It is said in 1 Samuel 13 that David was "a man after the Lord's own heart." In so many of David's Psalms, he cried out to God. Imagine how much the Lord wanted to personally reveal himself to David.
Pain of Separation
The apostles believed they were in the presence of the Messiah. But they still did not understand. Imagine their sorrow after the crucifixion. Imagine if the apostles had to go forward from that point, without the ressurection. Would they have? Could they have? Which of them anticipated what was about to happen?
John 20:1 -- 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. Doesn't it strike you as a bit odd that Mary would go out alone in the dark to the tomb on the exact day and hour that Jesus had apparently just risen? Aside from the obvious, there is a profound message about a colossal turning point in the fact that Mary went to the tomb on the first day while it was still dark.
John 20:2 -- 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!”
Who is the "we" in that verse?
Although John focuses solely on Mary Magdalene, the use of "we" in the verse indicates that she was not alone and reflects the collective experience or assumption of those present at the tomb.
Could Mary have had an appointment with someone(s) that had an expectation to find an empty tomb? Did someone coordinate with Mary at the tomb at that time?
Who else would have known to go to the tomb at that day and hour?
It had to be Nicodemus and/or Joseph of Arimathea! They knew Jesus was "of God." They heard and understood what Jesus meant by "the sign of Jonah" (Matthew 12:39-40). They knew the timing and where to be!
Mary was to be the first witness that Jesus had risen, but first Jesus, Nicodemus and/or Joseph of Arimathea needed Mary to rush and get John and Peter. Mary wasted no time!
Notice that in the next verses (John 20:2-3) when she gets to John and Peter that neither of them is curious who Mary was with. If I were them I would have been curious, for multiple important reasons, which other disciples of Jesus were at the tomb at that world changing moment! Evidently it was none of them or they would have been mentioned.
The Scriptures Protect the Identity of Nicodemus and/or Joseph of Arimathe
Either they were not there, OR there is a reason the identity of Nicodemus and/or Joseph of Arimathe were not included in the scriptures at this scene. I believe it is because they are the ones who took the Linen Clothes and the Face cloth away in order to preserve them for today. There identities had to be protected or those artifacts would most likely have been destroyed by either the Pharisees or the Romans.
Mary is seeking her Lord!
John 20:11-14 --- Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 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.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
The "we" that Mary was referring to in the prior verses is not the risen Jesus and the two angels. She would not have left the tomb in John 20.2 if it were. At this point, Mary doesn't realize Jesus is risen -- she is looking for his corpse.
John 20:15 -- 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.”
In prior chapters of the Gospels, Jesus has been telling the Apostles that he is going away to be with His Father and they can not go with him. Mary is seeking to be with her Lord!
John 20:16-18 -- 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.’”
Mary Delivered the "Good News"
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.
Conclusion
The true prophets of the Hebrew scriptures forsaw the Cornerstone would be rejected, the Lamb of God, and One who would be pierced.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are the first Jewish leaders who figured out Jesus's plan and the purpose of his crucifixion.
John and Peter are the first Apostles to understand what "the linen clothes" meant.
Mary Magdalene was more than an accomplice with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. She is the first person Jesus revealed his Risen body to. She is the first stated witness of the Risen Jesus. Jesus chose a lonely desperate prostitute who was once possessed by demons, to be the first person to deliver the "Good news."
Mary, was Jesus’s accomplice. She was, as some have called her, "The apostle to the apostles."
And ALL of it, from "In the beginning" was ordered by God and "Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." (Hebrews 12.2)
I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3 I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.[b]
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7 “Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13 Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17 The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18 Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19 Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Epilogue:
I have been doing a deep dive into the subject of the "linen clothes" found in the tomb as described in John 20 for a few years. As such, I have written a number of blog posts. Here are links to the others in ascending order, the first one the list is the first I wrote.
The Keter
Questions about the Image
Credible Witnesses
Have You Seen Him?
How Bright Are We Talking About
Brought Together
Nicodemus Knew
The Sign of Jonah
Why the Romans?
Mary was an accomplice
After thought:
If all this, the entire Christian bible is false, the Gospels are a documented case of "Mass Suicide by Messiah."
"Suicide by cop," also known as suicide by police or law-enforcement-assisted suicide, is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately plots their death at the hands of law enforcement.
All the apostles were sealing their terrible deaths as martyrs by following Jesus. He warned them!
