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John, Language, Teaching

John 20:1-18 – Jesus appears as the gardener

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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

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This is one of the two Gospel selection possible to be read aloud on Easter Sunday, Year B principal service, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church.  While the Track 1 and Track 2 options that become vogue during the Ordinary season after Pentecost, one might presume that choosing the mandatory Acts 10 reading as the choice over the Old Testament reading from Isaiah 25 would lean one towards a Gospel reading from Mark.  This reading from John seems like it would be chosen if the mandatory Acts selection were to override the Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 15.  Whichever the case [knowing Episcopalians never have the time to excessively read Scripture, preach about its meaning briefly, and then allow a full-pledged discussion that would lead anyone towards faith in Yahweh], something on the schedule will not be read and something will.  When one realizes this reading from John is an option in every year of the Episcopal lectionary cycle [A, B, and C], it has a chance to be read every year.  The option of Mark 15, however, is now or never.  The days when someone Episcopalian asked, “Want to study more from the Bible?” and anybody said, “Yes” are long gone.

The appearance of this reading from John gives the impression it tells two stories, one of Peter and another disciple and another of Mary Magdalene.  In reality it tells of three parts, where the first part is only verse 1.  That first verse is John’s assessment of the eight verses that are read in Mark 16:1-8 [the alternate Gospel choice].  Matthew and Luke also wrote about this event, with both adding details that adds to the depth of Jesus being found risen.  Still, the scope of Mark, Matthew and Luke does not go beyond John 20:1-10.  This makes the part of John’s story about Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus unique and above and beyond what the others tell.

In the NRSV translation, verse 1 begins by stating, “Early on the first day of the week.”  While this is heard and quickly understood as being Sunday, there is unseen significance in John writing this.  The Jews were limited in how far they could travel outside the city on the Sabbath.  The end of John 19 tells of Jesus being prepared for burial and then placed in the bomb of Joseph Arimathea, with that taking place on “the day of preparation,” which means Friday, the day before the Sabbath.  This means Jesus was placed in the tomb before 6:00 PM, when the Sabbath technically began, so everyone could go to a place to observe the Sabbath.  There they would be restricted as to how far they could walk, until 6:00 AM on Sunday, meaning thirty-six hours have passed since Jesus was placed in that tomb.

In actuality, the literal translation of the Greek John wrote says, “This next one of the sabbath.”  In that, the word “Tē” is capitalized, which means more than that being the first word of a new chapter.  Capitalization shows importance, such that divine meaning shines on those words capitalized.  The word written is the feminine dative article, which normally states “the.”  However, as “This” (an acceptable alternate translation), the capitalization says John is writing divinely, so “This” alerts the reader the Word of Yahweh according to John is continuing here.  That is then followed by the word “de,” which is often not translated, but means “next, on top of this, or moreover.”  Therefore, the first two words are importantly announcing the next divine occurrence in the story of Jesus.

The word “mia” means “one.”  In Hebrew, “the first day” is written “yom echad.”  That really only says “day one.”  By John writing “mia” it has been assumed that “day” was implied.  While that assumption can be correct, it is not the only way to read the number “one,” following the importance of “This” which follows as “next” in the story of Jesus.  The number “one” becomes a new “one” of importance, which follows an older “one” of importance.

To then find the Greek word “tōn” written, which is the genitive plural form of the article “the,” this becomes translated as “of the.”  As a case stating possession, “one” is “of” that which then follows.  Still, rather than use the generality of “the,” it is again worthwhile to translate “tōn” as “of this.”  This leads one to see “one” as the “next This of” value.

This is where the word “sabbatōn” is written, which translates as “sabbath.”  Because the Greek is not capitalized, the assumption is “seventh” refers to the number of days in a “week,” so the translators see John stating “on the first day of the week.”  Again, while that assumption can be seen as correct, it again becomes too limiting, especially when this series of words began with a capitalize “This,” signaling the reader to see what “This” is.  What this word means, in the lower-case spelling, is a new sabbath [seventh day, a day made holy by God] is being determined from this event.  Therefore, John wrote divinely, “This next one of the sabbath,” meaning Sunday will become the new Sabbath, because of the events about to unfold.

The NRSV translation then shows written, “while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.”  This is a paraphrase of what was actually written.  The Greek literally states, “Mary the Magdalene comes early  ,  dark still it being  ,  to the tomb”.  By paraphrasing this, it appears that John’s sole focus was on one woman, “Mary Magdalene.”  This is translated from the Greek written: “Maria hē Magdalēnē.”  In that, two capitalized words [names] are written, with capitalization a signal of divine importance, such that two statements of divine importance are states as “Mary” and “Magdalene.”  When the Greek “ἡ” is seen as the feminine normative article [as “the”], it too can be translated as saying “this.”  By realizing that, the capitalization of “Maria” is stating the woman’s name “Mary” is importantly stated, without any further clarification as to which or how many going by the name “Mary” are now the focus of John.  When that possibility of multiple people being named, all being “Mary,” John is not excluding Mary the mother of Jesus, nor Mary Salome.  It includes Mary Magdalene, simply as “Maria,” because she too was a “Mary.”  It is then from that name that John attached the feminine normative article “ἡ,” which then separated from three women name Mary, as “this Magdalene.”

The word “comes” [from “erchetai”] is stated in the third person singular present, meaning John’s focus is now only on the one Mary, who was differentiated from the others of the same name as “Magdalene.”  That names means “Of The Tower,” which should now draw closer attention, as a capitalized name of divine meaning [as it should every time it is written].  In this, the name should not be seen simply as some weakly understood name of a place from where Mary came, as the names of places demand knowing the root meaning of that naming.  Thus, John is singling out Mary Magdalene because she reflected a “tower” among the followers of Jesus.

The symbolism of a tower is confinement, in the sense “Magdalene” needs to be seen as a divine statement of one [in this case, feminine] who has submitted self-ego unto a higher power, but feels trapped by that commitment.  Instead of the name being an indication of one filled with the Holy Spirit and having become a wife to Yahweh, it reflects one who has been submitted [sacrificed by others] to a commitment in marriage, for holy purposes, but not wholly of one’s own choice.  For those who have pondered the idea that there was a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, seeing this name of distinction in this light makes it easy to see such a relationship would have been arranged and Mary was not completely fulfilled by her submission to Jesus, or to an Essene religious belief system, because she was placed in a “tower” of responsibility [at a young age], never allowed the complete freedom to know life as a woman.

It is then from this grasp of the name “Magdalene” that John wrote she “comes early.”  This is where the Greek word “prōi,” rather than as the first word shown in the paraphrase.  The Greek implies a timeframe that is “early in the morning” or “at dawn.”  Again, while this clearly leads one to assume John was referring to “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,” that single understanding misses the importance of two names being presented.  A deeper meaning surfaces, from seeing “Magdalene” as not only relative to one Mary, but to all three named Mary.  They were similarly placed in “towers” of commitment at a young age [see the story of Gabriel and Mary at sixteen], where that “early in life” commitment was what led them to go prepare the body of Jesus for moving to the family tomb [see the story of Lazarus].

Following a comma mark, separating the word stating “early in the morning,” John wrote “dark still it being” [“skotias eti ousēs”].  Set apart by comma marks, those three words can be seen as standing alone in meaning, “spiritual darkness even now exists,” where John was making a statement about those in the “tower” of religious devotion still being unfulfilled.  This can be better seen when one realizes “at dawn” [the meaning of “prōi”] is when light of the sun has reached the horizon.  While “darkness” means the sun has not fully risen, the Jewish clock begins the “morning hour” at 6:00 AM.  This timing is relative to sunrise, as well as denoting when the Sabbath officially ended and the first day began.  Thus, women would be less likely to walk in darkness, and more as soon as sunrise made a trip of commitment safe in morning light.

When John then wrote the next segment of words that say, “to the tomb” [“eis to mnēmeion”], here the dual meaning says women named Mary went to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid the prior Friday, while also being a statement about the commitment made by the three women servants.  They were prepared to go to their tombs in the darkness they were surround by, in the “Tower.”    

It is at this point, following a comma mark, that John wrote the word “kai,” which signals the reader to pay close attention to the following segment of words.  Here, John wrote [literally translated]: “she sees the stone having been removed from the tomb.”  Once again, there can be found dual meaning coming from these words, which the use of “kai” says to look for.  More than simply seeing ahead to the garden where the tomb is, and more than seeing the round stone used to seal the tomb has been rolled away, the deeper meaning speaks spiritually.  As such, the sight become spiritual perception, which is the future of Mary [each of the three] perceived to lead to her [their] death[s] is because Jesus was the “cornerstone” thought to be the escape from the “Tower.”  Instead, the darkness of captivity in a mortal body committed to serve Yahweh blindly is thinking Jesus’ death ends that idea.

The happy ending to this first verse of John is then by “seeing the stone” of Jesus “having been removed from the tomb.”  That becomes an important prophecy [the use of “kai”] that foretells all has not been lost, as thought.  Simply by seeing the tomb’s doorway opened becomes the promise that all is not lost.  While the three Marys did not know this, this says their hearts began beating faster.

