The Empty Tomb, Angels, and the Ark of the Covenant

The Empty Tomb, Angels, and the Ark of the Covenant

In the sermon on 2/18, I briefly mentioned the two angels in the tomb that Mary Magdalene saw are reminiscent of the two angels on the Ark of the Covenant; however, I didn’t give much of a rationale for pointing that out. In his commentary on John, Edward Klink provides several reasons for seeing this connection that may be of interest to you:

There are numerous verbal and conceptual links that support this interpretation. First, there is a spatial relationship between the location of the ark and the body of Jesus. The ark was in the innermost chamber of the tabernacle and separated by a veil (Exod 40:321); Jesus’s body was placed in a burial chamber and separated by a rock and a veillike “face cloth” (20:7). Second, the occurrence of shared terms like “take/carry” and “put/place/lay” serve to create a conceptual relationship, with the latter having a significant role in the plot of both John 20 (vv. 21315; cf. 19:41–42) and Exodus 40 (vv. 2–35–622242629). Third, both locations/objects involve the use of spices as an act of anointing or consecration: the ark (Exod 30:26) and the body of Jesus (12:319:39). Fourth, just as the Jews with respect to the sanctuary were forbidden to “go in to look at the holy things, even for a minute, or they will die” (Num 4:20), both the Beloved Disciple and Mary Magdalene are hesitant to enter the tomb. In a related manner, just as there is the prohibition not to “touch the holy things or they will die (Num 4:15), so Mary Magdalene will shortly be commanded not to touch Jesus (v. 17). Fifth, there is a conceptual relationship between the ark and the resurrected Christ in that both express the idea of glory. Just as the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exod 40:34–35) and appeared to Moses between the cherubim on the ark (Exod 25:2229:43), so also is the resurrection one aspect of Christ’s “glorification.” This is most clearly explained by the narrator in 12:16: “At first the disciples did not understand these things, but when Jesus was glorified then they remembered,” which nicely parallels 2:22, which explicitly refers to the resurrection (see comments on 12:16).

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Edward W. Klink III, John, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 842.

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Brandon Dyer

Elder | Pastor-Teacher

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Brandon Dyer

Elder | Pastor-Teacher

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Brandon Dyer

Elder | Pastor-Teacher

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