JOHN 20

Special note on resurrection
The word resurrection, literally translated, means “a standing again”, so has particular reference to the body, which falls in death. To raise the dead is the prerogative of God. As the apostle Paul said to Felix, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?” Acts 26:8. Nebuchadnezzar was able to “keep alive“, Daniel 5:19; but God is able to make alive, 1 Samuel 2: 6. King Jehoram said ” Am I God, to kill and to make alive?” 2 Kings 5:7. (These words were spoken near Nain, the place where Christ raised the widow of Nain’s son, Luke 7:11-18.). The magicians of Egypt testified that when Aaron brought life out of the dust, it was the finger of God, Exodus 8:19. If God can make Adam stand on his feet at the beginning, He can do so again. If He can give a man a spirit, He can return it to him. We shall see later on that Scripture speaks of the resurrection of the dead, and resurrection from among the dead.

It would be helpful before we look at the historic details concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to notice the truth as set out in the great resurrection chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15:1
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

Moreover- chapter 15 is part of that section of the epistle which begins in 12:1, and concerns spiritual gifts in the main, but is also about spirit-matters. There was those who taught that in the resurrection, the saints would be spirits only, so the apostle deals with that matter in this chapter. The saints will have a spiritual body, verse 44, not a spirit-body, and certainly not only a spirit.

I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you- the message has not changed in the face of denial. What he preached to them originally is what he insists on still.

Which also ye have received- this is a verb in the aorist tense, denoting a definite action, in this case in the past. “Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed” Acts 18:8.

And wherein ye stand- this is a verb in the perfect tense, meaning a past event with present effect. Their standing before God was based on the truth of the gospel, including the resurrection, which they had received at the beginning. Like the psalmist, they could say, “He… set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” Psalm 40:2.

15:2
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

By which also ye are saved- a verb in the present tense, meaning they were being continuously saved. The truth of the gospel is not only effectual to save when we first believe, but it saves us from the pitfalls along the Christian pathway. This is why believers need to hear the gospel constantly, for the gospel is not just for the unsaved.

If ye keep in memory what I preached unto you- the practical deliverance from the dangers along the way is only known if the truth of the gospel is constantly kept in memory, or held fast. If the Corinthian believers did that, they would not be led astray by false teaching about resurrection.

Unless ye have believed in vain- there are three words for vain used in this chapter, this one meaning to do something easily, without consideration. Compare the stony ground hearers of the parable of the sower, Luke 8:6,13, who received the word immediately, without considering the consequences. When tribulation came because of the word, they withered, having no root in themselves. Their faith was temporary, and Paul tests his readers at the outset lest some of them be the same. The apostle never assumed that because a person was in assembly fellowship that it was certain he was saved.

15:3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

For I delivered unto you first of all- the gospel was a priority with the apostle. The word “for” indicates that he is now about to tell us what it was that resulted in the Corinthians getting saved.

That which I also received- as he wrote to the Galatians, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ”, Galatians 1:11,12. He had been faithful in his stewardship, not having altered anything that had been delivered to him. “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”, 1 Corinthians 4:2.

How that Christ died- the first of four “thats”, representing the four-square and therefore stable basis of the gospel. (C.f. the four equal sides of the brazen altar, Exodus 27:1, and the four anchors cast out of the ship, Acts 27:29.) There are verbs in the active and passive voice in verses 3 and 4, as follows: Christ died (active), was buried, (passive), was raised, (passive), appeared, (active). The proof that He died was that He was buried, the proof that He rose is that He appeared.

That Christ, the Messiah, should die, was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and indeed the disciples, who expected a victor, not a victim. That He should die was foolishness to the Greeks who gloried in those who survived, not those who succumbed.

The death of Christ was His own act, yet was not suicide, where a person takes the initiative, for He had authority to lay down His life, and this authority came because of His Father’s commandment, John 10:18. He did not die because of the spear, was not buried by the shovel, rose despite the seal, and walked forth from the tomb despite the sentinels. The kings of the earth set themselves against God’s Christ, but He had them in derision, Psalm 2:2,4; Acts 4:25-28.

For our sins- for means “on account of”, or “for the sake of”. He died on account of other’s sins, and He died for the sake of dealing with them. As Christ He was approved, but our sins were disapproved of God, therefore He died, as being the only one suitable to deal with sins. “Our” is a personal pronoun, so we need to ask who is in view. It is true the epistle is written to believers, but this is a record of what was told them before they believed. Those who use the personal pronoun have admitted that the sins He died for were theirs, but He had done the work long before they believed; their faith did not alter what happened at Calvary.

