Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the
linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not
lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.
John 20:1-9
FROM CATHOLIC MATERS:
EXPLANATION: The accounts of Christ's resurrection on Easter
morning as given by the four Evangelists vary in details but agree on
the essential points. Some women, the leader amongst them being Mary
Magdalene, came to the tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint the dead
body with spices, in order to help preserve it. This anointing had been
done very hastily on the Friday because of the Sabbath which began at
sundown. The tomb was found open and empty. The first thought of the
women was that somebody had stolen the corpse. This shows how far
resurrection was from their minds. They went in haste to tell the
disciples. Peter and John ran to the tomb. Later that day Christ
appeared to Mary Magdalene, to ten of the Apostles, to Peter separately
(according to St. Paul, 1 Cor. 15: 5), to two disciples on the road to
Emmaus (Lk. 24: 13); and, later on, he appeared often to the Apostles
and disciples in Galilee, for a period of days.
First day of the week: The Sabbath was the last day of the Jewish week, so the first day corresponds to what is now called Sunday.
Mary Magdalene: John mentions only Magdalene by name but the " we don't know " in verse 2 implies there were others with her.
stone had been moved away: The tomb was raised above
the ground and its entrance was closed by rolling a large stone, cut for
the purpose, across the entrance (see Mk. 16: 3).
they . . . the Lord: This was Magdalene's only possible explanation of the absence of the body.
Peter and the other disciple: Peter and John ran to
the tomb. When they found the winding sheet and the cloth that covered
the head lying there, they realized that the body had not been stolen or
taken away: why should the linen coverings have been removed?
He saw and believed: That Peter had been the first to believe and then John, seems the meaning here, not that John believed in contrast to Peter.
as yet they did not understand: Until this moment they
had not understood the scriptures which had foretold his resurrection.
In fact neither had they believed Christ's own prophecies of his
resurrection---it seemed to be something which could not happen.
