Daily Devotions
The First Day of the Week & the New Creation
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Reading for December 15: 1 Timothy 1-6
Weekly reading for December 9-15: John 16-21
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early...
John 20:1
All four gospels tell us Jesus was raised on the first day of the week (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:1; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1). This is repeated twice in John's gospel (Jn 20:1, 19) and it takes on symbolic significance in John. John wants us to see Jesus' resurrection as the beginning of the new creation.
Life is a major theme in John. John's purpose is to give us evidence that Jesus is the Son of God so that we might believe in him and have life in his name (Jn 20:30-31). The seven signs of Jesus give us this evidence, and the signs themselves point to the spiritual life Jesus gives us (especially the seventh, the raising of Lazarus - Jn 11).
John points us toward this new creation in many ways:
- He starts his gospel with "In the beginning" just like in Genesis 1:1.
- Jesus' final words from the cross are "It is finished" (Jn 19:30), similar to Gen 2:1 that says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished."
- The resurrection of Jesus is the implied eighth sign, indicating a week of creation followed by a new creation.
- Jesus breathes on the disciples, saying "receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22), mirroring God breathing into Adam's nostrils the breath of life (Gen 2:7).
These are some things to think about as we gather tomorrow on the first day of the week. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Cor 5:17)
Father, thank you for giving us new life in Christ!
(For a good lesson on how the first day of the week mirrors creation, listen to Josh Carter's lesson on the Sabbath: http://
