Resurrection Appearances: The Empty Tomb
John 20:1-10
Early 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. So 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!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally 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.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
You read this as we begin our new Easter series exploring the resurrection appearances of Jesus in the gospel of John. The church is often very good at focusing on the run up to Easter and the Easter events themselves but it can then quite often move on and ignore what comes after. Once Jesus has risen from the grave on Easter Sunday, he then walks the earth and does things. He has conversations and interacts with people. Knowing and understanding what the risen Jesus prioritised can help us to understand God, the World and ourselves more. This is why we’re going to spend some time focusing on the resurrection appearances of Jesus.
However, having said all of that, our passage is a bit strange. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that Jesus doesn’t actually appear. His disciples do. Jesus’ tomb does but Jesus himself doesn’t. The disciples have been told Jesus has risen and they investigate for themselves but can’t find him. When this happened to Mary, she couldn’t get her round it and had to go and process it with others. John stood at the entrance of the empty tomb while Peter went right in. We’re told that John saw the empty tomb and believed while the very next verse says that none of the disciples understood that Jesus had to rise from the dead. The fact is, resurrection is a strange thing and there are all sorts of different responses to it. This is why this is such a good passage to start with in our series.
Whether you’ve been a Christian all your life or whether you’re just finding out about Christianity for the first time, there will always be times and points where we’re confused or we don’t know what’s going on. This was true for the first disciples and it’s true for us. It’s o.k. to be confused and to have doubts. The question is what do we do with them?
Quite often, people can take their doubt and confusion as a reason to stay quiet and not speak about Jesus. While this is understandable, this isn’t what our passage shows us. Instead it shows us that Mary, seeing the empty tomb, goes back to her friends and is honest about what she’s found and how she’s feeling. Part of following the resurrected Jesus is found in doing that too. We don’t always get it. We don’t always understand. We might be confused sometimes. The key is be honest about that, talk about it and process it rather than to just pretend it isn’t there. Christians and non-christian’s alike will appreciate our honesty and will be more likely to join us in our desire to find out more.
So, as we embark on discovering more about the resurrected Jesus, my hope and prayer is that it draws you closer to him. However, this doesn’t mean that it won’t confuse you or leave you with questions. It’s likely the opposite will be true. However, let me encourage you to lean into those questions and doubts. Don’t use them as an excuse to switch off. Use them as an opportunity to lean in and explore more Jesus with others.
Richard Barber
