Retelling the Resurrection Story

John 20: 1-18 (April 24, 2011)

1) The Text

20Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2So 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.” 3Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10Then the disciples returned to their homes.

11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

2) The Context

John’s version of the Easter story reflects traditions that are also in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. One of the unique characteristics of the resurrection story in John is the central place given to Mary Magdalene. She is a witness not only to the resurrection of Jesus but also to his death. But who is this Mary Magdalene? Luke 8:1-3 tells us that Jesus had expelled seven demons from her and that she along with other women accompanied Jesus and the disciples as they traveled through cities and villages proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. These women were serving "them" out of their resources. The Greek word for "serve" is diakoneo, which implies ministry. According to Mark, Mary Magdalene "used to follow him and provided for him when he was in Galilee." The Greek word for "follow" is akoloutheo, which is the verb used to describe a disciple. Thus there is evidence that Mary Magdalene was a faithful disciple.

Another unique feature of the story in John is the role of the Beloved Disciple. The Beloved Disciple must have had a significant role in the Johannine community and appears at significant points in the Gospel. He is first mentioned in the account of the Last Supper. He is the disciple who was reclining next to Jesus and asks Jesus who it was that was going to betray Jesus. This is the disciple who was known to the high priest and after Jesus’ arrest he follows Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. When he sees that Peter is delayed at the gate, the Beloved Disciple speaks with the woman who was guarding the gate and brings Peter in.

The Gospel never makes explicit the identity of the Beloved Disciple. Although traditionally the Beloved Disciple has been identified with John the son of Zebedee, there is no indication of it at all in the Gospel. This may be because the Johannine community knew who the Beloved Disciple was. He had a crucial role in the Johannine church.

3) Interpretation

This resurrection story tells not so much what happened to Jesus or how the resurrection took place but who were the witnesses to the resurrected Lord. A related question that this passage raises is how to tell the resurrection story. Is there only one way to tell it? This is not to suggest that we change the resurrection accounts in the New Testament to make them fit our own worldviews, desires and wishes. Rather, it is to suggest that we plug our own story into the resurrection story. Under the illuminating guidance of the Spirit, this "old, old story" must continually become the good news that addresses us where we are. It must become our story.

This resurrection story acknowledges that the response to the Christ event may vary from one Christian to another. Peter unhesitatingly enters the tomb. The Beloved Disciple is more cautious, but once he sees the undisturbed grave clothes, his perceptiveness leads to faith in the resurrection. Mary is outside weeping and will experience the resurrection of Jesus yet another way. It is no wonder then that there is not a single gospel written but four. Despite the central reality of the resurrection of Jesus, the story can be told in so many different ways because the resurrection is a reality that is experienced existentially by believers in a wide variety of ways. The Beloved Disciple believes when he sees the abandoned linen wrappings. Mary believes when she hears the Lord call her name. Thomas believes when he is given a chance to put his fingers in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus. How do I believe? How do you believe? Our faith rests more on conviction than on concrete fact. In the end our faith rests on little tangible evidence.

John makes use of the traditions that have come down to him but he retells the story in his own way. How will the story of the resurrection of Jesus be told today? What difference will it make in the nitty-gritty of life for us as individual believers and as a church? The reason we need the Easter story is that it provides the possibility of a future for those who have lost hope. People who have faced the cul-de-sacs of life have nowhere to go. When that marriage is dead, when cancer takes its toll, when calamity strikes, when gang warfare or bombs claim the lives of loved ones, can there be a tomorrow? The resurrection story is God’s address to us as we face life in our present circumstances. The Gospel of John bears witness to the possibility of taking the old story and retelling so that it becomes our own story, the living story of a community of believers.

4) Thought Exercise

What do you believe to be true about the resurrection?

What evidence do you have to support your belief?