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would never return to his house. [12]
    The empty
tomb wasn’t empty. The fine linen cloths remained to show the grave had not
been robbed, and the napkin was folded to send us a message. Knowing that many
pairs of eyes would look into the tomb, Jesus took the time to fold the napkin
as if to say, “I’ve been to the grave, I didn’t care for it, and I will never
return.” Jesus, who faced death on our behalf and was raised to new life, will
never die again.
    The
implications of the folded napkin were not lost on John:
     
    Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb
first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand
from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (John 20:8–9)
     
    John saw the folded napkin and
realized Jesus had risen from the dead. But at this point neither he nor Peter
understood that the resurrection had been foretold in scripture. That
revelation came later. But what was the scripture they didn’t know? It was this
one:
     
    Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my
body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the
dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the
path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence... (Psalm 16:9–11)
     
    A few weeks later Peter would
quote this scripture in his Pentecost speech (see Acts 2:25–28). By then all
the surviving disciples, along with many others, had seen the risen Christ, and
what they saw changed them. They literally become different men.
    The cowardly
Peter, who ran away on the night of the betrayal, after seeing the risen
Lord became the bold witness who confronted the Sanhedrin and was later
crucified for his faith. The skeptic Thomas, who refused to believe the
testimony of ten honest friends, after seeing the risen Lord became the
apostle who took the gospel to Persia and was martyred in India. The
unbelieving James, who had tried to silence his half-brother Jesus, after
seeing the risen Lord became the fearless leader of the Jerusalem church
and was thrown off the temple when he refused to deny Christ. The hater Saul,
who persecuted Christians, after seeing the risen Lord became the
apostle of grace who wrote most of the New Testament and was beheaded for his
faith.
    On the night
Jesus died, all but one of his disciples fled in fear. By their actions they
denied him. Their message to the world was, “We don’t know the man.” But after
they saw the risen Lord and were filled with the Holy Spirit, those same
disciples went to the four corners of the earth and to their deaths declaring,
“God raised Jesus from the dead. We are witnesses. We cannot help speaking
about what we have seen and heard.”
    Jesus’ death
on the cross did not change the disciples. What changed them was the
resurrection. It’s the same with us. When we see Jesus on the cross we learn
that God loves us. But when we see Jesus risen from the dead we realize his
love is greater than anything life can throw at us. The resurrection proves
nothing can separate us from the undying love of God, and this is what
changes us and empowers us to walk out of the prison of sin.
     

What is the significance of the resurrection?
     
    The cross is good, but the
resurrection is better. The resurrection matters for at least three reasons.
    First, the
resurrection proves Jesus is who he says he is. Before he died Jesus told the
disciples that he would suffer at the hands of religious leaders. He said they
would put him to death but that he would be raised to life three days later
(Matthew 16:21). What a thing to say! What are we to make of the one who said
it? As C. S. Lewis said, Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Which is
it? The resurrection provides an emphatic answer. Jesus is the risen Lord and
the Son of God. [13]
    Second, the
resurrection vindicates Jesus. It’s the verdict of heaven that overturns all
the verdicts of the world. The principalities and