I Must Ascend – John 20:1-18

In this very brief video of sunrise in Jerusalem, you can see how the sunrise occurs above the Mount of Olives to the east of and slightly more elevated than Jerusalem, and how it could be morning and yet parts of Jerusalem still be dark.  This helps make sense of how Mary and the others came to the tomb after sunrise, early in the morning, but it was still dark.

Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark and saw the stone taken away from the tomb.  So she ran and came to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They took the Lord from his tomb and we don’t know where they’ve taken him.”  Peter and that other disciple left and went to the tomb.  The two were running together and the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got to the tomb first.  Stooping down to look inside he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.  Then Simon Peter arrived after him and went into the tomb, and he saw the wrappings lying there, as well as the facecloth that had been on his head, not lying with the wrappings but folded up in another place.  So then the other disciple who came to the tomb first also entered in and saw and believed.  For they had not yet understood the Scripture, that it was necessary for him to rise from the dead.  So these disciples went back to their homes.

Now Mary had been standing outside the tomb crying.  While crying she stooped to look into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”  She said, “Because they have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve taken him.”  When she said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but she didn’t know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?  Whom do you seek?”  Thinking he was the gardener she said to him, “Sir, if you have taken him somewhere, tell me where you have laid him and I’ll take him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.”  She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means teacher).  Jesus told her, “Don’t cling to me for I am not yet ascended to the Father.  Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going up to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”  Mary Magdalene went to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and what he had said to her.  (John 20:1-18)

The only explanation Mary Magdalene can arrive at when seeing the stone rolled away (and no Roman soldiers or guards) is that the officials or someone had stolen his body, either to demean him or for some other nefarious purpose.  John and Peter both, however, note the cloths Jesus had been wrapped in still in the tomb and the head cloth folded.  No thieves would have done this.  Jesus had unwrapped himself or had help from angels.

Mary sees the angels when Peter and John leave, and then, hearing Jesus address her, at first does not recognize who it is.  Perhaps she had kept her head bowed in deference to a man in public addressing her, or it was still a little dark, but when he says her name she knows it is Jesus.  He distinguishes his Father and her Father because of his unique relationship to God, but he also shares that relationship with his disciples.  He must yet ascend bodily to the Father but must visit with his disciples first, so Mary goes to tell them.

The resurrection is the proof that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as accomplishing redemption and that Jesus is sinless and undeserving of death.  His resurrection becomes the guarantee of our resurrection.  The disciples did not yet understand Scripture’s testimony to the resurrection, but a passage like Isaiah 53 speaks of the sacrificed servant of Yahweh seeing the light of life and the results of his atoning work.  God’s plan is reaching its apex.

Discussion Questions

1. When is the last time you ran and why?
2. What would you have thought if you saw Jesus’ tombstone taken away (not just rolled to the side) from the tomb?  What possibilities would have come to you?
3. Why did seeing the wrappings and facecloth that had been on Jesus’ body move the disciples to believe Jesus had been resurrected?
4. Why do you think Jesus appeared to and spoke with Mary Magdalene and not Peter and John?
5. Why did Peter and John not see angels in the tomb?
6. What makes you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead?