One of the great historical evidences of Jesus’ resurrection is the empty tomb. But the remarkable and startling fact is that when Peter and John arrived at the tomb on the first Easter morning, it was not quite empty. The body of Jesus was gone, but something was still there: the graveclothes. Something about them so struck John, at least, that he believed in the resurrection.

Mary meanwhile found the two chief disciples, Peter and John, presumably in John’s house where the beloved disciple had taken Jesus’ mother on the day of the crucifixion (John 19:27).

Jewish Burial

It is helpful at this point to know something about the modes of Jewish burial. Every society has its distinct modes of burial. In Egypt, bodies were embalmed. In Rome and Greece they were often cremated. In Palestine they were neither embalmed nor cremated. They were wrapped in linen bands that enclosed dry spices and placed face up without a coffin in tombs, generally cut from the rock in the Judean and Galilean hills. Many of these tombs exist today and can be seen by any visitor to Palestine.

Another factor of Jewish burial in ancient times is also of special interest for understanding John’s account of Jesus’ resurrection. In The Risen Master, published in 1901, Henry Latham calls attention to a unique feature of Eastern burials that he noticed when in Constantinople during the last century. He says that funerals he witnessed often varied in many respects, depending upon whether the funeral was for a person who had been poor or for one who had been rich. But in one respect all the arrangements were identical. Latham noticed that the bodies were wrapped in linen cloths in such a manner as to leave the face, neck, and upper part of the shoulders bare. The upper part of the head was covered by a cloth that had been twirled about it like a turban. Latham concluded that since burial styles change slowly, particularly in the East, this mode of burial may well have been practiced in Jesus’ time. He argued that this is all the more probable since the practice in 1900 meshes nicely with what is told of the graveclothes in John’s Gospel.

There is additional evidence for this thesis. Luke tells us that when Jesus was approaching the village of Nain earlier in his ministry, he met a funeral procession leaving the city. The only son of a widow had died. Luke says that when Jesus raised him from death two things happened. First, the young man sat up; that is, he was lying upon his back on the bier without a coffin. Second, he began to speak. Hence, the graveclothes did not cover his face. Separate coverings for the head and body were also used in the burial of Lazarus (John 11:44).

We have every reason to believe that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus buried Jesus Christ in a similar manner. The body of Jesus was removed from the cross before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, washed and wrapped in linen bands. Seventy-five pounds of spices were carefully inserted into the folds of the linen. Aloe was a powdered wood like fine sawdust with an aromatic fragrance; myrrh was a fragrant gum that would be carefully mixed with the powder. Jesus’ body was encased in these. His head, neck, and upper shoulders were left bare and a linen cloth was wrapped about the upper part of his head like a turban. The body of Jesus was then lovingly placed within the sepulcher where it lay until sometime on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

The two disciples started for the tomb, running and leaving Mary far behind. Outrunning Peter, John arrived at the tomb first, stooped to look through the narrow opening, and saw the graveclothes. Then Peter arrived, out of breath and in a hurry; he brushed John aside and plunged into the tomb. When John saw the graveclothes, he saw them only in a cursory manner and from outside the tomb. The Greek uses the most common word for seeing (blepō); it suggests nothing more than sight. But when Peter arrived he scrutinized the graveclothes carefully. The Scripture uses a special word (theoreō) for what Peter did (from it we get our words “theory” and “theorize”). Moreover, it tells what Peter saw. The Bible says that Peter “went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:6–7). At this point John entered, saw what Peter had seen (this time the word is oraō, meaning “to see with understanding”), and believed in Jesus’ resurrection (v. 8).

First, it was significant that they were there at all. John stresses the point, using the word for “lying” at an emphatic position in the sentence. We might translate, “He saw, lying there, the graveclothes” (v. 5). Furthermore, the clothes were undisturbed. The word that John uses (keimena) occurs in the Greek papyrii of things that have been carefully placed in order. One document speaks of legal documents, saying, “I have not yet obtained the documents, but they are lying collated.” Another speaks of clothes that are “lying (in order) until you send me word.” Certainly John noticed that there had been no disturbance at the tomb.

The two disciples started for the tomb, running and leaving Mary far behind. Outrunning Peter, John arrived at the tomb first, stooped to look through the narrow opening, and saw the graveclothes. Then Peter arrived, out of breath and in a hurry; he brushed John aside and plunged into the tomb. When John saw the graveclothes, he saw them only in a cursory manner and from outside the tomb. The Greek uses the most common word for seeing (blepō); it suggests nothing more than sight. But when Peter arrived he scrutinized the graveclothes carefully. The Scripture uses a special word (theoreō) for what Peter did (from it we get our words “theory” and “theorize”). Moreover, it tells what Peter saw. The Bible says that Peter “went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (John 20:6–7). At this point John entered, saw what Peter had seen (this time the word is oraō, meaning “to see with understanding”), and believed in Jesus’ resurrection (v. 8).