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“And she saw two angels in white,

sitting where the body of Jesus had lain,

one at the head and one at the feet.”

John 20:12

There is a significant—but surprisingly much overlooked—detail in John’s account of the resurrection of Jesus. When Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on the first day of the week, John tells us that two angels were seated where Jesus’ body had been, “one at the head and one at the feet” (John 20:12). None of the other Gospel accounts provide this important piece of information.[1] A question arises, why did John include it?

The Presence of Heavenly Messengers

The mere presence of angels is in and of itself noteworthy, indicating that the tomb is a holy or sacred space, the opposite of a ‘crime scene’ one might expect if grave robbers had been involved. If angels truly were present at the tomb, then it signifies that the LORD was testifying to an extraordinary event.[2]

What’s more, the fact that they are said to be dressed in white means they are being presented as not only being ‘pure’ or ‘righteous’ but are also functioning in a kind of priestly/intermediary role. And while John has mentioned their role before in his account of Jesus’ life (John 1:51; 12:29), this is the only time in his Gospel that they act as participants.

The Empty Tomb as the Ark of the New Covenant

Edward Klink’s excellent commentary on the Gospel of John provides a fascinating explanation of this verse based on the work of Nicholas Lunn.[3] In short, Klink and Lunn argue that the presence of the two angels point to Jesus fulfilling the Ark of the covenant since the divine design was for angels to be located at the two ends of the mercy seat (Exod. 25:18-19; 37:1-9). As Klink states:

The place between the two angels was ‘the place of propitiation’ or ‘the mercy seat’, the cover of the ark that was associated with the sin offering on the Day of Atonement. It is the place where God authoritatively atones for sin.

Clearly, according to the apostle John, the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus is how His decisive victory over sin, the Devil and death itself will be achieved. In fulfilment of the protoevangelium, as the ‘feet’ of the promised seed of the woman is ‘crushed’, so too will the ‘head’ of the serpent (Gen. 3:15; John 12:31-32).

Hence, when Jesus says on the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30) everything the OT sacrificial system pointed to is gloriously fulfilled. To substantiate his interpretation of Jesus’ tomb being the ark of the new covenant, Klink presents five “verbal and conceptual links”.

First, Klink notes how “…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. 40:3, 21); Jesus’ body was placed in a burial chamber and separated by a rock and a veil-like “face cloth” (20:7).”[4]

Second, Klink helpfully observes how “…the occurrence of shared terms like “take/carry” and “put/place/lay” serve to create a conceptual relationship, with the later having a significant role in the plot of both John 20 (vv. 2, 13, 15, 19:41-42) and Exodus 40 (vv. 2-3, 5-6, 22, 24, 26, 29).

Third, Klink states “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 (12:3; 19:39).”

Fourth, Klink further argues “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, Klink finally says, “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. 25:22; 29:43), so also is the resurrection one aspect of Christ’s ‘glorification’”.

Jesus’s Fulfilment of the Temple

A major theme in John’s Gospel is Jesus identifying Himself as the ‘new temple’. (See John 2:18–22; 1:14; 1:51; and 4:20–24).[5] As such, one would expect to see Jesus fulfilling everything the temple represented, especially the ark of the covenant as it was the place where reconciliation between God and mankind occurred. As Klink concludes:

The cumulative weight of these links strongly suggests that the narrative is fashioning a ‘deliberate allusion, linking the events described in the Gospel to certain passages of the OT.’ Jesus as the Gospel declared Jesus to be the fulfillment of the Jewish feasts…the Passover lamb…and the manna…so here he is to be the fulfilling manifestation of the saving power and presence of the Lord. For with this symbolism Jesus is depicted as both the atoning sacrifice of God in the holy of holies and the one who “sits enthroned between the cherubim” (Ps. 99:1; 1 Sam. 44:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kgs. 19:15; Ps. 80:1).

Klink goes on to further conclude:

Jesus is not merely analogous to the temple; He is its full replacement…This includes the entire sacrificial system. Jesus is the atonement for the people of God – the world; it is his blood that covers our sins…All of this was being symbolized by the narrative’s emphatic focus on the location of the angels…in order to depict this place and the person who had occupied it as the saving power and presence of God, with the empty tomb serving as the ark of the new covenant.

The presence of two angels where Jesus’ head and feet were laid signifies that the empty tomb is the new ark of the covenant for the perfect and final act of atonement  has been made. As the prophet Zechariah predicted, the High Priest Joshua (the Hebrew term for ‘Jesus’) has removed the sin of the people in a single day (see Zechariah 3:1-10).

Hence, in the person and work of Jesus we have the fulfilment of everything the temple was and did. Jesus is both our great and final High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16) as well as our perfect atoning sacrifice (Heb. 10:1-18). What a great and amazing Saviour we have!

– Mark Powell

[1] See Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-10.

[2] Sadly, Leon Morris doesn’t view the presence of the angels at Jesus’ tomb as being significant at all stating, “The angels do not play a major part; their one function is to ask Mary why she is crying.” 739.

[3] Edward W. Klink III, John (Zondervan, 2017),1467-1469; Nicholas P. Lunn, “Jesus, the Ark, and the Day of Atonement: Intertextual Echoes in John 19:38-20:18,” JETS 52 (2009): 731-746.

[4] Interestingly, John’s Gospel is the only account which omits the veil of the temple being torn in two when Jesus’ died.

[5] For an excellent examination of this particular theme see, Paul M. Hoskins, Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Temple in the Gospel of John, Paternoster Biblical Monographs. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster, 2006.