Author: Jeff Englund

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Mary is back at the tomb. When we last saw her, she was telling Peter and John that she had found the tomb empty. Peter and John ran as fast as they could back to the tomb. They, too, found it empty. John then reports that, “… the disciples went back to where they were staying.” (V10)

Mary must have followed them back to the tomb. I expect that she probably walked back. She had already run the whole way to tell the men what she had found. She is sad. Did she see John and Peter as they came back along the way? She must have. John doesn’t say.

Mary finds her way back to the tomb. All she knows to do is cry. The pain of losing Jesus twice is more than she can bear. She hurts and she cries. Eventually, she looks into the tomb. Have you ever done that? Looked a second time to make sure what you saw was real? I have! She looked again. This time there are two angels in the tomb.

Often when angels appear they are in the form of men. Sometimes it seems difficult to recognize that they are, in fact, angels. In this passage, there is no doubt. No description of two “men” sitting there who appear out of nowhere. Mary knew immediately that these were angels. Interesting!

The angels speak: ”Woman, why are you crying?”

Perhaps they honestly don’t know! It might be that all heaven was so busy celebrating Jesus’ victory over death that it seemed unthinkable that all Creation wasn’t doing the same.

Application: Sometimes the human view is very different than the heavenly view. From heaven’s perspective, there was no mystery of where Jesus was. They all knew. They had to. The Son of God was not someone whom Heaven could ignore. His resurrection was a victory unlike the universe had ever seen before or will ever see again. Sometimes faith is trusting that God has all the information even when we do not.

Food for Thought: When you find yourself in dire straits and all you can think to do is cry, is God any less in control than when things seem to be going well?

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Continue reading “Crying – John 20: 11-13”

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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Continue reading “What Did John Believe? – John 20: 8-10”

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.

About a year ago a man gave a presentation at our church on the Shroud of Turin. He had a full-scale copy of the shroud on display and a fascinating number of stories and facts related to the shroud’s history and meaning. If I remember correctly his background was in nuclear physics. One of the more interesting aspects of his talk centered around the physics of what may have created the image on the shroud.

Part of his theory was the idea that when Jesus ascended from the dead, every atom in his physical body gave up its energy at one time. He thinks that this energy was focused in such a way as to leave the impression found on the Shroud of Turin. Even if the shroud was not the actual cloth that was used to wrap Jesus’ body, his point about the atoms evaporating still makes sense.

When Jesus is seen in the “flesh” after his resurrection, this is not the same physical flesh that he occupied during his time on earth. He no longer has a body that dies, but an eternal spiritual body. (I hope that I do not sound off track here. I believe that this statement makes sense even if the discussion of atoms doesn’t.) If the physical body shed its physical parts, and if the resurrected Jesus could walk through walls (In John 20: 19 and 26 we see Jesus appearing in a locked room) it seems reasonable that the linen strips would fall where they lay as the body transitioned from dead flesh to living God.

John describes a cloth that had been wrapped around the head of Jesus’ body. The rest of the grave clothes, according to John, consisted of strips of linen. What is interesting to me is how he describes the position of the cloths. The strips of linen were laying “in its place.” Presumably, this means they were lying where the body had been. The cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head was “separate from the linen.” This is what you would expect if the body left without disturbing the cloth.

Application: Sometimes we gloss over details without taking in their meaning. The detail that John gives us in this passage is stunning. If you want to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, think about the scene that John describes here.

Food for Thought: Does it help or hinder faith to ponder the nexus between what we know of physics and what we know of the Bible?

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Continue reading “Details II – John 20: 6b – 7”

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. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb.

Two men hear that the body of their Lord and master has been taken from its tomb. Immediately they run. Charging into action they race each other to the tomb. John outruns Peter and arrives first.

The two men are very different. Peter is more outspoken than any of the other disciples. John is possibly the youngest of the disciples. The style of his gospel sets him apart as a man who is thoughtful and emotionally sensitive. At the tomb, John hesitates. Peter does not. Peter runs straight into the tomb.

All this time, from the moment Mary set out to go to the tomb, the earth has continued its rotation. The sun rises and begins to warm the land. The great City of David starts to come to life. After the quiet of the Sabbath events start to move again. It is as if the whole of history comes to a complete stop for a day. Now, after the Sabbath rest, history begins again.

As John and Peter approach the tomb their eyes confirm that the stone blocking the door had been removed. The tomb stands open. Once inside, Peter is confronted by its emptiness.

