The Gospel According to Saint John
John 20
Chapter XX · Vol. IV, pp. 249–251
1 Mary cometh to the sepulchre: 3 so do Peter and John, ignorant of the resurrection. 11 Jesus appeareth to Mary Magdalene, 19 and to his disciples. 24 The incredulity and confession of Thomas. 30 The scripture is sufficient to salvation.
1 The firsta day of the week cometh Mary1 Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
a Mat.28.1,2. Mar.16.1-4. Lu.24.1,10.
1 See note * below.
* The diversities in the four narratives of our Lord's resurrection present no contradictions; and while they testify that there was no private concert between the evangelists to produce a 'cunningly devised fable,' their textual difficulties may all be removed by the following principle, legitimately deducible from a combined view of the whole:—1. There were two companies of women—one of which immediately after the interment, on Friday, returned to the city to prepare (purchase) spices, Lu.23.55,56;24.1.—A second, consisting of the two Marys and Salome, who still lingered in deep sorrow near the sepulchre (Mat.27.59-61), and did not buy their share of the spices till the Sabbath (Saturday) was past, Mar.16.1.—Note, Though Mary Magdalene is mentioned here alone, because she alone ran to tell Peter and John, yet it is evident from Mar.16.1 that she had come in as one of a company. 2. That there were two visions of angels, and two separate addresses to two separate parties. 3. That Simon went a first time to the tomb, and returned unbelieving (Jn.20.9); and a second time, and returned 'wondering in himself,' yet unbelieving (Lu.24.12); when Jesus appeared to him (Mar.16.13. 1 Co.15.5), yet left him still in unbelief (Mar.16.14); and finally yielded credence to the reality of the resurrection when sense and prophecy and the Spirit of God rendered further resistance impossible. See for a more detailed solution of the difficulties in the narrative of the resurrection, either Grotius, West, Doddridge, Pilkington, Townson, Cranfield, or Townsend, &c. West is said to have been an infidel, and being determined to write against Christ's resurrection, sat down to study the Gospel narratives. But as he read the Spirit of God enlightened his eyes; and, like Paul, who preached him whom once he persecuted, so he produced an unanswerable defence of that resurrection which, in his blindness, he had purposed to overturn.—Note, The apparent contradictions between Mar.16.13,14 and Lu.24.34 may easily be reconciled, by rendering the passage in Luke thus: 'Is then the Lord risen indeed, and hath he (really) appeared unto Simon?' An exclamation of wonder, or question of doubt, not an assertion of belief.—C.
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the bother disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, cThey have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
b ch.13.23;19.26;21.7,20,24.
c ver.9,13,15. Lu.24.10.
3 Peterd therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
d Lu.24.12. ver.6,10,11.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did eoutrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
e Lu.13.30.
5 And he, stooping down, and looking in, sawg the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
g Lu.24.12. ver.6,7; ch.19.40;11.44.
6 Thenh cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,2
h ch.18.15-27;21.7. Mat.16.15,16. ch.6.67-69.
2 He left his grave-clothes, as he never more would need them, ch.11.44.
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting,3 the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
3 Lu.24.4. Mat.28.3,5. Mar.16.5,6. This seems to have been a second appearance of angels distinct from that in Mark and Luke.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw kJesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
k ver.15,16. Mar.16.9. Mat.28.9. Ca.3.3,4, with ch.21.4. Mar.16.12. Lu.24.16,31.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir; if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, land I will take him away.
l Ca.3.2.
16 Jesus saith unto her, nMary. oShe turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, pMaster.
17 Jesus saith unto her, qTouch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to rmy brethren, and say unto them, sI ascend unto my Father, tand your Father; and to my God, and uyour God.Cited in HC 80
18 Maryv Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Thenx the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were 'assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, yPeace be unto you.
x Mar.16.14. Lu.24.36-48. 1 Co.15.5.
y ch.14.27;16.33.
20 And when he had so said, zhe showed unto them his hands and his side. aThen were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
z ver.27. 1 Jn.1.1. Lu.24.37-40.
a ch.16.22. Lu.24.41-43. 1 Jn.1.1,2.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, bPeace be unto you: cas my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.Cited in WCF 30.2 · HC 83, 84
b ch.14.27.
c ch.10.36;17.18. Is.61.1-3;11.2-4, with Mar.16.15-18. Mat.28.18-20. Lu.24.49. 2 Ti.2.2. He.3.1.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, dReceive ye the Holy Ghost:Cited in WCF 30.2 · HC 83, 84
23 Whosee soever sins ye remit,4 they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain,5 they are retained.Cited in WCF 30.2 · HC 83, 84
e Mat.18.18;16.19. Lu.24.47. Ac.2.38. 1 Co.5.4,5. 2 Co.2.6. 1 Ti.1.20.
4 Remit. To whomsoever ye shall preach redemption through my blood, Ep.1.7, they, on believing your testimony, shall receive that forgiveness which you promise, Mar.16.16. Ac.2.38.—C.
