4th Saturday in Lent
Scripture: John 20:8-10
NRS 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he
saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the
scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples
returned to their homes.
Devotional: Today
we reach the crux of the story that began with the first verse of chapter
twenty. Mary reported the body of the Lord missing. Peter and the Beloved raced
to the tomb to investigate. They found it empty except for the linen wrappings
and folded head cloth. Peter had entered the tomb alone, but his solitude was
interrupted. Verse eight records that the other disciple, upon entering, saw
and believed. Here is our question from day twenty, “What did he believe?” The
assumption that we raised two days ago is one often made about the discovery of
the empty tomb, “They saw and believed that Jesus had risen from the dead just like
He said He would.” The problem with that assumption is that His resurrection had
never been a topic of discussion since they found the body missing. The report
and investigation was about a missing body. Based on the words recorded in
John, the only possible thing that the other disciple could have believed was
what Mary reported, “They have taken the body of the Lord and we do not know
where they have laid it.” Theft, not resurrection. We find further evidence of
this being what they must have believed in verse nine, “For as yet they did not
understand the scripture, that He must rise from the dead.” The disciples could
not have Easter faith because all they understood was that Jesus’ body was
missing. The piece of evidence to support their belief of theft is their
response to the discovery. If they actually had Easter Faith wouldn’t they have
shouted from the roof tops, just as we do on Easter morning, “CHRIST HAS RISEN?”
That is not an unreasonable expectation, but they did not. Instead of
proclaiming resurrection, they simply returned to their homes. In fact, we
won’t find Peter mentioned in the Gospel of John by name, until we find him
fishing in chapter twenty-one. Peter had failed Jesus with his repeated denials;
Jesus the Messiah had been killed and now His body had been taken. Was this the
end of Peter’s life of following Christ? That must have been how it seemed,
because Peter returns not just to his home, but to his former life. He goes
back to what he knows, casting a net. What about us? When our Christian walk
turns out different than we expected, do we return to our old ways? Do we
return to our former lives? We must remember what Peter forgot, our faith is in
Jesus, not our expectations.
Prayer: Lord of
the empty tomb and Lord of the fishing boat; Lord who knows all truth and
reveals it in Your own time; we ask today that You reveal Your truth to us, so
that no matter where we find ourselves we can turn from the familiarity of our
lives to the adventure that is following You, the Resurrected Messiah. In Jesus’
name we pray, Amen.
Song of praise: God
With Me by ICF Worship
Spiritual discipline
challenge: Today we return to the discipline of confession. Sometimes
we find ourselves in the same place as Peter, returning to our old lives because
we feel like we can no longer follow Christ. Find someone today to whom you can
confess your frustrations, failings and misunderstandings so your heart will be
freed for breakfast on the beach.
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