I have purposefully delved deeper into this first verse of John’s reading because it is important to see how this one verse more closely aligns with that which Mark wrote [as well as Matthew and Luke].  One needs to realize that this story [by all four Gospel writers] was written well after the event of Jesus being found not in the tomb.  I will now more quickly address the rest of this reading.

Verse 2 then tells, “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!”  At this point after realizing John did not exclude anyone named “Mary” from having the same vision of the tomb of Joseph Arimathea being opened, the immediate reaction would not be someone robbed the tomb, and certainly not that Jesus had risen like promised, but that the tomb was indeed a loaner.  The women had left early to get there to prepare the body for moving.  Seeing it opened would have immediately made the women thin, “Oh my!  The people coming to remove Jesus’ body have already beat us here and taken the body!”  It is from that panic that the two older women would have said to the younger Mary, “Run and get help!”

It is also worth thinking about where the women had walked from and Mary was now running back to.  It is not written where anyone stayed, beyond the known upper room in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem.  It is unlikely that the upper room would become a place of residence for all of Jesus’ followers, as everyone had their families in or near Jerusalem for the Passover feast and the festival of the Unleavened Bread, which began on Friday and ended the day before, on the Sabbath [when Jesus was actually risen, after 72 hours of death].  I have a theory about this place.

Because Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, secret because he [like Nicodemus] was a member of the Sanhedrin, he had a place of residence just outside the wall of Jerusalem, not far from where the garden was that he had a tomb newly hewn.  Not only did Joseph allow the body of Jesus be placed in his tomb, but Joseph allowed the family of Jesus to stay at his place, knowing that would make it easier on the family to move Jesus’ body to Bethany on Sunday [the first day of the week].  This would also be where Peter stayed, which would deem him a cousin of Jesus, therefore family.

When John wrote, “the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,” the translation of “the other disciple” [from “ton allon mathētēn”] is misleading.  The person being identified is John himself, not naming himself directly, because at that time John was not an adult male.  He was a child.  He was family, based on his writing, “the one who Jesus loved,” just as was Mary Magdalene.  This means the better translation of those three words is as, “this different pupil.”  The one Jesus loved was taught by Jesus as his son, meaning Mary was his mother.  This arrangement means Jesus was married to Mary, thus the symbolism of “Magdalene” meaning “Of The Tower.”

One should see how John had been at the execution of his father and stayed to watch the whole event with his mother and grandmother [among other women and some uncles].  Peter went and hid, along with the other disciples, making his denials more meaningful, when seen as a relative who denied being one of Jesus’ followers.  John wrote about those denials, because Peter stayed with his nephew, who needed to see what was happening to his father.  In Mark’s Gospel [the author of Peter’s story], John was identified on the night of Jesus’ arrest as “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” (Mark 14:51-52)  Rather than “a young man” the text says, “a certain youth,” which was young John.

This says that Peter had taken up the responsibility of being the father figure of John, staying with the family at that time of need, knowing it was safe at the home of Joseph.  This means that Mary Magdalene ran as a woman in her late twenties or early thirties, as well as a woman of that age could run in dress-like clothing.  She first told “Simon Peter” and then she told her son John, telling both “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

This was heard by both Peter and John as a call to immediately respond, which they did.  John then wrote, “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.” (John 20:3-5)  Here, it becomes clear that John is more agile than Peter and able to run faster, taking shortcuts that an adult male could not take.  Still, after beating Peter to the tomb and finding it open, like his mother had said, he waited for Peter.  That is a clear sign that John was a child and not privileged to make adult decisions.  Even after John said Peter entered the tomb, John did not enter until authorized by Peter.  Peter, as an adult, wanted to make sure nothing foul had been done to the body of Jesus, which would have been traumatizing for his son to see his father’s body in that way.

When John wrote, “Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen,” (John 20:6-7) this speaks of the shroud placed around the body of Jesus the previous Friday evening [of day]. 

In John’s nineteenth chapter, he wrote that Joseph of Arimathea “was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.”  While nothing is written that says the whole amount of embalming ointments and fragrant wood lotions were used; but one would think the face covering and shroud would have reeked of dead body mixed with sweet perfumes.  The rolled up face cloth and the shroud would have had to have a scent to them, but nothing is written about that detail.

I believe that so much was taken by Nicodemus because the Temple elite feared some zealot [they called the Essenes that a lot] would come and try to steal the body of Jesus and say he rose from death, but then ran away.  Matthew wrote of the guards placed around the tomb to make sure that did not happen.  Thus, one can assume that Nicodemus carried with him so much strong dead body perfumes, not so much to anoint Jesus’ body with sweet smells, but to get some of that identifying scent on any would-be body thief.  Still, because John did not write about a strong odor [nor anyone else], it becomes safe to assume that God [His angels] made sure there was no smell of death or perfume present.

In verse 10 the NRSV shows, “Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.”  There is more to this than is shown.  The literal Greek states, “Returned therefore back with themselves these disciples.”  While this can be read as John simply saying, “Peter and John returned to where they were staying,” that misses the importance of the capitalization of “Apēlthon,” which means, “Returned, Arrived, or Followed,” where the divine elevation says Jesus not being found in his tomb, with the linens folded and rolled means “Jesus has risen.”  He is “therefore back with these disciples,” just like old times between “themselves.”

It is at this point that the duality of verse 10 means both, in the sense that Mary Magdalene has returned to the tomb.  Peter goes back to find the other disciples and tell them what he found.  John, seeing his mother is there, stays with her, especially since she is crying and peering into the tomb.  Just like a child not being able to make decisions left for men to make, neither could Mary Magdalene simply walk inside a tomb she did not own.  By John staying, he could write about what took place next as a firsthand eyewitness.  Had he returned with Peter, he would be telling something Mary told to him alone [a sign of a mother speaking to a son].  Here also, one is able to see how the other Mary women had never left.  They had remained, most likely in prayer, arising to join Mary Magdalene when she returned and after Peter had left.   This makes Luke’s account [mother Mary’s story] of “two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.”  This is no different than John writing that “saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” (Luke 24:4)

While the other Mary women would have seen the same “two angels,” it makes sense that the other two Marys left after being told, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:5-7)  It would have been the dawning that Jesus said he would rise after three days that sent those two off to tell the others what they remembered.  That would have left Mary Magdalene and John alone at the empty tomb.

Still distraught because she does not know where the body of her husband is, even if he has risen, this is when a figure comes to Mary and asks her why she is still crying.  Here, John wrote, “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.”  This needs to be heard with ears that understand she too heard Jesus say he would die and be raised after three days, but Jesus never said what state of life raised that would be.  She probably thought Jesus was barely alive, in need of medical attention, having seen all the damages done to his body the past week.  To see someone obviously not in need of medical attention made Mary see Jesus as someone else.

When John wrote, “Thinking he was the gardener,” he began that series of words with the single capitalized word “Ekeinē,” which says, “She.”  As the feminine normative singular of “That one,” the proper substitute is “She.”  Following the question asked, “Whom do you seek?” the divine elevation as the female companion of Jesus, “She” being “That one” who should be seeking her husband be the “Wife.”  The importance of that one word statement [between a question mark and a comma mark] becomes why “She” began “thinking [Jesus] is the gardener.”  This becomes a connection between Jesus and Mary as that same connection between Adam and Eve, where Adam was the gardener of Eden.  In this case, “thinking” [from “dokousa”] becomes a spiritual flashback, of Freudian proportions.

John then wrote, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.”’  In that, “Mariam” is written, unlike the “Maria” of verse 1.  For an unrecognized figure to speak the name of Mary, perhaps in a close personal ‘pet name’ way, it was the voice that Mary recognized.  It might have even been the cemetery gardener in whom the soul of Jesus had entered and spoke, or it might have been an apparition [like the two angels or men dressed in gleaming white] that was Adam.  Either way, the voice of Jesus was heard speaking lovingly to Mary, as there was no shouting her name, as if a call for her attention.

When Mary recognized her name spoken by Jesus, she called him “Rabbouni,” which John clarified meant “Teacher.”  Both words are capitalized, giving them both divine essence.  Both “Rabbouni” and “Didaskale” mean the same as “Master” or “Teacher,” while “Rabbouni” can mean “Rabbi,” as a clerical title.  This response can mean that Mary was also a “disciple” or “pupil” of Jesus, but the divine meaning says the mind of Mary was flashing back to her soul’s time in Eden, where Adam loving called he “woman” or “wife” and she always responded, “My Master.”  That means Mary responded as the wife of Jesus.  Still, the highest meaning of that says the soul of Mary was remembering the Son of God, from whose DNA ribs she had been made, making the body of Jesus be her “Master” copy.

