Daily Devotional Monday 13th April 2020
by William MoodyJohn 20:1–10
The Resurrection
20:1 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’1 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.
Footnotes
[1] 20:7
Greek his (ESV)
John, the writer of this Gospel, in this account calls himself the disciple whom Jesus loved (v2). This passage of the resurrection has a real eyewitness feel about it because of some of the detail it gives, such as about the race (v3-4) and about seeing the grave clothes (v5-7).
This reminds us of the important truth that Christianity and belief in Christ’s death and resurrection are not a matter of blind faith. Christianity is about faith based on the evidence of different eyewitnesses whose accounts have been recorded for us. This means that if you are seeking grounds for faith or are seeking to encourage others to see the grounds for faith, then we need to read the eyewitness accounts in the Gospels. We don’t have to argue people into the kingdom but by pointing to the Gospels say, “Here is the evidence, examine it for yourself.”
There was something about the grave clothes which caused John to believe (v8). It was likely that instead of being unwound, they were in a position which showed Jesus just rose through them. The body was not stolen, Jesus has been raised!
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.