John 20 | What's the connection?

In looking at John 20, there are quite a few connections we can look at, but there is one in particular that has stood out to me for a while that I would love to share. Remember the fact that John is giving testimony of fulfilled Scripture. He does this blatantly in some places where he tells us directly. In other places, it seems more eluded too. Let's look at the imagery of what Mary Magdalene sees when she stoops back in and looks inside the tomb.

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
-John 20:12

Did you catch it? What does this sound like? You have a flat platform with an angel at the head and at the foot with the space between being where the body was laid. If it didn't sound familiar before, it is about to.

17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
-Exodus 25:17-22

Do you see it now? The image of the angels at the foot and head is the exact image of the mercy seat, the place where sacrifices are laid are on behalf of the people, and the place where the Lord would meet with them. Jesus is the God who dwells between the cherubim.

1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
-Psalm 80:1

16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
-Isaiah 37:16

You see this same description given throughout Scripture for the Lord. God is the One who dwells between the cherubim. Jesus was laid on the mercy seat and given as an offering for our sins. As a pure lamb, the sacrifice was accepted. Consider how Israel interacted with the mercy seat and how they viewed it. There was hope, there was joy, there was loss, but there was repentance. Jesus, being the very fulfillment of this, becomes unto us that mercy seat where we lay ourselves down as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1-2).

Nevertheless, there are many more connections in this text. What connections are you seeing?