JOHN 20:1-10 (ESV)

¹ Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,⁷ and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Reflection Questions

John 20:1

• What is the relationship between Mary Magdalene going to the tomb early in the morning “while it was still dark” and her having the privilege of being the first to witness the empty tomb?
• What drove her to a tomb in the dark by herself?
• What lesson is here about spiritual hunger and about concretely living out my Christian confessions?

“The stone was not rolled away from the entrance to the tomb so Jesus could get out. He could have left easily without moving the stone.  It was rolled away so others could get in and see that Jesus was gone.”^[1]

• What can I learn about the heart of Jesus from the fact that the “stone had been taken away from the tomb”?

John 20:2-8

• What do the disciples demonstrate about the relationship between hearing, responding, and believing?

Think about the process by which I came to believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

[1] Life Application Study Bible, study notes (co-published by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1991) 1925.