December 1, 2023
Piecing It All Together
(Some information may be too graphic for small children)
“So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.” John 20:8-10 (NASB)
My mom loves puzzles. She always has; at least she did until she lost most of her sight due to aging. When she had decent vision, I used to see her place pieces together for hours at a time at her kitchen table. She even invited me to come and help her some of the time. Sometimes I did, and others I didn’t take the time I should have. Many times her puzzles were 1000 and one was even 5000 pieces. These took more time obviously, but she was able to do it. It took time. Her sight made all the difference in putting the correct pieces together. She would love to do it still, but macular degeneration has destroyed pretty much what sight she has left. So sad.
“So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.” Over the last year, we have unpacked the disciples' misunderstanding and slow conception of Jesus. Since its inception, the disciples walked with Jesus and never fully understood Jesus’ personhood. They just didn’t get it. They walked with Him all this time and never put it all together. Now John’s witness to how the burial clothes were laid helped him to piece it all together “he saw and believed.” Jesus was the Messiah! The Man they heard great teachings from (a great teacher), through watching Him perform miracles (a great prophet who had the power of God), and finally discovering Jesus was the Messiah. It all finally came together for John. But it took John going into the tomb for him to piece it all together. A. T. Robertson adds, “Peter saw more after he entered than John did in his first glance, but John saw into the meaning of it all better than Peter. Peter had more sight, John more insight. John was the first to believe that Jesus was risen from the tomb even before he saw him. According to Luke 24:12 Peter went away ‘wondering’ still. The Sinaitic Syriac and 69 and 124 wrongly read here ‘they believed.’ John was evidently proud to be able to record this great moment when he believed without seeing in contrast to Thomas (20:29). Peter and John did not see the angels.”[1]
As I watch my granddaughter put small puzzles together, I see her doing a pretty good job most of the time. When she gets a little frazzled, I see her trying to force a piece to make it match. She just wants it done. This is what the disciples did. They tried to put the pieces together of who Jesus was. Then, when it didn’t fit, they tried to make it fit. We see this throughout the entire gospel of John. Salvation doesn’t work this way though. Each one of us comes to faith in Christ through the Holy Spirit’s drawing us to salvation. It is not a decision we make on our own. It is because we are blinded by the power of sin. When its reality is exposed, we understand our lost condition before a holy God. We gain insight into our condition before God, but it all took the Holy Spirit to give us sight. John in his gospel finally exposes his conclusion. It took 20 chapters for him and others to figure out who Jesus really was, but the message finally sank in. It is incredible how Jesus patiently worked with the disciples to help them understand. They just needed proper insight. When that insight came, their sight was made plain. Jesus is God!
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). (Jn 20:8). Broadman Press.