This understanding then leads one to read John write, “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.’”  Here, the Greek importantly states, “Me mou haptou,” where the capitalization of “Me” places divine relevance of “Not.”  To follow that with “me,” which is a statement of “being,” Jesus is importantly telling Mary that he is “Not Adam,” thus he is “Not” her biological twin standing before her, as that “Master.”  Neither is the one standing before Mary Jesus, as the voice is “Not me” in that body.  This makes the use of “haptou” go beyond a command not to touch, such that the word means “perceive.”  This means Jesus appeared as something akin to a hologram or a ghost, which could only be perceived, bit not touched.

John actually wrote that Jesus told Mary, “not yet for I have ascended to the Father,” which says the body of Jesus is “not yet” back,” with his spiritual appearance being “I have ascended to the Father.”  There is nothing that Mary could do to keep Jesus from doing what God would have Jesus do, so there is nothing about physical touching Jesus that would keep him from ascending to the Father [see Thomas sticking his fingers in the wounds of Jesus to grasp that point].  It had no sexual connotations, as if Mary wanted to kiss and hug someone who sounded like Jesus, but looked like a gardener.  The translation of “touch” is better left alone, going with “to grasp with the senses, apprehend, perceive.” (Wiktionary)

In this set of instructions given to Mary, where the capitalized “Patera” [“Father”] is found written three times [repetition is important] and “Theon” [“God”] is written twice, says Mary was the perfect wife for Jesus, as her soul was that of Eve [not her actual name, if she had an actual name].  Thus, the uses of Father and God apply to the Father of both Adam and Eve, who were both born as immortals, having to sin to become mortal and be sent to teach the world about Yahweh – “God.”

In that set of instruction is the use of “brothers,” which should not be read as the sons of Mother Mary, sons of Joseph.  Here, the use of “adelphous” means all of those disciples who would become Apostles.  In that transformation, they too would become Sons of the Father, whose God would be their God too.  For that to happen, they would all need to be rebirths of Jesus, all as Yahweh’s Anointed Ones, so as Sons Yahweh would be their Father and as Jesus they would all become “brothers of me” [“adelphous mou”].

With all that understood as taking place in the cemetery where Joseph of Arimathea had a tomb, John wrote, “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.”  In that, Mary spoke the capitalized words “Heōraka” and “Kyrion.”  By seeing capitalization brings about a divine meaning, higher than normal spoken language conveys, she said, “I have perceived this Master.”  She did not say she saw Jesus, as his body was still missing.  Therefore Mary uttered a prophecy of what would happen on Pentecost, saying “I have perceived Jesus as the Lord over all of us here.”  Just as Eve saw Adam as her Master copy, such that she was in Adam and Adam was in her, the same future awaited the disciples, where Jesus would be in them and they would be in Jesus.

As a Gospel selection for Easter Sunday, the depth of this interpretation shows why there should be no restriction of one or two Gospel rendition of the first Easter Sunday, but a desire by all who are true Christians to make it clear to all seeking to be come true Christians how Yahweh speaks through His prophets … like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John et al.  Rather than cut out one reading, to accommodate a mandatory Acts reading, true Christians should have the desire to take all the readings into their homes and pray to God for inspiration to see the truth and more firmly have true faith.

John, Language, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Teaching

Easter Sunday Gospel Choices – Our Lord is Risen Indeed

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Matthew 28:1-10 (This is the early service reading)

John 20:1-18 (This is an option for the principal service reading)

or

Mark 16:1-8 (This is an option for the principal service reading)

Luke 24:13-49 (This is the evening service reading)

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These are the readings that come from the four Gospels, all telling of the Sunday event Christians recognize as “Easter.” The same readings revolve over the three year cycle of the Episcopal Lectionary, Years A, B, and C. The order presented here is for Year B, 2018. These variations on the same theme [Luke’s reading is tailored for an evening service, focusing on that Sunday’s afternoon, rather than the morning’s discovery] will next be read aloud in a church by a priest on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018. Certainly, all are important as they tell of the miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection from death, as witnessed by those close to Jesus of Nazareth. That return to life fulfilled the promise Jesus had made, which also fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.

In two of these readings (Luke and John), the resurrection of Jesus is referred to as “the first day of the week.” In the other two, the day is identified as “after the sabbath” (Matthew) or “when the Sabbath was over” (Mark), with Matthew adding that it was “the first day of the week.” None of them identified that day as “Sunday,” as the Hebrew equivalent is “yom rishon” (“first day”).

Here is a blank calendar, typically used in English-speaking countries.  One can see how Sunday has been affixed into the position that reflects it as the first day of the week, making Saturday the seventh day (the Sabbath):

While Americans commonly call the combination of Saturday and Sunday a “weekend,” such that Monday feels like the first day of the week, that feeling likewise projects upon Sunday as the end of a week.  One can get a feel that Sunday is the seventh day, thus the Christian sabbath day. However, please note that concept is pagan, as it goes against how God told Moses to order the days, which corresponds with the seven days of Creation.

God never ordered anyone, other than the Israelites, to establish a calendar that denotes a Sabbath day as holy. Thus, if anyone wants to make a “week” longer than seven days, or start a “week” on any day one chooses, while calling a day by any name other than a number, that is one’s freedom … as a pagan. No one is commanded to have a calendar for each year, nor have any special dates marked for remembrance.  Still, it seems other civilized peoples (other than the Israelites) realized marking time was important.

They say Stonehenge is a pagan calendar that marked the movements of celestial bodies, such that “Sun day” is related to that orb of life-giving light, with “Moon day” the same recognition on another day [Monday].  Saturday is devoted to recognition for Saturn, whose pagan characteristics are like those of the Old Testament Yahweh.  Because there are seven astronomical orbs of lights (luminaries and planets), each was given a day of recognition, thus a seven-day week evolved.  Still, with that known, non-pagans (including Christians) will always recognize the seventh day as holy (the Sabbath); and Sunday, likewise, will always be the first day of the week.

By grasping that Jesus was realized risen on the first day of the week, one can realize the New Creation of God’s Covenant with human beings springing to life at that time. The first day of the week means rest is over and there is new work that needs to be done. God’s Covenant with Moses, which does nothing to change His Covenants with Noah and/or Abraham, is not an “Old Testament,” as if “old” translates as “outdated” and “undone.” Instead, the New Covenant is the expansion from the First Testament, as a New Amendment. The new requires more than birthright, as Gentiles are now permitted to play a role in God’s plan (Thanks be to God, from us Gentiles of America) for all mankind to serve God. That new amendment to serve God comes through Jesus Christ, who was first known as the Christ on a Sunday … the first day of the week.

In that vein of thought, serving God through Jesus Christ is demonstrated to be more than simply believing Jesus rose after being dead for three days. In John’s account, Mary Magdalene stood at the open tomb weeping, when the risen Jesus asked her why she was crying. Mary is said not to recognize the man she loved dearly, “supposing him to be the gardener.” That needs to be reflected upon.

If you have ever driven to a cemetery to pay your respects to a deceased loved one, you will notice there is a small staff that manages the grounds, cutting the grass, placing artificial flowers at gravestones, and making sure weeds and leaves are cleared away. One such groundskeeper could be termed a “gardener.” John wrote the word “kēpouros,” which translates as “gardener or garden-keeper,” which by itself implies this tomb site was lush and green; but a tomb carved into rock is not typically surrounded by such flourishing plant life. Supposing the intent of Mary, as told to John (who had already left the scene with Peter), was more than a simple mention of a man thought to be the groundskeeper.  One then needs to see that “Freudian slip,” associated with that failure to see Jesus as Jesus, as a purposeful statement of Jesus appearing as someone else … someone Jesus is like.

Pop Quiz question: Who is the most famous gardener in all the Holy Bible? You have one minute to think about your answer.

<Pause for one minute>

Time’s up. The answer is Adam. [You knew that!]

That reference is then a statement that Jesus had the same soul as the one God breathed into his Son; but the physical Jesus did not look like the physical Adam, from who’s physical DNA Jesus was descended, many times modified over the ages.[1]  That means that Jesus’ claim to be the Son of Man (where the Hebrew word “adam” means “man”) was based on him repeatedly saying, my soul has reincarnated several times since it fell to Earth in the form of Adam, the Son of God. Adam lived in the Garden of Eden, and because of his skills for tending to natural things, Adam was told to till the earth after his fall from Heaven (hint: there are more weeds on earth, than in Heaven).

So, regardless of the double entendre, where Mary literally though Jesus was a groundskeeper, John wrote “gardener” from being in possession of the Mind of Christ, writing the Word of God. As a “gardener,” Jesus was seen in the form of the first Son of God.  That means there are no mistakes and nothing written anywhere in Scripture that cannot become more that it first appears, as “kēpouros” [“gardener”] expands to become further explanation towards understanding the holiness of John’s text.

