God's Glory Church

“On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb early, when it was still dark, and sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb. So he runs and comes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and says to them: They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him. Immediately Peter and the other disciple came out and went to the tomb. They both ran together; but the other disciple ran faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first. And, bending down, he saw the linens lying; but did not enter the tomb. Simon Peter comes after him, and enters the tomb, and sees only the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that was on His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but especially rolled up in another place. Then the other disciple, who had first come to the tomb, also entered and saw and believed.”
(John ch. 20; 1-8)

What exactly did the Apostle John see in the tomb, after which he believed? This is what the interpretive Bible A.P. says about this. Lopukhin: “John only cast a fleeting glance at the shrouds, and Peter, as a more decisive person, entered the tomb itself and found nothing here except the shrouds and the head scarf, which lay rolled up separately from the shrouds. …Then John also dared to enter inside the tomb and, seeing what Peter saw, believed that Christ had risen. He realized that the abduction of the body could not have taken place here, since the kidnappers would not have had time to remove from Christ the shrouds that were tightly stuck to the body, and even roll them up.”

John believed in the Resurrection the moment he saw in the tomb the very same shrouds in which the body of Jesus was wrapped. The shrouds lay untouched, their appearance indicating that no one had definitely removed the remains from them, but the body had mysteriously penetrated through the shrouds entwined around it.

This interpretation is certainly correct; surely such thoughts could have been in the minds of the apostles, but was this the only reason for John’s faith? The fact is that John the Theologian, as not only the closest disciple, but also the friend of Christ, knew his Teacher personally. He knew Him, if you like, human traits – character, manners of behavior, including His neatness! In the words of the Gospel, “specially reconciled in another place,” lies the reason for John’s faith. So, when we go to bed, we usually fold our clothes – and everyone does it differently, and some just throw them on the floor. And here Jesus Christ, on the contrary, does not lie down, but gets up, taking off his earthly burial shrouds – now He does not need them, He is dressed in other, imperishable clothes. But Christ does this as he usually did before. The shrouds (also called the shroud) apparently fall off Him on their own, remaining where He lay. But the ubrus – the cloth that was on His head – the Lord Himself removes.

It is this: the feeling that Jesus Himself is removing the robe from His head and, although He does not need it now, He certainly will not need it anymore, but the Lord, due to His care, neatly folds it – this is what convinces John that Christ is Risen! His Teacher had done this before. It is possible that care and accuracy in relation not only to people, but also to things, not only in the great, but also in the small, were and are one of the important Personal characteristics of Christ, which distinguished and distinguishes Him from most people. “And he saw,” John the Theologian, “and he believed.”

For God there are no trifles, because our whole life is made up of them, and it is in very insignificant things that His care and love are visible! What seems small and insignificant to you today may become the basis for your faith tomorrow. Like John, enter into what you do not understand, try to see God’s hand in it, and then a revelation will definitely come into your life about why the Lord allowed this and where he wants to lead you.

“God raised the Lord, and He will also raise us by His power.”
(1 Cor. 6:14)