1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. (John 20:1-10)
Thoughts: When Mary (and her friends) left it was still dark. Hope seemed gone. Death, evil, pride and meaninglessness seemed to win. Yet that was not the last word. The first sign Mary saw was that the tomb was empty.
Jesus' enemies did not dispute that the tomb was empty. The Jews claimed the disciples stole the body. The Romans never doubted that they killed Jesus- even Tacitus (116 AD), their senator and historian said, "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus." They did not doubt that Jesus died and that the tomb was empty. But they never admitted to the resurrection either. The Jews began the rumor that the scared and cowardly disciples overwhelmed the sleeping guard (guards did not sleep or they were severely punished-and if their prisoner they guarded escaped they would be killed). Peter and John ("the other disciple" here) were brave enough to run and find out what was going on. They believed the tomb was empty, but they did not fully understand that Jesus was raised until they saw Him. We do not have to fully understand God or Jesus in order to have faith.
Jesus' enemies did not dispute that the tomb was empty. The Jews claimed the disciples stole the body. The Romans never doubted that they killed Jesus- even Tacitus (116 AD), their senator and historian said, "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus." They did not doubt that Jesus died and that the tomb was empty. But they never admitted to the resurrection either. The Jews began the rumor that the scared and cowardly disciples overwhelmed the sleeping guard (guards did not sleep or they were severely punished-and if their prisoner they guarded escaped they would be killed). Peter and John ("the other disciple" here) were brave enough to run and find out what was going on. They believed the tomb was empty, but they did not fully understand that Jesus was raised until they saw Him. We do not have to fully understand God or Jesus in order to have faith.
God leaves fingerprints of His actions everywhere. The empty tomb is but a fingerprint to tell us God had been there and had done some amazing work. It is a forensic monument to His stupendous work.
Prayer: Lord, you leave signposts that point to your work and love. Help me to believe the signposts not because I fully understand, but because of who you are.
(Empty first century tomb in Israel)
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