What is the context?
John has just described Jesus’s burial in a nearby, unused tomb. Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene finds the entrance open. Her first explanation is that someone has moved His body. An empty tomb does not immediately lead her to expect a resurrection.
Peter and the disciple Jesus loved run to investigate. They find the burial cloths, with the head cloth lying separately. John does not explain exactly how the body left the cloths, and the cloths do not supply a detailed account of how resurrection works.
The other disciple enters, sees and believes. Verse 9 adds that they still do not understand from Scripture that Jesus must rise. John allows us to see their understanding develop rather than presenting them as people who had everything worked out in advance.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly read the empty tomb alongside the appearances that follow as testimony to Jesus’s bodily resurrection. The disciples’ initial confusion is part of the account.
Commentators differ over what the other disciple believes in verse 8. Calvin’s note on verses 8–9 understands a beginning of resurrection faith before a fuller grasp of Scripture. Wesley’s note on verse 8 understands belief in Mary’s report that the body has been taken. These are two readings of the disciples’ developing understanding; neither changes the resurrection announced in the rest of the chapter.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Jesus’s resurrection belongs to the fulfillment of Scripture, even while the disciples are still learning to recognize it. In Acts 2:25–32, Peter explains David’s words about God’s Holy One not seeing decay and applies them to the risen Jesus. The same Peter who now examines an empty tomb will later announce publicly what God has done.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.