It is God's nature to remove barriers

On Sunday, the third day after Jesus' death, Mary Magdalene went to visit His tomb.

When Mary arrived, the heavy stone that covered the opening of the tomb—a stone that could be moved only with extraordinary strength—had been rolled aside making it possible for everyone to see for themselves that Jesus was no longer inside.

When Jesus came back to life, He certainly could have left His tomb without moving that rock.

But it's God's nature to remove barriers to our understanding and believing.

John 20 describes the miraculous setting in detail so everyone would know that the body had not been stolen.

No Jew or Greek would have unwrapped a dead body just to carry it out. The dead body would have contaminated them.

And the Roman soldiers would not have stolen the body since they were supposed to guard the tomb to prevent that from happening. In fact, Jesus' disappearance meant certain death for them.

And no one would have taken the time and effort to unwrap the linens from the corpse, yet the wrappings were found neatly folded, as if someone had tidied up before leaving the site.

The headcloth had been rolled up in a separate place.

Nothing in the passage indicates that there was anything rushed or chaotic about Jesus' leaving the tomb.

It was not by accident that Jesus rose on the third day.

When the disciples saw the empty tomb and the linens, they realized that Jesus had risen from the dead. They remembered the Scriptures said He would come to life again.

From there, they would eventually change the world!

Inner State 80, pp. 372-373.