Jn. 20:3-9 - Footrace to the Tomb

    

Peter and John Race to the Tomb (Painting by Dan Burr)

     When Mary Magdalene realized on Sunday morning that Jesus' body was not in the tomb, she did what anyone in her place would do--she ran to find someone in authority, the men chosen by Jesus’ to be witnesses and leaders.
     She found Peter and John, though John refers to himself as "the other disciple, the one Jesus loved." The Greek translation is "the one Jesus kept on loving." Interpreters agree that John refers to himself in the third person out of humility, and is telling us that Jesus did not give up on him because of his failures.
     Both John and Peter were men who had faults, and it is an encouragement to us who follow Jesus that Jesus did not choose people who were perfect at the beginning. Peter failed Jesus often and John was nicknamed "Son of Thunder," along with his brother James. In the Gospels, John is pictured as quick tempered and swift to take offense.
     But Jesus welcomed anyone who wished to follow Him and they were transformed over time by His teachings, the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, and their association with Him.
     When Mary found Peter and John on Sunday morning, and urgently announced that Jesus' body was missing, the two men began running to the tomb. This news was as disturbing to them as it was to Mary. John reports that "Both were running, but 'the other disciple' (John) outran Peter and reached the tomb first" (v. 4), but did not go in. Then Peter arrived and entered the burial place.
     John was probably the youngest disciple, perhaps only in his late teens or early twenties, so he outpaced the older Peter. Why did John wait upon arriving at the tomb? Was he reluctant to go in without Peter present, out of respect for the elder disciple? Was he more squeamish, while Peter was braver? We don't know. But the way John tells the story with such detail shows again that the Resurrection narrative is a truthful one. Why would anyone include such insignificant details if it were made up?
     When the men looked inside, they saw "the strips of linen" that had been around Jesus' body lying on the ground, but the burial cloth that had been around his head "was folded up by itself, separate from the linen (v. 6-7).
     John does not tell us what this meant to them at the time. I am sure they were really mystified and were trying to understand what had happened to their Master’s body.  Finding burial cloths without a body must have seemed very unusual. If someone stole Jesus' body, why didn't they take it wrapped in the grave clothes? A folded head cloth shows a sense of care, orderliness, and respect rather than hurried carelessness. If someone had relocated the body to another place, why did they leave the linen strips and the folded head cloth behind?
     "The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed" (v. 8). This doesn't mean John believed Jesus had arisen because he goes on to write in his Gospel that "They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead" (v. 9). It means that he believed Mary's report about the missing body. John believed that the tomb was empty, but beyond that, everything was still a mystery.
     Little by little, the story of the Resurrection unfolds--from first discovery and mystery to the dawning realization that Jesus is truly alive. At this moment it is still dark outside and Mary, John, and Peter are still very much in the dark about what all of this means. But Jesus is about to dispel their night with the shining truth of His Resurrection!

Pastor Michael Brownfield