Of course, Jesus appearing as a gardener was not the only time he appeared in some other form. The optional reading for an evening Easter service comes from Luke, where those particular verses are typically called “The Road to Emmaus.” There, Luke wrote, “Jesus himself came near [to two of the disciples] and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

The two disciples were not of the eleven principal disciples of Jesus, but followers of Jesus. The Greek written by Luke actually does not refer to “disciples,” but to “two of them.” When one is later named as being Cleopas, who is believed to have been the brother of Joseph, the husband of Mary, the human “father” of Jesus, this would make Cleopas the uncle of Jesus. Because John referred to “Mary of Clopas,” as one of the three Mary’s who stood at the cross of Jesus, this is believed to make her the wife (possibly daughter) of Cleopas. This would then identify the “two of them” as being relatives who knew Jesus very well, “but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

A couple of things need to be grasped about the seven miles to Emmaus (sixty furlongs). First, that was too far to walk on a Sabbath, due to the restrictions on how far one can walk on the day of rest. Cleopas and Mary had been in Jerusalem for the final prayer service of the eight-day Passover festival [a morning prayer, which on that particular ending day was done on a Sabbath morning], meaning they probably stayed in the upstairs room that had been secured for Jesus and his disciples until Sunday morning. While ordinary years would have allowed them to travel back and forth from home, during the week-long event, the arrest, trial, torture and execution of Jesus, followed by his temporary burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, would have kept them in Jerusalem all of the eight days. Now, with the Passover over, as well as the Sabbath, it was time for them to go home; but as they walked, they were “and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.”

Second, the road to Emmaus was the same road that cut through Jerusalem, with the eastern direction called the Jericho road, with Emmaus being due west.

Cleopas and Mary would not have been the only ones walking this road, as many pilgrims from the west would have traveled the same road. The Roman road would have ended at the Mediterranean Sea, with a road leading to Joppa being a branch off that road headed more northerly. Joppa would have been a place for European pilgrims to find sea passage back home. Still, foreign travelers in Judea for the Passover would have planned to stay until Shavuot [Festival of Weeks, beginning at Pentecost], so the further away from Jerusalem pilgrims walked, the easier it would have been to find rooms for a two-month stay.  Thus, walking and talking with strangers would have been common, if not preferred, simply to find safety in numbers.

Jesus, appearing as some pilgrim headed home after the Passover, came upon Cleopas and Mary as they were discussing the past week and how it played out for their nephew. Jesus acted like he did not know who they were talking about, which led them to explain more. However, that led Jesus to tell his family members, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”

Jesus knew he had foretold all that would happen, exactly as it went down, but he was speaking to deaf ears, blind eyes and closed minds. Cleopas and Mary had been there and heard those prophecies, but (like all the other disciples and followers of Jesus) they were slow to take his words to heart, the place in devoted humans where God resides. Thus, no one believed the truth of Jesus’ words, because they preferred to ignore the truth and believe what they wanted to believe (a common flaw in the faithful to this day).

We then read that after Jesus called his relatives “foolish,” “then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.” Seven miles they walked as Jesus talked the truth. All the while, the hearts of Cleopas and Mary were burning within them, as Jesus was “opening the scriptures” to them.

When Luke wrote the word “diēnoigen” (translated as “he was opening”), the root word means: Properly: “opening the ears and the eyes, such as to restore hearing and sight. Tropically: “to open the sense of the Scriptures, explain them; to open the mind of one, i. e. cause him to understand a thing; and to open one’s soul, i. e. to rouse in one the faculty of understanding or the desire of learning.”[2] (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)  Therefore, Jesus (as a stranger to his aunt and uncle) spoke to them as one filled with the Holy Spirit and the gift of interpreting prophecy.  ALL who possess that holy talent speak in the name of Jesus Christ, whether they look like “picture book Jesus” or not.

When Cleopas and Mary came to the place where their home was off the main road, they did not want to leave this stranger who had opened their eyes and hearts so widely.  From desire to know more, they invited unrecognizable Jesus to stay at their place overnight. We then read, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

They recognized Jesus because Cleopas and Mary had been present at the Passover Seder meal ten evenings prior, when Jesus presided over the ritual dinner.  They had watched Jesus do the exact same thing then, as he had just done at their dining table.  They had not seen the power of those words then; but with their hearts alive with fire and passion for the the truth of God’s Word, they vividly flashed back to that Passover Seder message forgotten.

This is where bread has to be seen as symbolic of the written Scriptures, which Jesus had just enlightened Cleopas and Mary about: Moses and all the prophets wrote the texts that all Jews were fed from. That bread is unleavened, in the sense that Scripture is written in basic ingredients.  Those words do not give rise, as leavened, until consumed and swollen to full meaning by the “yeast” of the Holy Spirit.  Thus, that bread is blessed by God, as Holy Words, and those Holy Words are broken into books, chapters, verses and individual words – ALL of which have divine meaning the blind eye cannot see.

The man Cleopas and Mary had just walked seven miles with had just made them vividly recall that Passover Seder with Jesus, who was then known to be the Christ.  Before, he was just Mary’s special son, Jesus, a charismatic with a penchant for preaching and a knack for working miracles.  However, for the first time Jesus had opened the minds of his close relatives to Spiritual knowledge, which came by his breaking of the bread of Scripture and presenting it to them to digest.

Luke then wrote, “he vanished from their sight,” where the Greek word “aphantos” means, “disappearing, invisible, hidden.” This was not the first time that Jesus had eluded people, as John wrote about Jesus escaping the hands of his haters in his seventh and tenth chapters. This ability to become invisible or to disappear or to become hidden beyond view is a power from the divine.

This disappearance can be explained as a hallucination shared by Cleopas and Mary, where they actually did walk with a strange pilgrim, but the Holy Spirit made it appear that stranger was talking to them. The hallucination could have then come into their home, due to their heightened belief, while the actual strange pilgrim kept walking on the road to the west. Jesus disappeared simply because he was not in that Emmaus home as a strange pilgrim.  Jesus was there in Spirit, one that was invited by Cleopas and Mary to stay with them.  That presence symbolizes how all whose hearts burn to serve God must welcome God into their hearts.

It is this hallucinatory state that makes this account on the road to Emmaus become parallel to Mary Magdalene speaking with a gardener.  Mary never saw the gardener as Jesus in the flesh.  She heard his words and recognized it was Jesus, in the same way that Cleopas and Mary did.  The hallucinatory state reflects how each disciple of Jesus must seek him first.  Then, when Jesus appears in unrecognizable form to answer our call, a true Christian will recognize the presence of Jesus Christ, by understanding the messenger sent in his name.

Then, Luke tells of Cleopas and Mary hurrying back to Jerusalem and the upstairs room. It was still light outside, but technically night time, close to 8:00 PM by the time they were back in the upstairs room. Thomas, who had been out procuring dinner for the disciples and their companions when Jesus first appeared among them, was back then (he brought back some fish for them to broil). One could imagine the door was locked, due to the fear of the Temple being proud of murdering innocent Jews; but suddenly there was Jesus again standing among them.

Then, as the time earlier, Jesus appeared in a recognizable form, complete with body wounds from having been flogged, crucified and speared. One would imagine Jesus was fully dressed, just as the gardener and the travelling pilgrim would have been, even though the burial preparation would not have clothed Jesus’ body in anything more than shroud, face linen, and prayer shawl (provided by family). This means Jesus wore heavenly clothing, despite appearing earthly natural. One would imagine Jesus opened his robe for Thomas to feel his spear wound.

Before anyone starts to think that Jesus was a hologram or beamed to earth by God, look at how Jesus said he was not a ghost.

Jesus was real, in the flesh, the same flesh that had been prepared for burial the past Friday. He asked for food, which he ate before them so they could see how real he was. He was real when he stood before Mary Magdalene. He was real when he walked with Cleopas and Mary; and he was real standing among his followers in the upstairs room in Jerusalem. However, the most important element of that reality is discerned from Jesus saying (according to Luke), “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The reality of Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies that foretold his coming, death, and resurrection. The imaginary of prophecy had become real. While Jesus told the pairs of eyes standing with him at that time, “You are witnesses of these things” … “You are witnesses to this realization of divine prophecy” … Jesus would not be able to produce any new human witnesses to him in the flesh … a real Jesus … after he would Ascend to Heaven. Therefore, when Jesus then said, “See, I am sending upon you what my Father promised” … the Holy Spirit … Jesus meant the Father promised a Messiah that would last an eternity (see Micah 5:2).  Therefore, Jesus would last a lot longer than 33 years, as he has not ever left, through the reality of the Holy Spirit.  That was why Jesus then instructed his followers to stay in Jerusalem “until they had been clothed with power from on high.”

Now, while I allow that last statement of Jesus sink in a little, let me point out that Jesus appearing to his followers in the upstairs room took place in the evening on technical Sunday; but because the Hebrew calendar recognizes that to be the evening of the next day, Jesus gave that command on a Monday. Monday would represent the ninth day in the Counting of the Omer. That means Jesus stayed with his followers and taught them for forty days – from Tuesday, the tenth day of that counting, until the Sabbath, the forty-ninth day.

