Now
on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
John 20:1-2
John 19 [38.] After these things, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked of Pilate that he might take away Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission. He came therefore and took away his body. Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds. So they took Jesus’ body, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb in which no man had ever yet been laid. Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
John 20 [1.] Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb. Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
John 20 [3.] Therefore Peter and the other disciple went out, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he didn’t enter in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying, and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself. So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they didn’t know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Meaning:
John’s account of the resurrection begins in darkness and confusion. Jesus had been buried in haste on the Preparation Day, in a new tomb in a garden near the place of crucifixion (John 19:41-42). The Sabbath had passed. Now Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb, finds it open, and runs to tell the disciples. She does not yet imagine that Jesus has risen; she only knows that his body is gone.
- “Now on the first day of the week”
All four Gospels place the discovery of the empty tomb on the first day of the week, the day after the Sabbath. Mark says the women came “very early on the first day of the week” (Mark 16:2), Matthew says “as it began to dawn on the first day of the week” (Matthew 28:1), and Luke says “at early dawn” (Luke 24:1). The day of the resurrection soon became the day on which the first Christians gathered to worship the risen Lord.
- “Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark”
Mary Magdalene was one of the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee. Luke names her as the woman “from whom seven demons had gone out” and who, with others, served Jesus and the Twelve from her possessions (Luke 8:2). She had stood near the cross with the mother of Jesus (John 19:25) and had watched where he was laid (Mark 15:47). The other Gospels tell us that she came with other women, bringing spices to anoint the body (Mark 16:1); John focuses on her alone. Her “we don’t know” hints that she had not come by herself.
The darkness is literal, but in John’s Gospel it also carries meaning. John often contrasts light and darkness (John 1:5). Mary comes in the dark, and she does not yet understand. The light of Easter morning has not yet dawned in her heart.
- “and saw the stone taken away from the tomb”
Tombs were often cut into rock and closed with a large stone. The women had wondered, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big (Mark 16:3-4). Matthew tells how an angel of the Lord “rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it” (Matthew 28:2). The stone was not moved to let Jesus out, but to let witnesses in.
- “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb”
Mary’s first conclusion is the natural one: someone has removed the body. Grave robbery was not unknown, and the authorities had been anxious about the tomb. Later the chief priests even paid the soldiers to say, “His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:13). Mary still calls Jesus “the Lord”. Her love remains, even though her hope has been buried with him. She runs to Simon Peter, the leader of the group, and to “the other disciple whom Jesus loved”, the disciple who stood at the cross and who is traditionally identified as John (John 19:26-27).
The Significance of John 20:1-2
- Faithful love in the dark
Mary came to the tomb while it was still dark, moved by love even when she had no hope left. Faith sometimes has to walk in darkness before it sees the light. Those who keep seeking the Lord in their grief are often the first to meet him.
- The empty tomb is the starting point
The Christian message rests on a real event in history. Paul summarized the gospel: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The empty tomb that Mary found is the first piece of evidence in that story.
- Bringing the news to others
Mary did not keep what she had seen to herself; she ran to tell the disciples. Even with incomplete understanding she became the first messenger of Easter morning. Believers today are also called to share what they have seen of Jesus.
Cross-References:
Mark 16:2: "Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen." Mark’s account of the women at the tomb.
Luke 24:2-3: "They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered in, and didn’t find the Lord Jesus’ body." Luke’s parallel account.
Luke 8:2: "Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;" Mary’s earlier deliverance by Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:4: "that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," The heart of the gospel.
Conclusion: Before dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene found the stone taken away and the tomb empty, and ran to tell Peter and the beloved disciple. She thought the body had been taken, but her discovery was the first sign of the resurrection. Her faithful love, even in darkness, made her the first witness of the empty tomb and an example for all who seek the Lord.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible