How Do We Know That What We ‘See’ Is Truth?
“So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw
(The Gospel According to John 20: 8 NASB)
and believed.”
This is the Season of Lent, a time leading from Ash Wednesday to Maundy Thursday, a time leading to Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday. Many participate in the Season of Lent, abstaining from something and replacing the ‘something’ with prayer and fasting. This season, I am attempting to ‘fast’ from bread. I have failed—some of the days, but on other days—I have not failed. Thank goodness, God has given me the ‘other’ days, the opportunities to succeed with His help, as I walk through these forty days, abstaining from bread: My Favorite Food Group as I lean on the ‘Bread of Life’!
There are many days when we may feel as if we are walking through an examination, a testing of our faith. Some of the days, we feel the heavy weight of the exam; while other days, we feel the lightness of a small quiz, maybe one the Father allows us to take, preparing us for the larger, heavier examinations. Saturday felt like an exam and not a quiz. Saturday, I found myself walking through a tragedy.
In 1991, I began my career in education, substituting from 1991-1995, and then receiving a full-time teaching position in the summer of 1995. When I began teaching, I planned for a career of teaching. This made sense; nevertheless, since the time of my preparation, I have found myself serving my students in other ways than only as their teacher. On Saturday, I found myself, once again, serving my students as counselor, comforter, and encourager.
In the Gospel of John, the last Gospel written after Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we read (as we do in the others) the story of Jesus’ resurrection. It has often been said by Bible scholars that we need to read all four Gospels to understand the ministry of Jesus. I believe the same can be said about Jesus’ resurrection.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.”
(The Gospel According to John 20: 1 NASB)
How did Mary Magdalene know that what she ‘saw’ (when she “saw the stone already taken away from the tomb”) was Truth?
“So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved,
(The Gospel According to John 20: 2-5 NASB)
[the apostle John]
and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.
The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter
and came to the tomb first;
and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.”
How did the other disciple (John) know that what he ‘saw’ (when “he saw the linen wrappings lying there”) was Truth?
“And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb;
(The Gospel According to John 20: 6-7 NASB)
and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,
and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings,
but rolled up in a place by itself.”
How did Simon Peter know that what he ‘saw’ (when “he saw . . . the face-cloth which had been on His head, . . . rolled up in a place by itself”) was Truth?
- How can we know that we know that we know—that what we have come to believe is truth?
- How can we walk through tough Saturdays—when we are called upon to counsel and comfort and encourage students who are walking through tough situations—with the strength we need?
“So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered,
(The Gospel According to John 20: 8 NASB)
and he saw and believed.”
How Do We Know That What We ‘See’ Is Truth?
On Saturday, as I was driving to a family gathering, I received the horrible news that one of our students had died. Immediately, I found myself talking with certain students. In our conversations, it was easy to see their fear, feel their anxiety, and hear their unrest. Even though we were miles apart, we could still speak together, and I could still pray with them through a voice call.
Truly, all that kept me driving toward that family gathering and not turning my vehicle to drive toward campus was the promise of seeing my daughter. My heart was torn between comforting my students and seeing my Sydney.
Tragedy comes to all humanity.
- The tragedy of the crucifixion came to the disciples as they hid in the Upper Room.
- The tragedy of Jesus’ burial came to the early believers who witnessed Jesus’ physical death on that Friday.
- The tragedy of the waiting three days, of knowing their Savior, their Messiah, and their friend Jesus DIED was truly overwhelming!
It must have been astonishing to Mary Magdalene when she “saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.”
To John, it must have been unfathomable when “stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; . . .”
Yes, to Simon Peter, the disciple who was the first to run into the tomb of Jesus, he must have been astonished & beyond words when “he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.”
On Saturday, I found myself returning in my mind to all the times tragedy had struck a student during my tenure as an instructor. My immediate prayer was ‘Oh God, I hope he knew You as his Savior.’ Facing another tragedy was not how I thought this day would occur, but the tragedy came, and now the student-body was suffering and unable to understand the WHY such tragedy exists in the world. I am sure the disciples of Jesus had this same thought the Friday when Jesus was hanged on the cross of Calvary. Therefore, we will walk through the tragedies of life that are sure to come, asking ourselves: How Do We Know That What We ‘See’ Is Truth? The Answer can only be found in what ‘the other disciple John’ wrote in his Gospel account of Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection.
He Saw & He Believed!
- John Believed—What Jesus Said Was True!
- John Believed—What He Saw Was Truth!
Jesus Christ Was Raised to New Life!
Resurrection Sunday came, and when the Season of Lent, when the time of fasting has passed, we will come to Easter Sunday, a day of celebration, for JESUS IS ALIVE!
& When my life is over, and the angels come to take those of us who have Accepted, who have Believed in Jesus, and who have Confessed our sins—we too will SEE JESUS FACE-TO-FACE!
It is a promise of God!
As we walk into this new day, let us be fully aware of those we encounter, ‘seeing’ them as Jesus sees them: Lost or Saved.
- May we be the bold witnesses of God’s Amazing Grace He has called us to be.
- May we share the Gospel message of Jesus Christ with those we meet today.
“So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered,
(The Gospel According to John 20: 8 NASB)
and he saw and believed.”