Have you ever known the indescribable joy of finding something precious to you that you had previously thought was lost?
John was the only disciple at the cross when Jesus died. Some of us may be able to sympathize with what he must have been feeling. The devastating loss of all your dreams. The sudden physical loss of one you so dearly loved. The responsibility of caring for all that is left behind.
Can you imagine what it would be like to have that loss restored? And restored in a way that exceeded your wildest expectations?
“Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then 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.'
Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.” (John 20:1-8)
The last disciple to see Jesus alive was also the first to believe He had risen from the grave.
You might expect a declaration at this point in the text. Something like:
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
Instead, we read in verse 10, "And the disciples went away again to their own homes."
Wait . . . what?
If you've read the Gospels, you may have noticed that John's Gospel differs from the other three, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It's important to remember two things: 1) the Gospel was already in circulation, and 2) John wrote his Gospel for a very specific purpose.
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30-31)
With this in mind, the earlier verses in John 20 begin to make sense. The absence of Jesus' body. The way the linen cloths were folded and set aside. John no longer worried that the body had been taken, as Mary surmised. There was no need to rush around, checking other tombs. He believed Jesus had risen from the dead. He records the instance so that his readers might have faith.
We can be in no doubt of John's joy when we read in his later epistle, 1 John. "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full." (1 John 1:4)
The empty tomb may have convinced John, but for the others, seeing was believing. Paul gives the following account in his first letter to the Corinthians:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1Cor 15:1-8)
Only a risen Saviour can account for the dramatic change in the brethren from Friday to Sunday. From terrified deserters to boldly declaring their faith.
Only a risen Saviour can account for the steadfast assurance proclaimed by the last living apostle in the writings of 1, 2, 3rd John, and Revelation.
John had seen all the other disciples martyred. He had been boiled in oil and survived. Yet, he professed Jesus as the Christ, the Living Word, until the end.
The tomb remains empty.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
He is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed!
Joy and peace to you, friends.
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