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In John 20
● see how the adventures of the “first day of the week” (1) began with quite a bit of hurrying- “ran” (2) and “running” (4), conveying an energy of discovering and telling and anticipating,
● notice Mary Magdalene’s three-fold not knowing- “we do not know” (2), “I do not know” (13), and “tell me where” (15), suggesting her earnest need to place Jesus’ body and all the events into an order, a set of certainties she can deal with,
● notice the layered revealing of the empty tomb and its significance: first it was Mary who saw the opened tomb, a woman and patient witness, then came the two running male disciples, one beating the other to the opening of the tomb and looking in, yet yielding at the entry for Peter, who actually entered first, then followed the first dashing disciple, who “went in, saw, and believed” (8), then finally framing the sequence of sightings Mary looked in and saw angels,
● understand that Mary then encountered Jesus himself though she is unaware of his identity until Jesus says, “Mary” (16), and Mary responds, “Rabboni” (16), and marvel at the astonishing richness compressed into two words,
● marvel also at Mary’s declaration to her companions: “I have seen the Lord” (18),
● register Jesus’ appearance to a group of disciples where he twice tells them , “Peace be with you” (19, 21, and repeated again in 26), and breathes on them the Holy Spirit (22),
● note the familiar account about Thomas’ doubting and his later remarkable declaration: “My Lord and my God” (28), and
● remember again and again John’s announcement of his two-fold purpose in writing this gospel: “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (31).
Thank you,

Randt Tumlinson