Monday, December 12, 2011

Daily Gospel Devotional: December 12

Luke 24:12 / John 20:3-9…

The setting tells the story…

Peter and John (“the other disciple”) both go to the tomb to investigate what they had been told. When they arrive on the scene, they found that the tomb was empty and the grave clothes were vacant. They do not see Jesus there. Peter wonders what has happened, but John believes Jesus has risen, even before he had realized that he was supposed to.

Jesus had foretold of His resurrection, but amidst all the sorrow the disciples were not putting the pieces together, for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. The truth is that John saw the evidence, and drew the right conclusion.

One important piece of evidence was the folded face cloth, or napkin. Apparently, Jesus had taken His own sweet time in exiting the tomb. The face cloth was not simply wadded up, or thrown away, but instead it was arranged in an orderly fashion. This was evidence that Jesus was in no hurry. He was in full control of the situation.

The folded face cloth stands in the way of false claims. If someone stole the body, why would they take the time to remove the grave clothes and fold the napkin neatly in another place? If Jesus had not actually died, but only fainted from the torture, why would such a beaten and bloody man take the time to care for the neatness of the place before he supposedly snuck out of the grave and away from the guards?

The truth was as John had realized it. The setting told the story. Jesus had risen.

2 comments:

Even So... said...

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MrsEvenSo... said...

Oh what a marvelous Savior! Christ is risen! He is Lord!