Jesus' Burial Clothes in the Tomb

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.  John 20:3-7

Yesterday I told you about burial clothes, or shrouds, in the Jewish custom.  It's interesting that John is the only gospel to include these precise details.  Remember when I told you at the beginning of the month that John's gospel is so unique; he wrote it as an eyewitness; he used signs - or miracles - to prove that Jesus was God - and he spoke very plainly, matter-of-factly, with no embellishments or flowery language.

John's audience would have understood the importance of the grave clothes.  They would have understood that for the linens to be lying there, in place, was . . . impossible!  For the clothes to have been taken off of Jesus, they would have been torn - remember, there were no buttons or fasteners.  If they had been torn to shreds, because someone was desperate to get Jesus out, or because Jesus himself had miraculously awoken and, in a panic, started shredding the clothes to get out of them, John would have said so. 

But he didn't.  Everything seems to be in its proper place, as if still wrapped around a body . . . but the body is missing!

John's story is pretty amazing.  Pretty consistent.  Pretty characteristic of what we know about this man so far.

We know from church and Bible history that John was very young; it's not a surprise that he outran Peter to the tomb.  But it shows a miraculous act of restraint, love and forgiveness for John to step aside and let Peter go in first.  Remember, Peter had abandoned Christ, while John had stayed by his side.  Peter had denied Christ, while John had showed his allegiance.  Peter had discarded Christ, and everything about him, while John had supported him to the point of taking his mother in his home. 

John let Peter go first.  Peter saw the linen.  He saw the head covering.  He saw the burial cloth.  He saw three things.  He had denied Jesus three times. 

His mind, reeling. 
His heart, pounding. 
His lungs, heaving. 

Is there a little tiny bell going off in his head?  Is there any recognition of what is happening?  Didn't Jesus say something about coming back to life?  It's been three days, didn't he say something about three days? 

What's going on?
What's going on?

I can imagine the older man hanging onto the younger man.  Both of them crying, hopeful yet afraid. 

Could it be?
Could it be?

It could.  It was.  And they were about to find out!