Seeing, Believing, and the Linen Left Behind

3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had 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 went back to their homes.
John 20:3-10
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Seeing, Believing, and the Linen Left Behind
Peter and John run to the tomb, driven by grief, fear, and hope tangled together. They see what death has left behind: linen cloths neatly folded, the grave orderly and quiet. This is no scene of theft or chaos. Death has not won by force; it has been undone by victory. John sees and believes, though the full meaning of the Scriptures is still unfolding in his heart. Yet this believing does not begin at the empty tomb. It begins at the cross. There, Jesus truly died, bearing sin in His body, shedding real blood for real sinners. Because the cross is real, the resurrection is real. The linens are empty because Christ’s work is finished. We, too, are called to believe, not by sight, but by the Word that proclaims Christ crucified and risen. The empty tomb declares what the cross accomplished: forgiveness, life, and salvation for you.