The Almost Empty Tomb, John 20:1-10

“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.”

This morning I want to talk about the almost empty tomb. And before I explain further what I mean by the almost empty tomb let’s look quickly at the situation John has written about. John focuses our attention on what happens when Peter and John arrive at the tomb. And Peter and John are at the tomb because of Mary. As it says in John 20:1-2 Mary and others had already been there. And, when they saw the stone had been rolled away they ran back to the disciples to tell them what happened.

This is an urgent issue. Just a few days before Jesus was crucified and buried. His followers are reeling from his death. On the morning of Jesus’ resurrection the disciples still did not fully understand what Jesus’ teaching on the resurrection. Mary and those with her didn’t understand. Peter and John didn’t understand… but after they saw the almost empty tomb it all begins to be clear.

Jesus taught them that the Messiah must suffer and be crucified.

Jesus taught them that the Messiah would be resurrected.

But, they didn’t catch it all and understand it all. I am not sure why they didn’t get it, but I know that after this moment in John 20 they get it.

Maybe they thought Jesus was talking figuratively. You know maybe they thought he was only referring to a spiritual death and then maybe a spiritual resurrection. Maybe they thought he was talking about death but really meant hardship. Maybe even a hardship that felt like death but wasn’t really death.

The whole scene it tense, rushed, and urgent. Mary runs to the disciples. Then Peter and John run to the tomb.

Peter and John take off running. Just like you or I would. Imagine getting the phone call at 6:30am. The grave has been disturbed; the person you just buried is not where you left him. John, who makes a big deal about his love for Christ, outran Peter and got the tomb first. This is so real… John is reminiscing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It’s been over 50 years since Christ died and was resurrected when John writes down these words. And he still remembers who got there first.

John 20:5

“5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.”

When John got there he looks in the tomb and the tomb isn’t completely empty. If someone told me that Jesus’ body had been stolen, I would not expect to see the strips of cloths used in His burial still sitting where His body has been placed 3 days before.

The process for burial most likely included wrapping the body with strips of linen cloths and then inserting a mixture of spices and gum that when mixed together was inserted under the cloths. All in all it was probably about 75lbs of spices that were used. Based on what we know about burial practices in this region at that time the linen cloths would not have covered Jesus face, neck, or upper shoulders. There would have been a separate piece of cloth wrapped like a turban around the upper part of Jesus’ head.

When John looks into the tomb and sees the cloths and the spice still sitting where Jesus has been laid, he did not go in.

John 20:6-7

“6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.”

Peter arrives, John is standing outside the tomb, and the Peter went into the tomb. The more you read the Bible you notice this is characteristic of Peter. He was an act first think about it later kind of person.

Peter notices the linen cloths. But, at this point John uses a different word when he writes that Peter “saw the linen cloths lying there.” In verse 5 John uses a word “βλέπω” for “ saw. This word means he noticed or simply saw.

But, in verse 6 he uses a different word for Peter. Where John noticed the linen cloths, Peter, θεωρέω “theorei,” the cloths. This means that he saw them, but that he did so with understanding. This is the same word that we get the English word theorize. John paints the picture that when Peter went in he examined, scrutinized, and then theorized about the linen cloths.

John and Peter both recognized that the linen cloths were laying where they had been placed. What I mean is this, the cloths were laying in the same place that Jesus’ body had been. John uses the same word to describe the linen cloths as “lying there” in verses 5 and 6. The reason he uses the Greek word “keimenon” is to communicate that the cloths were lying in a particular place. The head cloth was laying where Jesus head had been laid, and the cloth wrapped around his body was laying where Jesus body had been laid. The image John is painting for us is that the cloths were undisturbed. These cloths had not been taken off of Jesus body and left there. They had not been unwrapped and placed. These cloths were laying there like Jesus body had miraculously disappeared from inside them.

John 20:8-9

“8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

When John went into the tomb and looked the second time he believed. But what did he believe and why?

When we look at what John saw this time, the Greek word is εἶδον “eidon,” and it means to perceive or to understand.

I get the picture that John ran, saw the cloths in the tomb, and instead of going in his mind began to race. For John this scene doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone take the body but not take the cloths? Then as Peter is examining the tomb and the cloths, John is thinking about all the promises that Jesus made. Remembering all the times He heard Him teach. In addition John is running all that He knows from the Old Testament about the messiah and the potential for His resurrection. Then, when he goes into the tomb, sees the cloths lying as if the body of Christ just disappeared from within them, it all makes sense!

Jesus is alive!

That is only conclusion that makes sense in light of the almost empty tomb.

