THE EMPTY TOMB THAT WASN’T ENTIRELY ‘EMPTY’ – John 20:1-10

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on July 9, 2014 under PM Bible Study |

PM Home Bible Study Group; July 9, 2014

John 20:1-10

Theme: John tells us of the of how an investigation of Jesus’ tomb resulted in belief on the part of the disciples.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

As we come to John 20, we come this evening to a turning point in the story of John’s Gospel. Really, tells us of it’s the turning point in human history; because it is the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Dr. Harry Ironside wrote, “Out of the different accounts which we have in the Gospels of the events connected with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, this is one of the most graphic, one of the most interesting and one of the most compelling. When rightly understood, I do not see how anyone desiring to know the truth, can meditate on this passage without being brought to saving faith in the risen Christ” (H.A. Ironside, Addresses on The Gospel of John [New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1956], p. 857).

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Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, His closest followers struggled to understand what He said about His promised resurrection and the fulfillment of Scripture. It really wasn’t until after His resurrection that they understood. Way back at the beginning of this Gospel—after Jesus had cleared the temple the first time at the beginning of His earthly ministry—we’re told that the Jews confronted Him and demanded, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” We’re told,

Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said (John 2:19-22).

He had told His disciples about His resurrection—promising that it would occur (Matthew 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34; Luke 18:31-33). But as the Scriptures tell us, “they understood none of these things” (v. 34). After He rose, He even rebuked some of them by saying, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). So, it was not until after Jesus had been raised from the dead—and until after He was able to open their eyes to the truths of the Scriptures—that we’re told they believed what the Scriptures said concerning Him. We can hardly blame them for this. We would most likely have been confused too.

This evening’s passage tells us how that belief began to take hold of the disciples’ hearts.

I. THE REPORT OF MARY (vv. 1-2).

A. The story begins with Mary Magdalene. We’re told, “Now on 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” (v. 1). We know very little about this important woman Mary. We’re told that, among those who ministered to Jesus in His earthly ministry were “certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities”; and among these was “Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons” (Luke 8:2). There is a strong tradition that she was the “woman in the city who was a sinner” who had anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair out of gratitude for the forgiveness of her many sins (Luke 7:36-50). She clearly was a woman who deeply loved our Lord and was grateful to have been saved by Him. She had the distinct privilege of being the first person to whom our risen Lord presented Himself. Mary’s importance to the story can, perhaps, be seen when she is viewed in the context of the other events that the Gospels tell us. A rough outline might look like this:

1. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, came to the tomb as a group first on Saturday after 6 pm ("when the Sabbath was past), to bring spices to apply later the next morning (Mark 16:1). It may be that they left the spices there at night to be used the next day.

2. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (and perhaps "certain other women"; see Luke 24:1) then came early to the tomb on Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1) and saw that (before they had arrived), the stone had been rolled away. (The guards had already fled at this point.)

3. Mary went to tell Peter and John about the opening of the tomb (John 20:1-2), apparently leaving the other women to remain at the tomb site. This would mean that Mary was not present for the events described in Matthew 28:5-8; where the angel spoke to the other women and said that Jesus was risen.

4. Peter and John arrived to look into the tomb—as described in the passage before us (John 20:3-10).

5. After they left, Mary arrived at the tomb site again. It’s then that the meeting described in John 20:11-18 occurred—where the Lord spoke to her.

6. Before Peter and John returned from having looked into the tomb, the women left at the tomb site had already come and told the other disciples what they saw (Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:7-8.)

7. Then finally, Mary Magdalene came—shortly after the other women; and reported to the disciples her encounter with the Lord (John 20:18).

B. When Mary came with the others to the tomb very early that Sunday morning (see #2 above), she discovered something remarkable. The large entry stone that had been set inside a groove in the ground before the tomb’s opening, and that had been rolled into place to close the entry of the tomb off, was now no longer closing off the tomb. In fact, this one-and-a-half to two ton stone—sealed by a Roman seal, and guarded by a temple guard—was not only rolled out of the way; but as John puts it, it had been “taken away”. Literally, it had been raised from its place; and it was, most likely, sitting off to the side! (Matthew 28:2 tells us that, while the guards were guarding it, an angel came down from heaven, rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it!) We note that Mary herself had not yet stooped down to look into the tomb; but the sight of stone’s remarkable removal, and the tomb’s open and unguarded condition, caused her to logically conclude that the body of Jesus was no longer in it; and she left the other women, and fled to report the situation. John tells us, “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’” (v. 2). Later on, when she spoke to Jesus—thinking He was the gardener—she told Him, “they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (v. 13). So, the first piece of evidence for belief is that the stone had been physically lifted from its place and moved away; and the body of the Lord Jesus that had been placed in it did not appear to be there any longer.

