In our daily Group Bible Study meditations, we have been examining the supernatural acts that surrounded the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. The ultimate demonstration of God's supernatural power was Christ's resurrection from the dead and the empty tomb. This is our focus today:
Josh McDowell and the Evidence That Demands a Verdict
Before he became a Christian, Josh McDowell set out to disprove the resurrection of Christ for his college thesis. As he studied and wrote, his careful examination of the Scriptures, historical evidence, and logical reasoning led him to the opposite conclusion. The evidence he uncovered deeply affected him. He wrote a book titled Evidence That Demands a Verdict, which has become one of the most popular Christian books. It sheds light on the entire resurrection story. The climax of this narrative—Jesus' resurrection—gives us a glimpse of the victory we can expect as Christians. Death held no power over Jesus, and it will have no control over us who believe in Christ.
The Morning of the First Day: Mary Magdalene at the Tomb
After observing where Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body, the women from Galilee who had witnessed the crucifixion gathered at dawn by the tomb to apply more spices to the body. The first to arrive that morning was Mary Magdalene. She came alone while it was still dark. John the Apostle wrote about Mary's experience at the tomb:
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" 3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (John 20:1-9).
What the Disciples Found Inside the Tomb
Mary did not enter the tomb, but upon seeing the stone rolled away from the entrance, her first thought was to rush to where she knew John and Peter were staying that night. She burst into the house and declared that they had taken the Lord's body and that she didn’t know where they had laid Him. Perhaps Mary was implicating the religious leaders, believing they didn’t want Christ buried in a wealthy man's tomb or to receive an honorable burial. I'm sure she was upset and very tearful over the loss of Christ's body. John wrote about how the disciples responded to the news that morning. When Mary Magdalene rushed into the room with the astonishing news, John and Peter ran to the tomb. After Peter went in, John noted that he also entered the tomb and observed something that convinced him a supernatural event had taken place: “Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (John 20:8). What do you think he saw that led him to believe? (v. 8).
The Significance of the Linen Wrappings
He writes about the strips of linen (v. 6) and notes that the head cloth was folded by itself and separated from the linen (v. 7). From Luke's Gospel (23:53), we learn that the body was wrapped in strips of cloth and that spices were placed inside the wrappings, as custom dictated. It seems likely that what John and Peter observed was the shape of the wrappings, with the 120 pounds of sticky spices completely intact. Jesus' body passed through the strips of linen, leaving behind a cocoon of cloth and the burial cloth around His head, which lay there on its own. John testified that he saw and believed. We have a risen Savior who has paid our sin debt and is alive forever! Keith Thomas.
Continue Your Journey…
If you found this meditation meaningful, there is much more to explore about the life of Jesus in The Gospel of Luke.When you get there, scroll down to study 64, The Resurrection of Christ.
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