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. 2 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!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally 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.)
The following paragraphs are taken from a sermon by John Piper called I Have Seen The Lord. I was a little confused about why it would be notable that the burial cloth was there, and the linen. Why would John make mention of the cloths rather than just saying the body was gone? What meaning was there in those cloths remaining after Jesus was no longer in the tomb? Then I thought "Well, Mary came and say "They have taken the Lord..." so if he had, in fact, been taken from the tomb, they would have taken him cloths and all, right?"
1. Risen Bodily, Not Just Spiritually
First, Jesus has risen from the dead bodily, not just spiritually. Some are willing to talk about the resurrection as a symbol of Jesus’ ongoing influence or his spirit alive in the world or his soul returning to God. That is not John’s point. The body was not there. He had risen bodily. In fact, one of the most striking and stubborn historical facts is that the enemies of Jesus and of Christianity in those first days and weeks and months in Jerusalem could not produce the body. That would have ended the whole thing. There was no dead body, because Jesus was raised bodily.
2. Like the Body That Died—But Not Exactly
Second, this body was not exactly like the body that died, and yet it was like the body that died. There is continuity and discontinuity. This is important because the resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament is viewed as the firstfruits of the harvest of the resurrection of all Christians. As Paul put it: “Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:23).
The point of saying the linen cloths were there, and even mentioning the cloth that was bound around his face, is probably to show how this resurrection was different from Lazarus’ resurrection. Recall from chapter 11 that Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been dead four days. And John 11:44 it says, “The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Different from Lazarus
People had to help Lazarus out of the linen strips and face covering. That’s because he had a mortal body. He would die again. After the resurrection, Jesus did not have mortal body. He would never die again. “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again” (Romans 6:9). Jesus’ body is different. He simply passed through those grave cloths the way he passed through doors in John 20:19 and 26. “Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them” (John 20:26). But at that very moment of entering the room like no ordinary body can, he says to doubting Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe” (John 20:27). This was a physical body that you could recognize, and touch. And Luke tells us he ate fish after he had risen (Luke 24:43).
Why It Matters
If you think this does not matter to you, remember, those who are in Christ—that is, who believe on him, and belong to him, and receive forgiveness and reconciliation from him—will be raised with him. And Paul says in Philippians 3:21 that Jesus “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” This is not a UFO, or irrelevant life on another galaxy. This is what will happen when God judges the world by a man, Jesus Christ.
If you belong to him by faith in him, you will receive a body like his, which will be suited to see him and enjoy him and enter finally into the new heavens and the new earth where you will spend eternity admiring God in all that he has made. And this world that we love so much, compared to that one, will be like a candle compared to the sun.
Isn't that amazing? This world that we love so much. And yes, I do love this world. Not this world meaning possessions, or culture, or our society, or things of that nature, but this Earth, created by God. The warmth of the sun. The green grass and trees. Lakes, mountains, rivers, forests, birds, animals, sunsets, stars... The incredible, fantastic, amazing world that God created. It is unfathomable to me that this beautiful, gorgeous, glorious, amazing world will be like a candle compared to the sun. Can you possibly imagine it? Can you imagine what our eternal bodies might be like? I have a pretty good imagination, but I don't know if I really can.
Happy Thursday!
Tomorrow's scripture focus: John 20:10-18.
1 comment:
a candle compared to the sun - what a great way to look it! It is incredible to imagine.
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