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.
As John recounts his memory of this most unusual morning, he says something odd. He says, “He saw and believed.” Okay. If he had stopped right there I would think, “John is telling us that he believed that the Lord had risen.” But right afterward he adds parenthetically, “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” So what did John believe when he stepped into that tomb?
I don’t know. Sorry, but no one does. God knows, of course. So we have to trust His guidance in these matters. Beyond that, I advise much caution.
Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10: 32-33)
The purpose of this blog is to promote a deeper understanding of Scripture through a detailed examination of each passage. Perhaps I walk too fine a line here. If I do, I apologize. I hope that our journey together brings us closer to God.
When I look at this verse I wonder, “Did John simply mean that he believed Jesus was gone?” It almost seems too simple, but in light of his parenthetical statement, I’m not sure what else makes sense.
Application: Throughout the history of the Reformation, there has been a battle between the plain meaning of Scripture and the value of the historic traditions of the Church. It is as easy to fall off on the side of easy Grace as it is to fall off on the side of legalism. Active, living, daily faith in Jesus is neither, and to some extent both. I find that turning to Scripture every day is invaluable. I hope you find that, too.
Food for Thought: How do you avoid falling into arguments about matters of faith, or do you think that is a good thing? How does arguing reflect on your faith in God?
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Well, there is a difference between believing Jesus had risen from the dead and understanding from Scripture that He had to rise from the dead – that that was God’s plan. It is possible that John believed He had risen without understanding all of the OT texts that demanded the Messiah do so. But this gets me to your question. Why can’t we disagree and be OK with it? Or can we? Is not learning and debating ideas in the effort to seek truth one way to grow and for iron to sharpen iron? If we are debating to win then that misses the point. If we can’t debate because we get our feelings hurt rather easily, I think that misses the point. I think it is alright for us to disagree on minor points and discuss it in a loving manner. That art seems to be disappearing in our culture, but I am not sure we are better for it. I guess I am saying that there may be a difference between being argumentative and having honest discussion. There is a difference between arguing and disagreeing. Perhaps our reaction to a disagreement tells us something about our own motives? I am rambling, but I am concerned about a true lack of tolerance. Our culture talks about tolerance a lot and then responds with intolerance to opposing views. We do not need to be offended. We can choose a different reaction. True tolerance is listening to someone we disagree with and lovingly evaluating their opinion and sharing our thoughts in return. Anyone who is married does this all the time.
Rich,
Interesting rambling!
You ask, “Why can’t we disagree and be okay with it?”
I would take one big step back from that question and ask a different question: Why do we spend so much time in our heads when Christianity is so much a matter of the heart?
Do we love God above all else and our neighbor as ourselves?
If I argue with my neighbor about how the Bible should be interpreted, am I being a loving neighbor?
Jesus provides guidance in these matters. He offers Grace and Mercy to all but only gives it to those who accept it. When Jesus sent the twelve out he instructed them this way:
Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10: 11-16)
I notice that he doesn’t tell his disciples to argue with them. Instead, he says, “leave.”
I think that there is a lot of room for discussion if the people doing the discussing do it in love. When the love is missing, then all that is left is to choose between submitting and leaving. The follower of Jesus only has one Lord. We can submit to no other.
Well, I agree 🙂
Are we arguing 🙂
Jesus had an interesting conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. He had some interesting conversations with the Pharisees. Speak the truth in love. I think we are definitely on board there. I just think it is ok to talk to one another even if there is not 100% agreement. I am a pretrib. premillennial. There are people in our church who are mid trib and post trib – we get along just fine. We even laugh about it. But I do learn from them when we discuss the topic. Love is essential in any discussion.
1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 3.
And defining the heart may be helpful as well. Is it the center of our mind, intellect, will and emotions, or is it something else? It is a matter of the heart, but also the mind. We need to help each other take every thought captive to Christ. Love is the essential in it all. If two people cannot love each other and disagree at times, then my marriage is in jeopardy 🙂
Hmmm…
I agree that we are not “arguing.” So we agree on that. 🙂
I also agree that love is essential. Discussions in the context of love are not arguments in the worldly sense. In the world’s view, an argument is about winning and losing. It is about power over others. In the Christian world, an argument is about helping. The Christian argument comes from the servant’s heart and is motivated by faithfulness to the Word and service to our Lord. The Christian’s argument is grounded in humility rather than pride.
Coming back to the “heart” of the matter, can we define the heart? How do you measure a feeling? What is the volume of the heart? How much devotion can it contain? I am not at all sure humans are capable of these types of calculations. If you could define the heart, what would you do with the definition?
There is another aspect of this discussion that is important and that is context.
In the context of a marriage, there is a God-given structure that bonds husband and wife together. Within that structure, there is a fire that God uses to drive the dross out of our lives.
In the context of Christian fellowship, there are different bonds. These bonds do not have the structure of marriage. Instead, there is a family bond. This relationship can also be an “iron sharpening iron” mechanism. Leaving is an option in this situation and can be used by God to highlight what we didn’t know we had. That experience can bring a wayward soul back into fellowship. Or not. It depends on their heart and their relationship with God.
In the context of the world, there may or may not be social bonds. Sometimes the only message the Christian can offer in this context is sacrifice; going the extra mile. Sometimes arguments are useful in this context, but the Christian is still under obligation to represent his Lord in a loving way.
So what do you think? Are we arguing or sharing viewpoints with an eye to bringing clarification to our discussion?
I am not sure, but I hope it is the latter brother :). I love you brother. Thank you for your blog posts and for sharing. Shalom to you today.