The empty tomb – reactions
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.
Mark records that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by Mary the mother of James and Salome, who had bought spices to anoint the corpse of Jesus. In their eagerness to reach the tomb, Mary Magdalene did not stop to think how they would move such a heavy stone she previously saw Joseph of Arimathea place at its entrance and seal . However, when they arrived the stone had already been moved for them to enter the tomb. A young man in a white robe was inside sitting on the right side. They were caught off guard and scared stiff. How did he move the stone? Then he revealed his precise knowledge of previous personal interactions Jesus had with the disciples. In particular, he knew of the plan Jesus had revealed to them of walking from Jerusalem into Galilee after his resurrection.
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” (Matthew 26:32, Mark 16:6-7)
The young man in white Then announced the astounding fact that the brutalised and crucified Jesus had risen from the dead and was already on the move in his resurrected body.
6 Don’t be alarmed …He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
Now via the young man in the tomb, Jesus was alerting the women that his disciples will also have to take the trek to Galilee to meet with him alive from the dead! That is when they would have their unmistakable evidence that Jesus had risen from the dead. How did the young man in white know this plan of Jesus? Had it been shared with someone other than the 12 apostles? Had one of the apostles shared it with an acquaintance? Or was he a messenger from the angelic world? His sudden encounter had immediate effect on the women. Fear!
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Mary Magdalene took off to get Peter, leaving the other two women near the tomb. Imagine her cloak blowing behind her as she ran as fast as possible. See the other two country companions huddled together in a crowded city not sure about what to do next, unclear of any measure of hostility the religious establish might harbour against them as Galilean companions of Jesus.
2 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!”
Implicit in her statement was the assumption that the enemies of Jesus had stolen his body to dispose of it in some location unknown to his followers. Mary was well-aware that those enemies were religious and state entities, who wanted him dead, had the power to kill him and the ability to dispose of his body in a way that would be irretrievable by any of the many new believers, who heralded his kingship and Messianic identity.
…and we don’t know where they have put him!” was Mary’s panicked cry to Peter.
If anyone would know what to do, it would be Peter, who was most likely Mary’s one hope. After all, Jesus had announced Peter to be the Rock on which he would build his church to withstand the gates of Hades . Now was the time for quick action from Peter against any powers of evil.
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first . 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
The young man in white was no longer there. John has recorded some personal touches in his account of the different responses of the women and disciples to the empty tomb to enable his readers to catch the emotions of the moment , viz., fear sweeping over the women, the amazement of Peter and John and their different responses. It is personally worthwhile to connect with the mixture of excitement and stunned bewilderment that surged over them. Imagine how you would have reacted in the face of unknown identities removing the body of the one you had come to believe and trust as being untouchable by evil. The only counterbalance to panic and fear in the face of powerful enemies would have been his previous detailed description of this attack by Jesus ahead of time. It was as specific as his pronouncement to Peter that he would deny him three times before a rooster crowed twice that evening.
“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)
This is not a record of a fantasy and its effects, but John’s encounter with physical details of an empty tomb that would have left him stunned with temporary emotional and mental shock. He was witnessing an event that could be considered ‘out of this world’, yet it was in front of him. He was in it. John did not register that Jesus had predicted it on three previous occasions. While John stood frozen at the entrance, Peter, true to form, went straight into the tomb to witness what Mary Magdalene had described. John recorded his details through the eyes of Peter.
6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
How good was John’s memory about the unusual predictions of Jesus? He made no connection with what he had been told. He simply believed what he saw, viz., the body of Jesus was not there. Mary was right! The body had been taken, and whoever had taken it had strangely taken care when setting the body free from the linen strips encasing it and lovingly placing to one side the cloth previously wrapped around his head.
John was particular to record that Peter’s and his own mind had not yet connected what they saw with the resurrection of Jesus prophesied by their prophets and David their patriarch and king. John was particular to note:
9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Later they did. Even more fascinating is that John’s honest admission also implies that he in particular had not spiritually heard and registered the significance of Jesus telling the disciples on three prior occasions that he would rise from the dead after being crucified by the religious leaders. The most recent time was on their walk to Jerusalem, when Jesus wanted to make clear his purpose of making a trip to Jerusalem at that time, when the religious leaders had already made 8 different attempts to capture and kill him.
His purpose was not popularity, kingship or rebellion, but death and resurrection.
