The Holy Week Project 2: A Glorious Exit- The Resurrection, John 20:1-10 (4/5/26)

Introduction: I don’t know about you, but I love a good mystery. Whether a book, or movie, or even Scooby-Do, I really enjoy a good “who-dun-it”. I especially like seeing it all come together in the end, when the detective has figured it all out, puts the mystery together, & explains it to the audience.

Almost 2,000 years after it happened, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ remains a mystery to many people. Even among skeptics, almost no one disputes that there was a real-life, historical, 1st century, Jewish man named Jesus, who was crucified by Rome. The mystery comes with what happened after He died.

John 20:1-10, Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then 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 do not know where they have laid Him.” 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. Can you imagine being in the place of Jesus’ disciples?

Only 3 days earlier, they had witnessed their Lord & friend die in a horrifically brutal way, yet here they are at His tomb & He is gone. What do you do when faced with a mystery like that? You process the scene, analyze the evidence, interview the witnesses, & entertain different theories. Let’s investigate the case of the Glorious Exit.

The Tomb was EMPTY, vss. 1-2.

What are the facts related to the discovery of the empty tomb? When did it happen? The first day of the week, very early on a Sunday morning, when it was still dark. Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ disciples, came to the tomb. Other reports say there were other women with her, even Mary says “we” in vs. 2.

Only one week earlier, Jesus had made a grand entrance into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! But by the end of the week, He was sentenced to death amid cries of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” Three days earlier, these disciples of Jesus witnessed their Lord & friend executed in a horrifically brutal way, & saw His body placed in a cold, dark tomb, with a stone rolled in front of the entrance, & guards posted to keep people away. Now they were there to pay their respects by anointing the body of Jesus with spices for His burial. When Mary saw the stone had been removed, she ran to tell Peter & John that someone had taken Jesus’ body from the tomb & they didn’t know where= mystery.

There are a couple of alternate theories that try to explain the empty tomb. Wrong tomb theory- in their confusion & grief, the women & disciples simply visited the wrong tomb on Easter morning, found it empty, & assumed Jesus had risen. The Gospels report that when Joseph got the body of Jesus, wrapped Him in clean linen, laid His body in Joseph’s new & unused tomb, & rolled a large stone in front of it, that Mary Magdalene & the other Mary were sitting there across from the tomb, watching- they knew the tomb (Matt 27:57-61).

Stolen Body/Hoax theory- The oldest alternative theory, suggesting that the disciples stole Jesus' body from the tomb and fabricated the resurrection. This “theory” (lie) began the same day Jesus rose from the dead when Jewish religious leaders paid off the Roman soldiers to say that the disciples came at night & stole His body & began to spread the lie that Jesus rose from the dead (Matt 28:11-15).

This theory actually admits the tomb was empty & is easy to counter the claim in a couple of ways. 1st, when Jesus was arrested all of the disciples ran away (Mark 14:50-52), & after His crucifixion, they were hiding in fear for their own lives (John 20:19). Would these same fearful disciples risk death by stealing the body from the tomb?

2nd, tradition tells us that all the disciples died as martyrs. Why would they willingly die for a lie they made up? When Mary got Peter & John they ran to the tomb to corroborate her story. If these disciples had participated in stealing Jesus’ body, they would also have to convince Mary Magdalene, a fellow disciple, of their lies. But they wouldn’t run. They wouldn’t show that sense of urgency.

Randy Douglass- The only explanation that makes sense of the empty tomb is that Jesus truly arose from the dead in full bodily form. The empty tomb is proof of Jesus’ glorious exit.

There is EVIDENCE, vss. 3-7.

Based on what Mary said, & the Jewish leaders' false allegations, it seems that grave robbing was common. Jesus was famous after all, stealing His body might be worth something but the evidence shows that didn’t happen. Peter & John got to the scene as quickly as they could. John outran Peter to the tomb, but didn’t go in. He stooped down & looked in & saw linen cloths lying there. SAW (the regular word for see, power of sight). These cloths were the apparent grave clothes that were wrapped around Jesus’ body.

