Peter and John Visit Jesus' Tomb

Still dark. “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark” (20:1). Mary had stood by the cross of Jesus (John 19:25). Now she came back to the place where His body had been laid. The stone was gone. She “saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (20:1). The tomb was open. Two friends. Mary ran to Simon Peter and to “the other disciple, whom Jesus loved” (20:2). Christians have long understood him to be John. What Mary thought. She told them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (20:2). Mary thought someone had moved the body. She did not yet know that He was alive. She still loved Him. Even when she thought His body was gone, Mary called Jesus “the Lord.” Her heart was broken, but her love had not stopped. God at work in the dark. While Mary thought the body had been stolen, the greatest thing in history had already happened. The stone was moved because the tomb was already empty. God had raised His Son. She went to the others. Mary did not keep her sorrow to herself. She ran to Jesus' friends, and her news sent them running to the tomb. What this means for you. Things can look dark and confusing, even for people who love Jesus. But God is never stuck in the dark. Bring your questions to Him and to His people, and keep looking for what He is doing.

The first day of the week. “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark” (20:1). Jesus had been laid in the tomb before the Sabbath began, “because of the Jews’ Preparation Day” (John 19:42). As soon as the Sabbath was past, Mary came. A woman who stayed. Mary Magdalene had stood “by the cross of Jesus” (John 19:25). Luke tells us that Jesus had set her free from seven demons (Luke 8:2). She had watched Him die, and she came back to His grave. Taken away. She “saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (20:1). Her explanation was theft: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (20:2). She says “we”; other women had come to the tomb that morning too (Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10). The other disciple. Mary ran “to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved” (20:2). Christians have long understood him to be John. Grief. Mary was grieving. She had watched Jesus die, and now even His body seemed lost. No one that morning expected Jesus to be alive. Still the Lord. Even when she thought His body was lost, Mary called Him “the Lord.” Her love held on when her hope was gone. God in the dark. Mary came while it was dark, and nothing she saw made sense yet. But the stone had been moved because the tomb was already empty. God had raised His Son before anyone came. She ran. Mary did not keep her sorrow to herself. She ran to Jesus' friends, and her words sent them running to the tomb. For you. Love for Jesus does not always come with understanding. When life looks dark, keep coming to Him, and tell His people what is on your heart. He is at work before you can see it.

Mary Magdalene loved Jesus very much. She had stood near the cross when He died. Early on Sunday, she came to His tomb in the dark. She saw that the big stone was moved away. Mary thought someone had taken Jesus’ body. She did not yet know that Jesus was alive. So she ran to Peter and to the follower Jesus loved. Christians have long believed that this follower was John. Mary still called Jesus “the Lord.” And God was already at work in the dark. When things seem dark and sad, God is still working. You can always bring your sadness to Jesus.

Mary came to the tomb while it was still dark. She thought Jesus’ body was taken. But God had already raised Jesus to life!

They both ran. “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together” (20:3-4). Mary's news could not wait. Peter ran. Only a few days before, Peter had said three times that he did not know Jesus. “Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed” (John 18:27). Luke says, “So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Yet when he heard that the tomb was open, Peter did not stay away. He ran toward it. John outran Peter. “The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first” (20:4). He bent down and looked in, “yet he did not go in” (20:5). Peter went in. “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb” (20:6). John arrived first, and Peter went in first. Luke also tells us, “But Peter arose and ran to the tomb” (Luke 24:12). Two different friends. One was faster, and one went straight inside. This was not a contest to see who was the better disciple. Both of them loved Jesus, and Jesus loved both of them. What this means for you. If you have let Jesus down, do not run away from Him. Run toward Him. And you do not have to be like anyone else to follow Jesus. He wants you to come to Him just as you are.

Therefore. “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb” (20:3). Mary's words sent them out at once. “So they both ran together” (20:4). Peter, after the denial. Only days before, Peter had denied Jesus in the high priest's courtyard. “Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed” (John 18:27). Mark adds, “And when he thought about it, he wept” (Mark 14:72). Now Peter was running toward the tomb, not away from it. The faster runner. “The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first” (20:4). He stooped to look in, “yet he did not go in” (20:5). He stayed outside. The one who went in. “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb” (20:6). Luke tells the same moment: “But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves” (Luke 24:12). Different, and both loved. John reached the tomb first; Peter went in first. It was not a contest. Both were running toward the same Lord, and both would soon see Him alive, for He “was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:5). Cephas is Peter's name in Aramaic. Running toward Him. Shame tells a person to hide. Peter ran toward the place where Jesus had been laid. For you. Failure does not have to keep you away from Jesus. Run to Him. And you do not need to be faster, louder or braver than anyone else to follow Him. He calls each of His friends by name.

Right away, Peter and John set out for the tomb. They both ran together. But John was faster, so he got there first. Peter had done a very sad thing just days before. He had said three times that he did not know Jesus. Then Peter went out and cried very hard. But now Peter was running toward Jesus’ tomb. His sin did not keep him away. John got there first, but Peter went in first. This was not a race to see who was better. Jesus loved them both. If you have done wrong, run to Jesus too. He will not send you away.

