For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.
John 19 concludes with the burial of Jesus. Now, in John 20, it is Sunday morning, the third day since the crucifixion -- and the tomb is empty!
20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
- Only the Romans were permitted to open this tomb. We learn from Matthew 27:65-66; 28:4,11 that a guard had been dispatched there on Saturday.
- A copy of a decree by the emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) was found at Nazareth. It orders execution for those destroying tombs, breaking seals, or removing bodies or closure stones.
2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
- None expect the resurrection, despite Jesus' frequent and emphatic prediction of this event:
- John 2:19
- Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64
- Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34
- Luke 9:22; 18:33
- Mary of Magdala is the first to find the open, empty tomb (v.1).
- Immediately she runs to tell the news to the apostles, who receive her message as nonsense (Luke 24:11).
- Peter and the Beloved Disciple run to the tomb (v.4).
- The Beloved Disciple sees the graveclothes (v.5). The presence of the graveclothes shows there has been no robbery.
- Though Peter arrives first, the Beloved Disciple allows him to enter first. Peter sees the graveclothes and the face cloth (v.7).
- Neither yet understood the scriptural truth that Christ must rise from the dead (v.9), and so they simply go home.
- Mary, on the other hand, remains at the gravesite (v.11).
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,“Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
- Mary remains at the gravesite (v.11).
- She is distressed. It would have been very unsettling to think that the body of her Lord has been stolen, mistreated, or abused.
- Looking again into the tomb, she sees angels sitting at either end of the place where the body of Jesus should have been (v.12). They ask her why she is weeping, and she tells them.
- Turning around, she sees Jesus (v.14), though not recognizing him. He repeats the question: "Woman, why are you weeping?"
- She thinks (hopes?) he is the gardener, and will be able to show her where the body has been placed (v.15).
- Jesus reveals his identity (v.16), and Mary falls at his feet, desiring his presence and wanting him to remain. Since Mary is one of his sheep (10:3-4,14,16,27), she recognizes his voice when he calls her by name.
- Jesus, however, cannot stay. He must return to heaven -- though not immediately (v.17).
- For a second time Mary makes an announcement to the apostles, but this time it is not only about an empty tomb, but about a risen Lord.
- It is clear from verse 17 that Jesus had not yet gone into heaven as of Sunday. And yet he told the penitent thief (Luke 23:43), "Today you will be with me in paradise." By far the simplest explanation is that paradise and heaven are not necessarily the same place. For more on this, click here.
- The fact that the gospels report the testimony of women to Jesus' resurrection is remarkable, since such testimony was not normally accepted in a court of law.
- If the resurrection were a fabrication, it would not have been written this way!
- The truth is, it isn't a fabrication at all.
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
- On Easter evening, Jesus himself appears, walking through a closed door (v.19).
- The doors were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders. The psychological state of the disciples is depressed. They seem to have lost hope. What can explain the metamorphosis in the apostles? (See Acts 4:13.) The resurrection of Christ from the dead explains it perfectly.
- Jesus, in his resurrection body, walks through closed doors.
- He wishes them peace (shalom); on the cross he had cried out, "It is finished!" (tetélestai); the two are connected. Now there is peace between God and man, as a result of his atoning death. See Romans 5:1ff.
- Jesus shows them his wounds (v.20).
- Again he wishes them shalom (v.21), and commissions them -- or reminds them of their commission -- as apostles (sent ones).
- He breathes on them (v.22), giving them the Holy Spirit.
- The breathing in to them is reminiscent of Genesis 2:7 and Ezekiel 37:9-10. They are being created anew.
- This can also be read as a prophetic action, illustrating that they will receive the Spirit (at Pentecost).
- In verse 23 he also gives the apostles the right to grant or refuse remission of sins (in baptism).
- The verb is perfect: the sins have been forgiven or possibly will have been forgiven. That is, the apostles are not forgiving sins themselves, but ratifying the action of God in forgiving others through Christ.
