The Resurrection of the Lord
There is a detail in John’s eloquent and symbol-laden Easter gospel that we must not miss: When Simon Peter arrived, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
Well, that settles it. Jesus’ body was not stolen by grave robbers, perhaps hoping for a big ransom from his believers. No robber would politely remove the burial cloths, and then take the time to roll up the face mask. It appears that Jesus resurrected straight through his burial cloths.
Contrast that with the raising of Lazarus, relayed in the eleventh chapter of John: 44 The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”
THIS is what convinced Peter. He was present at the raising of Lazarus. He witnessed the dead man coming out of the tomb, covered in the face cloth and burial cloths, which smelled so bad Jesus immediately ordered that they be taken off.
Peter witnessed a resuscitated Lazarus. In the tomb of Jesus, empty but for the burial cloths, he witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
But WHY is the face mask rolled up in a separate place? Recall Exodus 33:20-22: God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
The Resurrected One leaves the face cloth behind because, when he goes to the Father, he can take the heat.
Are you ready to see Jesus face to face?