Peter and John ran to the tomb. Peter had done wrong, but he still came. Jesus loves us even when we fail.

Strips of linen. When Jesus was buried, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus “took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:40). Lying there. Now those same cloths were lying in the tomb, but the body was gone. John saw them from the door (20:5). Peter went in “and he saw the linen cloths lying there” (20:6). The handkerchief. Peter also saw “the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself” (20:7). Not robbers. Mary thought someone had taken the body (20:2). But robbers would most likely have carried the body away still wrapped, not unwrapped it and left the linen behind. The cloths did not look like a robbery. Jesus had risen. He saw and believed. “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (20:8). John looked at what was there and at what was missing, and he believed. This is our memory verse. Faith with a reason. Believing in Jesus is not pretending. God gave His people real things to see: an empty tomb, cloths left behind, and soon the risen Lord Himself. What this means for you. You were not there that morning, but God's Word tells you what John saw. Like John, you can look at what God has shown and believe that Jesus is alive.

Bound in linen. At the burial, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus “took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:40). Nicodemus had brought “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds” (19:39). Othonion. The word for linen cloths is othonion (say: oh-THOH-nee-on), a strip of fine linen. John saw the strips “lying there” (20:5), and Peter saw the same (20:6). Luke adds that they were “lying by themselves” (Luke 24:12). Soudarion. Peter also saw “the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself” (20:7). The handkerchief is the soudarion (say: soo-DAH-ree-on), a cloth for the face or head. What the cloths ruled out. Mary's explanation was theft (20:2). But thieves would most likely have taken the body as it was, wrapped in linen and spices. A body unwrapped, with the cloths left lying and the head cloth set by itself, does not look like a robbery. Jesus had not been carried out. He had risen. He saw and believed. “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” (20:8). John looked at real evidence, and it led him to faith. Faith is not a guess. Faith in the Bible trusts God because of what He has done and said. The resurrection happened in a real garden, to a real body, and it left real evidence behind. For you. You can look carefully at what John saw. The cloths were left behind because Jesus did not need them anymore. Trust the living Lord who left that tomb empty.

Jesus’ body had been wrapped in strips of linen cloth. A cloth had also been put around His head. Now the cloths were lying in the empty tomb. The head cloth was folded up in its own place. Jesus’ body was gone, but the cloths were still there. Nobody had stolen Jesus’ body. God had raised Jesus to life! John looked at the cloths, and he believed. Our memory verse says, “and he saw and believed.” You cannot see the empty tomb with your own eyes. But God’s Word tells you what John saw. You can believe in Him too!

The cloths were lying in the tomb. Jesus was not there. John saw, and he believed!

Not yet. “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (20:9). John believed, but he and Peter still had much to understand. Which Scripture? David wrote, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10). Sheol is the place of the dead. Corruption means a body decaying in the grave. Peter explained it later. On the day of Pentecost, Peter told a great crowd that David “is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). So David was speaking about the Christ: “His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:31). The man who went home from the tomb wondering became the man who preached it. According to the Scriptures. Paul wrote that Jesus “rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). The resurrection was God's plan all along. They went home. “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes” (20:10). Luke says Peter “departed, marveling to himself at what had happened” (Luke 24:12). Mary stayed by the tomb, and Jesus met her there (John 20:11-16). What this means for you. You do not have to understand everything before you trust Jesus. Start with what you know: the tomb is empty, and Jesus is alive. God will keep teaching you from His Word.

Graphe. “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (20:9). The word for Scripture is graphe (say: graf-AY), something written. Here it means the written Word of God that Jesus' followers already had, the books we call the Old Testament. The psalm. David wrote, “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8). Then he said, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (16:10). David's tomb. Peter later preached, “let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). David's body had stayed in the grave. So the psalm had to be about Someone else. The Christ. “He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:31-32). From marveling to preaching. On resurrection morning Peter “departed, marveling to himself at what had happened” (Luke 24:12). Weeks later he stood up and explained the very Scripture he had not yet understood. God grew his understanding. Going home. “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes” (20:10). Mary stayed by the tomb, weeping, and the risen Lord met her there (20:11-16). For you. John believed before he understood everything, and Peter understood more as God taught him. You can trust Jesus today with what you know, and keep growing in His Word.

John believed, but there was still a lot to learn. The followers did not yet understand the Scriptures. The Scriptures said that Jesus must rise from death. Long ago, King David wrote a song to God. He wrote, “You will not let your holy one rot.” David died, and his body stayed in his grave. So David was talking about Someone else. Later, Peter told a big crowd what these words meant. David was talking about Jesus rising from death! That morning, Peter and John went back home. You do not have to understand everything to trust Jesus. God will help you learn more about Him.

Peter and John did not understand everything yet. God’s Word said Jesus would rise. God always keeps His promises!