At Jesus's Tomb
A meditation on John Chapter 20
2nd April 2021
Jesus died nearly 2,000 years ago, and many wonderful books have been written to explain the meaning, the purpose and the nature of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. But Mary, Peter and John didn't have access to those books. Instead, they'd walked with Jesus, and talked and worked with Him, for three and a half years. They'd heard Him preach. They'd seen him heal the sick and even raise the dead. I'm sure they'd also had many precious private conversations with him.
He'd told them in advance about what would happen to Him but they hadn't understood. They didn't want to believe He'd be executed. They couldn't see how to believe He'd rise again.
So when Mary went to the tomb that first Easter morning, and found that the stone had been removed from the entrance, and she correctly deduced that Jesus wasn't there, she didn't believe that He was alive again.
She ran to where Peter and John were staying, and told them, incorrectly, that somebody had stolen Jesus's body. That was the most rational explanation, apart from one, the one Jesus had told her about in advance, the He'd risen from the dead.
Peter and John ran back to the tomb. John stood at the entrance. He looked in. He saw the strips of linen that were part of Jesus's grave clothes. But he didn't go inside.
Peter, perhaps less fit than John, arrived a bit later, ran straight past John and entered Jesus's tomb. Mary and John were probably afraid to go in, but Peter wanted to know the truth. Inside, he saw the tomb was definitely empty. He saw the linen, and Jesus's burial cloth, folded up and put separate from the linen. Jesus had left his tomb neat and tidy.
Then, when John saw that Peter was safe, he went in as well.
Are you like Mary? Working out an answer for yourself, rather than thinking about what Jesus says?
Or are you like John? You've seen something of the miracle of Jesus, but you don't want to commit, you don't want to look too deeply into the things of God?
Or are you like Peter? Does your love for Jesus, and your love for truth, lead you where other people fear to go?
Peter and John went home. They thought there was nothing useful to be done, and they needed to do some thinking and talking. What happens now? Where's Jesus's body? What do we do with the rest of our lives? Are the soldiers going to come for us? And then perhaps the big question occurred to them: Is Jesus dead? Or is He alive? He was extraordinary. He'd raised others from the dead. Maybe, just maybe, He'd resurrected himself.
But Mary didn't go home. Her beautiful Saviour had died, and His body had disappeared. Why go home? Why live at all? If everything they'd believed in, everything they'd pinned their hopes on, everything she loved, was dead, then why bother? She stayed outside the tomb and wept.
At some point she looked back into the tomb, and saw two angels there. They asked her "Woman, why are you crying?" That must have seemed to Mary like the most stupid and insensitive question of all time. But they were angels, and Mary was a polite woman. She answered, "They've taken my Lord away, and I don't know where they've put him". All she wanted was to mourn Jesus properly. She had zero expectation that He might be alive.
Then she turned round and saw a man standing near her, but she didn't recognise Jesus. She thought he was the gardener. He too asked, "Woman, why are you crying?"
In desperation, Mary begged him, "If you've carried him away, tell me where you've put him".
In reply, Jesus simply said, "Mary".
When Jesus spoke her name, she suddenly realised who he was. She cried out, "My teacher!"
Have you had moments like that? When God spoke your name, or said something that was just for you, and to you? And have those moments touched your heart? Have you realised how much God loves you? He knows you by name. He chose you by name. He calls you by name.
In 1846, Horatius Bonar wrote a song called, "I heard the voice of Jesus Say". I'd like to suggest you read it as prose:
I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest. Lay down, O weary one,
lay down your head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad. I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give the living water. Thirsty one,
stoop down and drink and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my
soul revived, and now I live in him.
I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am the dawning light. Look unto me, your morn shall
rise, and all your day be bright."
I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun. And in that light of life I'll
walk till travelling days are done.
Have you heard the voice of Jesus? Would you like to? Will you stop from all your busyness, turn off your television, and listen? Will you find a place of silence, give yourself time, open your Bible, and pray? If you haven't prayed for a while, just start. Tell Jesus whatever's on your mind, simply and honestly.
God is real. God raised Jesus from the dead. God loves you. No matter how much your life needs to be resurrected right now, God can do it. He can give you hope. He can give you peace. He can turn water into wine. He can bring what is dead back to life.
Jesus died to pay for all the bad things you've done. He rose again three days later so that you could experience His life, His eternal, powerful, loving, gracious, creative life for yourself. He wants to give you a new life, an eternal life. A life lived in God's power and God's goodness.
Picture yourself at Jesus's tomb like Mary, full of confusion and doubt. Listen for the voice of Jesus, and believe!