Among the Christians of today who believe that Jesus rose from the dead, there are few who can point out in the Old Testament which prophecies foretell the resurrection of the Christ. Therefore, it should not surprise us that the disciples of Jesus – although He spoke several times about His resurrection – were terribly shocked when Mary Magdalene came to tell them that the tomb of Jesus was empty.
Christianity today often does not know what to do with Easter, and many prefer to turn it into a nice spring festival rather than to celebrate the miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
When the disciples got the message that the tomb was empty, they too did not rejoice, saying God’s promises were mightily fulfilled. In a hurry, filled with unrest and insecurity, they went to the abandoned tomb. It would be good if Easter made us too somewhat more restless and insecure. Then maybe we would, like the disciples, receive an answer from God.
John who loved Jesus so much, ran quickly ahead, the elder Peter was slower. When they arrived at the tomb, they found that no brutal tomb raiding had happened. ‘He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.’ Only what reminded of death was left in the tomb.
When John too went inside and saw this, he finally could believe that Jesus was appointed the Son of God in power by His resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4).