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John

John 
Day 
Day 331

John 20:11-18 "DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION"

Day 331 – John 20

DIFFERENT RESPONSES TO THE NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION

Mary had brought Peter and John to the tomb of Jesus! John believed, but Peter did not seem so sure of himself this time. John made a quiet observation after they had gone into the empty tomb.

“Then the disciples went away again to their
own homes.”
John 20:10

This quiet remark said a lot! What a contrast this was to the response of the women after the glorious announcement from the angels!

“So they went out quickly from the tomb with
fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples
word.”
Matthew 28:8

What a contrast between the two texts! Contrast does not mean contradiction. The women were convinced of the truth! Jesus had risen from the dead! The synoptist Mark made this insightful observation.

“So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb,
for they trembled and were amazed. And they said
nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Mark 16:8

Mark noted the initial fear of the women Disciples. Matthew did not contradict what Mark wrote. Whereas Mark noted the initial fear of the women, Matthew recorded that their faith and the new-found joy they had soon overcame their fears!

The Disciples struggled alone, each with his own set of thoughts and doubts. The matter of faith is usually resolved individually anyway.

TEARS OF SORROW AND FRUSTRATION

Poor Mary Magdalene was inconsolable! Peter and John had not been able to explain or resolve the problem of the missing body of Jesus! Each went his own way. Each went to his own home! Mary didn’t want to go home. She just stayed there in the garden. Her heart was forlorn. It was broken. Where had they taken the body of her beloved Master? How could anyone be so cruel as to snatch the body of a dead man from his tomb? How could things turn out the way they did? Mary was perplexed. She did not know what to do! John tenderly recorded this poignant scene at the garden tomb.

“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping,
and as she wept she stooped down and looked
into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white
sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said
to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?'”
John 20:11-13a

Seeing through eyes of tears, Mary spied two men in the tomb! Did it not strike her as strange that these two men were dressed in brilliant white and sitting at the head and feet of the couch that gave rest to the body of Jesus?

She would have continued weeping and gazing into the tomb if the angels had not spoken to her. They asked her why she was weeping so copiously.

In innocence and sorrow, she replied what seemed the most obvious of reasons.

“She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away
my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid
Him.'”
John 20:13b

Mary was still harbouring this dreadful thought! She was wondering where the enemies had taken the body of Jesus! She had no doubt at all that Jesus had died! She saw with her own eyes how the soldiers took down the body of Jesus after making sure that He was dead! She had followed the quiet procession to the garden tomb! The question to her was not just the death of Jesus. She could, in time, adjust to His death. But where had they taken the body of Jesus? That was the only thing in her mind! It seemed as if nothing could console Mary if the body of Jesus could not be located!

REASONS FOR THE DEEP LOVE IN MARY’S HEART

We can well understand this deep sense of concern that Mary had in her heart. All those who had followed Jesus had a similar love in their hearts for Jesus! Each had his own reasons to love Him!

The Gospel of Mark had two “endings”. There were some manuscripts that ended at Mark 16:8 which ended with this verse,

“So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb,
for they trembled and were amazed. And they said
nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Mark 16:8

There were also manuscripts that had a longer ending which had an extra twelve verses. The shorter version was obviously truncated. It would be strange to end the book on such an abrupt note. Scholars are divided concerning the last twelve verses found in the manuscripts commonly known as the Majority Text (MT). (The New King James Version developed their translation work from the MT). In the longer version, Mark suggested a reason why Mary loved Jesus the way she did. She had been gloriously saved!

“Now when He rose early on the first day of the week,
He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He
had cast seven demons.”
Mark 16:9