When sins are in view, the apostles usually speak of the blood of Christ, which implies His death, but since the subject of this chapter is resurrection, it is more appropriate to actually use the word death. The first sin had brought in death, and here the sum total of sins is dealt with before God. If there are sins that have not been answered for, they never will be, for sinners do not deal with sins by suffering in eternity.

According to the scriptures- the first and major witness to the truth of the gospel. The Old Testament is primarily in view, but we cannot exclude the testimony of the gospels. The death of the Lord Jesus was according to the Old Testament predictions. Every animal sacrifice that died at the altar was a foreshadowing of Calvary. As the Saviour Himself said, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things…And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself”, Luke 24:25,26. His death was not simply martyrdom, or a model, it was certainly not merited, nor a mistake. Rather it was marked out for Him in the Scriptures. Such chapters as Psalm 22; Psalm 69; Isaiah 53; Leviticus chapters 1-5, are classic passages telling us of the nature of His death at Calvary.

His death was also according to the predictions He Himself made as recorded in the gospels, which also record the event itself. So He died according to the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments.

15:4
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was buried- not, indeed, in the soil, but in stone, so the tomb was easily identified, sealed, and guarded. The burial-place of Moses is not known, Deuteronomy 34:6, no doubt to avoid superstition, and pointless pilgrimages, but there was an overriding consideration with Christ’s tomb, for it must be evident that He has left His tomb in resurrection. Note the significance of burial in connection with sowing and growing, verses 36-44. No reference is made here to “according to the scriptures”, (although they did prophesy the manner of His burial, Isaiah 53:9), since the truth regarding burial with Christ is New Testament revelation, Romans 6:4.

And that he rose again- the verb is in the passive, indicating the Father’s involvement, being satisfied with His justifying work at Calvary, for He was “raised again for our justification”, Romans 4:25. The question mark over His character which His death in shame had raised, is removed, for He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, Romans 6:4. His resurrection is the guarantee of the following things, amongst others:

That He is the Son of God, Romans 1:4.

That our sins are dealt with, Romans 4:25.

That all the dead will be raised, 1 Corinthians 15:22.

That He will judge the world, Acts 17:31.

The third day according to the scriptures- the third day was stipulated in His own prophecy, Matthew 12:40. Every prophecy of His reign implied His death and resurrection, for He was raised up to sit on David’s throne, as Peter made clear on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2:30. David had prophesied that the Messiah would die, but His kingdom is everlasting, so He must die and rise before He begins to reign.

15:5
After that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

After that He was seen of Cephas- the apostle now comes to those who saw the Lord after His resurrection. It is noticeable that he does not mention the witness of the women to His resurrection, even though Mary Magdalene was the first to see Him, Mark 16:9. It is a mark of the genuineness of the gospel records that they are based on the testimony of women, yet a woman was not allowed to bear testimony in Jewish courts. If the gospels were forgeries, the fraudster would have avoided all mention of the testimony of the women. The point is that Paul is listing those who would preach that Christ was risen. As he writes in verse 11, “Whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed”. The “they” referring to the others mentioned in the list of witnesses. Since women are not appointed by God to preach, they are not mentioned in this context.

Each person or group mentioned in the following verses was transformed by seeing Christ in resurrection, and each was given a charge by the Risen Lord, either expressly, or by implication.

Peter, Mark 16:7.

Change: Denier of Christ to declarer of Christ.

Charge: “when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren”, Luke 22:32.

The Twelve, Mark 16:14.

The change: Disquiet because of Jews, to delight in the Lord, John 20:19,20. Note there is no mention of “fear of the Jews” in verse 26.

The charge: “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you, verse 21.

The Five Hundred, Matthew 28:7,10.

The change: Disarray to determination.

The charge: “Go ye into all the world…” Mark 16:15.

James. No Scripture reference for we are only told this here.

The change: Disbelief to decisiveness, John 7:5, Mark 6:3, Acts 15:4,13.

The charge: Service to the twelve tribes, James 1:1.

All the Apostles, John 20:26-29.

The change: Doubt to devotion.

The charge: “be not faithless, but believing”, John 20:24-29.

Paul, Acts 9:17; 1 Corinthians 9:1.

The change: Destroyer to defender.

The charge: “It shall be told thee what thou shalt do”, Acts 9:6.

 

The apostle lists seven consequences if Christ is not risen.

