the body. Just tell me where you put it and I will go get it. She was totally unprepared for what was about to happen.
Jesus then simply says “Mary.” Immediately she recognized Jesus. The tears were instantly changed to tears of joy. She excitedly said “My Rabbi” and fell before Him and was clasping His feet. What happens next is hard to understand in the King James Version where Jesus says: “Touch me not.” Actually, the Greek says: “Please don’t cling to me as I have to ascend to my Father and your Father, your God and my God.” Jesus was not back to stay, but needed to return to Heaven. It was not going to be as before when Jesus walked and talked with her and the disciples. He would only be here long enough to prove that He had risen from the dead and to give final instructions to them.
Mary now returns back to the disciples and those gathered with them and announces that she had seen the Lord. He was alive. She had clasped His feet. He was for real and not a spirit. She could see the nail prints in His feet. She heard and recognized His voice. We know the other women had reported what the angel said, but they did not believe the women. But Mary Magdalene had been granted the extraordinary privilege of being the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. Jesus would soon make Himself known to the others until they were sure that Jesus was indeed alive. They would see Him, eat with Him, touch him, and hear Him. Even Thomas would be invited to place His hands into the nail prints in His hands and to feel the spear wound in His side.
But the thing that stands out the most here is that John had believed that Jesus had risen from the dead before He had the opportunity to witness by human senses that He was indeed alive. What makes this so important is that we haven’t had the privilege to personally see Jesus with our or hear His voice with our ears. Jesus did indeed grant Thomas’ wish. And He pronounced Thomas blessed. But He also says that even more blessed is the one who has not seen and yet believed. All John saw was a neatly folded napkin and an empty tomb. He up to this point had not known what the Scripture said about Jesus’ resurrection. But He believed.
So this morning, I can say that we too have the Scripture. The promises about Jesus are there in the Old Testament. In addition to this we have the explicit teaching about Jesus’ death and resurrection in the new. Jesus ascension has also made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come and confirm these truths. John had a little evidence, and yet believed. We have much more, and yet som many doubt today. And this doubt is in the church itself. We need to be reminded of the resurrection again and again until it sinks in to our stony hearts. I proclaim to you today that Jesus is alive. The price for our sin has been paid. If we will only confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved. Our lives will be transformed. We will be alive with Christ.
