The account of the Resurrection is found in all four gospels. The slight variations between them show all the marks of oral tradition with its emphasis on the different aspects and messages. What united the narratives is that the tomb is really empty. The three eyewitnesses, Mary of Magdala, Simon Peter and the unnamed Beloved Disciple, give us some insights to the various dimensions of seeing and sight. Does seeing lead to believing? Is it merely the physical sense of sight involving the eyes only? Or do our eyes only see what the mind is prepared to comprehend?

When she saw the empty tomb, Mary of Magdala was relying on her physical sense of sight alone. Thus, her first reaction was to think that the body of Jesus was stolen and she reported what she saw. On the other hand, Simon Peter attempted to make sense and meaning of the scene before him by observing, discerning and considering the cloths and their placements, looking for visual cues. However, it was the Beloved Disciple, with humility and respect deferred to the authority of Simon Peter to enter first, who was able to perceive with both the eyes of his mind and the eyes of his heart - to grasp the truth. How would we have responded if we had been present on that first Easter Sunday? Would we have just observed the physical layout of the tomb with our eyes? Or would we have straightaway, with great faith, believed in Jesus who had risen?