Empty Tomb, Full Life

This week I experienced something somewhat unusual. I met a family in the home of their mother who was dying. The woman’s husband, children and many others had recently been told that she was near death. They were trying to come to terms with it as I arrived on the scene. I have never seen so many people gathered in one house and bedroom in that circumstance. The patient’s son was on her bed and constantly rubbing her back. Others were holding her hand. They were crying, talking to her and in some ways holding on while saying goodbye. One of the daughters quickly asked me if I could say a prayer. The patient had a Catholic background, and I assume she just wanted a type of ritualistic moment with a spiritual leader. Of course, I read scripture and prayed for the family. About 30 minutes later as I was in the living room, one of the daughters told me that “we never know.”

She stated that her mom could surprise us and walk out of her room and be OK. I empathized with her but didn’t have the heart to tell her that the idea was not realistic. A few hours later, the mother was gone. We all want to have our loved ones stay with us, and we don’t like to face death. In Jesus’s case, it was a unique situation after he was buried.

His death would have been meaningless were it not for the promise of resurrection. It is not clear as to whether his followers really believed that promise and were anticipating the resurrection or if they were caught off guard perhaps. You would not think that promise would be something that would be easily forgotten. Some of his disciples were in hiding, but John 20 tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early on the first day of the week. She went in the darkness of the morning and found that the stone had been removed from the entrance (20:1).

The text indicates that she assumed someone took the body of Jesus. We cannot be sure who she thought would do that or why. She reported this to John and Simon Peter.

Without naming himself, John mentions that he outran Peter. Apparently, Peter’s mouth was faster than his feet. The fact that these disciples were on the scene at that point speaks to their faith. Perhaps they were thinking that this was the day that Jesus would be resurrected. They may also have just been going there to grieve. We cannot be sure.

The tomb that these men looked into was not completely empty. Several times, the strips of linen or cloth are mentioned. If someone was going to steal a body, they would not unwrap it for obvious reasons. Seeing the cloth and linen that had covered his head lying in place could only mean one thing to these followers of Jesus. The wording is interesting. When John went inside, “He saw and believed” (8).

However, verse nine is parenthetical in our English bibles (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead). David Jeremiah explains it well: “Two different ways of seeing are depicted. Both John and Simon Peter viewed the facts - the tomb was empty, and the burial strips of linen lying there. But the text implies that John saw at a deeper level; he believed. Today the tomb still stands empty, and people still can see the evidence. But not everyone believes that Jesus has, in fact, overcome death and provided the only way to eternal life.”

The 10th verse states that the disciples went back to where they were staying. It seems a little unusual that they didn’t talk things over with Mary. She was the one who reported the empty tomb to them in the first place. You would think they would have comforted her and explained that it is the best news ever. There is no doubt that they were in a state of jubilant shock. Mary was crying and weeping outside the tomb. Another shock awaited her as she went inside the tomb. Two angels in white were about six feet apart. The angels asked what might seem like an insensitive question, “Woman, why are you crying?” (13).

The other day when my new friends were going through anticipatory grief, it did not occur to me to ask them why they were crying. I got it. They were saying goodbye and had a sense of hopelessness and uncertainty. But in the case of Mary Magdalene, the angels wanted her to know there was no reason for the tears. She told them what she originally thought. The body had been taken away. She added that she didn’t know where they had put him. Maybe she sensed something, because she turned around and realized that Jesus was not missing. He was there with her! Like the angels, he asked why she was crying. Jesus had to make her understand that he was not the gardener. He would do that with one word – “Mary” (16).

She replied with one word that she cried out – “Teacher.”

Jesus instructed her to tell the disciples the good news. The tomb was vacant, and the time of grieving was over. They too would be resurrected one day as will we. Meanwhile, the empty tomb means a full life.

As Bill Gaither wrote: “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future, then life is worth the living, just because he lives.”