“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.” (John 20:1–10 ESV)
All four Gospels parallel each other concerning the events on Resurrection Sunday. The Holy Spirit specifically inspired one of two of the writers to provide particular information not found in the other Gospels. While each writer provides selective, insightful information, they do not contradict each other in telling the wonderful news that Jesus Christ is alive. Such is the case with today’s text from John.
John 20 records Jesus’ appearances to the following individuals: Mary Magdalene (vs. 1-18), the ten disciples (vs. 19-23), and to Thomas (vs. 24-29). “Once again John’s purpose in recording these resurrection appearances was to demonstrate that Jesus’ physical and bodily resurrection was the crowning proof that he truly is the Messiah and Son of God who laid down his life for his own (John 10:17–18; 15:13; cf. Rom. 1:4),” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
John begins today’s text with the statement ““Now on the first day of the week.” In other words, this was the Sunday following the Lord’s crucifixion on the preceding Friday and the Sabbath, or Saturday, that immediately followed. It is because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday that the early church began to gather for worship and to celebration (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:1-2). Sunday became known as the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10).
Prior to the women coming to Jesus’ tomb at dawn, Mary Magdalene came to the sepulcher early in the morning; while it was still dark. Upon her arrival, she saw the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.
“Perhaps the reason why Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene was to demonstrate grace by his personal, loving faithfulness to someone who formerly had a sordid past; but clearly also because she loved him so dearly and deeply, that she appeared before anyone else at the tomb. Her purpose in coming was to finish the preparation of Jesus’ body for burial by bringing more spices to anoint the corpse (Luke 24:1),” states Dr. MacArthur.
Upon seeing the stone moved from the tomb’s opening, Mary immediately ran to find Simon Peter and John. She said to them, ““They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” The personal pronoun “we” may refer to the other women who joined Mary at the tomb as dawn was breaking. This announcement prompted Peter and John to not dismiss Mary, as the other disciples did (Luke 24:11), but rather to go to the tomb and investigate (Luke 24:12). Could it be Jesus was alive?
Soli deo Gloria!
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