“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)
Jesus then went to the seat of religious power at the Temple in direct confrontation with the long established priestly power base that would resist all attempts to diminish it. These were the political dynamics operating in Jerusalem coated with the supposed approvals of God in the actions of their religious authorities whose pedigrees stretched back centuries to Moses.
The mixture of politics with any religious structure forms the toughest resistance to any political change. This was the concrete wall of resistance faced by Jesus. He well knew it would go to any length to resist him when he set out for Jerusalem and its Temple as the seat of religious power. Jesus could not have been more specific about what they would face upon their move to Jerusalem at the joyous Feast of Tabernacles. Yet it seems that John did not to grasp the spiritual reality specifically aligned against Jesus. Even when John was caught up in the reality happening around him, he did not see it. His record of events is honest about his spiritual blindness.
John is a clear example that physical hearing does not guarantee spiritual awareness.
Note the emphasis made by John on the role of their scriptures in understanding physical phenomena driven by the spiritual purposes of God. The explanation of astounding physical phenomena accompanying the resurrection of Jesus already existed in their scriptures to consider, if they would only have looked with an open and obedient spirit. Jesus had already on one occasion repeatedly called the religious leaders blind fools and accused them of refusing to come to him although they searched their Scriptures looking for insight into the coming of their Messiah. Peter later had to make the connection for them between the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Messiah. He identified the supernatural miracle of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon each disciple, with its accompanying signs of fire and the ability to speak in the native language of listeners from a broad range of nationalities, as fulfilment of the spiritual phenomena in the last days when the resurrection of the Messiah would trigger God pouring out his Spirit upon mankind. The only explanation the devout crowd could deduce with their minds for such miraculous phenomena was that the Galilean visitors were drunk.
Without illumination by the Holy Spirit, our explanations of spiritual happenings are foolish, and we fail to see that as so. The sole entrance to undistorted spiritual truth is full trust in Jesus as the Truth and unity with the Holy Spirit welcomed and trusted to live within as Lord. When Jesus or the Holy Spirit are absent in the worship of our god, we can be certain that we are worshipping a false god no matter how our mind has rationalised that we are not.
Peter then used the situation to prove that the apostles were not drunk but that their critics were witnessing the connection made in their scriptures between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit producing multiple languages in the last days and the resurrection of the Messiah, who they had just crucified. (Acts 2:32-36). Conclusion:
32 “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it”.
They had no doubts about that reality of being witnesses of it. Therefore, the other prophesied physical phenomena connected with the resurrection had to follow just as night follows day.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
There is nothing more to add to what God has already revealed by his spoken word. Attempting to do so is seeking to play the role of God and Jesus. The teachings of other religions ,which attempt to do so, lead many down dead-end paths detached from filling by the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus, as the resurrected Lord and Messiah of all can fill a person with his Holy Spirit. Until that moment, the most we can experience is religion of our own making, or that of another source, producing comfortable feelings we can keep in control to project the self-image required by our pride. Such personally controlled religion is dead and of no eternal value. Only from the Holy Spirit can we receive God’s Life, which no human can create or control.
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene
The sudden loss of a loved family member or close friend affects people in different ways. Peter, the disciple always on the move ready for the next miracle, had come, witnessed the empty tomb and returned to his temporary accommodation. Peter did not hang around. He was off to work out what he would do next.
Mary Magdalene, on the other hand, having suffered much abuse from the self-serving lust of many, had developed an empathic sensitivity to any presence of pure love. Jesus showed her such love, which restored her belief in her personal worth. John is careful to record that Mary stayed at the tomb with the love of Jesus holding her with strong attachment to memories of him. Where have they taken him? Her affections for Jesus kept her there with priceless restored dignity, which she no doubt treasured. She could no longer imagine a world without him.
John’s love for Jesus also kept him longer at the tomb. He stayed when all his fellow apostles had left to return to their temporary accommodation in Jerusalem. John stayed and was particular in recording the touching encounter of Jesus with Mary that he witnessed.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
Mary’s confusion was clear. She did not know where the body of Jesus could be. Her commitment was unquestioned and unwavering. She was groping through her tears for answers.
14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
That is all that Jesus needed to hear to reveal to her his identity.
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
What better way was there to identify himself than him calling her by her first name? “Mary!” We have already read John’s record of the encounter of Jesus with the cohort sent to arrest him and how his declaration of his identity possessed a power that caused battle-tested Roman soldiers to draw back and fall to the ground. “Mary” was no doubt full of the same power but communicated with the tenderness of pure love. His personalise greeting would have shot to her heart. Mary’s response was instant, vocal and full of respect.