- There is a similar passage in Matthew 18:18, in the context of church discipline.
- For more on vv.22-23, click here.
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
- Thomas (Didymus, the Greek word for twin) is absent Easter evening, and expresses his skepticism (vv.24-25). But one week later (Sunday night) he is present when Jesus appears. Again Jesus walks through closed doors (v.26).
- His doubt confronted and overturned, Thomas sees the wounds and confesses his faith. (Despite the depictions of several famous paintings, it seems doubtful that he put hand into Jesus' wounds.)
- Thomas realizes that Jesus is Lord and God. He is the same Deity who appears in all of scripture. Notice that Jesus makes no effort to correct this perception, for he is God (1:1,14,18; 10:30).
- This passage shows us that God understands our need for evidence, for proof. Doubt can be constructive, and can be an important element in building genuine faith.
- Once our questions have been answered, God expects us to respond in faith and obedience.
- Note: "After eight days" (v.26) is inclusive reckoning (common usage). Thus the events of two consecutive Sundays are recounted.
- Thomas' confession of faith (v.28) stands over against the confession the evil emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) required of his subjects: Dominus et deus noster ("Our Lord and God"). The readers of this gospel would thus have been strengthened to resist temptation to cave in to pressure to join in emperor worship. Emperor worship was especially prevalent at the end of the first century in western Asia Minor -- the location of John's ministry.
- "Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (v.29).
- Most persons, like the readers of John -- and us -- will believe in Christ without seeing any signs. Such faith is highly commended. See 2 Corinthians 5:7.
- Here we also find the second beatitude in John.
- The other is in 13:17.
- More beatitudes are found in Matthew 5:3ff (and parallels in Luke 6:20ff), 11:6; 13:16; 24:46; Acts 20:35; Revelation 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7; 22:14. But this by no means exhausts the list.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
- Jesus' signs are intended to lead us to and reinforce our faith (vv.30-31).
- The writer has selected only a few signs for our benefit. The actual number of miracles Jesus did is much greater.
- It is not necessary to personally witness miracles in order to believe. Reading about them is enough. (For more on this, see Luke 16:31 and another dozen passages in the N.T. stressing the point.)
- Only by faith (believing) can we have life in Jesus' name.
- Faith is a major theme in John. The Greek nouns and verbs appear nearly 90 times in this gospel!
- Do you believe?
- Further to verse 31, there is a similar saying by Rabbi Simeon ben Laqish (c.250 AD): "The proselyte is dearer to God than all the Israelites who stood by Mount Sinai. For if all the Israelites had not seen the thunder, and the flames, and the lightnings, and the quaking mountain, and the sound of the trumpet, they would not have accepted the Law and taken upon themselves the kingdom of God. Yet this man has seen none of all these things, yet comes and gives himself to God. Is there any who is dearer than this man?" (Tanh. 6, 32a.)
- The Greek verb in verse 31 appears in two forms in surviving manuscripts: pisteusete and pisteuete. Though both mean "believe," the first is an aorist, meaning to believe in the sense of coming to faith. The second means to believe or continue to believe. Perhaps we do not have to choose what the writer had in mind, since both are valid responses to the evidence for Christ.
- Most scholars believe that the original gospel ended at verse 31. There are reasons to view chapter 21 as an appendix.
Thought questions:
- If you were the one visiting the tomb early on Easter morning, what would have been in your thoughts on seeing the stone rolled away?
- If you are a man, how would you have reacted when Mary (and other women) announced that they had met he risen Lord?
- If you are a woman, do you relate to the question of the angels and Jesus, "Woman, why are you weeping?"? Is there something in your life that is causing you great distress? Do you know and feel that God understands and cares?
- Can you think of any better explanation than Jesus' resurrection for the stunning transformation in his disciples?
- How much do you relate to Thomas? Do doubt and questioning function in a positive way to build your faith?
- Compare Mary Magdalene and the apostle Thomas. How are they similar? different? What are the differences in how Jesus treats them?