The Risen Jesus (1)

[John 20:1-10]

The event of Jesus’ resurrection is recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Today, we will testify about the resurrected Jesus focusing on John 20:1-10, and next Wednesday’s service, we will focus on Matthew 28 for further testimony. Today’s passage, John 20:1, says: “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.” Here, “the first day of the week” means Sunday, since the Sabbath was Saturday. The Bible records that Mary Magdalene came early, while it was still dark. According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, besides her, at least four other women accompanied Mary Magdalene: “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary” (Mt 28:1), “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome” (Mk 16:1), “these women” (Lk 24:1), that is, “the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee” (Lk 23:55). The “stone” that firmly sealed Jesus’ tomb (Mt 27:66) was a large stone, like a big door blocking the tomb’s entrance. It was so big that it would have been impossible for just four women to move it. So why did the angel of the Lord come down from heaven and move the stone? (Mt 28:2) The reason was to announce and testify that the tomb was empty. In other words, the empty tomb is testimony that Jesus rose just as He said. John 20:2 says: “Then she ran 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 seeing the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene ran to tell Peter and the beloved disciple that the Lord was not in the tomb. This shows Mary Magdalene’s lack of faith. If she had believed that Jesus had risen as He said, she would have run to testify about the resurrection to Peter and John, but instead, she said they did not know where Jesus’ body was. In other words, she did not believe Jesus had risen and thought someone had taken His dead body. The empty tomb clearly testifies to the resurrected Jesus. Jesus is the glorious Lord who could come out of the tomb even though the large stone blocked it. The gloriously resurrected Lord is fully capable of coming out of the tomb no matter how large the stone sealing it was. John 20:3 says: “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.” Peter and the other disciple went to the tomb because they also did not believe in the resurrection. Even though they had followed Jesus for three years and He had told them three times that He would rise, Peter and John did not believe His words and ran to the tomb to check for themselves (v.4). They should have believed Jesus’ words about rising after three days and gone to testify about the resurrected Jesus instead of running to the tomb.

Today’s passage is John 20:4-8: “The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had arrived at the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.” The apostle John ran faster than Peter and reached Jesus’ tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths but did not enter the tomb (verses 4-5). Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside the tomb; he saw that the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head was not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up separately in another place (verses 6-7). When a head is wrapped with a cloth, the shape of the head makes the cloth naturally round in form. The cloth that had wrapped the risen Jesus’ head was still round in shape. After Peter carefully examined this, he came out, and then the apostle John also entered the tomb, saw this, and believed (verse 8). The next passage is John 20:9-10: “(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) So the disciples went back to their homes.” The faith of the apostle John was a faith that believed upon seeing (verse 8), not a faith that believed in Jesus who “died for our sins, was buried, and according to the Scriptures, rose again on the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Like John, Peter also did not yet understand the Scripture that said Jesus must rise from the dead (John 20:9). Although there are many Scriptures that clearly teach about Jesus’ resurrection, they did not yet know that He had to rise. As a result, Peter and John went back to their homes (verse 10). This kind of faith—believing only by seeing but not understanding—leads to returning home instead of going out to testify to others about the risen Jesus. Luke 24:7-9 says: “That the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” They remembered Jesus’ words, returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven apostles and the others. We should not have faith like John, who only believes after seeing, but rather remember Jesus’ words that “the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) must be delivered into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and rise again on the third day,” believe in the resurrection of Jesus, and go out to testify to everyone about the risen Christ. An interesting point is that the chief priests and Pharisees who caused Jesus to be crucified “remembered” that Jesus said He would rise on the third day. So they went to Governor Pilate and asked him to secure the tomb until the third day. With Pilate’s permission, they sealed the tomb with a stone and guarded it (Matthew 27:62-66). Looking at this, it seems the chief priests and Pharisees believed more in Jesus’ resurrection than Peter or John. Our faith is faith that believes upon seeing. However, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (In a modern translation: “Happy are those who believe without seeing.”) John 20:27-29 says: “Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

This is 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Jesus died “according to the Scriptures” and was raised again on the third day “according to the Scriptures.” Therefore, we must believe according to the Scriptures. Faith based solely on seeing, like the apostle John’s, is insufficient. He simply went back home. Nowadays, many Christians tend to believe based on what they have seen. Some believe people who claim to have been to heaven or hell, but such faith is easily shaken. However, if we believe according to the Scriptures, our faith will not be shaken, and we can stand firm and live a strong life of faith. Our church should be like the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13). Even though we have “little strength,” we must keep the word of the Lord’s endurance, not deny His name, and overcome the trials, persecutions, and sufferings caused by those belonging to Satan’s group, so that we may be praised by the Lord. We must never be like the church in Laodicea, which said, “I am rich, I have become wealthy, and I have need of nothing,” but was neither hot nor cold and lived a lukewarm faith life, thus receiving rebuke and discipline from the Lord (verses 14-19). The Lord rose according to the Scriptures. His Word tells us so. Therefore, we must believe the Lord’s resurrection exactly as written in the Bible and become gospel preachers who proclaim to all people that Jesus Christ died according to the Scriptures and rose according to the Scriptures.