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
There will be a moment for each of us into which it will seem that all our past and eternity has instantly been compressed, when Jesus on his throne suddenly addresses us by name. What tone will be heard in communication of our name? One of terrifying anger and unforgiveness that is unbending in its depersonalised application of spiritual law to sin, or one with tones of overwhelming love and embrace? Will Jesus address us with tones similar to the example he gave that will be heard by those who have sought to love with his love.,
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21)
This happiness would one day flood Mary. In the case of her full reunion with her resurrected Lord and Saviour, however, his ascension to his Father had not yet taken place. His prayer of expectation of that moment had. Nevertheless, his priceless moment of returning to his Father, having fully completed his plan of salvation for the fallen human race, was yet to happen. If anyone could hazard a guess at the welcoming expressions the Father gave to Jesus at this most significant moment culminating his ascension, it may have included such intimations as:
“Well done my good and faithful Son. You have obeyed me in every detail and overcome all the power of the enemy. You have glorified me before all creation, and now I glorify you with the glory we enjoyed together before you left to enter through the doorway of becoming a helpless baby, in order to become the bloodied Saviour and triumphant eternal King of the future new earth and of the new heaven of heavens. Because of your faithfulness and obedience myriads have since entered my family rejoicing in the completion of love, joy and peace in them in the hope of glorifying their Father and you, my only miraculously born Son and the Holy Spirit, who is bringing to fruition in them the divine life you have won for them”.
Consequently,
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
The news Jesus wanted his disciples to hear was that his Father was their Father and his God was their God, and he needed to return to his place of Life given from his Father, guided by his Father and sustained by his Father. There was no other place Jesus could have eternal Life to share with them. There was no other place from where he could give that eternal Life freely for all eternity. There was no distinction between the Life of the Father and his Life. He and his Father were one. His disciples were now indivisibly unified in that eternal relationship with all separating sin forgiven and removed by his endurance of suffering on his cross. They were now also sons of God united with the Father just as the Son of God was with his Life. They were now the purchased possessions of Jesus bought by his blood shed through unwavering obedience in suffering and explicit trust in his Father’s promises of eternal love . This work as the Son, however, would only be completed by his return home to the Father with the eternal mission given to him by his Father fully completed. While still in his body transitioning from completing its physical purpose, Jesus could not interrupt this journey to spiritual reunion and embrace with his Father to mark the completion of condemning forever in his flesh all sin of the human race. Having been forsaken by his Father on his cross, he would now be freely embraced in heaven. Finally, his eternally effective mission accomplished!
Consequently, and with certainty, no longer can Satan condemn and hold captive anyone, who puts their trust in the sacrifice of Jesus for their sins. The Evil One’s chains are now snapped at the moment any person places their trust in the promise of Jesus to forgive, accept and unite with them in eternal love.
Jesus appears to his disciples
As a group
John’s record of the resurrection of his close friend Jesus reconnecting with those who had followed him as their Messiah over three years did not stop with Mary and her announcement that Jesus was alive. He could not leave hanging the rest of his chosen apostles with no clear statement of their role once he had departed. He needed to meet with them as a whole in order to complete and ensure the continuance of his earthly mission before ascending to his Father. He needed to make their mission clear to carry on his mission and needed to equip them with the same spiritual power he used over his three years of mission.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
It is critical to note John’s account of the emphasis of Jesus in his reunion with his disciples. They were in a state of fear. It was very real and heightened to the point that they had locked the doors in fear of the Jewish leaders, presumably now seeking to capture them after having finally succeeded in executing their leader. Now was the time to scatter the fearful followers of Jesus, chase them down and continue the eradication of a movement the religious authorities saw as challenging their religious power and prestige in Israel. Jesus needed to steady that fear in order for them to hear and embrace any communication of importance that he wanted to have with them. Now they would be at their weakest gripped by fear and scatter in their attempts to escape the same end that their Master had to face. Therefore he demonstrated his resurrection power with actions before words. Nothing could do that better than his sudden unannounced appearance through locked doors his followers had set up for personal safety.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Was this an apparition that suddenly stood among their fearful gathering? Only a tangible physical proof statement could answer the question. Jesus had to dismiss quickly that these words were coming from some apparition. Immediately they needed a proof statement. Jesus provided it in physical action and not merely in isolated words of peace. Therefore,
After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord!