First consequence:

Christ is not raised

15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

Second consequence:

Preaching and faith are vain

15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Third consequence:

The apostles give false witness about God

15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

Fourth consequence:

Believers are still in their sins

15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Fifth consequence:

The dead in Christ are perished

15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Sixth consequence:

Replacing martyrs is pointless

15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

Seventh consequence:

Courage in adversity is not worthwhile

15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

From the foregoing we can easily see that it is vitally important to establish what happened after the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, since if He is not risen, Christianity is pointless.

Before we look at the gospel accounts of His appearances, we must notice the things that happened after the events of John 19, and before the events of John 20. They are as follows:

Luke gives the account of the women from Galilee who had come to the sepulchre whilst He was being buried:

Luke 23:55
And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after- that is, they followed after Joseph and Nicodemus to the sepulchre.

And beheld the sepulchre- so they knew exactly which one it was.

And how his body was laid- they must have been quite close to do this. Perhaps they did not know that the tomb was unused, and mistakenly thought that there were other bodies there. They satisfy themselves that they are clear as to where His body is laid.

23:56
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments- they are making two mistakes here, although we must not despise their zeal. First, they thought He would rise “at the last day”, with all the just. That He would rise after three days was hid from them. Second, they thought His body would corrupt, and the stench of corruption needed to be counteracted. But He had no sin. It is only sinful bodies that are in the bondage of corruption. When Christ appealed to His Father to not let His body see corruption, He meant from without. This is one reason why it was important for the tomb to be new and unused, so that no corruption could touch or even be near the body. Of course the bodies of Joseph and Nicodemus were corrupt, even though they were now believers, and they must have touched the body of the Lord, but surely God would reckon them clean?

And prepared spices and ointments- Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought their spices after 6 o’clock on the Sabbath, Mark 16:1, possibly because they stayed longer at the tomb than these women did. The women here had time to buy and prepare the spices before the Sabbath began, for they beheld the sepulchre, how His body was laid and then returned, Luke 23:55, 56, whereas Matthew tells us “And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre”, Matthew 27:61. This suggests their stay was longer.

The Greek word for spices is “aroma”, which clearly gives us our English word. The word for ointments is “muron”, and is connected with the word for myrrh, although not limited to that spice, since the word ointments is in the plural. It is significant that myrrh, which speaks of death in scripture, was not used on the body of Christ, for He must not have the aroma of death upon Him when He rises, he He lives to die no more.

And rested the sabbath day according to the commandment- these women will soon learn that the death of Christ has set aside the law as a code of conduct. The believer’s code of conduct is the life of Christ, and the indwelling Spirit enables a life like His to be lived to God’s glory. The Spirit of God is called “the Spirit of His Son”, Galatians 4:6, and enables believers to live in the dignity of sonship, even as God’s Son did. He is also called “the Spirit of Christ”, Romans 8:9, and enables to live a life that is approved of God, as His was.

The apostle Paul warned the Colossian believers to “Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days; which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ”, Colossians 2:16,17.

It is one of the proofs of the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week, that that day has become special to believers. Since the day He rose, the sabbath day has lost it significance, for He has brought in a new beginning, and better things; observance of days in a legal sense is now outdated. To the Christian, every day should be special, for it is an opportunity to live for the Lord.

Having said that, it is well to remember that there are three things connected with the first day of the week, namely the resurrection of Christ, Mark 16:9, the remembrance of Him in the breaking of bread, Acts 20:7, and the collection for the needs of the saints, 1 Corinthians 16:2. Anything else we do on that day should be in harmony with those three things. This will restrain us from living like the world does on that day, but it will be the desire to please Christ that will govern us, not a legal observance of a particular day.

Matthew also tells us of the precautions the Jews made to seal and guard the tomb, lest the disciples steal the body, Matthew 27:62-66.

Matthew 27:62
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation- Joseph departs, his task completed. But the authorities are not satisfied. It is the day after the preparation, and this means it is the sabbath day, so the urgency of the matter makes them endanger the sanctity of the day. They had refused to go in to Pilate because it was the first day of unleavened bread, which was a festival sabbath, John 18:28, Leviticus 23:7, but they are willing to go to a Gentile’s residence on the sabbath day which was a high day, John 19:31, even though that house may contain leaven.

The chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate- they have a conscience about Christ even when He is dead. They even command Pilate to act, and he, also with a guilty conscience, agrees to do as they say, even though at other times he showed he loathed them, and stubbornly refused their requests. Perhaps the centurion has told Pilate about the events surrounding the death of Christ, and his conviction that he was the Son of God, and this would remind Pilate of his conversation with Christ about whether He was the Son of God. It is ironic if, as is likely, the chief priests were of the Sadducees, like Caiaphas and Annas, then they did not believe in the resurrection of the body. Yet they are concerned about the resurrection of Christ’s body, although they mask this by talking of the body being stolen.

