Who was faster: Peter or John?

 Read John 20

Who was faster, Peter or John?

Paul talks about running the good race in a metaphorical sense but we just do see too many races in the Bible.  We do see one on the morning of the first day of the week.

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone removed from the entrance.  We are not told that she looked or went inside, but she hurried back to report what she had seen.  What was her report?

They have taken the Lord out of the tomb.

We don’t know where they put him.

Let’s start with: They have taken the Lord out of the tomb.

I don’t think Mary was trained in reconnaissance.  All she really observed was the stone rolled away.  That someone had taken the body of the Lord probably came out of her own mind—her own fears.

They took him.  We don’t know who Mary was referring to when she said “they” but surely, she had someone in mind.  “They” was all-encompassing.

“They” gravitated towards the worst-case scenario.  What could be worse than dying on a cross?  I guess having someone take your body after you were dead.

We don’t know where they put him.  If he wasn’t in the tomb, then someone had to put him somewhere.  It was those “they” people once again.

Mary had a lot of presumptions based upon the single fact that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

John and Peter didn’t follow up with a series of questions.  One question might have been sufficient.  What did you actually see?

There was no follow-up. Both men took off for the tomb. Surely, there was some anticipation and expectation here.  But what did they expect to find?

Now to the original question.  Who was faster, Peter or John?

Apparently, John outran Peter.  John stopped at the entrance and when Peter caught up, he ran by John and entered the tomb.

Who was faster? I guess it depended upon where the finish line was.

Had these been two women headed for the tomb, they would have gone side by side talking the entire way, but these two men had to get there.  It’s wired in us.  It’s our survival and protective nature to get where we need to go.

So they ran, one a little faster than the other.

Once in the tomb, all they saw was the burial cloth.  We are told that they believed but didn’t understand. Things just hadn’t clicked yet.

They saw that Jesus was not in the tomb.  They believed that he was gone but had not connected the dots with his previous teachings.  He would have to die and then rise from the dead.

What could they do?  They went back to where they were staying.  Really, who wants to stay in an empty tomb.  Maybe somebody had made breakfast by now,  but their Master was not there to explain everything to them.

Jesus had always explained the difficult stuff to them.  He might have scolded them first—are you really so dull—but he broke it all down for them.

Sometimes I wonder to myself, did Jesus ever second-guess calling all these fishermen as his disciples.  At least the tax collector had an analytical mind.  Perhaps he already knew he was going to throw a Pharisee in the mix after his resurrection. But I have digressed enough.

The disciples wouldn’t understand what they had seen until Jesus appeared before them later that night and even then, they believed but didn’t fully understand.

They were befuddled.

Let’s bring a familiar verse into the discussion. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What had they seen?  Only an empty tomb with a piece of burial cloth inside.  Faith would have them singing Hallelujah Christ arose all the way back to the other disciples.

Their own understanding left them befuddled.

Faith should have prompted them to sing He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today, but their own understanding left them confused.

Here we are 2000 years later and we believe that Jesus rose from the dead, yet we are often confused. We believe that Christ rose from the dead.  We believe he took away our sin and saved us from death.  We will be with him for eternity.

How can we be confused?

We are confused by what the world—the world that we live in right now—is telling us.

Is the vaccine good or bad for you?

Does a mask really help?

Is digital currency the way to go?

Is Tik Tok really bad for our kids?

Can I believe anything that our government says anymore?

Can I believe any of the news media?

Do I have enough coffee and ammunition in case there is a civil war?

Are there more than 2 genders?

Are we headed for another world war, maybe a nuclear war?

Is the UPS guy just throwing my delivery into the yard like a newspaper?

How many Ukrainian dependents can I claim on my taxes?

Only when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, did they truly understand what Christ had done for us.

He atoned for our sins.  He rose from the dead.  He will come again to claim his own.

In our profession of faith, we have received the Spirit of the one true God.  We should not be confused.  We should not be befuddled.  We should have eyes to see through all of the junk the world is throwing at us.

What will we see?  That God loved us so much that he gave his one and only Son.

Say the words with me that we know so well. For God so loved the world…

When we read of an empty tomb on the morning of the first day, we need not be confused.  We can go straight to the singing.  He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today…

Amen.