‘Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went towards the tomb, and they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb, and stooping and looking in he sees the linen cloths lying, yet he did not go in.'
Mary's news shook Peter and John and they immediately set out for the tomb to find out what had happened. They ran, and the running was the running of deeply perturbed men. What could this possibly mean? They were simply anxious to get there as quickly as possible. The writer vividly remembers the race to the tomb, and how he outran Peter, and yet on coming to the tomb and looking in, how he had been too awed to enter the tomb. Or it may be that he was too conscious that it would incur ritual defilement during the Passover (something instilled from birth in a family with high religious connections) if he entered the tomb. He remembers, however, how he caught a glimpse of the linen cloths which should have been on Jesus' body. This is the vivid memory of an eyewitness who remembered every detail.