Here is a link to last week’s devotional series, Upside Down.
John 20
The morning air was chilly and damp with dew. The moonlight casting shadows as Mary ran breathlessly through the dark streets. Sorrow and gloom hung heavy on her heart.
“…she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
John 20:2 (WEB)
Hearts pounding, Peter and John race toward the tomb. At first, the two disciples keep pace with each other, stride for stride.
By now, the morning light has broken through, and the warmth of the sun has chased away the chill in the air.
Soon, John has outrun the older man and makes it to the tomb first, breathless, filled with emotion, expectation, fear?
Have you ever wondered about the heart of Peter in this moment? For a moment, I wonder if he put his awful betrayal of his Friend behind him.
John, stooping and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he didn’t enter in.
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb.
We don’t know how long Peter was in the tomb alone to ponder the moment. But every single detail of this moment had a purpose. It wasn’t necessarily for you and me to know.
Peter’s restoration by Jesus was beginning in ways that we aren’t privy to. The Spirit does that for all of His children when we fall. Silent little moments of healing and forgiveness that begin sometimes in the most unlikely places.
He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. So, then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed.
John 20:3-8
There are many references to the visual in this passage. For Peter and John, these visual points of reference were helpful to their belief because the Holy Spirit had not come yet. All that they had was Jesus.
They thought He was gone.
For as yet they didn’t know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
John 20:9
The disciples were beginning to see, that maybe He was still with them.
Now, don’t forget about Mary of Magdala.
John and Peter had returned to their homes. Mary was still at the tomb. She was weeping. Here is the famous encounter with two angels and Jesus. The angels and Jesus asked her questions. Do you remember what they were? John 20:11-15
- Why are you weeping?
- Who are you looking for?
But the most important thing in this passage to me is how Jesus quietly affirms her faith. It isn’t so much what was said, was it? It was the sound of His voice. Look at this.
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”
This was a sound. The sound of her Savior’s voice. She knew it was Jesus.
This was different from how Jesus helped the others. Mary had seen Jesus with Spirit-filled eyes and had faith from the moment He came into her life. Bible scholars believe she didn’t recognize Him initially at the tomb because of the deep grief that obscured her physical sight.
Now skip further ahead in the story. Eight days to be exact.
Thomas, known as the doubter, had still not seen Jesus, though all of the other disciples had.
Thomas just could not believe.
But that’s okay. Jesus knew. He knows all of our stories of redemption. God safeguards the redemption of all the elect. (John 10:28-29)
The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
John 20:25
Jesus went to His hurting, disbelieving disciple and helped him believe.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
John 20:27
29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me,[a] you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
John 20:29
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31
This amazing passage made me think of another book written by John many decades later. John fully realized the importance of communicating to new believers the reality of all that he and the other disciples had seen when Jesus had lived on Earth as a man. It was important to tell the old story in a true and trustworthy fashion so that others would hear and believe, but more importantly, so that they would see and believe.
So, if you will bear with me, I have pasted a passage from John’s little letter of 1 John 1. Look what he tells the young Church about the seeing.
That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life 2 (and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.[a] 4 And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled. 5 This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:1-5 (ICB)
We find the word believe six times in this chapter bringing the total number of uses of this wonderful word to 102 times that John reinforces this message to us.
We have one more chapter to go before this study ends. Why not read ahead and find a blessing for the week ahead?
How beautiful are the feet
of those who share the Good News!
Isaiah 52:7 (Paraphrased)
World English Bible (WEB)
by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
Getting the Seed out of the basket and into hungry hearts. Matthew 13 
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