This means Jesus Ascended on the Sabbath, but returned via the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the fiftieth day of that count … another Sunday. This means the disciples spoke as Jesus had spoken, because the Holy Spirit clothed those followers with the power of Jesus Christ, from on high, on that day.

The missing day – Monday – is referred to in John’s Gospel, which was a dream rather than reality. The dream of John had the disciples fishing unsuccessfully on the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus had just told them all to stay in Jerusalem. The dream is confirmed to be that when one realizes that Capernaum was over 100 miles from Jerusalem (ref.), and it would have taken about five days to walk that far.

The symbolism of John’s dream can then be applied to the disciples’ state of mind, which was they were in shock. They had just watched Jesus be tried, tortured, crucified, buried, and then stand before them eating broiled fish, pointing out his still fresh wounds.  They had shook with fear that the Temple Jews would look to kill them next, with Lazarus already on their preferred hit list.  All that happened on Sunday had then left them dazed and confused.  Monday was then a day to take a deep breath and calm down, as basic training for receiving the Holy Spirit would begin the following day.

Still, with all of the readings that are representative of the proof that Jesus resurrected … proof that no Christian living today can swear to, no one can prove to another that resurrection.  No one today can say, “I have seen the risen Lord stand before me in a real human body.” All the witnesses of real Jesus have passed from this world; and that is the deepest meaning of Easter Sunday. Jesus has risen in unrecognizable forms, through the Holy Spirit.

While we all are still eight Sundays from celebrating Christian Pentecost (a wholly symbolic recognition of the Holy Spirit), Jesus suddenly appeared and disappeared on the first day of the week to foretell his coming within true Christians. A true Christian can only be defined as one who has been clothed within as Jesus, with all the power the Christ Mind bestows, from on high.

A true Christian, like Jesus, dies of self and is risen as Jesus Christ. A true Christian is dead to self-serving, as being Jesus Christ demands serving God, through going to help others in Spiritual need. Disciples of Jesus tremble in fear at the ghost of Jesus expecting them to leave the safety and security of a locked door to an upstairs room; but a true Christian hears Jesus say, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus reborn within one means “Peace if with me,” and when one can say that, then Jesus is walking the earth once again in unrecognizable form.

The Lord is risen indeed, when the Lord is alive in a true Christian. That is why Easter is much more than one man coming back to life after death. If that were the case, then Lazarus rising from death was an equally important event … one that no church recognizes on the level of Easter.

“Lazarus come out!” must speak to you. You must become Lazarus in order to become Jesus Christ reborn.

While one can say, “Jesus was the magician who was so special he commanded Lazarus to “Come out!” then who was it who commanded Jesus to do the same? The answer is not the power of the Son of Man but the power of God. God gave life back to Lazarus and God gave life back to Jesus. Therefore, Easter stands as the miracle of Moses crossing the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry ground, because God is the one with the power to part physical from spiritual, wet from dry, captivity from freedom … to separate mortal death from life everlasting.

Not much is written about Lazarus after he rose from death. John wrote that he and Jesus had a dinner in their honor on the evening of technical Sunday, prior to Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey colt for his final Passover festival. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes that Lazarus fled Judea to Cyprus, where “he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas as the first bishop of Kition (present-day Larnaka).” (Wikipedia)

The Western Church believes in the lore of the small town Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer [Saints-Mary-of-the-Sea], on the Mediterranean coast of France.  There Lazarus arrived, along with three Mary’s (Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome, and Mary of Cleopas).

Wax figures depicting the event in a museum of Provence history.

Lazarus is said to have gone to Marseilles [nearby to the east], where he converted many local pagans to Christianity, being called the Bishop of Marseilles. (Wikipedia, same as above) Supposedly, Lazarus lived for thirty years after he was raised from the dead, never smiling because of having seen the misery of souls in Hades, while he was dead.

Lazarus and Jesus can be seen as a duality, with one human and one divine. Lazarus rose and continued living as a divinely changed man. Jesus rose, taught his disciples for forty days, Ascended, then returned as the divinity that led Lazarus to become like Jesus. Likewise, Jesus returned to be the divinity of Peter and the other ten lead disciples, plus all those companions who witnessed Jesus standing risen among them (Lazarus probably was one also there). Jesus was reborn in 3,000 pilgrims to whom the Apostles opened the Scriptures (in foreign tongues). This makes Easter become a duality with Pentecost, where Easter is human devotion and Pentecost is divine practice (faith and works).

Jesus is the model by which ALL Christians are formed. Humans must conform to that model to receive the Holy Spirit and become divine.  Divinity comes by the love of God [burning hearts married to the LORD] and the birth of Christ in one’s mind. Moses built the model upon which Israel [and Judah] was formed, building human forms of devotion to the One God. Jesus was the duality to Moses, who built the model upon which the devoted received new life from the One God. Thus, one must be devoted to the One God first [the First Covenant] before one can evolve into a human that truly serves the LORD through Christ [the New Covenant].

Easter is the dawning [the Sunrise] of that necessary change.

One has to stop fearing one’s own death of self and give one’s heart and soul over to God’s Will. Easter is then the rebirth of one’s devotion, where one does not pray to an unseen, unfelt, and unknown God, but instead one feels burning in one’s heart, with love of the power of God, which one has seen and heard through opened Scriptures. Easter is then the desire to learn more, from the knowledge of God that comes from the presence of Jesus Christ teaching one the hidden truth that God’s Word holds. Easter is then the absorption of God’s knowledge for the purpose of spilling that knowledge out unto others of devotion [Pentecost Day].

This is how Easter is more than Jesus rising from death. Jesus has to be risen within all Christians for Jesus Christ to be alive in this world today. It is through true Christians that Jesus walks the road of life still, explaining the Scriptures to those who are saddened because they think Jesus is dead and there will not be another Jesus until the end of the world. Jesus is alive today though his gardeners, those who plant the seeds of insight into those who love Jesus, but previously had only wanted to dress, perfume, and decorate his body of death [hold the cross of crucifixion high, rather than the + of life in the Trinity: Father, You, Holy Spirit].

Easter is thus like Spring, when the death of Winter is replaced by the Rebirth the ever-living Vine, budding so that new fruit will come.

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[1] In case anyone doubts this, I recommend reading Luke’s chapter 3.  The last verse state:, “The son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Luke 3:38).

[2] Some might note – IF one’s heart is burning – that I write these “articles” in the same sense of “opening the Scriptures” for understanding, as well as to remove the plugs and blinders that have impeded one’s own ability to discern these things.

John, Language, Teaching

John 20:1-18 – An Easter Gospel like never been read before

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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

——————–

This is one of the two Gospel selections possible to be read aloud on Easter Sunday, Year B principal service, according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. While the Track 1 and Track 2 options that become vogue during the Ordinary season after Pentecost have not officially begun in Easter’s season, one might presume that choosing the mandatory Acts 10 reading as the choice over the Old Testament reading from Isaiah 25 would lean one towards a Gospel reading from Mark afterwards. This reading from John seems like it would be chosen if the mandatory Acts selection were to override the Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 15. Whichever the case [knowing Episcopalians never have the time to excessively read Scripture, preach about its meaning briefly, and then allow a full-pledged discussion that would lead anyone towards faith in Yahweh], something on the schedule will not be read and something will.

When one realizes this reading from John is an option in every year of the Episcopal lectionary cycle [A, B, and C], it has a chance to be read every year. The option of Mark 15, however, is now or never. The days when someone Episcopalian asked, “Want to study more from the Bible?” and anybody said, “Yes” are long gone.

The appearance of this reading from John [two blocks above] gives the impression it tells two stories, one of Peter and another disciple and another of Mary Magdalene. In reality it tells of three parts, where the first part is only verse 1. That first verse is John’s assessment of the eight verses that are told in Mark 16:1-8 [the alternate Gospel choice]. Matthew and Luke also wrote about this event, with both adding details that add to the depth of Jesus being found risen. Still, the scope of Mark, Matthew and Luke does not go beyond John 20:1-10. This makes the part of John’s story about Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus unique and above and beyond what the others tell.

In the NRSV translation, verse 1 begins by stating, “Early on the first day of the week.” While this is heard and quickly understood as being Sunday, there is unseen significance in John writing this. The Jews were limited in how far they could travel outside the city on the Sabbath.

The end of John 19 tells of Jesus being prepared for burial and then placed in the tomb of Joseph Arimathea. That took place on “the day of preparation,” which means Friday, the day before the Sabbath. This means Jesus was placed in the tomb before 6:00 PM on Friday, when the Sabbath technically began, so everyone could go to a place to observe the Sabbath. That Sabbath was actually the last day of the festival of Unleavened Bread, but because all Jews were limited to going no further than .569 miles [two-thousand cubits] on the day of rest, they all hung around town. There they would be restricted as to how far they could walk, until 6:00 AM on Sunday, meaning thirty-six hours would have passed since Jesus was placed in that tomb.