27:63
Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said- if they believed Him to be a deceiver, then He would not rise, for He declared He would, but according to them His word is untrue. Here is the second inconsistency in their thinking. As soon as Christ is thought of as a deceiver, logic is jettisoned. Note how careful they are to be respectful to Pilate now, calling him “Sir”, for they are worried lest he refuses their request. The title they use implies that he is in control. They had been arrogant when Pilate had not gone along with their plot at the first. See, for instance, John 18:30.

While he was yet alive- so even His sworn enemies bore testimony to the fact that at that moment He was no longer alive. The giving up of His spirit; the spear thrust and the blood and water; the reaction of the soldiers as they came to break His legs; the testimony of the centurion to Pilate when he was called to give account; the licence that Pilate gave to Joseph to take the body; all these things bear testimony to the reality of His death. So why do some persist in suggesting He only swooned, and revived in the cool of the tomb?

After three days I will rise again- they give themselves away again here, for there is now no twisting of His words as there was at His trial. Then they had tried to suggest that the “raise it in three days” was a reference to the temple, which would indicate they thought He had magical powers. They knew very well the meaning of His words, but had not been willing to believe Him to the saving of their souls. But they are now willing to believe Him to the saving of their reputation and station in Israel.

27:64
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day- when these same people had wanted the bodies removed, they besought, or asked Pilate that it might happen. Now they are anxious that the body be not removed. This time they do not simply ask, but bluntly tell him what to do. It is as if they are commanding the Commander to command, such is their desperation.

By Jewish reckoning, if it was Friday, and something was going to happen on Sunday, you would say it would happen on the third day, for the day you were speaking was counted as the first day; Saturday would be the second, and Sunday the third. This is contrary to our modern way of reckoning, but it is how things were in Bible times, and we should not seek to impose our thinking on the situation.

So, for instance, Rehoboam told Jeroboam to “Depart yet for three days, then come again to me”, 1 Kings 12:5. Then we read, “So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day”, verse 12. And lest we think they came back a day early, the narrative goes on, “as the king appointed, saying, ‘Come to me again the third day'”.

These men are speaking to Pilate on Saturday, but they are thinking of the time between Christ’s death and His resurrection. In that context the third day was the next day.

We should also notice in this connection the phrase “three days and three nights”. The Lord said, “for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly: so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”, Matthew 12:40. Nowadays we would immediately think that three days of 12 hours each and three nights of 12 hours each is in view, making 72 hours. But we read that Esther told the Jews, “fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night and day”, Esther 4:16. They did this, and “it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house”, 5:1. So to a Jew three days and three nights ended on the third day.

Lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away– little did they realise that the disciples did not believe He would rise soon. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, but not that He would rise beforehand. They thought that since He had died without setting up His kingdom, they were in for a long wait. When the Lord told the disciples the details about what was soon to happen to Him, including “and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again”, we read, “And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken”, Luke 18:33,34.

There are three verbs here, “understood”, “hid”, and “knew”. The first word, translated “understood”, means, in a literal sense, to put together, and hence to comprehend. The disciples were unable to put together the prophecies of a glorious reign and this prophecy of a shameful death, and hence were not able to comprehend what was being spoken. This was true of the two on the road to Emmaus, and the Lord had to rebuke them for not believing “all that the prophets have spoken”, Luke 24:25. They only believed some of the things, and ignored the passages about the sufferings.

The second word is “hid”, meaning concealed by being covered over. The first and the third words relate to their reaction to the statement, whereas this is what happened to them from outside. God withheld the understanding of the truth that Christ would rise. It could not be said that they waited so eagerly for Him to rise that in their religious fervour they imagined it had happened, and so went on to preach as if it had happened. So the great change that came over the disciples was not due to imagination, but the reality of His resurrection.

Even after they had been told by the women that He was risen, they refused to believe, for “their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not”, Luke 24:11. This time, however, the Lord “upraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen”, Mark 16:14. Their unbelief was now inexcusable, for He had appeared in resurrection. We see in this a mark of the genuineness of the records, for it is to the discredit of the apostles that they did not believe at first, yet they did not try to suppress the accounts of their unbelief. The same thing happened in the Old Testament, where men, inspired of God, faithfully recorded the gross sins of the Chosen People. Yet those same people faithfully passed on the scriptures.

