The step by step growth of the gospel narrative begins early morning before sunrise. Mary Magdalene, the woman Jesus healed of demon possession, is one of the first witnesses of the empty tomb. If John wanted to have a more credible witness he could have written that it was Peter or one of the other men who had found the tomb empty. The truth prevails; all the gospel accounts say that the disciples to first witness the resurrection are women. John says that Mary faithfully stays by the cross till Jesus dies and watches where they laid the body. Early in the morning after Sabbath Mary goes to the tomb of Christ to embalm the body. To her surprise she finds the stone from the entrance of the tomb is removed. She fears the worst and runs to tell Peter and John. As bearer of the good news, John makes Mary the principal witness.
Title of the Painting : - “The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection” hangs in the Musee D’Orsey in Paris.
This painting created in 1898 by Eugene Burnand, a realist painter with a vivid imagination, brings out the state of mind of John the beloved disciple and Peter the leader of the band as they race to the tomb on the morning of the resurrection.The skies reveal the breaking of dawn. John clutches his hands together as though in prayer hoping against hope that the good news of Christ’s resurrection is true. Peter looks like he has barely slept since the crucifixion and is tormented by the news. His right hand is on his heart and the left hand finger is pointing forward. To run well you need strong legs, a mind set for the joy of reaching the goal, and your heart loving every step of the way.
The run for Jesus is the dawning of the gospel faith of the disciples. Mary runs to the disciples to tell them that the grave is empty. The disciples in turn run to the tomb of Jesus. John the younger disciple reaches first and sees the linen clothes but does not enter. When Peter arrives, he steps into the tomb. He finds the linen clothes and napkin for the face lying there as if the body just slipped out of it unfazed. They realize if the body was stolen, the linen clothes would have been taken away by the robbers too. When John enters, he sees and believes.
Until then he hadn’t understood Christ when he said he would rise from the dead as recounted by the scriptures (Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14; 1Corinthians 15:54; Revelations 21:4). It is only when he sees the empty linen clothes that he believes the Lord has risen indeed! Love for Christ makes him see the truth when his intellect to see reason is fuzzy. To grasp the truth we need our hearts and minds to work together. The time has come for them to wait for the resurrected Christ to reveal himself. Imagine the joy that has begun to spring up into their hearts and minds. Death is swallowed up in victory. Where oh death, is your sting?
Prayer: Lord Jesus our risen savior of the world we praise you because you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of God. Renew us and watch over us and may our hearts and minds come alive with your goodness and love. Amen.
Soli deo Gloria
2 comments:
The great law of life.
In any kind of work it is true that we cannot really interpret the thought of another person, unless between us and him there is a bond of sympathy. It is at once clear, for instance, when the conductor of an orchestra is in sympathy with the music of the composer whose work he is conducting. Love is the great interpreter. Love can grasp the truth when intellect is left groping and uncertain. Love can realize the meaning of a thing when research is blind.
Once a young artist brought a picture of Jesus to Gustav Dore(French Artist) for his verdict. Dore was slow to give it; but at last he did so in one sentence. "You don't love him, or you would paint him better." We can neither understand Jesus nor help others to understand him, unless we take our hearts to him as well as our minds.
Their failure to understand Christ’s frequent distinct prophecies that He would rise again the third day has been thought incredible, but is surely intelligible enough if we remember how unexampled such a thing was, and how marvellous is our power of hearing and yet not hearing the plainest truth.
We all in the course of our lives are lost in astonishment when things befall us which we have been plainly told will befall. The fulfilment of all divine promises {and threatenings} is a surprise, and no warnings beforehand teach one tithe so clearly as experience.
John believed, but Peter still was in the dark. Again the former had outrun his friend. His more sensitive nature, not to say his deeper love-for that would be unjust, since their love differed in quality more than in degree-had gifted him with a more subtle and swifter-working perception. Perhaps if Peter’s heart had not been oppressed by his sin, he would have been readier to feel the sunshine of the wonderful hope. We condemn ourselves to the shade when we deny our Lord by deed or word.
Post a Comment