John 20:1-10 The tomb is empty!

John 20:1-10 Perhaps the sign of the greatest devotion to Jesus was that Mary Magdalene came to the grave very early, well before sunrise. Just as in the case of Lazarus recorded in John 12, she went to the grave to mourn. When she saw that the stone had been rolled away, she did not investigate but instead went to get help. Peter and John went to investigate. The sequence of events is a bit confusing. Matthew records that the other Mary (Mark records that she was the mother of Jacob and Salome) went with Mary Magdalene. He also records that an angel spoke to them, and that there were also guards who were terrified by the angel. Mark also records the angel, but omits the description as striking terror into the guards. Luke records that there were two angels and three women in the early morning visitation, including Joanna. How do we reconcile these differing accounts?

          The easiest solution would be to infer that different authors talked to different participants and witnesses and got different pieces of or perspectives on the events. But John was a participant and eyewitness, and he omits the angels, the guards, and two of the women. Perhaps John relates his narrative from the heart, not as a court reporter. Mary Magdalene was the one who loved Jesus most strongly, and she was the one who came to him and Peter on that morning. So that is the important part of the story of the discovery of the empty tomb.

          What is the significance of the linen wrappings? The body of a dead person wrapped in linen perhaps signifies the purity of one who is dead. He can no longer be troubled by the cares of the world, its sins and temptations. Jesus had never sinned but what does leaving the linen wraps behind signify? That he had transcended the sins of humankind as well. The purification of sins had been accomplished. (Hebrews 1:3) It would no longer be necessary for people to die in order to be free from sin, because in rising from the dead, He had overcome its power.

          John's autobiographical account is confusing. He says that he went inside the tomb, he saw and believed. But the very next sentence says that neither he nor Peter as yet understood the scripture that He must rise from the dead. (Psalm 16:10) So what did John believe? Evidently John believed what he did not understand, that there is a basis for hope in faith, even when the answer is shrouded in mystery.