Bible Reading
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Devotional
Gardens are very significant settings in the gospel story. It all starts in a garden and, ultimately, ends in a garden while the climax of the story runs through two other gardens. The Garden of Eden is the setting for God’s perfect creation that eventually winds up on the dark side. That same original paradise garden picture from Genesis 2:8-10 is seen in it’s redeemed form (new heavens and new earth) in the book of Revelation (Revelation 2:7; Revelation 22:1-2). On the way from garden to garden, the gospel story climbs to it’s summit as it’s Hero works His way through the Garden of Gethsemane and rises up out of the ashes three days later in – you guessed it – a garden!
“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there…. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher)…. Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her “(John 19:41-42; John 20:11-18).
The progression of the story is clear. We move from the garden that is deemed to be good only to turn bad, to the garden of redemptive suffering, to the garden of redemptive victory, and end at the garden that is deemed good again. This is the story of the gospel. This is the story of redemption!
In the garden of victory there are new things; first fruits that point to more new things to come. The “first fruits story” is itself a story of the gardens, a story of redemption. The hero in the story, after going out of the scene with a destroyed body, reappears with a new body; a first fruits body. It is somehow different. It is still physical, (John 20:20, 27) but it seems to operate and appear in different ways (John 20:16, 19, 26). Perhaps this new first fruits body can be referred to as a “spiritual body” inasmuch as the spiritual precedes the physical instead of the physical preceding the spiritual.
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:20-24).
All the gardens and their respective “bodies” are present in this 1 Corinthians trailer of the gospel movie. First we see the original garden where there was, at first, a “very good” body in the form of the initial protagonist named Adam (Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:20). In this garden, we eventually see a very bad body as seen in the fallen body of Adam after he conspired with the villain of the movie (Genesis 3:13-15). Next, we see the suffering garden where the incarnate sacrificial body was killed. Soon, thereafter, we see the victory garden where that holy body is made alive. This new body is the first fruits of many bodies to come who will find themselves in the very good garden again; a garden that is very good because it abolishes the “badness” associated with the old bodies.
And so, the scenes of the movie are as follows: Scene 1: The Original Body in the Garden,Scene 2: The Fallen Body in the Garden; Scene 3: The Suffering/Crucified Body in the Garden; Scene 4: The Resurrected Spiritual Body in the Garden; Scene 5: The New Spiritual Bodies in the Garden. It is the greatest movie of all time. It is all about gardens and bodies! The only question that remains is, “What garden will you end up in and what body will you have?”
“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there…. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping…she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher)…. Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and that He had said these things to her “(John 19:41-42; John 20:11-18).
The progression of the story is clear. We move from the garden that is deemed to be good only to turn bad, to the garden of redemptive suffering, to the garden of redemptive victory, and end at the garden that is deemed good again. This is the story of the gospel. This is the story of redemption!
In the garden of victory there are new things; first fruits that point to more new things to come. The “first fruits story” is itself a story of the gardens, a story of redemption. The hero in the story, after going out of the scene with a destroyed body, reappears with a new body; a first fruits body. It is somehow different. It is still physical, (John 20:20, 27) but it seems to operate and appear in different ways (John 20:16, 19, 26). Perhaps this new first fruits body can be referred to as a “spiritual body” inasmuch as the spiritual precedes the physical instead of the physical preceding the spiritual.
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power” (1 Corinthians 15:20-24).
All the gardens and their respective “bodies” are present in this 1 Corinthians trailer of the gospel movie. First we see the original garden where there was, at first, a “very good” body in the form of the initial protagonist named Adam (Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:20). In this garden, we eventually see a very bad body as seen in the fallen body of Adam after he conspired with the villain of the movie (Genesis 3:13-15). Next, we see the suffering garden where the incarnate sacrificial body was killed. Soon, thereafter, we see the victory garden where that holy body is made alive. This new body is the first fruits of many bodies to come who will find themselves in the very good garden again; a garden that is very good because it abolishes the “badness” associated with the old bodies.
And so, the scenes of the movie are as follows: Scene 1: The Original Body in the Garden,Scene 2: The Fallen Body in the Garden; Scene 3: The Suffering/Crucified Body in the Garden; Scene 4: The Resurrected Spiritual Body in the Garden; Scene 5: The New Spiritual Bodies in the Garden. It is the greatest movie of all time. It is all about gardens and bodies! The only question that remains is, “What garden will you end up in and what body will you have?”