Daily Devotions
John
John 20:1-10 "MARY'S FLIGHT FROM THE TOMB"
Day 329 – John 20
MARY’S FLIGHT FROM THE TOMB
Though Mary went with the other women Disciples to the garden tomb of Jesus, apparently she did not stay long enough to see and hear the angelic announcement concerning the resurrection of Jesus!
John wrote that when they saw that the tomb was empty, she was so upset that she just had to run and tell the men Disciples that they could not find the body of their beloved Master.
“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. ‘”
John 20:2
We can well understand why Mary ran from the tomb! The women Disciples were there at the tomb. They could stay there and find out what had happened! Perhaps they could speak to the gardeners and see if they knew what had happened!
The sight of the empty tomb created a great sense of panic in her heart. But of course the men Disciples must know! Perhaps they could do something about the missing body of Christ! Mary had not figured that perhaps Jesus could have been resurrected from the dead!
Naturally, she sought out Peter, for after all, was he not the leader of the band of Disciples? Then there was John, and everybody in the small band of Disciples knew that Jesus loved him in a special way. The phrase, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” was an apt description of the relationship that John sustained with great joy and delight. John and his family seemed to have a lot of contact with influential people. John was even admitted to the palatial home of the High Priest. Perhaps, with all the contacts John had, he could find out how they could retrieve the body of Jesus! They just couldn’t let the enemies take away the body of Jesus! Surely, they did not hate Him so deeply that they would stoop so low as to desecrate His body after they had crucified Him. Mary wouldn’t put anything past what the wicked religious leaders could do to Jesus! She, and the women Disciples by themselves would not be able to take away the body of Jesus on their own. Help was needed. What better choices could there be, when she sought and found Peter and John!
DEVASTATING NEWS
Mary’s voice must have sounded forlorn and sad as she broke the terrible news that perhaps some people had stolen the body of Jesus! On hearing this startling news, Peter and John ran to see for themselves what Mary had just shared with them. John wrote,
“Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple,
and were going to the tomb. So they both ran
together, and the other disciple outran Peter
and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping
down and looking in, saw the linen cloths
lying there; yet he did not go in.”
John 20:3-5
Peter and John were excited! What had really happened? Was the tomb of Jesus empty? How could that be? How could that have happened? There was only one way to find out. They had to run (not walk) to the garden tomb where Jesus was laid!
John was there at Golgotha with the other women Disciples! They had seen Jesus suffer as He was crucified between the two thieves! John had seen Jesus die, before his very eyes! He had seen the soldiers drove a javelin into His side! Jesus had to be certified dead before He could be taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb! How could He have risen?
John, probably the younger of the two, outdistanced Peter! John arrived at the tomb ahead of Peter. He did not go into the tomb! However, he couldn’t help but note that the linen cloths were there, but the Person it was supposed to enshroud wasn’t there! What had happened? There were no signs of any kind of struggle at all. But if no one had taken Jesus by force, then where was the body?
Soon Peter caught up. When he was at the tomb of Jesus, so graciously donated by Joseph Arimathea, he could not help but actually enter the tomb.
“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and
went into the tomb; 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.”
John 20:6-7
COMING TO FAITH AFTER EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE
Everything was so puzzling. The Disciples knew that Jesus was laid in a tomb owned by wealthy Joseph of Arimathea! The stone had indeed been rolled away! However, the women were also not there to greet them! What had really happened? They just couldn’t make sense out of the whole situation.
The angels had returned to heaven. They were not there to be interviewed or cross-examined by the Disciples! There was only one thing to do. They had to interpret the phenomenon of the empty tomb! Had their enemies taken away the body of their beloved Teacher? Or could things have turned out as Jesus had said. He had comforted His Disciples again and again, that He would be raised from the dead on the third day!
John, in his reflection of this moment wrote,
“Then the other disciple who came to the tomb
first, went in also; and he saw and believed.”
John 20:8
He, John the disciple of Jesus had seen enough. He BELIEVED!