A Funny Discovery

I was transcribing a sermon the other day, and the pastor was preaching through John 20. Just for reference, here is the text:

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

One thing the pastor pointed out that I had never noticed (and thought was pretty hilarious) was the way John portrays himself in this passage. As you probably know, John is called "the disciple who Jesus loved" throughout Scripture, and, of course, he is the author of this passage.

Look at verse 2: "...to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved..." It's funny how instead of saying his name here he intentionally 'tries' to make himself anonymous while still letting everyone know that he is the one who Jesus loved. Maybe it's a funny translation thing, but it just struck me as amusing.

Even better, look at verse 4: "Both were running, but the other disciple [John] outran Peter and reached the tomb first." What a funny detail to add into this account, especially since John himself is the author! For some reason he just wants to make sure everyone knows that he, and he alone, is the speedier disciple. As if that mention isn't enough, he repeats this again in verse 8: "...the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first..." In light of the weighty theological significance of this passage, that detail seems so insignificant and arbitrary (especially to be repeated twice!) 

Finally, the last part of verse 8 says, "He saw and believed." Not "they," meaning both John and Simon Peter. No, John makes it clear that he is is the only believer here. Funny Greek-to-English translation? Maybe. But still made me smile at the very 'human' nature of our biblical authors. :)