Monday
John 20.1-2 “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!””
After the stunned silence of Saturday, a new day starts, and with it, yet another shock. Early, still dark, and the light of the world is still eclipsed. The stone seal has been removed and Mary imagines the worst; even the body is gone. Running, breathless, urgency energised by rising panic, her words are desperate. The quiet of the garden is shattered by the fear of total loss. It is impossible now for us, who know the whole story, to imagine the terror and despair of those who loved Jesus facing such emptiness. “They have taken him…we don’t know where…” The answer to that bleak emptiness of the human heart is the resurrection of Jesus, which is both miracle, and the inevitable outcome of God’s renewing power, and determined love.
Tuesday
John 20. 3-5 “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.”
John is reporting the testimony of eyewitnesses. Don’t rush him. There’s truth to be told and it has to be told through the experience of those who were there. The beloved disciple was obviously faster and fitter than Peter! He was first to the crime scene, assuming the body had been stolen. He saw the grave wrappings but stayed outside. John is giving you the reader time to catch up, time to think and imagine the impossible possibility that Jesus is indeed and in fact, the resurrection and the life! This is John’s way of saying what the other Gospel writers say: “He is not here. He is risen!” And impulsive Peter will barge right in and see for himself – and eventually, one he meets up with Jesus, will believe the evidence of his own eyes.
Wednesday
John 20.6-7 “Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.”
The strips of linen lie there where they fell, but the face cloth was folded. In contrast to Lazarus who came from the tomb still bound, Jesus is free of all the clothes of death. The face cloth was folded – by whom? The divine passive is a way of saying things, a device that biblical writers used to suggest God is the subject, and the action is performed by God. Jesus’ absence from the tomb is not another Lazarus type story. Lazarus was raised but died again. Jesus is raised to life anew, eternal life with the Father. “No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of Life!”
Thursday
John 20. 8-9 “Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.”
Peter established the facts – the body was gone, Jesus wasn’t there. The other disciple “Saw and believed.” Believed what? The full meaning of what has just happened will take a long time to unpack. Scripture’s prophecies and promises, the disciples’ encounters with the risen Jesus, the sharing of each other’s eyewitness testimonies – so much to process. The resurrection of Jesus is not simply another phenomenon that we can analyse and understand. It is an event that reverberates through all creation. “Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered.” One of the best lines in any modern worship song!
Friday
John 20.18 “Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
John’s telling of the meeting of Mary and Jesus can’t be split up into daily thoughts. It is a seamless garment, the story of a relationship of such intensity and intimacy it needs to be read for what it is – a story of God’s love revealed in all its life giving power; but also that same love refusing to be captured, possessed, or tied down to the interests of any one person. Mary’s words, “I have seen the Lord”, are said through smiling tears and tempered joy. She can’t keep Jesus; it is He who will keep her, and all those whom he loves and who love him. But having seen him, she can never again doubt Him or be lost to Him. So it is with each believer drawn into the love of God in Christ. Jesus promise includes all who believe; “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
Saturday
John 20.19 “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Locked doors are intended to keep out danger and provide security. Human fear is both a primitive and a survival emotion. It can galvanise or paralyse. The disciples were in that difficult place of locked in anxiety, no clear plan going forward, and no control of events. But Jesus ignores locked doors and comes and stands in the very place where fear lives. “Peace be with you.” This is not mere well-wishing. These words are like those first words of creation – God spoke, and it was so. Peace was with them because Jesus was with them. After the horrendous events of Friday, the long shock of Saturday, the emotionally shredding experiences of knowing and not knowing that had been the day so far, “Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Sunday
John 20.20 “After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
Yes, it was indeed Jesus. The wounds leave no room for doubt. The one who now stands amongst them is the crucified one, the buried one, the one who said himself, “It is finished.” But it is only beginning. The resurrection is the definitive negation of death and the demonstrated triumph of God over all the powers and forces that frustrate and challenge the reign of God. God has given Jesus the name that is above every name, whether Caesar, or king or president. And the regalia of honour are eternal and visible in “his hands and his side.” The Lord of glory crucified, the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Or as Paul stated withgout apology to the Roman churches: “He was declared with power to be the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” That is Easter. That is the good news. “This is our God the Servant King.”
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