The Gospel of John | An Empty Tomb – John 20:1-18
Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice once and for all as the King of The Old Covenant pointed to God needing to die and rise again for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, in the New Covenant, the presence of God becomes available to all people regardless of their past life.
For three agonizing days, Jesus’ family, the disciples, and those closest to Him kept in hiding or silent…
They had just witnessed the death of not just a beloved friend and family member but of the one they were convinced would be the Savior of the people of God. Many had stood by as Jesus cried out with His last breath and gave up His Spirit. The women had poured pounds of anointing oil upon Him and seen His body laid in a tomb in the Garden. And so, they waited.
It was Mary Magdalene, along with some unnamed others, who came to the tomb first and witnessed the sign of the miracle. Approaching the tomb, the stone had been rolled away and the body had been taken. Her mind quickly raced to the worst case scenario, going to Peter, telling Him that they had taken His body. Peter, and the beloved disciple, ran to the tomb. John, the beloved, dropped to his knees before the empty throne as Peter rushed in, finding the linen clothes and a finely folded face cloth. In that moment, they began to put the pieces together. Jesus is alive.
With the empty tomb, we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies coming to fruition and in fullness in Jesus Christ. We see various depictions of the Old Covenant as John and Peter stood at the Tomb and as Mary Magdalene. While the disciples walked away and returned home at first, it was Mary Magdalene who saw the empty tomb first and witnessed to having seen Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant pointed to God needing to die and rise again for the forgiveness of sins. Yet, in the New Covenant, the presence of God becomes available to all people regardless of their past life.
The Fulfillment of the Old Testament
This section of John is heavily laden with Old Testament imagery. Even as Peter and John are observing the tomb, they begin to understand the reality of Jesus needing to die and rise from the dead and yet, they did not yet fully understand the scriptures (vs 8-9). Even the face covering of Jesus Christ would have been a comparison with the face covering of Moses in Exodus 34-35. Moses had covered His face as Moses face glowed from the radiance of God’s goodness as God has passed before him, even though veiled by smoke. The veil of Moses had withheld the radiance of God displayed in Moses that the people could not bear. With Christ, though, the veil had been removed and the glory and radiance of God now shines out without any need of veil but as a gift to all people. Even as Jesus and the angels appear to Mary Magdalene, the seating of the angels is very specifically mentioned as being at the head and foot of where Jesus would have laid. This image would have sparked the imagination to consider the Holy of Holy in the temple with the angels on either side of the mercy seat, where the sacrifice would have been offered in atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice had been our once and for all sacrifice for our sins as the perfect lamb.
The Old Covenant focused on the payment of sins for the justification of the believer. The glory of God could not fully rest upon man because of man’s unholiness. Even the effect of God’s presence on Moses had been a veiled and limited presence that still had the profound impact on event the physical appearance of Moses. Now, as the angels for a time sat on either end of the burial bed of Christ, the importance of this event would be made absolutely clear. Jesus’ blood serves as the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins that every old covenant sacrifice could not adequately do. The Old Covenant, from the laws, to the prophets, to the history, everything points to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to save mankind from their sins for His glory. God’s plan had been established before the foundation of the earth as the sovereignty of God revealed itself through the fulfillment of the Old Covenant in Jesus Christ.
- What other allusions to the Old Testament do you see present in this passage?
A New Covenant For All People
In chapter 20, Mary Magdalene, though she came with people to the tomb, had been the first person mentioned as the witness of the empty tomb. Furthermore, in verses 11-18, Mary Magdalene becomes the first person to talk with a resurrected Jesus Christ after having come from the tomb. She is a witness to the empty tomb and then a witness that Jesus has come! Yet, in her time, the testimony of a woman would not have been as valued as the testimony of a man. Furthermore, we know that May Magdalene had previously been heal from demonic possession or even possibly involved in prostitution. Thus, the revelation of God’s resurrection to her would have been highly controversial to the culture surrounding them. None of these, though, in the eyes of God, disqualified Mary from the presence of God.
The New Covenant seeks to break down the barriers between God and man. The biggest barrier had been the sin that separates us from God. The cost of this sin is that blood must be spilt. Righteousness for the unrighteous can only be achieved with God’s justice and payment for sin. Yet, for mankind to pay this cost would mean our ultimate demise. Yet, although many have received the gifts of grace, we form cultural barriers ourselves as people seek to come to God. We get nervous when someone’s past follows them in to church or their dress is not in keeping with the standards we feel are necessary.
The gift of the grace of Jesus’ work on the cross is offered to all people regardless of who they are, what they have done, or where they have been. No one is beyond the reach of the grace of God and no one is too far gone that God cannot reach them. The church, then, should not find reasons to exclude people but extend the grace to include them. The love of God helps us to extend our arms open with grace as those who come to God are met with the grace they need. Nor can we think that God’s love for us is based on our ability to get it right and accomplish righteousness on our behalf. Our works leave us unrighteous and separated from God. But God, out of an abundance of His love, has come to love us the unloveable so that His name would be glorified in all the world.
Discussion Questions
- What does the intentional inclusion of the Old Testament allusions reveal to us about the plan of God throughout the scriptures?
- What does it mean that God is sovereign over all creation? How does God reveal His sovereignty in this passage?
- What are some of the barriers we culturally put up that might prevent people from understanding and knowing the Gospel? Why do we put these up?
- Jesus Christ saves mankind from their sins by taking the burden and weight of our sins on Himself. What is your story of where you came from and how Jesus rescued you from sin?
About The Author
Daniel Burton is the founder of The Gospel Outpost. He is passionate about discipleship and seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ. To find out more about him, check out his Author Page.
