January 9, 2007

Good morning! Last night I read in John about the discovery of the empty tomb where they had laid the body of our Lord. John 20:7 struck me as worthy of some discussion. “…while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.” Imagine awakening in the morning, it is dark, you’re sleepy, and some inconsiderate lout has wrapped a cloth around your head. It would be a cause for some alarm and you would of course grab the cloth off of your head and fling it to the side. However, the disciples arriving at the tomb see the head cloth from Jesus body folded and off to the side. What does that say to us?
For one thing I see that our risen Lord did not rush; he folded the cloth as one might do who awakens very relaxed, knowing the cloth is there and is not a cause for panic. Another point is the absence of daylight. We read that Mary of Magdala arrived very early in the morning; which is to say that Jesus arose in the dark. Our Lord could perceive his location in the dark tomb and the environment about him. I don’t say “see” since we, in our worldly state, would need light to see how to fold a cloth and place it to the side. Jesus did not need light from the Sun or Moon to move around in the dark tomb. From this I would reason that Jesus did not awaken in a panic, flinging off the grave clothes and bonking his head on the ceiling as you and I would surely have done upon awakening in a dark tomb. Therefore, since we know that Jesus died at the cross from the witness of the professional soldiers, the Romans stationed at the place of execution. We also know that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus carefully placed his body in the tomb and rolled a stone across the entrance. This does not point to a man awakening from a sleep, but a dead body coming back to life by the power of God. Jesus left the tomb in the proper time with rush and no fuss. And what about that 75 pounds of embalming ointment, myrrh and aloe, Joe and Nick used to cover our Lord. When Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, the Bible does not say that he appeared naked and dripping with embalming ointment. Mary did not say, “Teacher! I’m glad to see you, but you could really use a bath.” No, our Lord’s glorious presence did not appear marred by the lingering effects of what had gone before.
Later, Jesus appeared to Thomas, the doubting one, and commanded him to place his hand in the wound in Jesus’ side and to believe. So we also see that Jesus returned, not with scars of a healed injury, but with the actual wounds in place. However, in this life a wound such as Jesus suffered would leave one of us gasping on the ground in shock, and we most certainly would not invite someone to stick their hand in it! Our Lord did not bleed after his resurrection, nor did he heal the proof of his death on the cross, yet he lived. This cannot be explained in our human, worldly terms. I believe it is exactly what was promised in prophecy and by our Lord himself, a miracle of Creation changing proportions. All of the Old Testament points to the Messiah, all of the New Testament springs from the Messiah. The resurrection of our Lord is the miracle around which everything changed forever.

Ponder the resurrection today during a spare moment.

Bucky