The third word is “knew”, or got to know. Because they were unwilling to accept that the Messiah would suffer, the truth was hid from them for a time, and hence they did not come to know what was to take place. These three facts show that the disciples would have no intention of stealing the body, even if they could.

And say unto the people, He is risen from the dead- but that is exactly what they did say, not because they had stolen the body, but because He was indeed risen from the dead and they had seen Him. The Jewish rulers realised that the resurrection of Christ from the dead would indicate God’s approval of Him, and also God’s disapproval of them for crucifying Him.

So the last error shall be worse than the first- their reason for crucifying Him was His claim to be the Son of God. They believed this to be an error, despite all the evidence He presented. The last error would be, in their eyes, the claim that He had risen from the dead. They do not say “first error…second error”, for they believe that the disciples would not be able to face persecution in defence of a lie, and would therefore be silenced, so there would be no third error, for the “error” of claiming He was risen would be the last, in their view. It is indeed the case that men will not in normal circumstances die for what they know to be untrue, and so they reason that the sect of the Nazarene will soon be extinct.

27:65
Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch- the temple guard was under the control of the Jewish authorities, as we see from John 7:32,45, so they did not need Roman soldiers. This in itself would be significant, because the Jews could not say that the Romans had been careless and let the disciples steal the body. At every stage the sepulchre was under scrutiny, not least because it was near the place where Christ died, which was “nigh to the city”, close enough for the title on the cross to be read.

Go your way, make it as sure as ye can- the Jews now have permission to tamper with a private sepulchre. Unwittingly, they are ensuring that the only way Christ can emerge from death is by resurrection. He will have a spiritual body when He rises, so will not be prevented by a wall of rock from emerging from the tomb. He will not need the door to be moved to let Him out, as Lazarus did, for the latter regained his old body, with all its limitations. The surer the sepulchre is made, the surer the truth that He rose.

27:66
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

So they went, and made the sepulchre sure- we may be certain that in the circumstances they will not seal the tomb without assuring themselves that the body is still there. They will also be very careful to examine the tomb to make sure that the earthquake that occurred when Christ died, Matthew 27:51,52, and which rent the rocks in the area, has not damaged the rock-hewn tomb of Joseph, thus providing a means of access for disciples without the watch knowing.

Sealing the stone- after they have satisfied themselves that the body is still there, they seal the stone to the wall of the rock. If the seal is broken, they will know something is amiss. They are convinced that the only way for Him to emerge out of the tomb is if the disciples take the body. They do not believe He is going to rise the next day.

And setting a watch- there is no verb here, it is simply “with a watch, (or guard)”, so the verb is supplied from “made the sepulchre sure…with a guard”. They are watching here to prevent stealing, then later they use stealing as the excuse for Him not being in the tomb, 28:13.

Despite all these precautions, sometime between 6 o’clock on the Sabbath evening, (the hour at which the first day of the week began), and 4 o’clock in the morning on the first day of the week, (the hour at which it begins to get light in Palestine in April), Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God and Israel’s Messiah, rose triumphantly from among the dead, to die no more.

It is interesting to notice that Matthew, as he brings his “Gospel of the King” to a close, assembles together seven incidents that have the common theme of “control”. His is the gospel of authority and power, and the great question Matthew settles in his gospel has to do with who is in control, Satan, men, or God? We could think of the chapter as follows:

(i)	Verses 2-4	The angel is not opposed.
(ii)	Verses 5-8	The women are not harmed, nor are they prevented from entering the tomb, for the guards are as dead men.
(iii)	Verses 9-10	The guards are restrained from rousing until the women have seen the Lord. The Lord tells them to not be afraid, thus assuring them that He had the situation under control.
(iv)	Verses 11-15	The guards and the priests are shown to have lost control.
(v)	Verse 16	The disciples meet on a mountain, the symbol of authority and control.
(vi)	Verses 18-20	The Lord expresses His control, and gives controlling commands to His people.

It is very noticeable that the gospel writers, who have all given us details of the events leading up to, and including the crucifixion and burial of Christ, do not say a word about when He rose again. We know it is sometime after the two women left the area, and we know that it happened before the rolling back of the stone, but beyond that we are told nothing. One reason for this is that it is the fact that He is risen that matters, and not the precise time, except that it was on the first day of the week. Having said that, it is interesting to notice that the Jews divided the time just before sunrise into four stages, as follows:

Stage 1	The first appearance of light, which the Jews called “The hind of the morning”.
Stage 2	When it is possible to distinguish between purple and white.
Stage 3	When the east begins to lighten.
Stage 4	Sunrise.

