John 20:1-18

April 17, 2022

John 20:1-18

Bible Study

• Empty Tomb

  • Early in the morning, while it is still dark. (Easter sunrise services?)

  • Mary Magdalene is alone. Sees that the stone is rolled away.

  • Mary gets Peter, but Peter is slow. Beloved Disciple gets there first.

  • Beloved Disciple

    • Beloved Disciple - no where does Bible say that this is John. 

    • Authorship of Gospel is anonymous. 

    • Perhaps the beloved disciple is Judas - the “other disciple” in John 18:15

      • Judas’s fate is never mentioned in John’s Gospel, but since he (unlike Thomas - who is described as ‘one of the 12’) is not mentioned as missing from the upper room in John 20:19-31, it can be assumed he, like Peter is a recipient of Jesus’ “Peace”.

    • Perhaps the Beloved disciple is us - unnamed, being called repeatedly to “Come and See” and now that we have reached the end (and seen and heard the Good News) the question is - will we believe? How will we respond to the empty tomb? Also - what will we believe? Will we believe Jesus is the son of God or perhaps we will simply believe - as the Gospel tells us - that we are beloved (just as Peter, who denied Jesus, is beloved, just as Judas who betrayed Jesus is beloved).

  • BD stands at door, sees linens

  • Peter comes, runs in, saw linens, including face cloth folded neatly.

    • What does this signify? Not grave robbers? No grave robber would fold up the linens neatly. 

  • BD then comes in. He “saw and believed.”

    • Raymond Brown says “The fourth evangelist does not challenge the tradition that Peter was the first of the Twelve to see the risen Lord (Luke 24:34, 1 Cor 15:5); but in his consistent desire to exalt the Beloved Disciple, John has that disciple come to faith even before the risen Lord appears or prophetic Scripture is recalled. Thus the Disciples becomes the first full believer.” (Raymond Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament, p. 359)

    • Unclear what, exactly, he believed. Next line is “They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.”.

    • Perhaps they believed Mary’s report that “they had taken Jesus body.”

  • Peter and BD find empty tomb, believe, but don’t understand. Then they go back.

    • They come to check on Mary’s report, see that she is speaking the truth, but go back completely untransformed. The empty tomb wasn’t enough for them. In fact, this scene ends with Mary going back to tell them, but in the next scene they are still locked in a room.

  • Many bizarre details that are hard to make sense of.

    • Mary is alone but says, “we don’t know what they’ve done with him.”

    • Why are the linens so meticulously described? Face cloth folded, and placed apart from the rest.

• Jesus Appears to Mary

  • “At the heart of the Gospel reading for Easter is the resurrection appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene, leading to her confession, ‘I have seen the Lord.’ The narrative tells a wonderful story of a seeking woman, who is surprised by what she finds, or better, by the One who finds her. Hearing her name spoken by Jesus’ familiar voice brings a transformation of her grief and the opening of a new world.” (Charles Cousar, Texts for Preaching, Year C, p. 273).

  • Mary lingers, crying.

    • Mourning is important. Cannot get to healing without mourning first. Resurrection does not take away tears, it just means tears are not the end of the story.

  • Two angels ask her “why are you crying?”

  • “They’ve taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

  • Sees Jesus, but does not recognize him until he says her name.

    • When he speaks, “Mary,” she responds “Rabbi.”

    • There is a poignant beauty in her recognizing him only after he speaks her name. “My sheep listen to my voice.” (John 10:27 - will be the text in a couple of weeks)

  • Jesus tells her “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’

    • Relationship status is one of equality. Disciples are siblings. They share the same Father.

    • Translation issue - NRSV has only “Go to my brothers.” Not really a problem, but something to be aware.

Thoughts and Questions

• Jesus first appears to Mary. This fact cannot be overstated. In a world where men continue to try and use the Bible to justify subordination and violence, the fact that Mary is the first to recognize that Jesus had risen is important. She is the first witness to proclaim, “I have seen Jesus.”

• “The resurrection of Jesus is more than a miracle; it is an eschatological event that makes possible a radical style of new life. Closed world are broken open, and old perceptions of what is plausible and possible are shattered. The future becomes a promise of sharing in the resurrection” (Charles Cousar,Texts For Preaching: Year A,p. 255)

• Can you remember the first time your name was spoken? What does it mean to have someone call you by name? Graduation - how great is it to actually hear the name read. Wedding - naming the couple is at the beginning, and always a part of the vows I Robb, take you, Sarah… What does it feel like to be called by name into resurrection.

• Frederick Buechner: “They are not trying to describe it as convincingly as they can. They are trying to describe it as truthfully as they can. It was the most extraordinary thing they believed had ever happened, and yet they tell it so quietly that you have to lean close to be sure what they are telling.”

• Jesus first appears to Mary. This fact cannot be overstated. In a world where men continue to try and use the Bible to justify subordination and violence, the fact that Mary is the first to recognize that Jesus had risen is important. She is the first witness to proclaim, “I have seen Jesus.”

• “Don’t hold onto me… Go.” As wonderful as Easter is, we cannot hold onto it. We need to move forward. The great anthems, the packed pews, the new faces are all so great. It should be celebrated, but we cannot hold onto it. Monday is coming. Easter 2C is coming. We need to go. Go into the community. Go into the places where people are and need to hear “I have seen Jesus."

Opening music: Misirlou, One Man 90 Instruments by Joe Penna/MysteryGuitarMan at MIM

Closing Song by Bryan Odeen