How many lies did they tell?

“The Empty Tomb”

(John 20:1-10, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 12, 2010)

20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Now on the first day of the week... (1-4)

Here we are on the first day of the week. For centuries the Israelites gathered together to worship the Lord on the last day of the week, Saturday. We are hear today on Sunday because, on a very momentous Sunday centuries ago, the events recorded in this and the other three gospels happened. Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Not long before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord performed a very notable resurrection miracle when he called Lazarus forth from the grave. See John 11:43-44. That was quite a scene, and there were many witnesses. The existence of Lazarus, alive from the dead, was so threatening to those who were trying to stop Jews from confessing Jesus as the Messiah, that they sought to kill, not only Jesus, but even Lazarus. Many people came to Bethany to mourn the death of this man. He had certainly been dead. In front of a large group of mourners, Jesus called him back to life. Many more people came to Bethany just to see for themselves that this man, Lazarus, was actually alive again.

There are no accounts like that in the gospels of Jesus moving from death to life. What we have is the evidence of a resurrection that has already taken place when Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb Sunday morning before the sun was up. The stone has been taken away from the tomb. John simply reports the fact. He and Peter are summoned by the distraught woman when she discovers the scene at the grave where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had laid the body of the Lord to rest. By her words we know that she looks into the tomb and sees that the body of Jesus is not there. She assumes that someone has rolled away the stone and has taken away the body of the man who had been placed in the tomb prior to that final Old Covenant Sabbath.

And stooping to look in... (5-8)

Peter and John went out and made their way to the tomb, not casually, but running. The younger man, John, arrives first. What does he see when he stoops down to look in? He sees the linen burial cloths lying there, but the body of Jesus is not there. But John does not go in. He waits for Peter, who actually enters the tomb. There were the main linen cloths, but also a second smaller cloth that had been on the head of Jesus of Nazareth folded up in a place by itself.

There was something about the arrangement of these cloths. When John came in after Peter, we are told that he saw and believed. What did John, the writer of this gospel believe? He believed that Jesus had risen from the dead. What did he see that made him believe? The stone was not where it was supposed to be, the body of Jesus was not there, but especially the cloths that had been used to wrap the dead body told a story that inspired faith.

If someone had wanted to make it seem like Jesus had risen from the dead by stealing his body, they would have had to move quickly. They would have taken the body away without removing the cloths. If they had decided to remove the cloths right there at the grave, how would the linen cloths have looked? When John took in the scene, he found the placement of these cloths to be worthy of mention. Cloth was valuable. Consider the soldiers and how they split up the garments of Jesus. Why were the cloths laying there, and how were they placed? Did it look like a crime scene where intruders had ripped these cloths off of the body, and did not care enough about the value of the material to take it with them? The cloths were lying there, and the face cloth was folded up in a place by itself. It was as if John saw from the evidence what had actually happened, and he believed. The body was not stolen. Jesus had risen from the dead.

For as yet they did not understand the Scripture... (9-10)

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the disciples who spent the rest of their lives suffering for the gospel, were liars. It is hard to conceive of what their motives would have been. Their lies would not only have included their accounts of multiple resurrection appearances, some of which are recorded for us in the last two chapters of this gospel. They would have also written many smaller lies, like the ones that make up the details of their first encounter with the puzzle of an empty tomb that was not entirely empty.

They would have had to lie about the story that the cloths seemed to tell, making up the little mention of the larger cloth and the smaller cloth, about their run to the tomb, and who got their first, and who went into the tomb. What a strange detail that John arrived first, but then Peter went into the tomb first. Why lie about that? Was Mary Magdalene in on the lie, or did they count on her coming to the empty tomb first, and running to find them?

Most of all, they would have had to lie about their own knowledge of the plan of the resurrection of the Messiah according to the Scriptures. They report here very plainly a fact about their own biblical understanding or lack thereof. “As yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” If they had a devious plan to make it look like Jesus rose from the dead in fulfillment of difficult passages like Psalm 16, then they would have already understood about those Scriptures as necessitating a Messianic resurrection. But John said here that, early in the morning on that first day of the week, they did not yet understand all of this.

But these men had no motive for lying. They did not lie. They simply reported what they saw. They did not understand that Psalm 16:10 was about the suffering Messiah, “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” Even after they saw that the stone was moved, that the tomb did not contain the body of Jesus, that the cloths told a story; even after John saw what he saw and believed in the resurrection, he still did not yet understand Psalm 16. That came later. And when they understood Psalm 16:10, about how God did not abandon Jesus forever to the grave, they probably also went on to verse 11 of the same psalm and rejoiced in these words, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

We do know this: that many people came to believe their testimony and to change their worship practices based on this. That is not a doctrine of our faith. It is a fact of history. The Christian church worships on Sunday now. We gather together on the first day of the week, and rest, not in a work that will one day be done, but in a Messiah who has accomplished our salvation, and has risen from the grave.

1. What is the behavior of the disciples in response to Mary's testimony?

2. What is the physical evidence of the resurrection at the tomb?

3. How do Mary, Peter, and John each react to this evidence?

4. What is the significance of John's statement regarding the Scriptures?

OT Passage: Psalm 16