Now Psalm 22 is divided into two parts. In the first we are told much about the sufferings of the Messiah, and in the second we are told of His ever-widening influence after His resurrection. And the title of the psalm is “To the chief musician upon Aijeleth-shahar, a psalm of David”, and “Aijeleth-shahar” means “hind of the morning”. This may pinpoint the moment of the resurrection as being at the first stage of the dawn.

What we do know is that the Lord Jesus, in obedience to His Father, has taken His life again. He had spoken of this a few months before as recorded by John:

“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father”, John 10:16,17. Some speak of this as if He raised Himself, but that does not seem logical, for if a man is dead he cannot help himself, and if he does help himself it might suggest he wss not really dead in the first place. That God raised Him from the dead is the word of the apostles in the Book of Acts, 3:15, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40, 13:30, 13:37. He had deliberately laid down His life of Himself, in the exercise of His willing obedience to His Father. The psalmist wrote, “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever”, Psalm 21:4. So having prayed, before the cross, to be saved out of death, Hebrews 5:7, and having been heard, the Father offers Him resurrection life, and He accepts the gift, having authority to do so.

The following sequence is suggested in connection with the visit of the women to the sepulchre:

1. After the angel had moved the stone, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joses, (who was also the mother of James, Matthew 27:56), Joanna and Salome, and other women came to the sepulchre to anoint the body. This is recorded by Matthew, Mark, and John, although John only mentions Mary Magdalene because she is central to his narrative, being the one to first see the Lord in resurrection. John is concerned about eye-witness, and Mary Magdalene is the first one, as Mark indicates, Mark 16:9.

2. They had wondered how they were going to move the stone, but when they arrived they saw it had been rolled away already, Mark 16:4; John 20:1. They seem not to know about the guard, or the seal.

3. Mary Magdalene immediately runs to tell Peter and John what she thought, (wrongly), had happened, John 20:2.

4. Meanwhile, the others enter into the sepulchre and see a young man sitting there, who tells them He is risen. A comparison between what the angel of the Lord says as recorded by Matthew, and what the young man in the sepulchre says as recorded by Mark, suggest the same conversation is in view. He invites them to see the place where the Lord lay, which meant they entered further into the sepulchre.

5. Luke tells us what happened once they had done this, Luke 24:3-9.They are commissioned to tell the disciples the Lord is risen, Mark 16:5-7.

6. They flee from the sepulchre to tell the disciples.

7. Peter and John now arrive at the sepulchre. John stoops down to look and sees the linen clothes. Peter goes in and sees the linen clothes and the napkin. John then enters, “and he saw, and believed”, John 20:8. They leave and go home.

8. Mary arrives back at the sepulchre. She stoops to see into the sepulchre and sees two angels in white. Something makes her turn round, and she becomes the first one to see the Lord, John 20:16. Events 1-9 may not have taken more than twenty minutes seeing that some of the things mentioned were going on at the same time.

9.The other women which came with Mary Magdalene, meanwhile, are on their way to bring news of the resurrection to the disciples.

10. As they went, Jesus met them, and they worshipped Him. He instructs them to go and tell His brethren that they go into Galilee, Matthew 27:9,10.

11. Peter goes to the sepulchre on his own, sees the linen clothes laid by themselves, and leaves, “wondering in himself at that which was come to pass”.

The resurrection accounts continue with the words of Matthew as he describes the angel of the Lord coming to the tomb, terrifying the guards, and rolling back the stone. He recounts the actions of the Jews, and then tells us of the actions of the angel.

28:2
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

And, behold, there was a great earthquake- the next phrase begins with “for”, so the earthquake seems connected with the descent of the angel from heaven. This is the sign that heaven is intervening in earth’s affairs in a powerful way. The resurrection of Christ is God’s guarantee that “he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance to all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead”, Acts 17:31. In that day it will be Christ who will shake the earth and the heavens, Hebrews 12:26.

For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven- no doubt this was one of the two angels that the women of Luke’s account, and Mary Magdalene, saw, but he is called the angel of the Lord, for the one he represents and acts for has supreme power. Matthew is very interested in Divine Authority as he writes his kingly gospel.

And came and rolled back the stone from the door- the fact that he came and rolled back the stone suggests he descended from heaven to a place just outside the camp of those guarding the tomb, perhaps striding through the midst of them to reach the tomb and move the stone.