In actuality, the literal translation of the Greek John wrote says, “This next one of the sabbath.” In that, the word “Tē” is capitalized, which means more than that being the first word of a new chapter. Capitalization shows importance, such that divine meaning shines on those words capitalized. The word written is the feminine dative article, which normally states “the.” However, as “This” (an acceptable alternate translation), the capitalization says John is writing divinely, so “This” alerts the reader the Word of Yahweh according to John is continuing here.

That is then followed by the word “de,” which is often not translated, but means “next, on top of this, or moreover.” Therefore, the first two words are importantly announcing the next divine occurrence in the story of Jesus. “This” begins the “next” stage of the divine life of Jesus.

The word “mia” means “one.” In Hebrew, “the first day” is written “yom echad.” That really only says “day one.” By John writing “mia” it has been assumed that “day” was implied, since the word “yom” is absent. While that assumption can be correct, it is not the only way to read the number “one,” following the importance of “This” which follows as “next” in the story of Jesus. The number “one” becomes a new “one” of importance, which follows an older “one” of importance. Think of this as why Christians recognize the seventh day on the first day of the week.

To then find the Greek word “tōn” written, which is the genitive plural form of the article “the,” this becomes translated as “of the.” As a case stating possession, “one” is “of” that which then follows. Still, rather than use the generality of “the,” it is again worthwhile to translate “tōn” as “of this.” This leads one to see “one” as the “next This of” value.

This is where the word “sabbatōn” is written, which translates as “sabbath.” Because the Greek is not capitalized, the assumption is that “seventh” refers to the number of days in a “week,” so the translators see John stating “on the first day of the week.” Again, while that assumption can be seen as correct, it again becomes too limiting, especially when this series of words began with a capitalize “This,” signaling the reader to see what “This” is. What this word means, in the lower-case spelling, is a new sabbath [seventh day, a day made holy by God] is being determined from this event. Therefore, John wrote divinely, “This next one of the sabbath,” meaning Sunday will become the new Sabbath, because of the events about to unfold.

The NRSV translation then shows written, “while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb.” This is a paraphrase of what was actually written. The Greek literally states, “Mary the Magdalene comes early , dark still it being , to the tomb”. By paraphrasing this, it appears that John’s sole focus was on one woman, “Mary Magdalene.” That becomes a limitation of John’s Gospel that can lead some to argue difference in the Gospels make them questionable. That is wrong and can be explained.

The central focus is incorrectly paraphrased by mistranslating the Greek written: “Maria hē Magdalēnē” as simply “Mary Magdalene.” We see her having a last name, just like we see Jesus Christ having a last name [he does not]. In that written, two capitalized words [names] are present, with capitalization a signal of divine importance, such that two statements of divine importance are states as “Mary” and “Magdalene.” When the Greek word “hē” [or “ἡ”] is seen as the feminine normative article [as “the”], it too can be translated as saying “this.”

By realizing that, the capitalization of “Maria” can then be seen as stating the woman’s name “Mary,” with the name being importantly stated. Without any further clarification, as to which or how many going by the name “Mary” there are, one word now becomes the focus of John. Any number of women named “Mary” is stated. When that possibility of multiple people being named is realized, all being individually a “Mary,” John is not excluding Mary the mother of Jesus, nor Mary Salome [who are named by Luke in this story]. It still includes Mary Magdalene, simply as “Maria,” because she too was a “Mary.”

“Three Women” – Picasso

It is then from that name that John attached the feminine normative article “hē” [“ἡ”], which then separates one from three women name Mary. The focus turns from three to “this Magdalene.” That mention becomes necessary because three women of the same name are present at the same time.

The word “comes” [from “erchetai”] is stated in the third person singular present, meaning John’s focus is now only on the one Mary, who was differentiated from the others of the same name as “Magdalene.” That names means “Of The Tower,” which should now draw closer attention, as a capitalized name of divine meaning [as it should every time it is written]. In this, the name should not be seen simply as some weakly understood name of a place from where Mary came, as the names of places demand knowing the root meaning of that naming. Thus, John is singling out Mary Magdalene because she reflected a “tower” among the followers of Jesus.

The symbolism of a tower is confinement, in the sense “Magdalene” needs to be seen as a divine statement of one [in this case, feminine] who has submitted self-ego unto a higher power, but feels trapped by that commitment. Instead of the name being an indication of one filled with the Holy Spirit and having become a wife to Yahweh, it reflects one who has been submitted [sacrificed by others] to a commitment in marriage, for holy purposes, but not wholly of one’s own choice.

For those who have pondered the idea that there was a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, seeing this name of distinction in this light makes it easy to see such a relationship. It would have been arranged; and, Mary can be seen as not completely fulfilled by her submission to Jesus, more than she willingly [at a young age] submitted to be placed in such a “tower.” This makes her sacrifice become relative to an Essene religious belief system, where the prince Jesus needed to be paired with a vestal virgin priestess. Because she was placed in a “tower” of responsibility so young, she never had been allowed the complete freedom to know life as a woman [not that ancient Judea or Galilee offered women much in such freedoms].

It is then from this grasp of the name “Magdalene” that John wrote she “comes early.” This is where the Greek word “prōi” appears, rather than as the first word shown in the paraphrase of verse 1. The Greek implies a timeframe that is “early in the morning” or “at dawn.” Again, while this clearly leads one to assume John was referring to “early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,” that single understanding misses the importance of two names being presented.

A deeper meaning surfaces, from seeing “Magdalene” as not only relative to one Mary, but to all three named Mary. They were all similarly placed in “towers” of commitment at a young age [see the story of Gabriel and Mary at sixteen], where that “early in life” commitment was what led them to go prepare the body of Jesus for moving to the family tomb [see the story of Lazarus].

Following a comma mark, separating the word stating “early in the morning,” John wrote “dark still it being” [“skotias eti ousēs”]. Set apart by comma marks, those three words can be seen as standing alone in meaning, saying separately: “spiritual darkness even now exists.”
Here, John was making a statement about those in the “tower” of religious devotion still being unfulfilled. All the potential of willing submitting to serve a sect of religion still has not brought the light of truth, as all three women are still “in the dark” spiritually.

This can be better seen when one realizes “at dawn” [the meaning of “prōi”] is when light of the sun has reached the horizon. While “darkness” means the sun has not fully risen, the Jewish clock begins at the “morning hour” of 6:00 AM. This timing is relative to sunrise, as well as denoting when the Sabbath officially ended and the first day began. Thus, women would be less likely to walk in darkness, and more as soon as sunrise made a trip of commitment safe in morning light.

When John then wrote the next segment of words that say, “to the tomb” [“eis to mnēmeion”], here the dual meaning says women named Mary went to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid the prior Friday. Still, it is also making a statement about the commitment made by the three women servants. They were prepared to go to their own tombs in the darkness they were surround by, each in a “Tower,” in particular one rising from Jesus

It is at this point, following a comma mark, that John wrote the word “kai,” which signals the reader to pay close attention to the following segment of words. Here, John wrote [literally translated]: “she sees the stone having been removed from the tomb.” Once again, there can be found dual meaning coming from these words, which the use of “kai” says to look for.

More than simply seeing ahead to the garden where the tomb is, and more than seeing the round stone used to seal the tomb has been rolled away, the deeper meaning speaks spiritually. As such, the sight become spiritual perception, which is the future of Mary [each of the three] perceived to lead to her [their] death[s], because Jesus was the “cornerstone” thought to be the escape from the “Tower.” Instead, the darkness of captivity in a mortal body, committed to serve Yahweh blindly, the three women were thinking [“she perceives”] Jesus’ [“cornerstone”] death [“tomb”] ends that hope and promise.

The happy ending to this first verse of John is then by “seeing the stone” of Jesus “having been removed from the tomb.” That becomes an important prophecy [the use of “kai”] that foretells all has not been lost, as their minds had thought from Jesus’ death. Simply by seeing the tomb’s doorway opened becomes the promise that hope still exists. While the three Marys did not know this, this says their hearts began beating faster when they saw the tomb open.

The Magic Eye acts as the way Scripture is written. [This one has Easter eggs.]

I have purposefully delved deeper into this first verse of John’s reading because it is important to see how this one verse more closely aligns with that which Mark wrote [as well as Matthew and Luke]. One needs to realize that this story [told by all four Gospel writers] was written well after the event of Jesus being found not in the tomb. Neither story contradicts another. They all sew together as a perfect robe for a priest of Yahweh. And, with verse 1 now explained in that deep manner, I will now more quickly address the rest of the verses in this reading.

Verse 2 then tells, “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!” At this point, after realizing John did not exclude anyone named “Mary” from having the same vision of the tomb of Joseph Arimathea being opened, the immediate reaction would not to think that someone robbed the tomb. It also certainly would not be that Jesus had risen like promised, maybe inside cleaning the tomb up, because it was a loaner. The women had left early to get there to prepare the body for moving to another tomb, one in Bethany. Seeing the tomb opened would have immediately made the women think, “Oh my! The people coming to remove Jesus’ body have already beat us here and taken the body!”