When they saw up close the nail prints in his hands, and the hole in his side from the thrust of the spear that ended his life, joy erupted like a geyser of suddenly released pent up tension that Jesus was alive miracle above miracles! No physical barrier could prevent him coming to them in their hour of greatest need. No physical power can stand against him. What then can harm us?
At their height of newly experienced joy, Jesus switched to teach them the indivisible unity of their identity with his.
“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
His mission which they had followed for three years would now be their mission. In the same way the Father sent Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate the Father’s love through his human relationship interactions across the full spectrum of diminished humanity, that culminated in his sacrificial death, so also he was sending his disciples to love sacrificially with his love and to die, if needed.
22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
Now they were spiritually empowered disciples called to expand the rule of God on earth with authority to forgive or not to forgive according to the Spirit of God’s judgement.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
To Thomas
Having recorded the miraculous and joyous reunion of Jesus with his disciples, John’s record of journeying with Jesus turned to relate those tender moments he witnessed of Jesus rebuilding the faith of those who still struggled in their relationship with him. He needed to renew their identity as chosen disciples of the Son of God, before he left to meet with his Father.
The first was Thomas, who declared to his companions that he would not believe that Jesus was alive again, unless he could prove it for himself by physically touching the wounds of the crucifixion he had witnessed . His journey with Jesus would be left in limbo with a major question mark unless he had tangible evidence of a return from his grievous death. An imposter appearing to be Jesus could not pass such an intimate tangible test. John’s record shows no criticism by his companions of the position taken by Thomas. His friends would have understood his intention and remained silent.
The second disciple needing restoration was Peter carrying the heavy weight of failure as the disciple Jesus had chosen to be the Rock on which his new fellowships would be built. He crumbled after a few simple tests.
33 “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:33-34)
The living Jesus did not rush to restore Peter but left him to ponder the feebleness of his boast of comparison that had proven to be so. The greater our pride, the more time we need to process boasts it fosters that seek to set us above others, whether subtly or blatantly. The confession lag times by political and religious leaders, who fail morally, demonstrate this characteristic. Peter needed processing time.
Thomas, on the other hand, was not making a boast of pride in his claim. He was simply needing first-hand evidence. He had seen the nails holding the body of his Master to his cross and the flow of blood from them. He saw the thrust of a Roman battle spear into Jesus’ side before being declared dead. He could not erase such vivid memories just as veterans returning from wars today need time to heal PTSD caused by the continued trauma sparked by their battlefield memories. Thomas needed fear-producing crucifixion memories comprehensively erased.
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
The disciples would have been shocked and taken off guard. Their last information about Jesus was that he was on his way to Jerusalem. Thomas was more important than a pre-planned schedule. His spiritual health was paramount to Jesus, who could not return to his Father leaving faithful Thomas in suspension. Jesus demonstrated that Divine love always raises a recipient to the highest level for greatest renewal and strength.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
The response of Thomas was instant and powerfully personal. His repeated use of “my” intensified the titles he gave to Jesus in his life at that point. Thomas vested Jesus with the title of being his sole Master and also with the title of his one God. He did not need to touch the wounds of Jesus. Sight was enough to bow his Spirit instantly to Jesus. As a result, many through the ages since have been encouraged to enter the kingdom of God solely by unphased faith emulating Thomas.
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus concluded his restoration of Thomas with a summary comment on the value of his trust in him. The value of his faith continues today, when the sceptic reads how intimate contact with Jesus resulted in the enhancement of his divine nature within.
His spontaneous declaration acts as a test of the authenticity of our own.
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
What does my belief about Jesus enable me to say? Is it belief about Jesus or belief in Jesus that results in me surrendering my entire life to him in full trust of him? Only then is it true that whoever sins I forgive are forgiven and those not are not forgiven.
Selection logic
John took the opportunity at this point in recording the journey of Jesus to add his own asterisk comment:
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
He summarised the interaction with Thomas using a clear purpose statement directed at his readers. John declared that he was taking the time to write his record of journeying with Jesus so that each reader might come to see spiritually that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah of Jewish scriptures and the Son of God.
John then made clear that the ultimate motivation driving his recording of the life of Jesus was that each reader might gain eternal spiritual life in the life-creating name of Jesus. This desire for each reader is the highest destiny possible. John’s record of journeying with Jesus can therefore be assessed as wholesome and not manipulative or selfish. It can become your personal eternal journey moulding the eternal you full of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness and self-control.