Next Peter came behind, huffing & puffing, went right in, & he SAW (to observe, or to behold with attention). Peter saw with detective eyes- 1st, the cloths that had wrapped Jesus’ body lying there; 2nd, the head handkerchief was folded & put in a different place.

If you consider the possibility of grave robbers, as Mary did, they would not have taken the time to unwrap the body in the tomb, they would have just taken it. 2nd, they also would not have folded up the handkerchief that covered His face & set it aside from the linen cloths. Thieves just don’t operate like that, & wouldn’t they have taken the handkerchief to sell too? It had to be worth something.

Another alternative theory to the resurrection of Jesus is The Resuscitation/Swoon theory- Jesus did not die on the cross, He fainted (or was drugged), & the unconscious body of Jesus was removed from the cross and placed into the tomb. He awoke later, revived by the coolness of the tomb, & got out of the tomb.

This theory also admits the empty tomb, but it doesn’t take into account that Roman soldiers were expert executioners. They knew a dead person when they saw one. Before His crucifixion, Jesus was whipped 39 times with a cat-o-nine tails which tore open his back. He was then nailed to the cross with large stakes, & after He died, soldiers stabbed Jesus in the side & blood & water poured from it. There are contemporary, scholarly articles written by MDs who explain this detail as the result of a fatal wound that released clear fluid that had abnormally collected around his lungs or heart.

After Jesus supposedly died, He was placed in a tomb with no medical attention for at least 36 hours. If He did revive, how could he have gotten out of the tomb which was sealed by a huge rock? How could He get past the Roman soldiers? And how could He convince His friends that He had conquered death?

Really, it just makes more sense to believe the Bible than any other misguided notions or theories about the resurrection. Jesus actually died, literally, physically rose from the dead, exited the tomb, & left the evidence behind. There are witnesses to the fact that He is alive.

There are EYEWITNESSES, vss. 8-10.

In the 1st century, among Jewish people who followed the Law of Moses, 2-3 eyewitnesses were required to establish the facts of a case (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Numbers 35:30). How many witnesses do we have here? at least 2- Peter & John; 3 if you count Mary. We do, but 1st century Jews did not accept the testimony of women as eyewitnesses. This fact testifies to the veracity of the Gospel accounts. If the disciples were just trying to formulate a lie, they would not have included the testimony of women in their reports.

We already saw how John got to the tomb first, & SAW inside. Peter then went inside the tomb & SAW the grave clothes & face covering. Vs. 8 says that as Peter looked around, John went in too, he also SAW (eidon- the power to perceive by sight) & believed!

What did he believe? John believed in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, & in just a little while, his faith would be made sight!

After processing the scene & analyzing the evidence, the disciples went home, but Mary stayed at the tomb & the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to her (vss. 11-18). Later that same evening, Jesus’ disciples were gathered behind locked doors, out of fear, & Jesus just appeared in the midst of them. Thomas wasn’t there, he missed this appearance by Jesus, but 8 days later, Jesus appeared to them again & told Thomas to touch His hands & His side. John 20:29, Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Acts 2:3 tells us that for the next 40 days, Jesus appeared to His disciples many times, proving Himself to be alive, teaching them about the kingdom of God.

There is a theory that even tries to explain away the eyewitness to the resurrected Jesus. The Hallucination theory- the disciples had dreams or hallucinations of the risen Jesus. Hallucinations don’t work like that, they are individual, not collective. It doesn't account for the empty tomb or that over 500 people saw Him at one time. 1 Cor 15:5-8, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

On average, simple court cases might call anywhere from 1-3 witnesses. Complex trials may involve dozens of witnesses. No court case requires over 500+ eyewitnesses to prove the case, but that’s what we have with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, & their eyewitness testimony carries weight, Paul being one of them- he was transformed from a persecutor & murderer of Christians into one of the most important missionaries of the Christian faith.

So, is the resurrection really a mystery? Not really. The tomb is empty, the evidence is overwhelming, the number of eyewitnesses & changed lives is staggering. The only thing left to do is to wrap up the case. John 20:31, 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. After Jesus’ death, He rose from the dead. If you believe this, the case of the glorious exit is closed.