The Empty Tomb With the Stone Rolled AwayBible World
20:6John 20:6
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
John reached the tomb first in his eagerness, and the impetuous Peter coming behind him went inside. Once inside he saw the linen burial clothes lying there by themselves with the body of Jesus gone, and the head cloth wrapped together and set folded apart in another place. The clothes had not been thrown aside in haste but had been carefully folded each in its place by Jesus Himself after He rose by His own power. The lying clothes, the separate napkin, and the absent body together evidence that He had risen and that His body had not seen corruption. At the sight Peter was perplexed over the missing body, while John believed that Jesus had risen on the basis of His own words, for they had not yet understood His sayings nor the scriptures that Christ must rise from the dead.
Entering the Empty Tomb
John reached the tomb first, hurrying ahead in zeal when he heard the news, while the impetuous Peter came following him and then went inside after the other disciple had only looked in. Once inside, Peter saw the linen burial clothes that had wrapped Jesus lying there by themselves, with the body gone and only the clothes remaining to confirm its absence. The sight formed part of the empty tomb evidence, yet at first it left Peter perplexed.
The head napkin was set apart from the other clothes, wrapped together and placed folded separately in another place by itself. Together with the lying linen clothes and the absence of the body, it belonged to the ordered arrangement found in the tomb. The detail of the separately placed headcloth stands alongside the main fact of the empty tomb as worthy of notice.
The grave clothes had not been cast aside carelessly but had been carefully folded, each in its proper place, providing testimony that Jesus had risen. This careful folding was done by Jesus Himself after He rose from the tomb by His own power.
Evidence, Faith, and Lessons
The lying linen clothes, the head napkin set apart and wrapped together in another place, the absence of the body, and the later encounters with Jesus together stand as evidence that He had risen and that His body had not seen corruption. The clothes were not cast aside carelessly but left in order, giving testimony to the resurrection. At that sight Peter was perplexed over the missing body, while John believed that Jesus had risen on the basis of Jesus' own words to the disciples.
In another light, Peter and the other disciples together saw that the body was gone and the burial clothes remained, yet did not believe He had risen, but returned home marveling at what they had seen and heard. They had not yet understood Jesus' earlier words that He would rise from the dead, nor the Old Testament scriptures, prophecies and teaching that Christ must rise from the dead. The tomb was not His final resting place, for He rose and is a living Saviour.
The careful folding and placing of the grave clothes in their proper place, done by Jesus Himself after He rose by His own power, shows that attention to small details belongs alongside attention to great things and illustrates His care for little things. Peter, who came following John to the tomb after John had arrived first, was afterward named personally in the first message Christ sent to the disciples after His resurrection.
John reached the tomb first in his eagerness, and the impetuous Peter coming behind him went inside. Once inside he saw the linen burial clothes lying there by themselves with the body of Jesus gone, and the head cloth wrapped together and set folded apart in another place. The clothes had not been thrown aside in haste but had been carefully folded each in its place by Jesus Himself after He rose by His own power. The lying clothes, the separate napkin, and the absent body together evidence that He had risen and that His body had not seen corruption. At the sight Peter was perplexed over the missing body, while John believed that Jesus had risen on the basis of His own words, for they had not yet understood His sayings nor the scriptures that Christ must rise from the dead.
Entering the Empty Tomb
John reached the tomb first, hurrying ahead in zeal when he heard the news, while the impetuous Peter came following him and then went inside after the other disciple had only looked in. Once inside, Peter saw the linen burial clothes that had wrapped Jesus lying there by themselves, with the body gone and only the clothes remaining to confirm its absence. The sight formed part of the empty tomb evidence, yet at first it left Peter perplexed.
The head napkin was set apart from the other clothes, wrapped together and placed folded separately in another place by itself. Together with the lying linen clothes and the absence of the body, it belonged to the ordered arrangement found in the tomb. The detail of the separately placed headcloth stands alongside the main fact of the empty tomb as worthy of notice.
The grave clothes had not been cast aside carelessly but had been carefully folded, each in its proper place, providing testimony that Jesus had risen. This careful folding was done by Jesus Himself after He rose from the tomb by His own power.
Evidence, Faith, and Lessons
The lying linen clothes, the head napkin set apart and wrapped together in another place, the absence of the body, and the later encounters with Jesus together stand as evidence that He had risen and that His body had not seen corruption. The clothes were not cast aside carelessly but left in order, giving testimony to the resurrection. At that sight Peter was perplexed over the missing body, while John believed that Jesus had risen on the basis of Jesus' own words to the disciples.
In another light, Peter and the other disciples together saw that the body was gone and the burial clothes remained, yet did not believe He had risen, but returned home marveling at what they had seen and heard. They had not yet understood Jesus' earlier words that He would rise from the dead, nor the Old Testament scriptures, prophecies and teaching that Christ must rise from the dead. The tomb was not His final resting place, for He rose and is a living Saviour.
The careful folding and placing of the grave clothes in their proper place, done by Jesus Himself after He rose by His own power, shows that attention to small details belongs alongside attention to great things and illustrates His care for little things. Peter, who came following John to the tomb after John had arrived first, was afterward named personally in the first message Christ sent to the disciples after His resurrection.