It’s just like he said it would be! He has been resurrected. Jesus wasn’t resuscitated; he wasn’t brought back to life like we see with Lazarus or any other boy or girl Jesus raised from the dead in the Gospels. Jesus is alive… with a resurrected body. I can’t help but think of the moment Jesus was transfigured on the mountain before John’s eyes in Matthew 17. In that moment it says in verse 2 that “He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as the light.”

John now believes that Jesus’ body wasn’t stolen. Jesus didn’t wake up from a deep sleep. This is the same Jesus who was transfigured before them on the mountain. The same Jesus who said in Luke 24:46 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” This Jesus, the one who had loved him, He was alive. He had been resurrected. Psalm 16:10 is true! Psalm 16:10 says, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

In this moment, everything Jesus said, all that John knew in the OT about the Messiah made sense! Jesus was not abandoned to hell. Jesus was not forsaken and despised by the Father. Jesus had been resurrected by the power of God. Jesus did just what he said He would do. He suffered, He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day.

John believed! And right there, where there had been an absence of hope and faith it returned. Just like Jesus was miraculously resurrected, the faith of John and Peter was restored! All through the almost empty tomb. Mary was right; Jesus’ body was no longer there. But those cloths, lying just as they had been wrapped around the now resurrected body of Jesus Christ told a story. A story that led to the faith of the disciples. A story that still leads to the salvation of the world.

You see we tell this story today because it’s true. And it impacts our lives in the greatest way possible. Through the empty tomb we find the clarity necessary to understand the rest of the Bible. It’s as if the death, burial, and empty tomb unlock the truths of the Bible for us. Today I’d like to share 3 truths from the resurrection.

Death is swallowed up in the victory of Jesus’ resurrection

The events of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection undo and overcome the effects of the very first sin by Adam and Eve.

Death is the consequence of sin, and I don’t just mean spiritual death I mean physical death.

Genesis 2:15–17 (ESV)

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Eve confirmed that God said this in Genesis 3:1–3 (ESV), “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Paul affirms the truth that death is the consequence of sin in Romans 6:23 (ESV), “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Isaiah 25:8 (ESV) says, “8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

Paul writes of the victory of Jesus’ resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:54–57 (ESV), “54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:14–19 (ESV)

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

According to the Bible there is no reason at all to do anything the Bible says if Jesus wasn’t resurrected.

Christianity, your salvation, everything you hope for and believe in is wrapped up in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:20–26 (ESV)

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The resurrection of Jesus breathes hope into our lives and aims our focus heavenward.

2 Corinthians 4:13–18 (ESV)

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

There is hope… real hope. The truth of the gospel isn’t a cliche to help face the day. The truth of the gospel is victory over sin and death through the power of God.

And if there is hope in the face of death, then there is hope in the face everything else.

Every single one of us is facing death in the face. The death rate is at 100%.

Everyone doesn’t get cancer. Everyone doesn’t lose a child. Everyone doesn’t experience the loss of a job, a home, or other comforts. But, every single one of us staring at a death sentence and Jesus give us hope through the resurrection.

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV) says, 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Let me make sure we get this point. The most important thing you can ever know is that through the power of God you are saved by faith in Christ.

Peter and Paul both wrote to Christians going through hard situations. Notice the hope they give them for their current hardships is the resurrection of Christ.

The reason that the resurrection of Christ gives us hope in our hardships is because it reminds us that there is an eternity waiting for us that is absent of any and all hardships.

The resurrection of Christ highlights the brevity of this life and its troubles while focusing our attention on eternity and the inheritance that we have been promised.

Revelation 21:1–7 (ESV) paints the picture of what waits for those who know and believe in Christ, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

This. Is. Amazing!!! And it all hinges on the resurrection. If Jesus isn’t resurrected then there will be no judgment at the end of the world. If Jesus isn’t resurrected then He isn’t coming back to redeem us and reign over us. If Jesus isn’t resurrected then nothing is going to be made new… But Jesus is resurrected!! And because He is resurrected He is coming back. And when He comes back we will be resurrected to live with him and for him for all eternity. Here, on the earth. Not in a spiritual body, but in a real, resurrected, physical body! Praise God we have this to look forward too. A life without tears, without hurt, fear, anxiety, struggle, strife, etc. A life with God, like the one He created us for in Genesis 1-2.

The resurrection of Jesus breathes hope into our lives and aims our focus heavenward.

John 20:10 says, that they disciples went back to their homes. And we have to do that today too. So, how are you going to go home? What are you going to do with the truth of the gospel? How is God working in your life this morning?

Surrender your life to Christ, be forgiven for your sins, repent of your sinful way of life, and be saved. Re-center your life on the hope and power of the gospel and join in with this body of believers in the pursuit of living for God. Choose Jesus over the temptations of the world and in the midst of your struggle.

At the end of the day what we have is a who… and because of who we have there’s no what that can satisfy like Him.