5 Retain.—And whomsoever ye shall, in my name, and upon my authority, and by my Spirit, pronounce guilty, they shall be held guilty. But these three conditions are essential both to the remitting and retaining of sin; and without them, every human pretension to either power is blasphemy and usurpation.—C.
24 Butg Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
g ch.11.16;14.5;21.2. Mat.10.3.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, hWe have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, iExcept I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand6 into his side, I will not believe.Cited in WCF 8.4
h ch.1.41,45; ver.2,13,18; ch.21.7.
i Ps.78.8-41. Lu.24.39. ver.20. Job 9.16. Lu.24.25.
6 The idea conveyed in the translation seems rather revolting, and was certainly unnecessary to conviction. Should not the passage, therefore, rather be translated, 'Unless I put my finger upon the print of the nails, and lay my hand upon his (wounded) side?'—C.
26 And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, jPeace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, kReach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: land be not faithless, but believing.Cited in WCF 8.4
k Ps.103.13,14. 1 Jn.1.1,2. ver.25.
l 1 Ti.1.14.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, nMy Lord and my God.7
7 This cannot be an exclamation, for then it would have been a breach of the third commandment, which Jesus must have reproved (Mat.5.19), instead of which (ver.29) he interprets it as an evidence of faith, and furnishes thereby one of the plainest and most irresistible testimonies to the union of the divine and human natures in the person of Christ.—C.
n ch.5.23. Ps.118.28;91.2;73.25,26;18.1-3. Phi.3.8. 1 Ti.1.17;3.16. Lu.1.46,47.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: oblessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
o 2 Co.5.7. He.11.1,27. 1 Pe.1.8.
30 Andp many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:Cited in WSC 2, 24, 86 · HC 22
p ch.21.25.
Notes
Ver. 17. Do not stay now to express your affection to me in this manner, as you will have repeated opportunities of seeing me before I ascend to my heavenly Father; but run quickly to my poor disconsolate disciples, whom, notwithstanding their late defection, I still love as much as ever, and esteem as my brethren, and heirs of the same glory with myself, and tell them that I am risen to an immortal life, and not to set up a temporal kingdom among them on earth; and am, after some time, to ascend to the right hand of God, who is my Father by nature, and theirs by repentance and faith, and who is my God as their Mediator, and their God as they are my members. 21-23. I now effectually confer my promised peace upon you; and as my Father hath sent me into the world to discharge the office of Mediator, so I, as the Head of the New Testament church, appoint you, as my apostles, to preach the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, and to confirm it with miraculous signs wherever you go. And receive ye now the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost, which I can as easily convey as I thus breathe upon you, to enlighten your minds, and strengthen your faith in me as a risen Saviour, and as an earnest of that plentiful effusion which ye shall in a short time receive for your spiritual illumination, sanctification, and consolation, and for your assistance and success in the ministerial work with such divine authority, that whomsoever ye, according to the gospel, declare pardoned as a believer, or absolved from church censure as a penitent, he may take the comfort of forgiveness and absolution, as ratified by my authority; and whomsoever ye declare unpardoned on account of his unbelief, or keep under church censure as impenitent, his condemnation and continued censure shall stand ratified by my authority, and even the last judgment shall be passed in agreement thereto.
Ver. 17. Touch me not. 'Embrace not my feet.' 'Detain me not, as if through any fear I should not be seen again.'—I am not yet ascended. 'I am not (immediately) going to ascend.'—I ascend. 'I am (shortly) going to ascend,' &c. (Bloomfield, Valpy). C.
Ver. 19. The statement that 'the doors were shut' is no doubt intended to declare the miraculous nature of our Lord's appearance. And while no man may pronounce with certainty on the manner of effecting his entrance, the simplest seems that exemplified, Ac. 5. 19, 23; 12. 4, 6, 7, 10—the instant obedience of nature to the will of its Lord. C.
**Reflections.—**Strong and many are the evidences of our Saviour's resurrection, that fundamental article of our Christian faith. An open grave, his grave-clothes orderly placed, the testimony of angels, and his own repeated appearances, and even the jealousies of disciples, concur to render it unquestionable. But marvellous was his condescension and kindness to such as had forsaken him in his extremity—to Peter, who had denied him, and to Thomas, who had so perversely indulged the most obstinate unbelief. He gives them his peace, owns them for brethren, and qualifies and appoints them to preach his gospel. Great is the mercy that we have all this recorded by eye-witnesses directed by the Holy Spirit, that we may believe it, to the eternal salvation of our soul; and that we have the weekly Sabbath as a stated season of intercourse with our Saviour. If we love him much, eagerly and early, through darkness and danger, we shall push our way into his presence. For to a tender-hearted Christian the felt absence of his Lord is the most distressing and insupportable. But often that is mourned over which is a great ground of rejoicing. And Jesus and his consolations are frequently at hand when we know not where to find him. He takes delight to recognize his relation and hasten to our help. And neither shut doors, slavish fears, nor unbelieving hearts, can hinder his gracious visits. Yea, the stoutest hearts ought to melt in confident believing under the transcendent intimations of his love.