(1) Jesus' resurrection is not an illusion
20:9 (For they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.)
In the Greek text the tense for "did not yet understand" should be translated as "had not yet understood." Therefore, the disciples had not expected Jesus to be resurrected and they did not see something that they had imaged in their head.
v.2b “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
The women who saw the tomb stone being moved away had given another explanation of the missing body. It was being taken away.
The women who saw the tomb stone being moved away had given another explanation of the missing body. It was being taken away.
(2) Jesus' body was not being taken away
Two people were involved in wrapping Jesus' body and putting the body in the tomb.
19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs... v.42b they placed Jesus’ body there.
Now, the linen and the face clothes were left in the tomb. Only the body was missing.
Now, the linen and the face clothes were left in the tomb. Only the body was missing.
v.6b He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, 20:7 and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself.2
(NET) Anyone who had come to remove the body (whether the authorities or anyone else) would not have bothered to unwrap it before carrying it off. And even if one could imagine that they had (perhaps in search of valuables such as rings or jewelry still worn by the corpse) they would certainly not have bothered to take time to roll up the face cloth and leave the other wrappings in an orderly fashion.
(NET) Anyone who had come to remove the body (whether the authorities or anyone else) would not have bothered to unwrap it before carrying it off. And even if one could imagine that they had (perhaps in search of valuables such as rings or jewelry still worn by the corpse) they would certainly not have bothered to take time to roll up the face cloth and leave the other wrappings in an orderly fashion.
(3) The importance of the wrapping linen and the face clothes
John gave us a lot of details about the wrapping linen and face cloth. First he recorded that the disciples who outran Peter saw the cloth lying in the tomb when he stood outside v.5.
(NET)Presumably by the time the beloved disciple reached the tomb there was enough light to penetrate the low opening and illuminate the interior of the tomb sufficiently for him to see the strips of linen cloth lying there.
Then Peter, probably because of his character, "went right into the tomb without hesitation of going into a tomb and saw the details about the cloth v.6-7.
Finally, the fast-running disciples also went in and saw the cloth v.8.
The conclusion after he saw the cloth was: he believed that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Reflection: If there would be anyone who would have cheated others for the resurrection of Jesus they would be the disciples, but they did not. As mentioned above, they did not expect the resurrection of Jesus. They were told by the women that His body was taken away.
Did they fabricate the Gospel of John and cheated us? Remember they were all killed or martyred because of their faith. John was persecuted and exiled in an old age.
The only alternative is the Bible account is true. We ourselves know that in our personal relationship with Jesus. He heard our prayer and changed our lives. He is our Passover Lamb and accepted by God as our atonement for death.
May we not waver in our faith and trust in Jesus as our Savior and our Master.
Audrey
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