It is from that panic that the two older women would have said to the younger Mary, “Run and get help!”

It is also worth thinking about where the women had walked from, to which Mary was now running back. It is not written where anyone stayed, beyond the known upper room in the Essene Quarter of Jerusalem, for the final Passover Seder meal [the last supper]. It is unlikely that the upper room would become a place of residence for all of Jesus’ followers, as all Jesus’ disciples had their families with them, staying somewhere in or near Jerusalem for the Passover feast and the festival of the Unleavened Bread. That mandatory commitment to Yahweh had begun on Friday and just ended the day before, on the Sabbath [when Jesus was actually risen, after 72 hours of death]. Everyone would have made prior arrangement where to stay, but it would not have been in the same room.

I have a theory about this place, relative to where the three Marys had come from, to which Mary Magdalene then ran. Because Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus, secret because he [like Nicodemus] was a member of the Sanhedrin, he had a place of residence just outside the walls of Jerusalem, not far from where the garden was that he had a tomb newly hewn. Not only did Joseph allow the body of Jesus be placed in his tomb, but Joseph allowed the family of Jesus to stay at his place, knowing that would make it easier on the family to move Jesus’ body to Bethany on Sunday [the first day of the week]. This would also be where Peter stayed, which would deem him a cousin of Jesus, therefore family.

When John wrote, “the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,” the translation of “the other disciple” [from “ton allon mathētēn”] is misleading. The person being identified is John himself, not naming himself directly, because at that time John was not an adult male. He was a child. He was family, based on his writing, “the one who Jesus loved,” just as was Mary Magdalene. This means the better translation of those three words is as, “this different pupil.” The one Jesus loved was taught by Jesus as his son, meaning Mary was his mother. This arrangement means Jesus was married to Mary, thus the symbolism of “Magdalene” meaning “Of The Tower.”

One should see how John had been at the execution of his father and stayed to watch the whole event with his mother and grandmother [among other women and some uncles]. Peter went and hid, along with the other disciples, making his denials more meaningful, when seen as a relative who denied being one of Jesus’ followers. John wrote about those denials, because Peter stayed with his relative, who needed to see what was happening to his father. In Mark’s Gospel [the author of Peter’s story], John was identified on the night of Jesus’ arrest as “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.” (Mark 14:51-52) Rather than be “a young man” the text better translates to say, “a certain youth,” which was young John.

This says that Peter had taken up the responsibility of being the father figure of John, staying with the family at that time of need, knowing it was safe to be at the home of Joseph. This means that Mary Magdalene ran as a woman in her late twenties or early thirties, as well as a woman of that age could run in dress-like clothing. She first told “Simon Peter” and then she told her son John, telling both “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

This was heard by both Peter and John as a call to immediately respond, which they did. John then wrote, “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.” (John 20:3-5)

Here, it becomes clear that John is more agile than Peter and able to run faster, taking shortcuts that an adult male could not take. Still, after beating Peter to the tomb and finding it open, like his mother had said, he waited for Peter. That is a clear sign that John was a child and not privileged to make adult decisions. Even after John said Peter entered the tomb, John did not enter until authorized by Peter. Peter, as an adult, wanted to make sure nothing foul had been done to the body of Jesus, which would have been traumatizing for his son to see his father’s body in that way.

When John wrote, “Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen,” (John 20:6-7) this speaks of the shroud placed around the body of Jesus the previous Friday evening [of day].

In John’s nineteenth chapter, he wrote that Joseph of Arimathea “was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.” While nothing is written that says the whole amount of embalming ointments and fragrant wood lotions were used; but one would think the face covering and shroud would have reeked of dead body mixed with sweet perfumes. The rolled up face cloth and the shroud would have had to have a scent to them, but nothing is written about that detail.

I believe that so much was taken by Nicodemus because the Temple elite feared some zealot [they called the Essenes that a lot] would come and try to steal the body of Jesus and say he rose from death, but then ran away. Matthew wrote of the guards placed around the tomb to make sure that did not happen. Thus, one can assume that Nicodemus carried with him so much strong ‘dead body’ perfumes, not so much to anoint Jesus’ body with sweet smells, but to get some of that identifying scent on any would-be body thief. Still, because John did not write about a strong odor [nor anyone else], it becomes safe to assume that God [His angels] made sure there was no smell of death or perfume present.

In verse 10 the NRSV shows, “Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.” There is more to this than is shown.

The literal Greek states, “Returned therefore back with themselves these disciples.” While this can be read as John simply saying, “Peter and John returned to where they were staying,” that misses the importance of the capitalization of “Apēlthon,” which means, “Returned, Arrived, or Followed.” The divine elevation says Jesus not being found in his tomb, with the linens folded and rolled, means “Jesus has risen.” He is “therefore back with these disciples,” just like old times between “themselves.”

It is at this point that the duality of verse 10 means both, in the sense that Mary Magdalene has returned to the tomb. Peter then goes back to find the other disciples and tell them what he found. John, seeing his mother is there, stays with her, especially since she is crying and peering into the tomb. Just like a child not being able to make decisions left for men to make, neither could Mary Magdalene simply walk inside a tomb she did not own. By John staying, he could write about what took place next as a firsthand eyewitness. Had he returned with Peter, he would be telling something Mary told to him alone [a sign of a mother speaking to a son].

Here also, one is able to see how the other Mary women had never left. They had remained, most likely in prayer, arising to join Mary Magdalene when she returned and after Peter had left. This makes Luke’s account [mother Mary’s story] of “two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them” [Luke 24:4] be no different than John writing that “saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” (John 20:12)

While the other Mary women would have seen the same “two angels,” it makes sense that the other two Marys left after being told, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.” (Luke 24:5-7) It would have been the dawning that Jesus said he would rise after three days that sent those two off to tell the others what they remembered. That would have left Mary Magdalene and John alone at the empty tomb.

Still distraught because she does not know where the body of her husband is, even if he has risen, this is when a figure comes to Mary and asks her why she is still crying. Here, John wrote, “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.” This needs to be heard with ears that understand she too heard Jesus say he would die and be raised after three days, but Jesus never said what state of life raised that would be. She probably thought Jesus was barely alive, in need of medical attention, having seen all the damages done to his body the past week. To see someone obviously not in need of medical attention made Mary see Jesus as someone else, without looking closely at who came up to her.

When John wrote, “Thinking he was the gardener,” he began that series of words with the single capitalized word “Ekeinē,” which says, “She.” This word does not show in the NRSV translation, and it is stated separately, before what John said Mary thought of this person.

As the feminine normative singular of “That one,” the proper substitute is “She.” Following the question asked, “Whom do you seek?” the divine elevation as the female companion of Jesus, “She” being “That one” who should be seeking her husband be the “Wife.” The importance of that one word statement [between a question mark and a comma mark] becomes why “She” began “thinking [Jesus] is the gardener.” This becomes a connection between Jesus and Mary as that same connection between Adam and Eve, where Adam was the gardener of Eden. In this case, “thinking” [from “dokousa”] becomes a spiritual flashback, of Freudian proportions.

John then wrote, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.”’ In that, “Mariam” is written, unlike the “Maria” of verse 1. For an unrecognized figure to speak the name of Mary, perhaps in a close personal ‘pet name’ way, it was a voice that Mary recognized. It might have even been the cemetery gardener in whom the soul of Jesus had entered and spoke, or it might have been an apparition [like the two angels or men dressed in gleaming white]. Regardless of who or what appeared, the voice spoke as Adam to Eve. Either way, the voice of Jesus was heard speaking lovingly to Mary, as there was no shouting her name, as if a call for her attention.

When Mary recognized her name spoken by Jesus, she called him “Rabbouni,” which John clarified meant “Teacher.” Both words are capitalized, giving them both divine essence. Both “Rabbouni” and “Didaskale” mean the same as “Master” or “Teacher,” while “Rabbouni” can mean “Rabbi,” as a clerical title. This response can mean that Mary was also a “disciple” or “pupil” of Jesus, but the divine meaning says the mind of Mary was flashing back to her soul’s time in Eden, where Adam loving called her “woman” or “wife” and she always responded, “My Master.” That means Mary responded as the wife of Jesus, to Jesus’ soul speaking. Still, the highest meaning of that says the soul of Mary was remembering the Son of God, from whose DNA ribs she had been made, making the body of Jesus be her “Master” copy.

This understanding then leads one to read John write, “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.’” Here, the Greek importantly states, “Me mou haptou,” where the capitalization of “Me” places divine relevance of “Not.” To follow that with “me,” which is a statement of “being,” Jesus is importantly telling Mary that he is “Not Adam,” thus he is “Not” her biological twin standing before her, as that “Master.” Nor is the one standing before Mary Jesus, as the voice is “Not me” in that body. This makes the use of “haptou” go beyond a command not to touch, such that the word means “perceive.” This means Jesus appeared as something akin to a hologram or a ghost, which could only be perceived, not touched.