Application: The cross is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. The empty tomb is a symbol of His power over death. It is important to keep both of these symbols in mind when thinking about our Lord.

Food for Thought: How important is the empty tomb to Christianity? Should we talk about it more? Is it irrelevant in light of Jesus returning in person later on?

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Continue reading “The Race – John 20: 4-6a”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

Peter and John have just received the news that the tomb is empty. Mary has also told them that someone had taken the body and put it somewhere else. The first part of the message was true. The second part was speculation which turned out not to be true.

If Peter and John had taken what Mary said at face value, they probably would have started a search party to find the body. Instead, they do a very human thing. They want to see for themselves.

The third part of Mary’s message was not conveyed with words, she conveyed it with emotion. She was panicked. The urgency in her voice and the fact that she had run from the tomb frightened Peter and John. It galvanized them into action.

Instead of worriedly pacing around debating what they should do, the men ran. But what if they hadn’t? What if they had believed her? Then they would have believed something that wasn’t true. They would have believed that Jesus’ body had been taken by someone.

Application: When it comes to knowing the truth, it is important not to take someone else’s word for it. We can each know Jesus for ourselves. In fact, we need to know Jesus.

Food for Thought: Sometimes an action can be a distraction. What sets the action the disciples took apart as the right thing to do?

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Continue reading “Men of Action – John 20: 3”

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!”

If you wanted to get somewhere fast in Jesus’ day, you had to run. Mary was in a hurry. She had to tell someone what she had seen and she needed to tell them now. She ran. We don’t know how far, but it is a safe assumption that it was a fair distance. She ran as fast as she could because she carried important news.

Perhaps the sun was coming up by now. John again is sketching his narrative quickly. Where did she find Peter and “the one Jesus loved?” (For the sake of our meditations we will assume “the one Jesus loved” is John, himself.) What were Peter and John doing? Were they sleeping? Were they awake and talking?

I suppose it doesn’t matter. Details like that do not add a lot to the story at this point. John gives us the key information when he quotes Mary saying, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb…”

She is wrong, of course. Nobody took Jesus out of the tomb. Jesus walked out under his own power. But she doesn’t know that … yet. All she truly knows is that Jesus is gone. The tomb is empty. The idea that someone took Jesus and put his body somewhere else is the only rational explanation she can think of.

The message she conveys is a truth wrapped in her fears. That the tomb is empty, is true. She fears that the reason for the tomb being empty is someone has taken the body.

Application: I think there is an important point in this scene from the resurrection. It is common for us as people to “fill in the blanks” if we don’t understand something. For example, people generally accept our existence as a truth. Why do we exist? Some believe that thousands of nucleotides that make up our DNA were randomly formed in such a way as to create life. We don’t understand how creation worked so we make something up and call it “evolution.” Adding imagined answers to fill in the gaps in our knowledge does not help our understanding. Instead, it confuses the truth by obscuring it.

Food for Thought: Who do you think Mary imagines would have moved Jesus’ body and why?

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Continue reading “Partial Truth – John 20: 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.

For the past few days, we have been looking at the time between the death of Jesus and Sunday morning. Finally, we have arrived! Mary is the first to discover the open tomb. We do not know what she expected to find or do on this amazing morning, but we know what she wasn’t expecting. She did not expect to find the tomb open and empty.

Think about the implications of this event: Jesus’ body was gone. What was she to think?

She must have looked. It was still dark, but she must have looked inside the tomb. In the gloom of the early morning light, she peered into the dark tomb. Perhaps she had an oil lamp with her? Whatever she saw convinced her that the tomb was empty.

Was it the Jewish leaders who had taken Jesus? Did someone else take him? Why couldn’t they just leave him alone?

Application: Jesus had told the disciples what would happen, but they did not understand. Mary herself, who had seen her brother, Lazarus, walk out of his tomb after being dead four days, did not understand. How could the man who raised Lazarus raise himself from the dead? The important thing to remember is that God is God. We are only His children. There is much we do not understand.

Food for Thought: Imagine that you are in the garden that morning. You see Mary approach the tomb. You hear her gasp and then she sobs. She turns to leave, panic written on her face. What do you say to her?

