The Daily Devotional Podcast

Risen - 6 | John 20: 1-10

• Waypoint Church

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This reflection shows that the resurrection was first encountered through confusion and partial understanding, reminding us that faith does not always begin with clarity. It invites us to trust that God is at work even when we cannot yet fully make sense of what He is doing.

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“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”


SPEAKER_00

Today I'll be reading John twenty verses one through ten. Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, They've taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him. Peter and the other disciples started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn't go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings laying there, while the cloth that had been covering Jesus' head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed. For until then they still hadn't understood the scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.

SPEAKER_01

Then they went home. Not every moment of faith begins with clarity.

SPEAKER_00

Sometimes it begins with questions, with uncertainty, with a sense that something's changed, but not yet understanding what it means. That's where we begin in John twenty. Mary Magdalene has gone to the tomb early while it's still dark. The light has not yet broken, and neither has understanding. When she arrives the stone has been removed. She does not assume resurrection. She assumes loss. They've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him. Peter and John run to the tomb. There's urgency, but there's not clarity. They're trying to make sense of what they're seeing. The tomb is empty, the linen claws are lying there. Something's happened. John tells us that one of them saw and believed and then adds this detail. They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Belief begins to take shape before everything is fully understood. We often imagine faith arriving after clarity, as if understanding leads the way and trust follows behind. This moment suggests a different order. Something's already happened, something decisive, and the people closest to Jesus are still catching up to it. That experience is not unfamiliar to us. There are seasons where we sense that God is moving, but the full picture is still out of reach. We see enough to know that something has shifted, but not enough to explain it. John twenty gives us space for that kind of a moment. The resurrection already happened. Victory has already been secured, and yet the first response is not immediate clarity, it's movement toward understanding. In that space something begins to grow.

SPEAKER_01

Not certainty, trust. Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.

SPEAKER_00

Grow my faith in the places where I feel uncertain.