The Gospel of John is a literary masterpiece. Even the most casual reader of the New Testament recognizes how different John’s Gospel is from the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The Gospel of John is a theological interpretation of the Christ event. There are many metaphors and symbols used in this Gospel. There are layers of meaning that can be easily missed if one does not look deeply into this multi-faceted commentary of the significance of Jesus. We can see some layers of meaning in John’s account of Jesus’ resurrection (John 20). Please understand that I do not mean by references to John’s use of metaphors and symbols that the resurrection of Jesus itself was simply a metaphor and symbol. John firmly believed in the actual resurrection of Jesus. He began his Gospel with a reference to the Word becoming flesh in Jesus. The actual, historical resurrection of Jesus was the logical conclusion of the Incarnation. Behind every New Testament metaphorical and symbolic reference to the resurrection of Jesus is the firm conviction that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual, historical event. But that fact must be interpreted. What did Jesus’ resurrection mean to those early and surprised followers of Jesus? What did that resurrection mean to their world? What does it mean for us? So, let’s look at a couple of easily missed metaphors John used to express the significance of the most important event in the history of the world.
Twice in John 20 we find the phrase “on the first day of the week.” Most Christians worship on Sunday because of Jesus’ resurrection. That’s why Sundays are not included in the forty days of Lent. Every Sunday is (or should be) a celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. Notice that we are told that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb “early on the first day of the week while it was still dark.” The darkness of the night matched the darkness in her heart as she came to mourn her dead Lord. It was while she was at the tomb that the day dawned. After Peter and the beloved disciple had visited the tomb, Mary was still there weeping. Even though she saw two messengers (that’s the literal meaning of the Greek word we translate as “angel”) clothed in white when she bent over to look into the empty tomb, she apparently did not understand what had happened. When she turned around, she saw Jesus standing before her, but she did not recognize him. Instead, she “supposed him to be the gardener.”
The phrase “on the first day of the week” and the word “gardener” have profound meanings. Let’s first look at the phrase “on the first day of the week.” John begins his Gospel with the words, “In the beginning was the Word.” Anyone with a knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures would have been reminded of the very first words of the Old Testament: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John goes on to say that “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. . . The Word became flesh and lived among us.” John 1 is the gospel equivalent of Genesis 1. Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus is called the “Light of the world.” In Genesis 1, light is created on the first day of creation. John assumes his readers will make the intended connection between this primal light and Jesus as the Light of the world.
John sees the Christ event as the beginning of the new creation. And this new creation begins in earnest with the resurrection of Jesus. Paul also sees the death and resurrection of Jesus as the initiator of this new creation. He refers to Jesus’ resurrection as “the first fruits” of a larger harvest which will include all creation when God becomes “all in all” (I Corinthians 15). If we are in Christ, he says we are “a new creation” (II Corinthians 5:17). The early church even referred to Easter as “the Eighth Day of Creation.” In other words, with Easter we have a new understanding of time and our world. Easter allows us to move beyond the tired, old ways of experiencing time, space, and matter. Easter marks a new day which will initiate the creation of a new world.
It is critical to understand that by terms like “a new creation” and “a new heaven and a new earth,” the New Testament means the healing and transformation of the “old heaven and the old earth.” The Eastern Orthodox Church refers to theosis and divinization when describing this transformation. By these terms, our Eastern brothers and sisters do not mean that we become God. They mean that we share in the divine life—we participate in the eternal and abundant life of God. We experience a union with God which nevertheless maintains our unique identities. And these Christians believe that the entire cosmos will share in this theosis and divinization. That’s one reason creation can be seen as sacramental in that Eastern tradition. Creation is destined for glory and deserves our reverence and care.
Our second metaphor in John 20 is the word “gardener” in the phrase about Mary “supposing him to be the gardener.” Mary was both wrong and right in her supposition. The one standing before her was the Resurrected Lord, but he was also the Gardener God has always intended humanity to be. We are told in Genesis 2 that Adam was created to tend the Garden of Eden. His vocation was serving the earth through tender and intentional care. Adam (read “we”) failed. As descendants of Adam (another profound metaphor), we have turned Eden/Paradise into a cesspool of pollution, death, and corruption. But Jesus is the new “Gardener” who has come to begin “the Great Divine Clean-Up of the Earth.” That is the way New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan understands the Kingdom of God Jesus proclaimed and lived. (Paul also reflects the first three chapters of Genesis with his understanding of Jesus as “the New Adam.” And it is not by accident that the Bible begins and ends with a garden: Genesis with the Garden of Eden and Revelation with a garden whose trees are “for the healing of the nations.” The Book of Revelation has its own symbols and metaphors which emphasize the eternal significance of creation and its place in the heart of God.)
Once again, the Eastern Orthodox Church sees a profound truth about the resurrection of Jesus that we in the West have either forgotten or never even realized. The Eastern Church has icons and paintings of Jesus pulling those first gardeners (Adam and Eve) out of the hell they have created. Jesus’ victory in the cross and resurrection descends to the lowest hell while at the same time begins the great Divine cosmic clean-up that heals and transforms every part of creation. Because of our Western focus on individual salvation and going to heaven when we die, we miss the deeper and more healing implications of Jesus’ resurrection.
If Jesus’ resurrection is about a new creation (which is the healing and transformation of this creation), then one of the best ways we can celebrate and live the truth of Easter is to become gardening assistants to the great Gardener who teaches us how to be truly human. In Christ we can reclaim humanity’s original vocation. The astounding truth of Easter is that this creation we have neglected and abused is destined for transformation and glory. We are “saved” as a part of the redemption of the cosmos. And that salvation can begin now as we recover our primal calling—to be caretakers of a world God will always love.
