The Disciple Jesus Loved Tells All!

Stone’s Thowed Away

John Chapter 20

I love biography – If you’ve been here for very long, you have probably heard me say that before. I have shelves of biographies of world figures from Winston Churchill to Ronald Reagan to George Patton. As I have read those biographies, I’ve noticed something that each of them has in common. No matter how different their politics might have been – no matter how great the victories or losses they may have experienced, at the end of the book – they died! And when they died, they stayed dead!

Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb? Grant is! If you go to Independence, Missouri, you will find the grave of Harry Truman, and in Spain, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead! If you go to Memphis, Tennessee, to Graceland, you will find the burial site of Elvis Presley – yes, Elvis is dead! And if you go down to Springfield, Illinois, you will be able to visit, along with 1 million others every year, the grave of Abraham Lincoln.

Most people don’t realize that Abraham Lincoln's coffin has been moved 17 times, mostly due to numerous reconstructions of the Lincoln Tomb and fears for the safety of the President’s remains. The coffin itself has been opened 5 times: in 1865, 1871, 1874, 1887, and again on September 26, 1901. The last time, just before the coffin was permanently buried below 10 feet of concrete, 23 witnesses were permitted to look inside and verify that the remains inside were indeed those of Abraham Lincoln. It had been 36 years since his death, but each one was easily able to identify the president. The last of those witnesses died in 1963. 

As we turn to the closing chapters of the biography of Jesus Christ, it seems to end in the same way as every other biography. Jesus died a cruel and unjust death at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders and Roman government. It was a shocking, unexpected death – his followers were left stunned, frightened and confused. The day after his death was the Sabbath – they could do nothing but grieve and hide in fear. 

For just a moment, try to put yourself in their place. If you’ve never lost a family member, or close friend it may be difficult to fully grasp the kind of fog that shrouds the mind in those days. The grief can be completely overwhelming at times, leaving you uncontrollably distraught. 30 minutes later, you may find yourself laughing as you remember some wonderful memory of your loved one, only to be stung by the reality of their absence. There is no experience in life that comes close.

Doubtless those were restless nights – the disciples were scattered around Jerusalem – Peter and John staying together, the others with friends. Late nights talking and crying, early mornings in the fog of grief. When the sky began to brighten on that Sunday morning, after probably the longest Sabbath any of them could remember, Jesus’ followers were still reeling.

Faith Eclipsed

Mary Magdelene was up before dawn. John 20:1 says, “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark…” Mary was truly in the dark in more ways than one. The darkness of that early morning mirrored the darkness of her soul. Her faith, which had once burned so brightly, was now eclipsed by the events of the last few days. She was in deep mourning. Mary is listed in each gospel account as one of the last one to leave Jesus’ side after his death, and now she was the first at the tomb. She and some of the other ladies had decided to meet at the tomb on Sunday morning and finish the job of properly taking care of the body. It had been done so hastily on Friday that the job was not complete, and it was very important that it be done right. Mary, doubtlessly unable to sleep, got there first, before the others arrived. When she got there, she saw that the stone that had been rolled in front of the tomb’s opening had been rolled away, and the guards left by Pilate were nowhere to be seen. In her grief, she assumed that another terrible unspeakable horror had been done – the body had been stolen!

A couple of years ago in Milwaukee a local funeral home was found to have been betraying the trust of families who went to them. Bodies were not buried where they were supposed to be. Some weren’t buried at all – some that were buried had trash thrown in the caskets. The families felt such a deep sense of outrage and pain. How could someone be so cruel to them in their loss? Mary felt much the same way – wasn’t it enough that they had killed Him unjustly? Now they had to steal the body?!

She ran to the place where John and Peter were staying, and reported what she had seen to them. They took off running to the tomb, and Mary, in her exhaustion and stunned disbelief, walked after them. 

Faith Dawning

Peter and John, in the mean-time were racing to the tomb. John was faster, and got there first. He ran up, placed a hand on the wall of the cave, bent over and looked in. Verse 5 says that “he stooped down, looked in and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.” The word lying could be translated “resting” – they were undisturbed. Peter came then, just a few moments later, and brushed past John into the tomb itself, and John scrambled in after him. Now they saw up close what John had seen from the door: The linen cloths were lying there, undisturbed, and the cloth that had been over his head was folded separately, lying to one side.

Obviously a body snatcher would not take such care. With Roman guards stationed outside, and such a gruesome crime, who would even consider taking the time to unwrap the body, remove it, and then re-wrap the linens to appear just as they were previously? And even if you would be willing to take the time, would it even be possible?