An Unexpected Outcome – John 20:1-18

John’s gospel is the simplest telling of events following the death of Jesus. There is no great guard of the tomb.  In fact there seems to be no interest on the part of the Jewish authorities to even keep track of what happens to Jesus after the crucifixion.  Their only concern according to John is to be assured that the bodies will not remain on the crosses on the Sabbath – especially as this was the Sabbath of the Passover.  And so the Roman authorities duly ensured not only that the three were dead but that their bodies would be removed.

And while the bodies of the two thieves who were crucified with Christ were no doubt thrown into a common grave reserved for crucifixion victims, the body of Jesus is claimed by Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus with the assistance of Nicodemus who had visited Jesus by night.  The two came to Pilate secretly because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities.  And so Jesus is laid to rest in a tomb in the garden near the site of Golgotha.

To those who had witnessed His death and to those who laid Him to rest in the tomb, this chapter of their lives was over.  They would hold on to the many things He taught them about God and no doubt they would never live their lives in the same way ever again but to them the promise of resurrection would never happen.

There is no hint in the text at all that any of them held any hope that what Jesus had done for Lazarus, He could do for Himself.  After all, it is one thing for a healer to raise someone from the dead, especially the One sent by God Himself.  But when the One sent by God is dead, who could raise Him?

Now while the other accounts list a number of women coming to the tomb, John records only Mary Magdalene.  It is also interesting that there is no thought given as to the size of the stone covering the entrance to the tomb which seems to be a major concern in the other accounts. So Mary comes fully expecting to see the stone in place.

It is also interesting that according to John the anointing of Jesus’ body took place when Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body in the tomb.  In spite of the secret nature of their task, they did all according to custom. No doubt the others knew this and so there was no desire or need to visit the tomb as the other accounts indicate.

We might speculate on what drew Mary to the tomb on the first day of the new week but no doubt there was a strong desire to be close to the last resting place of her Lord and Master. Those of us who visit the graves of loved ones know full well that it is only their bones that rest there but somehow it provides us with peace and comfort to have a place where we can go and spend some time with them to remember and pray.  No doubt this was in Mary’s mind.  So imagine her great surprise and even dread at the discovery of the empty tomb.  At no point does it even cross her mind that Jesus has been risen from the dead.  Her first thought is to run to Peter and tell him that the Lord’s body is missing.  Peter and another disciple go to the tomb and see for themselves that what Mary has said is true.  Dumbfounded and still not believing that He could be raised from the dead, they return to their homes   What more could they do or even expect to do? They had followed Him to the bitter end. They had done all that one could do for a beloved friend.  To search for the body would no doubt raise suspicions and rankle the authorities.  No one wanted any more heartache in their life and so they turn away and go to their homes.

But Mary stays.  She stays and she weeps.  She looks again at the place where Jesus’ body should have been.  Two angels in white meet her gaze and ask why she is weeping? Her hope is that they will tell her where she can find Jesus. Turning, she sees the one she suspects is the gardener. Surely he will know where Jesus’ body is.  No doubt the tears in her eyes clouded her vision for she did not recognize Jesus standing there.  Of course even the shock of seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar place can cause us to not recognize someone we would know well.  Then as she dried her eyes and focused on Him, Jesus says to her, “Mary.”  At that moment His voice no doubt resonated with her, and she responded to Him. She seeks to hold Him as any of us would if a loved one suddenly reappeared to us.  She does not even give it a thought as to whether or not He was real.  He was in front of her. He spoke to her. She reacted just as she should.

Mary then is given the message which begins the disciples on the next part of their journey – the journey with the Holy Spirit, the journey that we are also on today.  And so she goes to the disciples and tells them that she has seen the Lord.  The disciples would gather that night in secret again to await the coming of the Lord.

I called this message an unexpected outcome because the resurrection of Jesus is just that.  No one in their right mind would ever have expected Jesus to live again.  But live again He did and still does.  Many times throughout the history of this world, people have believed God to be dead – whether that is a physical death or simply an absence from this world.  But God continues to surprise.  Right from the beginning of time to now, God meets every generation of people and speaks to them.  The words may change but the content remains the same – I AM – a simple declaration that He exists.  And what that existence means to our lives remains the same, for the fact that He lives to eternity means that we shall live with Him.  Our lives on this plane will come to an end as His did in the crucifixion but – like Him – our lives will have an unexpected outcome for we too will be raised from the dead and enter a new and eternal life. AMEN.