Can You See Jesus?
John 20:1-13
Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
John 20:1 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. 2 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.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. 4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
John 20:11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
A couple of interesting notes need to be examined about the narrative. The first is why did Mary go to the tomb? It was the third day after Jesus’ burial. We know this because the resurrection narrative starts with “on the first day of the week.” This was Monday. They buried Jesus on Friday. Near Easterners tell time differently than we do. When we say three days, we think 72 hours. In the Near East it was three days because on Friday was the burial, then the Sabbath, then the first day of the week. Three days had passed. So, Mary went to say her last goodbye. That was the custom in Jesus’ day.
Imagine her surprise when she arrived at the tomb and Jesus was gone. The only thing left was the shroud. In the Near East, people bathed a deceased person and placed a new white shroud on them. A reason for this was because when the general resurrection occurred, they did not want the person naked. They used white as a symbol of purity. Therefore, they covered Jesus with a white shroud before they placed him in a tomb.
Wow, there was a naked Jesus somewhere. That might have been what Mary thought. She found his shroud in the tomb; therefore, it was a logical conclusion. Since they presumed him dead, it would have been natural for her to think that someone stole the body. This would have been considered a desecration of the tomb. But then she had an angelic experience. The angels told Mary that Jesus was alive. She then turned and saw a person.
That person was Jesus, but she did not know that. Why did she believe she saw a gardener? Since Jesus’ burial shroud was in the tomb, the only clothing he had on was an undergarment. When gardeners went to work, they would take off their outer garments so that they would not get soiled. Therefore, Mary’s assumption that Jesus was a gardener fits the culture of the day.
When Mary discovered the person was Jesus, she moved toward him. This is also cultural. When women discover that a dead man is alive, they would run up to the person to kiss them. They did this for relatives and men in the community. Therefore, Mary followed her cultural instinct. She wanted to kiss Jesus’ cheek. However, Jesus stopped her.
Most English versions of this story say that Jesus had not ascended yet. However, in the Aramaic version the word for ascend and transcend is the same. Jesus told Mary that his transcendence had not been completed. Therefore, it would have been dangerous to touch him. In all human history, this was the only time living humans discovered a partially transcended person. The transcendence was Jesus moving from being in human flesh to pure spirit. He was in the middle of the two realms. The physical body was gone, therefore, the Spirit of God, which was in Jesus’ body. Was released However, he was not quite spiritual.
This is important because it would explain why Jesus could pass through walls and doors. He was not physical. He was also not of a purely spiritual nature. The transcendence process took forty days. What is interesting is that the Egyptian embalming period was forty days. There is probably a connection between the two, but that is not important in the Easter narrative.
The hopes and promises that Jesus offered to his disciples and followers were true. The resurrection event was God’s way to make that last appeal that Jesus’ message was genuine. There are many speculations about how atonement is reached. It would have been great if Jesus would have told us how death works and how the forgiveness of sin works. These things we must accept through faith.
Today, we acknowledge the significance of the resurrection as it has been passed down to us through generations. That is also why we retell the story at least once every year. The cyclic repetition reminds us of the events Jesus went through for the gift of salvation for us. Everything Jesus did in his lifetime benefited us. Even in death, Jesus was more concerned about our spirituality than his own. Even today, Jesus is still looking after us and guiding us. He does this through the Holy Spirit.
Ask yourself if you have the same love for Jesus as Mary and the disciples had? In Mary’s case, she was not concerned about the Roman occupiers stopping her from doing what her culture demanded. Saying her last goodbyes to Jesus was that important. Today there are things that our society has accepted to do. In these broad acceptances, many nonbiblical items have entered the picture.
It is important to weed these things out and keep them out of your life. Mary got to experience the risen Christ because she stayed with her customs that were appropriate for her time and her love for Jesus.
How can we see Christ working in our world today?
The best way to answer that question is to look at the good things that are happening in the world. When I watched my three children being born, I saw Christ working in our world. Birth is a miracle from God through Christ. Jesus can be seen every day when people are kind and generous to each other. Even holding a door open for a person counts.
The love of God for us was visible on Easter morning. Jesus taught we should look for God’s kindness but also to perform God’s kindness every day. If we emulate the words and actions of Christ, we are pleasing God, since God wants the best for us. Therefore, take care to perform kindness as much as you can every day. The reward is equivalent to Jesus’ resurrection. Would it not be great to say to God on Judgment Day that you emulated Jesus as much as was humanly possible?
I leave you with that question to answer.
