A Race

There is a passage in the book of John that I always sat and wondered about, and it is a passage that many pastors like to make jokes about. In this passage, we see Mary Magdalene discussing with Peter and John that Jesus’s body was gone and she did not know where it was. The next couple verses are where we begin to see the jokes being made.

“So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb. 4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; 5 and he stooped to look in, and *saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in. 6 So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.”

John 20:3-9

We see the two men left together to go investigate the tomb, but I always wondered why John felt it necessary to point out that he was faster. Was it to brag? Couldn’t be because that would be pride, a trait that Jesus often warned about. So why was it so important to point out that John was the faster runner? For that, we need to look at what occurs in the next couple of verses. First we see the two men together, then John is ahead and reaches the tomb first but does not go in, Peter is the first to go in, then finally John.

While this may seem a strange thing to point out; I think this passage, and the fact that John points out that he was the faster runner, is to give us an example of how our walk and the walk of those around us with Jesus Christ goes. First the two men start off together, they are both looking for the same thing, Jesus Christ. Then one pulls ahead in their walk with Jesus Christ, I am sure we can all think of someone who has grown more in knowledge of the Lord at a time when we might not have been. However, that does not mean that we need to stay behind them. After all, John may have reached the tomb first but it was Peter who entered first. What was important is that both of the men kept their eyes on the goal, to see what happened to their Messiah. For us today, we may start on the same path as other believers, then there may be times when some get farther ahead in their walk, the important thing is that we do not take our eyes off of Jesus Christ. When we keep the focus on Him, He is able to bring us the knowledge and understanding of scripture we need.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex