The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
That week's friday was indeed not a 'good friday' in the eyes of the disciples. Their Master was cruxified and 'hastily' buried in a tomb. Saturday, the day of Sabbath, must had been neither a 'joyous' occasion. They were filled with sadness, anxiety, worries, lost, uncertainties. And how were they suppose to worship God when they just witness the God that came to earth being cruxified. Maybe many of the disciples were already starting to plan for the future - to simply move on. However, there were still some disciples who held on even though they did not know the Ultimate Plan which was going to unfold before their eyes.
On the 3rd day after the cruxification, Mary Magdalene was the 1st to rush down to the tomb. I am sure her hastiness was that she wanted to attend to Jesus' body since it was hastily prepared. I am not too sure if the body could have been preserved by the spice which was earlier on applied by Nicodemus. But I believe that by the 3rd day, the body should more or less be decomposing. A rotting corpse. And it was Mary who came 1st, intending to attend to Jesus' body. Does our Christian life have the same kind of zealousness as that of Mary's? I am not talking about attending to a decomposing body. I am talking about the works of God. Whether is it attending service, serving others, doing things that we need not do, can we be the 1st? I am not talking about 'performance apprasial' but what I am saying, is our attitude right before God? If we really love God, we will do anything for Him. We will not find excuses but instead be 1st to offer ourselves. A dear pastor of mine said this: "Last to know; First to go" Can this be our motto?
Mary could not find the body and rushed back to tell the 2 disciples - Peter and the other disciple, if I am not wrong, is John. Peter and John rushed down to check the situation. Both the disciples must had been already feeling downcasted after witnessing Jesus' death. Now they came to the news that His body was lost. It must had really hit them even harder. As they rushed down, their emotions must had been pin-balling around. John reached the tomb first but he never went into the tomb. Why? Only until Peter came, went into the tomb then did John enter. I have no answer. I will go and check it out. But I suspect is because John did not want to face the reality. Yes! He heard about the body being lost but as long as he had never seen it for himself, it may still be untrue. 'Buying' a chance and a hope! Likewise in our life, when situations are not moving as what we hope it is, do we choose to 'deceive' ourself that if we do not encounter the situation, it will be alright. Yes, there may be time we need to prepare ourselves to encounter the situation. John did not go in initially could be that he was just preparing his heart to witness the heart-breaking situation. And finally he did enter the tomb. So do we dare to enter the 'tombs' in our lives? And most importantly, can we trust that God is with us and He has a plan for us?
Lord! You know that we love You. You know that we want to serve You. However, our flesh are weak and many a times, we serve ourselves more than we serve You. Forgive us Lord. Help us to be as zealous as Mary. Help us to be the 1st in coming to serve You. Let everything that we do for You be pleasing to You.
Lord! There are many things we could never have comprehend because Your ways are far greater than ours. But let us put our trust in You. We may take a pause to prepare ourselves but eventually, when we take a step, it will be a step of faith. Let us be reminded that You are always with us and You neither leave nor forsake us. Thank You Lord!
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