Back to Where They Were Staying
Read John 20:1-10.
That last statement in this passage astounds me. "Then the disciples went back to where they were staying" (20:10). They did what? After all that has happened? One is believing, one is not at this point, and yet the best they can do after examining Jesus' empty tomb is go back to where they were staying. Back to the familiar. Back to the comfortable. Back to the known. A resurrection has happened (though, again, only one of them believes that at this point)! What is it going to take to shake them out of the routine, the ordinary, the mundane?
I try to imagine the conversation that might have taken place on the way back to the place they were staying. What do you suppose Peter and John talked about?
John: So, uh, Peter, why are you so out of breath?
Peter: I got there first!
John: You so didn't, and when I write my book, I'm going to make sure everyone knows the truth.
Peter: Write a book? About what? Grave robberies?
John: Grave robberies? Don't you realize what's happened here?
Peter: Yeah, someone stole his body, just like Mary said. It's just one more indignity they've heaped on Jesus.
John: You really believe that?
Peter: Yeah, I do.
John: Then why aren't you going to go and look for his body?
Peter: Because what's the point? He's dead, John. He's dead. We saw him murdered on that cross. Finding the body won't change anything about that. It won't change what happened on Friday.
John: But what if he's not dead?
Peter: What are you smoking, John? He's dead. You saw it. I saw it. Mary confirmed the burial. There's no way he could come back from that.
John: Where's your faith, Peter? Didn't you see the grave clothes laying there? If they had stolen the body, why would they leave the grave clothes?
Peter: I don't even want to think about it, John. Who knows what they are doing to him. It's too terrible to think about.
John: And what about the towel that was around his head? It was laying off to the side, all folded up. Did you see that, Peter?
Peter: What are you talking about?
John: He was a carpenter, Peter, before we joined up with him. That cloth was a sign. Didn't your mother-in-law ever have any work done on her house?
Peter: Yes, sometimes. What are you getting at?
John: How did she know when the work was done?
Peter pauses, then remembers: When the carpenter folded up his face cloth and left it as a sign that the work was finished.
John: See what I'm getting at?
Peter: So you, what, think he's risen from the dead somehow? That he left the cloth behind as a sign to us?
John: It's possible.
Peter: It's impossible.
John: Peter, with God, all things are possible. Even resurrection. We're almost back to the house. Let's see what the rest of them think. I'm right, you'll see. Just like I'm right about beating you to the tomb.
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| The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem - 2017 |
I try to imagine the conversation that might have taken place on the way back to the place they were staying. What do you suppose Peter and John talked about?
John: So, uh, Peter, why are you so out of breath?
Peter: I got there first!
John: You so didn't, and when I write my book, I'm going to make sure everyone knows the truth.
Peter: Write a book? About what? Grave robberies?
John: Grave robberies? Don't you realize what's happened here?
Peter: Yeah, someone stole his body, just like Mary said. It's just one more indignity they've heaped on Jesus.
John: You really believe that?
Peter: Yeah, I do.
John: Then why aren't you going to go and look for his body?
Peter: Because what's the point? He's dead, John. He's dead. We saw him murdered on that cross. Finding the body won't change anything about that. It won't change what happened on Friday.
John: But what if he's not dead?
Peter: What are you smoking, John? He's dead. You saw it. I saw it. Mary confirmed the burial. There's no way he could come back from that.
John: Where's your faith, Peter? Didn't you see the grave clothes laying there? If they had stolen the body, why would they leave the grave clothes?
Peter: I don't even want to think about it, John. Who knows what they are doing to him. It's too terrible to think about.
John: And what about the towel that was around his head? It was laying off to the side, all folded up. Did you see that, Peter?
Peter: What are you talking about?
John: He was a carpenter, Peter, before we joined up with him. That cloth was a sign. Didn't your mother-in-law ever have any work done on her house?
Peter: Yes, sometimes. What are you getting at?
John: How did she know when the work was done?
Peter pauses, then remembers: When the carpenter folded up his face cloth and left it as a sign that the work was finished.
John: See what I'm getting at?
Peter: So you, what, think he's risen from the dead somehow? That he left the cloth behind as a sign to us?
John: It's possible.
Peter: It's impossible.
John: Peter, with God, all things are possible. Even resurrection. We're almost back to the house. Let's see what the rest of them think. I'm right, you'll see. Just like I'm right about beating you to the tomb.
I can picture it happening that way. Great post!
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