John actually wrote that Jesus told Mary, “not yet for I have ascended to the Father,” which says the body of Jesus is “not yet” back,” with his spiritual appearance being “I have ascended to the Father.” There is nothing that Mary could do to keep Jesus from doing what God would have Jesus do, so there is nothing about physical touching Jesus that would have kept him from ascending to the Father [see Thomas sticking his fingers in the wounds of Jesus to grasp that point]. This statement also has no sexual connotations, as if Mary wanted to kiss and hug someone who sounded like Jesus, but looked like a gardener. The translation of “touch” is better left alone, going with “to grasp with the senses, apprehend, perceive.” (Wiktionary meaning for “haptou“)

In this set of instructions given to Mary, where the capitalized “Patera” [“Father”] is found written three times [repetition is important] and “Theon” [“God”] is written twice, says Mary was the perfect wife for Jesus, as her soul was that of Eve [not her actual name, if she had an actual name]. Thus, the uses of Father and God apply to the Father of both Adam and Eve, who were both born as immortals, having to sin to become mortal and be sent to teach the world about Yahweh – “God.”

In that set of instructions is found one use of “brothers,” which should not be read as the sons of Mother Mary, sons of Joseph. Here, the use of “adelphous” means all of those disciples who would become Apostles. In that transformation, they too would become Sons of the Father, whose God would be their God too [Adam’s and Eve’s, Jesus’ and Mary’s]. For that to happen, the disciples would all need to be rebirths of Jesus, all as Yahweh’s Anointed Ones, so as Sons of Yahweh [including the women], who would be their Father just as Jesus would be related. That relationship would be spiritual, rather than material, so all would change by receipt of the Holy Spirit and become “brothers of me” [“adelphous mou”].

With all that understood as taking place in the cemetery where Joseph of Arimathea had a tomb, John wrote, “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.” In that, Mary spoke the capitalized words “Heōraka” and “Kyrion.”

By seeing capitalization brings about a divine meaning, higher than normal spoken language conveys, she said, “I have perceived this Master.” She did not say she saw Jesus, as his body was still missing. Therefore Mary uttered a prophecy of what would happen on Pentecost, saying “I have perceived Jesus as the Lord over all of us here.” Just as Eve saw Adam as her Master copy, such that she was in Adam and Adam was in her, the same future awaited the disciples, where Jesus would be in them and they would be in Jesus, as “brothers.” Like Jesus, the Father would be in the Apostles, as the Apostles would be in the Father.

As a Gospel selection for Easter Sunday, the depth of this interpretation shows why there should be no restriction of one or two Gospel rendition of the first Easter Sunday, but a desire by all who are true Christians to make it clear to all seeking to be come true Christians how Yahweh speaks through His prophets … like Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John et al. Rather than cut out one reading, to accommodate a mandatory Acts reading, true Christians should have the desire to take all the readings into their homes and pray to God for inspiration to see the truth and more firmly have true faith.

John, Language, Teaching

John 20:1-18 – The lessons of an empty tomb

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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, `I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

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This is the Gospel selection that can be chosen for reading aloud by a priest on the Easter Day primary service. It is possible to be read every Easter Day in all three liturgical years (A, B, and C). This will follow a “First Lesson” that might be from Isaiah 65, where the prophet wrote: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent– its food shall be dust!” If not that reading, then Acts 10 will take its place, where it is written that Peter told the Roman centurion Cornelius: “We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.” If Acts 10 is read as the “First Lesson,” then a reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians will be read next, where it is written: “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” All will be accompanied by a singing of Psalm 118, where one verse says, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them; I will offer thanks to Yahweh.”

I posted this commentary in 2021 entitled: An Easter Gospel like never been read before. That can be searched here. It is a deep commentary about what can be revealed in this reading from John. I advise readers seeking the truth to read that at this time. I will not repeat that which has already been written; and, eighteen verses of Scripture is much to discern. Instead, at this time, I will only offer some insight that needs to be firmly grasped from this reading that will only be read during Easter. One needs to realize that Easter is about one’s own soul being raised, not that of Jesus.

The first thing I want to make clear is the body of Jesus has ascended. This is stated when Mary Magdalene told Peter and John, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” His body is gone.

Then John reached the tomb and “He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there.” The “linen wrappings had been wrapped around the corpse; but they were “lying there” on the floor of the tomb. The body was gone.

Then, Peter arrived and entered the tomb, when he “saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” He saw cloths, but no body. The body was gone.

When Mary Magdalene is said to have returned, “she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.” She then saw Jesus not looking like the Jesus she knew very well. She thought Jesus was the gardener – a statement of Jesus looking like Adam, from the Garden of Eden. That was the same soul in a different appearance; but the body of Jesus was gone.

To that point, Jesus told Mary not to try and grasp him, because he was “not yet ascended to the Father” … which means the soul of Jesus appeared as an apparition on the earthly plane, but that appearing to be a body was not a physical body. The physical body was gone. That physical body had been “raised from death.” Only the soul of Jesus lingered; and, that soul took on multiple appearances.

The second thing I want to point out is this reading shows the effect of finding out the body of Jesus is out of the tomb had on three close followers of Jesus. While other women are named in the Luke reading that is optional to replace this reading on Easter Day, the point needs to be seen that Easter Day is about a personal experience of a spiritual change within oneself. When we read that John, “saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead,” the lesson is belief (a.k.a faith coming from personal experience). While John and Peter did not experience Jesus, they recalled a personal experience, where Jesus told them this would happen.

Mary saw two angels, where “angels” are spiritual entities that are not physical. The number “two” must always be read in Scripture as a duality in self – where “two angels” become Mary witnessing the “two spirits” that then possessed her being: her soul and the soul of Jesus – together as one. That then leads to us reading, “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” She experienced Jesus in her own soul for the first time and did not recognize his soul as hers. Jesus’ soul had remained to enter the souls of his closest followers; and, Mary Magdalene was one. Thus, the “two angels” were the souls of Mary meeting the soul of Jesus within. This is the truth of “resurrection,” where Mary was dead before that moment; but then when she saw the invisible truth, she was herself “raised from the dead.”

Going beyond what is written here in John, I want to point out the lack of sensation that speaks loudly by not being mentioned. When Jesus was placed in the tomb, his body had been prepared for burial by Joseph and Nicodemus. The women who arrived early in the morning (before the dawning of the light of truth) had gone to see where the tomb was, so they could return on the first day of the week to prepare the body for movement from Joseph’s loaner tomb to another tomb (not stated where that would be). They brought with them “spices that they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).

John had written that Nicodemus carried “a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.” While this does not say “nard,” which is a most potent and strongly fragrant oil, the impression is smell is absent from the story of the tomb being empty. The wrappings and fine linen cloth and face cloth most certainly would have been soaked in perfumes, with the stench of death completely missing from all Easter sunrise scenes. It can be presumed that Nicodemus was sent by the Sanhedrin to soak the body of Jesus with strong perfumes, so a trail of scent could be followed (certainly by using bloodhound-like dogs), if someone broke the seal of the tomb and stole his body. The Sanhedrin employed soldiers to watch the tomb for that purpose (again, not told in this Easter Day reading).

Still, the recording of wrappings and linen (with face cloth) being witnessed, there is no mention whatsoever of either the sweet smell of perfumed death or a progressive state of death (in a warm climate), where the stench of death would exceed predatory perfuming, requiring follow-up spices to be prepared. This says the physical body of Jesus was like that of known Saints (males and females) whose bodies never decayed after death, with them smelling like roses (hundreds of years after death, when the bodies were exhumed for moving).

This sensual absence says even the physical odors of Jesus’ body were raised to the spiritual realm, leaving nothing behind that was part of physical Jesus (including his tallit and personal clothing he was buried in). Those wrappings and clothes left behind were meant for their rightful owner to repossess. This says there is nothing about one’s own physical body that needs to be coveted. One’s own physical body must take the place of Jesus’ body, as the one dead; so, his soul can be raised in one’s own soul and body.

The purpose of reading about Easter is not to prove that the man named Jesus really did die and resurrect. We read about the emptiness of his tomb because nobody reading any of this Gospel Scripture will ever be able to pay for a vacation to Israel and go on a tour of Jesus’ tomb and walk in and take photos to show all friends and family, “I was there!” There is no body of Jesus in the world anymore. It vanished on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Each individual who is a close follower of Jesus, as family and friends of Yahweh, his Father, is called to experience the emptiness of that tomb because our bodies of flesh are being called to die and be raised as Jesus.

Anyone who thinks he or she can prove Jesus is risen by reading Scripture of Easter Day is missing the point of needing to have one’s own soul be raised from a body that will surely die; and, that raising can only come by being the soul in which the soul of Jesus is resurrected. Jesus continues to live, raised from his dead body and placed in the soul-body of one who loves Yahweh with all one’s heart, soul, and mind. Easter is about oneself being raised from the dead, so one’s soul can ascend to the promise of eternal life with Yahweh’s Spirit.