| So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. |
| —John 20:3-4 |
“I was just so surprised!”
Have you ever heard anyone say that phrase? People usually say words like that when something happens that catches them totally unprepared.
A passage of Scripture found in John 20:1-8 records this event:
1 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.
In this Bible story, very early on a Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where the friends of Jesus had buried him late Friday afternoon. She went expecting to have a few quiet moments at the graveside of Jesus. Imagine her surprise when she discovered that the big stone that the Roman soldiers had rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb had moved aside and the tomb was empty! Right away, she ran off to find Peter and John and tell them that someone had taken Jesus’ body.
Upon hearing her news, Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. They, too, were quite surprised, but in a different way than Mary. You see, Jesus had told them several times that He was going to die and then rise from the dead three days later. As much as Peter and John might have liked to believe what Jesus said, they just couldn’t quite accept the fact that what He said was what was going to happen. So, their surprise was as much about accepting the truth of Jesus’ words, as it was surprise that the tomb was empty.
The lesson for all of us is that we can believe that whatever Jesus says is absolutely true. The Bible gives us many words that Jesus said while He was here on earth. Again, every word Jesus said is absolutely true. That means when we read something Jesus said, we can count on Jesus to tell us the truth.
The tomb is empty! It is empty because Jesus said it would be empty. It is empty because after dying for us on the cross and bearing the penalty for our sins, Jesus rose from the grave. He is risen! Just exactly like He said He would.
Is it strange to write about this story that may seem to many as belonging at Easter rather than in the middle of the Season of Advent. Perhaps. Nevertheless, we must always remember that the Season of Advent celebrates the coming birth of Jesus and also celebrates His return at the time of His Second Coming. Neither of these events would have significance if Jesus had not fulfilled the reason His Father sent Him to earth—namely to die in our place, paying the penalty for our sins.
We can count on the truth of Jesus’ words whenever we read them in the Bible. This includes the story of His birth, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. All of Jesus’ words matter, no matter what time of year it may be.
