Numbers in the Bible often have symbolic meaning and point us to deeper truths about what is going on in a story. The ancient world used numbers to communicate on multiple levels and the ancient readers would have read the surface information along with the depth of truth being communicated. In a lot of ways, this is like seeing a character in a show wearing a black or white cowboy hat in old shows. When their character is introduced, you know more about them than just their name. Movies do this with soundtracks, we know something good or bad is about to happen based on the music playing in the background. We have a depth of insight into what is going on more so than the characters in the show we are watching. In the ancient biblical world, if you read that 6 men showed up, you would take notice that there might be evil within them because 6 represents imperfection. The number 7 represents perfection. Other numbers such as 10 and 12 take on different meanings. Also, multiplications of these numbers take the representation deeper (24 elders in Revelation represents fullness of Israel with 12 plus the fullness of the Gentile nations. Also, think 666 and 777). Numerology is important in the ancient world for pulling back a layer of what a text is communicating (and is essential for Revelation). I should note that not every number has a deep meaning, but it is important to not ignore these numbers.
John provides a lot of details in his gospel account that can take us into deeper meaning into the text. I’ve tried to point out a lot of these themes throughout this series. John begins his gospel talking about Jesus being light coming into the world. He then emphasizes Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night (in the dark) and Jesus going to the Samaritan woman during the day (in the light). A beautiful moment of redemption comes for Nicodemus in chapter 19:28-42. He is a disciple in secret, provides the burial spices (enough for a king), and gives him a proper burial just before the sun goes down (in the last light of the day).
This passage in John 19 begins to point to another important detail that has deep layers. What do you see around the place where Jesus was crucified? The tomb was nearby but where is that tomb located? John begins his gospel drawing on the imagery of Genesis 1, “In the beginning…” This isn’t just information. He is placing us in the proper context for understanding who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish. In the beginning, there was a garden where God breathed a perfect and good creation into existence. He was with his creation and the creation new him. That creation was broken by sin and darkness has clouded over it ever since. God never gave up on that creation and continued to make his presence known to it. Then, one day, he brought his presence back to his creation in the form of his creation, as the perfection he intended it to be. Light stepped into darkness. The prefect among the imperfect. The imperfect could not understand this perfection.
Thinking of Jesus in this way, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from St. Antony, the father of the monks, “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad; you are not like us.” When we follow Jesus, we are called to be mad in a world that thinks it is sane. Love, embodied in us through our baptism, should be lived out in ways that confuse people. If you are on the “left,” love people on the “right” in ways that will make your fellow “lefters” uncomfortable. If you are on the “right,” go and do likewise. Take account of the people in your life. Are most of them like you? Diversify your friend group in a way that requires you to live the love of Christ for others and makes “your people” uncomfortable.
The imagery John is working with in this section takes us to a much deeper understanding of who we are called to be as followers of Jesus. John has already pointed us to Jesus being buried in the garden (Remember the kernel in John 12:23-26) and will point us again to being mistaken as the gardener (20:15). John is connecting the Resurrection with the garden. Jesus is the New Gardener, the New Adam. John emphasizes twice that the Resurrection happened on the first day of the week (20:1; 19). This is what the early church often referred to as the 8th day of creation. The old creation is stuck in a seven-day cycle but in Jesus Christ, the 8th day has come. This is the first day of the New Creation!
The last piece of imagery I want to highlight in this section is in 20:19-22. Jesus enters the locked room where the disciples were hiding. He greets them with Shalom, “peace be with you.” He then breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit. This imagery is paralleled with the creation narrative in Genesis 2:7 where God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” He then places the man in the garden as a co-worker in tending the garden. Jesus says, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (20:21). The disciples are sent to be gardeners to cultivate and tend the New Garden of the New Creation. They are bringing the Kingdom here and now, that will be fully realized when Christ returns fully. We are the people who live within this New Creation because the Spirit has been placed in us and amongst us. We are people of the 8th day of creation!