II. THE OBSERVATION OF JOHN (vv. 3-5).

A. Upon hearing this report, we’re told, “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb” (v. 3). The “other disciple”—who is called in verse 2 the “disciple whom Jesus loved”—has always been understood to be John himself. This makes him a first-hand eyewitness reporter of the events he is describing—not only of the scene at the tomb, but also of the scene at the cross (John 19:35-37) and of all of our Lord’s life (John 21:24).

B. It was likely that John was much younger than Peter, and therefore more agile. We’re told, “So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first” (v. 4). John also seems to have been the more cautious of the two. Having arrived, he didn’t enter the tomb; which—as far as his understanding went at that time—would have constituted a ceremonially defiling contact with a dead body. But we are told, “And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in” (v. 5). This means that, before Peter got there, John was able to make observations concerning the contents of the tomb. We often say that the tomb of Jesus was empty; but the fact is that it wasn’t entirely empty. The grave-clothes were there; and it would clearly have been recognized by John that this was—indeed—the place where the body of the Lord had been lain. If the Lord’s body had been stolen, it would have been very strange that the clothes had been left so intact. This is yet another piece of evidence for belief—although John himself did not yet understand or believe.

III. THE INVESTIGATIONS OF PETER (vv. 6-7).

A. After probably only a few moment’s time or so, Peter arrived. But Peter didn’t show any of the timidity that John displayed. We’re told, “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb” (v. 6a). How typical of Peter! Why was it that Peter entered when John didn’t? It may have been personality—Peter being a bolder man that John. Or it may have been because Peter already felt spiritually defiled enough as it was—having denied the Lord. But most likely, it was love. He couldn’t stand there being any distance between him and the Lord—even if it was in the Lord’s tomb; and if there was something to be known about the body of his Lord, he would know it!

B. But once he stepped in, what he saw was yet another remarkable thing! We’re told, “and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself” (vv. 6b-7). The process of the Lord’s preparation for burial had been extensive. His body was wrapped with clothes and prepared with nearly a hundred pounds of spices (see 19:39-40). What Peter found was the burial cloths and wrappings as they had been wrapped around the Lord—but with no body inside! It was as if it were an empty set of ‘mummy wrappings’ with a sag in the middle! How could the body of our Lord be extracted from them? And what’s more, he found the head-cloth—typically a turban like cloth that was ordinarily wrapped around the head of the body; but carefully folded and set in a place by itself. Even if the body had been extracted and stolen, would the head-cloth be folded and set neatly to the side like that? This was further evidence that the Lord’s body was not merely stolen. And the combination of these two pieces of evidence is significant. It was as if Jesus’ body had passed through the cloths and left them intact. But He did not rise as a mere ‘ghost’. His body had sufficient corporeality to fold those cloths and lay them aside!

IV. THE BELIEF OF JOHN (vv. 8-9).

A. We’re not told what immediate affect this all had on Peter yet; but it was clearly a turning point for John. He writes of himself, “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (v. 8). Drawn by what Peter was seeing, he no longer stood outside but went in to see for himself! And seeing, he believed that the tomb truly was empty and the Lord was not there—not stolen, nor having floated away as a phantom, but clearly—somehow—not there! No wonder John’s Gospel is often called ‘The Gospel of Belief’!

B. But was John’s belief a full one yet? Did he and Peter believe that the Lord Jesus was truly alive from the dead? Perhaps, at this point, it was only a growing belief. Perhaps it was a belief not yet centered in the Scriptures. John himself tells us, “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (v. 9). Later on, however, Jesus would explain to the two on the road to Emmaus how all these things were promised of Him in the Scriptures (Luke 24:27); and later, He would open the understanding of the twelve (Luke 24:45).

V. THE RETURN OF THE TWO (v. 10).

We’re told, finally, “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes” (v. 10). This itself is testimony that they were convinced Jesus was not there. They would not have left the tomb—opened and unguarded as it was—if they thought the body of the Lord might still be in it. They—as we—worship a risen Savior.

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The pieces of evidence that Mary and Peter and John saw are a part of what our faith is based on. The Christian faith rests on the testimony that Jesus is alive; and that testimony is based on eyewitness evidence—the same kind that would be used to establish the truth of any claim in a court of law. As John himself would later write;

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full (1 John 1:1-4).