In this study, we look at how Jesus’ resurrection is described in John 20.

Verse 1: “First day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.”

This woman was Mary Magdalene and should not be confused with Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed Jesus’ feet with her tears at the home of Simon the Leper.

The first day of the week would begin on what we would call Saturday night, which would mean the Sabbath had ended before Mary visited the tomb.

The disc-shaped stones used to seal the tomb were so heavy it would take several men to move them.

The stone was not rolled away so Jesus could get out; He could have left without moving the stone. Instead, it was removed so others could see that Jesus was not there.

Verse 2: “So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them,

“‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’”

The other disciple was John, the writer of this gospel. Here, we see the disciples had rejoined after being scattered, and were in fact only a short distance from Jesus’ grave.

“We do not know where they have laid him” clearly tells us someone went with Mary Magdalene. Matthew 28:1 says the other woman was another Mary, but scripture does not elaborate.

The name “Mary” was popular in that day, and several of Jesus’ followers were named Mary. Some scholars think the other Mary with Mary Magdalene could have been the wife of Clopas as mentioned in John 19:25 or the mother of James and John in Matthew 27:56.

Verses 3-4: “So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.”

Although John reached the scene first, Peter entered the grave first.

Verse 5-6: “And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

“Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.”