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Continue reading “Panic – John 20: 1a & b”

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb …

Friday has come and gone. Joseph and Nicodemus made sure Jesus was put in a tomb. Saturday, the Sabbath, was quiet. Except for the special activities in the Temple, most everyone would have stayed home. A whole day to sit and think. Think about Jesus. Think about what had happened. Think about his horrible end.

Why did Mary go to the tomb? What did she expect to see? Was she expecting to find a sealed tomb? Did she want to be as close to Jesus as she could? Did she have a plan or was she going to the tomb because she didn’t know where else to go, what else to do?

If it had been some other day and not the Sabbath would she have been sitting by the tomb yesterday? Maybe she was awake all night thinking about Jesus. Maybe she could not believe that all this had happened.

It is Sunday. Technically, the Sabbath is over. It is not daylight yet, but she can wait no longer. She rises and prepares to go outside. It is cool. It is dark. The sky was pale gray suggesting dawn was not far off. She makes her way from the place she is staying to the garden where Jesus’ tomb is. It is so early that even the birds are still quiet.

Application: Mary had a childlike faith. She loved Jesus. She loved being around him, loved listening to his words. Jesus was everything to her. Even in death, she did not want to be away from him. That kind of passion, that devotion, that love is at the heart of every true believer’s relationship with Jesus.

Food for Thought: What does it say that Mary goes to the tomb alone? How do different people react to what has happened?

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Continue reading “Sunday Morning – John 20: 1a”

…

Sometimes to fully understand something you have to “read between the lines.” Today our mediation bus stops between two passages; John 19: 42 and John 20: 1. In between these to verses is a whole day, the Sabbath.

This particular Sabbath was special (John 19: 31). Even so, it was a Sabbath. There were rules to be followed as the sun set on Friday. No fires were to be lit and no food was to be cooked. No work was to be done. It was a day of stillness. A day of waiting.

As we wait to begin the next part of the story, let’s take a day and experience a brief Sabbath’s rest. A break between two passages. A day between two days.

What were the disciples thinking? Had they made it to someplace safe for the day? Had they gathered together already? Were some caught outside of the city gates? Where did they spend their Sabbath?

Some, perhaps, were with friends and family. Maybe some of the disciples were alone. All were quiet for the day. I wonder if it seemed to them as if the whole world had come to a stop.

Application: As we contemplate this day between the two most important days in history, think about the aftermath of Good Friday. John does not talk about it but it is reported that there were earthquakes, the sky darkened, and the temple curtain tore in two. It is also reported that the dead were raised to life. Now, on this Sabbath, all is quiet again.

Food for Thought: If you had been there that day that Jesus was crucified, where would your thoughts be the next day, a day when all you could do is to sit and think?

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Continue reading “In Between – John 20: 0”

Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Dr. S. M. Lockridge is famous for his sermon, “It’s Friday. But Sunday’s Coming!” In it, he recounts the trials of this last day of Jesus’ life on earth. He expounds on the darkness of that day. The pain and the hopelessness. At the end of each stanza (his sermon was more poem than prose), he would say, “It’s Friday. But Sunday’s Coming!”

In today’s passage, the clock starts ticking. Jesus has been laid in the tomb. It is Friday. But, as Dr. Lockridge points out, Sunday is coming.

As I write this I am conscious of the intensity of the past forty-eight hours in John’s gospel. They have been filled with a bitter-sweet tension that spills over into horror as Jesus is taken captive. Panic sets in and the mob, goaded on by the chief priests, takes over. Pilate caves to the pressure and Jesus is stripped and hung on a cross.

Now he is dead. Two secret disciples have carried him away from the killing ground and prepared his body for burial. Laying him gently on the stone bench in the tomb, they retreat and roll the stone over the opening to the tomb. Inside it is dark and cool. Outside the heat of the day is just starting to dissipate. The men leave. For a moment all is quiet. Inside the tomb, the quiet and the darkness intermingle into one.

Finally, there is peace. No more trials. No more tests. No more going hungry or feeding thousands. No more being pressed by the crowds. No more arguments with Jewish leaders.

All that is left is peace and quiet.

Finally.

Application: There is a saying that goes, “Things are always darkest before the dawn.” Never was that more true than the day that Jesus died on the cross. Yet we know that he overcame death. We know that he offers to share that life with us. With you and with me. All we have to do is to turn our back to the world and look Jesus full in the face.

Food for Thought: How do you imagine the secret disciples felt after they had rolled the rock in front of the tomb?

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Continue reading “Peace – John 19: 40-42”