John is the evangelist who is able to give the final eyewitness account of the resurrection. The youngest of the Apostles, whose life was probably very long, knowing that everyone else had departed, then prepares the transition from the faith of those who saw to that of those who, without seeing, believe in his word, thus helping in the shift from the experience of the first Christians to ours.
The discovery of the empty tomb is an important confirmation. This discovery was first made by some women, whose testimony had no legal force: this is already an indication that this account is not an invention but true. Without the empty tomb, the disciples would never have believed in the resurrection of Jesus: a risen man whose body was still visible in the tomb would have been absurd and unimaginable. Furthermore, they could never have announced the resurrection in Jerusalem; they would have been covered with ridicule. Although the empty tomb alone is not enough to prove the resurrection, it is nevertheless a sign that the risen one is the man who was crucified. Love attracts with its beauty; yet, it must overcome the scandal of the world‘s suffering. In the history of humanity, a tremendous question constantly rises to heaven, sometimes in rebellion and denial: Why does evil exist? Why does God allow it? The believer knows that he is not alone in his suffering; He knows that a powerful liberating force makes the history of individuals and peoples advance, even in the thickest night of pain, hatred, destruction, anguish and death.