A
Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon
#51
“The
Empty Tomb”
John 20:1-10
Joseph of Arimathea with the aid of Nicodemus
had wrapped the body of Jesus and laid him in a new garden tomb (19:38-41). We pick up with the story in verse one.
“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. (2) 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.”(3)
Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. (4) So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and
came to the tomb first. (5) And he, stooping down and looking in
saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he
did not go in. (6) Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went
into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths
lying there, (7)
and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but
folded together in a place by itself. (8) Then the other
disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. (9) For as
yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. (10) Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.”
First,
The Intentions of the Women.
Jesus had been crucified on Friday and he lay
in the tomb until he rose from the grave on Sunday morning. This is the first significant
mention of ‘the first day of the week,’ our
Sunday, which came to be known as ‘the Lord’s Day,’ the day of His
resurrection. It was the day that came to be set apart by the Early Church as their main
day of corporate worship (Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:2, Revelation
1:10).
At any rate before dawn on Sunday, Mary and
several other women (John only
mentions Mary, however notice the plural “we” in verse 4)
make their way to the tomb. The other gospel accounts make it clear that the women are
bringing spices to place with the body. The burial had been rather hurried because of the
rapidly approaching Sabbath. They wanted to make sure that the burial was completed with
all due reverence. (Of course any lady would know that no two men could be counted on to
do the job correctly). Mary loved the Lord and the bottom had fallen out of her world when
he had been nailed to a cross and died. It prob-ably brought her some degree of comfort to
engage in the one act of service that she could think of that she could perform for the
Lord – seeing that he was reverently and lovingly prepared for burial.
So according to verse one at the earliest
possible moment, a group of women, perhaps the same women who had stood at the foot of the
cross, returned to anoint the body of Jesus. Mark (16:3) tells us that these women are
worried about being able to move the stone to gain entrance into the tomb, in this concern
we see that they did not perceive the
slightest possibility of Jesus’ body not being there. They had no thought that
the resurrection had occurred. It was obvious
their love was greater than their faith.
Secondly, The Information
That Was Reported. (vv. 1-3)
“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. (2) 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.”(3) Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to
the tomb.”
· The
Stone has been removed.
As Mary arrived at the tomb, the first thing
she noticed was that the stone had been removed. Can you imagine how her heart must have
pounded and what thoughts must have run through her mind? This was no small accomplishment
the stone that covered the doorway to the tomb would have weighted as much as 1,000
pounds. The verb John uses (v.1) (hrmenon ek) is
not the one we would expect for rolling a stone; it means more like “lifted up.”
It would seem that John means us to under-stand that what has transpired was no ordinary
phenomenon but rather the result of an exercise of divine power. Matthew tells us how this
was accomplished, “… the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2). The appearance of the angel so unnerved the Roman
guards that they fell to the ground in a daze. When they recovered they ran from that
place as fast as their legs would carry them. All this occurred prior to the arrival of
the Mary. When she arrived, there was no sign of anyone and the tomb stood open. The angel did not remove the stone to
allow Jesus out, but rather to allow the women in!
· The tomb is empty!
The second thing that the Mary noticed was
that the body of Jesus was gone. The body they had come to anoint was not there. Even the
most confirmed skeptic today does not deny that the tomb was empty.
Mary conveyed her startling news in one brisk
sentence; “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and
we do not know where they have laid Him.” (v. 2) Even at this point apparently
Mary does not give a thought to the possibility of a resurrection. The empty tomb means only one thing to
her – someone has moved the body.
But, where was the body? There would
The
tomb was empty contrary to the precautions of his enemies and expectations of his friends.
Mary hurried out to tell the other disciples
what she had discovered.
Third,
The Investigation of the Report
(vv.
4-7)
In verse four we read, “So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter
and came to the tomb first. (5) And he, stooping down and looking
in (blepo), saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.
Peter and John leave for the tomb as soon as
they hear Mary report …probably in a spirit of great indignation. John arrived at the
tomb first. Verse four tells us that he stooped down and “looked”
or “saw” (blepo).
This word conveys that John simply glanced
into the tomb. Verse five tells us that what happens when Peter arrives, “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and
went into the tomb; and he saw (theoreo) the linen cloths lying there, (7) and the
handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded
together in a place by itself.”
When Peter arrives he brushed John aside and
entered the tomb and he “saw the linen cloths lying there.”
The word translated “saw” is a different word
than used in verse five, the word here is (theoreo) the word from which we get the English word
theater. It means that Peter took a long,
careful look.
The first thing that John and Peter noticed
was the empty grave clothes. There was something unusual about the scene. The grave
clothes lay as if they were still wrapped around the body of Jesus and the napkin that had
been about the head of the Lord Jesus, was not lying with the linen cloths. Instead, it
was in a place by itself, neatly folded.
Fourth,
The Implications of Their Findings
(vv. 8-10)
“Then
the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw (orao) and believed. (9)
For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. (10) Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.”
Then John entered the tomb and “saw (orao)
and believed”. The word translated “saw”
in this verse means “to see with under-standing” and the result was he believed.
The Apostle John “saw and believed.” But what
did he believe? Does this mean simply that he believed Mary’s report that the
body of Jesus was gone? No, it was more than that. When John looked in and observed the
grave clothes were left as if the body had been raised out of them. Grave robbers would
have torn the wrappings and left them in a pile jumbled together. With the evidence in
front of him, he concluded that what had occurred was not something terrible. On the
contrary, he began to believe that something wonderful had happened, although he did not
fully understand the implications. He believed something marvelous had happened. Why
did John believe? Something he saw in the tomb made him believe.
I believe there was great significance in the
fact that the napkin was folded, and in a place by itself.
Dr. Clyde Box tells a story about the
The master would sit down and eat. If he got
up from the table, he took his napkin and wiped his face, then wadded the napkin up and
put it down and left the table, the waiting servant would rush to clear the table. But if
the master got up and wiped his face, folded the napkin and put it down and left the
table, the servant would not move. The folded napkin meant, I’m not finished yet. I’m
coming back.” It made no difference how long the
master was gone- don’t touch the table! The folded napkin says, “He’s not finished yet. He is coming back.’…..
When he (John) came to the tomb, looked inside
and saw the linen clothes and the napkin folded neatly in a place by itself – and
knowing the Jewish custom – John was comforted,
“He is not finished yet! He is coming back! The napkin is still folded!”… These
two things – He is alive forevermore and He is not finished – should speak to
our hearts even today.”
That would make a Baptist shout.
[Dr.
Clyde Box. “Glimpses of Jesus” (Murfreesboro, TN: Sword of the Lord Pub.,
2002) pp. 85-96]
Conclusion
The resurrection teaches to the disciples and
to us that life can come out of death. When we have experienced a dark night of despair
and we are overwhelmed by circumstances beyond our control, there is hope.
One
thing: the hope of bodily resurrection!
The resurrection reveals that God was and is
in control. Even when his hand is not easy to see, there is hope because God is in
control. He who rose from the dead is still
alive. The life that he offers to all those who believe in Him is not just in the
hereafter. In Jesus we are given hope, hope for a new beginning.
“How
do I know that Christ is risen?
What proof have I to give?
He
touched my life one blessed day,
And I began to live.
How
do I know He left the tomb
That Easter long ago?
I
met with Him this morning,
And my life is all aglow.
How
do I know that Christ still lives
Rich blessings to impart?
I
know it’s true because He lives
And reigns within my heart.
Eugene M. Harrison