There is no mention of the seal. Did the earthquake break the seal, or did the angel do it? Either way, there is the exercise of superior power. In John’s account, the stone is said to be taken away from the sepulchre, with the verb for “taken away” being the one Mary used when she said, “They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre”. This has led some to think that just as Mary thought the Lord’s body had been totally removed from the tomb, so the stone was totally removed from the groove in which it was moved to and fro. If this is the case, then the removal is complete, and man is not able to replace it easily. If it was difficult to roll the stone up the incline away from the entrance, and designedly so, then it would be almost impossible to lift it from the ground and place it in the groove again.

Christ is risen to die no more, for “death hath no more dominion over him”, Romans 6:9. It is just as important for the stone to be rolled over the doorway of the tomb and sealed, whilst the Lord’s body was inside, as it is for it to now be removed out of the way, now that He is risen. The one is a sign that He was really dead, and that He rose with a spiritual body; the other is the sign that He shall die no more.

And sat upon it- as if challenging any to reverse what he had done. Angels sit three ways in the resurrection narrative. Here the angel sits on the moved stone, possibly with it laying flat on the ground. In Mark 16:5 a young man is “sitting on the right side”, just inside the tomb, perhaps. In John 20:12 Mary saw two angels sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet of the actual burial ledge. In Luke 24:4 two men were standing by the women as they came out of the tomb.

28:3
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

His countenance was like lightning- no wonder the keepers were terrified, for there are few things more frightening that being near a lightning strike. Perhaps at this point the keepers ran away from the sepulchre, so when they became as dead men they were not visible to the women as they came.

And his raiment white as snow- nothing of earth’s defilement has affected him, and he comes on an errand of righteousness, to signal that God is reversing the world’s unrighteous dealings with His Son.

28:4
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

And for fear of him the keepers did shake- their initial reaction was one of sheer terror. They thought they were protecting the tomb from a few Galilean fishermen; ones moreover who had deserted their Lord in His hour of need. The last thing they expected was an angel from heaven.

And became as dead men- even though there is lightning, there is no storm, for these only become as dead men, they are not slain. The angel was very capable of doing this, for after all, one angel slew 185,000 Assyrians in Hezekiah’s day, 2 Kings 19:35. But the age of grace has dawned, and even an angel must comply with the character of the age. These men must be rendered powerless so that the women can safely come and see that the body is gone and bear witness to the fact.

We could contrast the action of men of sealing the tomb with the action of the angel opening the tomb:

“So they went” (with authority from Pilate).	“the angel of the Lord descended from heaven”, (with authority from God).
“And made the sepulchre sure” (ensuring it was kept closed).	“and sat upon it”, (ensuring it was kept open).
“Sealing the stone” (to show everyone that the body was inside).	“rolled back the stone from the door”, (to show everyone that the body was gone, but the grave-clothes were intact)
“Setting a watch” (to ensure that none would approach).	“the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” (to ensure the women, Peter, and John could approach).

We revert now to John’s account, and the coming of Mary Magdalene to the tomb.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN CHAPTER 20, VERSES 1 TO 9:

20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

 

John 20:1
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

The first day of the week- in Old Testament times the first day of the week was called “the day after the sabbath”, for the sabbath was the climax to the week. Now the emphasis is different, for a new era has dawned, and what happened on the very first day of that new era gives character to it. In the Old Testament, God was working towards the setting up of Christ’s kingdom on earth, when He will be able to rest gloriously with His people, for “there remaineth therefore a rest (the word has the idea of the keeping of a sabbath) for the people of God”, Hebrews 3:9. The first sabbath was after God’s six days of work in creation, but now a new creation has begun, and the sabbath recedes.

Cometh Mary Magdalene early- this Mary had stood by the cross before the Lord committed His mother to John’s keeping. They, no doubt, left the scene before the hours of darkness, perhaps with His mother’s sister. Mary Magdalene seems to have then withdrawn to be with other women who stood further away, John 19:25; Matthew 27:56. Then she, with Mary the mother of Joses, watched where His body was laid, as they sat over against the sepulchre, Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47. Then Mark tells us they bought sweet spices, Mark 16:1. They prepared those spices and ointments, Luke 23:55,56; 24:1, 10. They rested the sabbath day, according to the commandment, Luke 23:56.

Now Mary is doing the seventh thing, for she is coming to the sepulchre to anoint His body. Her love and devotion was rewarded, and she showed herself a fit messenger to tell of His rising again.

John only mentions Mary Magdalene, because she was an eyewitness of the fact the Lord had risen. The simplest way to look at the situation is to see just one party of women, with each of the gospel writers concentrating on different aspects of what happened at the sepulchre, as suits their theme.

