John 20 - Run to the Tomb, Check Out the Evidence!

John 20 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary (All quotes from David Guzik unless otherwise noted!)

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John gives us many details about what happened post-resurrection, which the other 3 gospels did not report. Because it is the John's gospel, he these are probably eyewitness details. When Mary saw the empty tomb, she immediately ran to tell Peter and John. She did not make the connection between the empty tomb and Jesus' resurrection. She assumed the worst that someone had stolen Jesus' body from the tomb. That seems unlikely as what would be their motive for doing so. 

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Apparently Peter and John were so excited they raced to the tomb. It's kind of funny that John keeps referring to himself as "the other disciple", but then adds he beat Peter to the tomb. Interestingly John looked at the strips of linen but did not go in the tomb. But Peter went straight into the tomb. What they found and how they found it is very important. 

The linen strips and the cloth around Jesus' head were neatly placed next to each other. This likely rules out grave robbers, because they would have stolen the clothes, which were worth a lot of money. The authorities would not have done this because it would have appeared that Jesus rose again from the dead as he had claimed. If the disciples stole the body, they wouldn't have taken the time to do this, as they would have been afraid of getting caught. So all the evidence leads to the resurrection of Jesus. 

When John went in and saw the grave clothes lying there, he saw AND believed. But they still did not make the connection that Jesus rose from the dead according to scripture. Then, they went back home to where they were staying. 

By tradition, Peter was older than John. We might picture a man in his late forties or early fifties like Peter running to the tomb with great labor, and a man and his mid-twenties easily outrunning him.

The cloths were still orderly and neat. It looked as if the body evaporated out of the burial wrappings without disturbing their place.

“This means the headcloth still retained the shape the contour of Jesus’ head had given it and that It was still separated from the other wrappings by a space that suggested the distance between the neck of the deceased and the upper chest, where the wrappings of the body would have begun.” (Tenney)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Apparently Mary bought into the story that someone had stolen Jesus from the tomb. It is strange that Mary did not react to the angels being there. Usually when people see angels in the bible they react in fear. Maybe it was because she was so grief stricken. 

Suddenly Jesus appeared to her. She didn't recognize him. Either he looked differently in his glorified state, or she was so grief stricken she didn't believe it could be true. Apparently Jesus looked like the gardener, so Mary asked him if he had taken Jesus away. Boldly, she said she would go get him if he told her. 

Jesus did not immediately reveal Himself to Mary. It wasn’t to play some trick on her; it was to break through her unbelief and forgetfulness of Jesus’ promise of resurrection.

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

It was only when Jesus called her by name did Mary recognize Jesus. There was probably a kindness and tenderness in his voice which reminded her of the time she first met him. She learned to recognize his voice. 

I might ask in a similar way, "Have you learned to hear Jesus' voice and realize it is him." We learn Jesus' voice, as we develop a personal relationship with him. 

Mary wanted to hang on to Jesus, but he was only going to be there for 40 days before he ascended back to the Father. Mary knew without a shadow of doubt it was Jesus and told the disciples about her encounter with him. 

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

The evening of the first day of the week is Sunday. The disciples were still worried about being persecuted for their being associated with Jesus, so they hid behind locked doors. Jesus supernaturally came through the doors and said, "Peace be with you!" 

Jesus knew he might frighten them, so he greeted them in peace. Jesus knew they might feel guilty about forsaking him, so he greeted them in peace. Jesus died on the cross for their sins so he greeted them with peace. This is a great thing to say to each other when we great each other in public. Because we all have the Holy Spirit in us, we have the peace of the Lord. We can share it with each other. This is what the word "fellowship" means. 

Jesus allowed the disciples to check out the wounds on his hands and side. He knew they might need more evidence to believe. We usually think it is only Thomas who demanded such evidence, but it appears Jesus gave the same evidence to all of them. 

Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus gave His disciples the Holy Spirit, bringing new life and the ability to carry out their mission. It seems John noted a deliberate connection between this breathing on the disciples and when at creation God breathed life into man. This was a work of re-creation, even as God breathed life into the first man. This is where the disciples were born again.

Jesus then makes a very interesting statement when he says, "If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Isn't Jesus the only one who can forgive sins? Didn't Jesus command us to forgive others as he has forgiven us? I am sure this verse is what the Catholics would use to justify the power and the authority of the church to forgive or retain sins. It seems to be contradictory with the rest of the New Testament, which makes me very hesitant to give to much weight to it.

I think the best interpretation is we have the ability to announce and proclaim forgiveness in Jesus' name. I can't think of a situation where I would not forgive someone unless perhaps they refused to repent. That would require me to know the true condition of a person's heart. This is one of the verses that I categorize as one I look forward to Jesus revealing its meaning to me one day. 

But I never see Jesus' saying, "Forgive only those who are sorry and repent of their sins!"

This lays down the duty of the church to proclaim forgiveness to the repentant believer, and the duty of the church to warn the unbeliever that they are in danger of forfeiting the mercy of God. We don’t create the forgiveness or deny it; we announce it according to God’s word and the wisdom of the Spirit.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Apparently Thomas was not with the disciples, so he was not going to take their word for it. He wanted to have the actual evidence of seeing and touching Jesus' nail marked hands and putting his hand into his pierced side. Jesus was more than willing to provide Thomas what he asked for. Jesus approached Thomas, showed him his hands and side and told him to feel free to check it out. 

Then Jesus says, "Stop doubting and believe". Thomas came to the realization it was Jesus and exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"  

I am stuck by the grace Jesus shows to his disciples. He had told them what was going to happen many times. He could have easily been upset with them for abandoning him when he needed them the most. He could have assumed that when the tomb was empty, they should have known he was raised from the dead. But Jesus appears to the disciples and meets them where they are at. 

Mary needed to hear Jesus' voice. John needed to see the empty tomb and grave clothes. Thomas needed to inspect his hands and side. Peter needed to be reinstated three times, as we shall see in John 21.

The bottom line is Jesus had given them and us plenty of evidence to come to believe he was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But Jesus will never make someone believe. He gives us the evidence and invites us to believe but we must step out in faith and trust in Him. 

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

It appears that John's gospel ends here. But there is a chapter 21. There is some disagreement whether John 21 should be included in the canon of Scripture but there was enough evidence to include it.