Back to the Basics
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) John 20:1-9
Jesus had risen from the dead, but the disciples didn’t know it yet. They had heard a report that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb so two of them ran there to check it out. Please notice that the disciple – most likely the gospel writer John himself – looked in, went in, saw and believed. There’s a pattern there. First, John looked in. Previously, he had seen what a touch from the Master’s hand could do. He had seen Jesus change people’s lives. But now he was looking for himself in a new way. He hesitated, but then he entered in. Still, his life was not yet changed. There was more that he needed to do. He needed to see the empty tomb and believe that what he saw was really true. Later, he would come to understand from God’s word that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Each of us needs to do what John did – to see that God changes lives, to look into the empty tomb, to realize that Jesus has risen from the dead, and to know what that means. It means that Jesus is alive. He can change us. Yep, Jesus can even change me! (I was tempted to say “this crotchety, getting-older woman,” but I didn’t want to be negative.) I don’t know about you, but I need to know that there really is hope for me! (I bet my family needs hope that God can change me, too!) Hope like that does takes faith. (Some days take more than others!) But good days and bad, we have to believe.
One more basic is mentioned in verse 9. It’s understanding, and not just any kind of understanding. It’s understanding “from Scripture,” and it doesn’t come immediately. After all the disciples had seen, they still didn’t get it. All they’d seen was a part of God’s plan as laid out in the Word but understanding that came later. Luke 24:45 says that Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” Spend time with Jesus and let him open your mind! He’s alive! Hallelujah!