Having noted Mary’s devotion, we should remember that there was one Mary who did not come to the sepulchre, and that was Mary of Bethany. This was not because of any lack of devotion to Christ, but rather because she had already anointed His body unto the burial whilst He was alive and could appreciate it, John 12:1-8. It is always good to show our devotion in a way that most pleases Christ.

When it was yet dark- this no doubt refers to when she started out. The sun was rising when she arrived, Mark 16:2. We know from Mark 16:1,2 that she came with Mary the mother of James, and Salome, but John only tells us about Mary Magdalene. Just as Peter is always mentioned first when the apostles are listed, so Mary Magdalene is always first when the women are listed. John is impressed with her fervent devotion.

Unto the sepulchre- the word sepulchre has the idea of memorial about it, suggesting that the person within was worthy of remembrance. The Lord Jesus is indeed worthy of remembrance, but He is remembered as one who has conquered death, and His tomb, whilst important when He was in it, has lost its attraction now. The question of the angels was, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen”, Luke 24:5,6. The Living One is pleased to be found amongst the living, those who have eternal life, as we see in verse 19.

And seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre- she had watched Joseph of Arimathea roll a great stone to the entrance to the sepulchre, Matthew 27:60,61. But this no doubt was comparatively easy, for the custom was to have a trench cut into rock which sloped towards the entrance to the tomb, and the stone would be like a huge millstone that could be rolled down this trench until it covered the doorway completely. To roll the stone back uphill would be a different task altogether, and she knew that she, even with her companions, would not be able to do this, Mark 16:3.

We are not told whether she knew that the Jews had obtained permission from Pilate to seal and guard the tomb. She might have thought that to be a disaster, but in fact it was ordered of God, so that no-one could steal the body even if he wanted to. God makes the wrath of man to praise Him, over-ruling their schemes to His glory.

20:2
Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Then she runneth- without investigating further, she leaves the others within sight of the tomb, and runs to tell the disciples that the body has been taken. It is good to be quick to do the Lord’s will, but we should remember the Scripture which says, “He that believeth shall not make haste”, Isaiah 28:16. We must serve the Lord with careful thought, and not be rash.

And cometh to Simon Peter- he is the one that has most often taken the lead, and his name is always first in the list of the apostles. It seems that the apostles as a whole, (with the exception of John, verse 8, and then perhaps only partially, as we shall consider), did not believe Christ was raised until Peter was convinced it was so. Those who occupy leadership roles should be very careful to maintain a strong faith, lest they hinder others.

Note John calls him Simon Peter here and in verse 6. Simon was his birth-name, whereas Peter, or Cephas, was the name given to him by the Lord Himself, John 1:42. 20:3 The two names tell of what he was by nature, and what he had become by Divine calling. So in this verse and verse 6 there is something of the old about him. Here, he is the one who has denied his Lord, and is cowering in fear. In verse 6 we shall see him still in unbelief, despite having seen more than John.

And to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved- this is usually thought to be the way that John puts his signature on the gospel. He uses the expression in John 13:23; 19:26; 21:7; 21:20. We should bear in mind, however, that the expression “whom Jesus loved” is most likely to be applied in this place to Peter as well as to John. It is also true that in this place the verb for “loved” is different to the one used in the other cases.

The fact that Mary is said to come to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, rather than coming to Simon Peter and John, suggests that they were in separate places. The Lord had prophesied that “ye shall be scattered, each to his own”, 16:32. This had come to pass. No doubt John would be anxious to keep the mother of Jesus safe in isolation.

And saith unto them- even if they were in separate places, the message to them both was the same.

They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre- this was, in fact, not true, but the hasty conclusion from seeing that the stone had been rolled away. This would be the last thing God would allow to happen. Mary does not explain who the “they” are. Does she mean Joseph and Nicodemus? After all, it does seem that they had laid the body in the sepulchre temporarily, for John tells us, “Now in the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jew’s preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand”, John 19:41,42. Notice the “therefore” and the “for”, giving reasons for the choice of sepulchre, namely, that it was nigh at hand, and the body could be laid there quickly, before the sabbath started. Against this must be set the fact that when Mary later sees a man near the tomb, she does not think him to be Joseph or Nicodemus, but the gardener.

And we know not where they have laid him- it does not cross her mind that He might be risen from the dead. She expected Him to rise with the righteous dead “at the last day”, as Martha said about Lazarus, John 11:24. Daniel 12:2 speaks of the resurrection from among the dead, when the righteous of Old Testament times rise, leaving the unrighteous behind in the grave to wait for the resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt. What had puzzled the disciples was the idea of one man rising from among the dead, Mark 9:9,10. The truth was withheld from them, so that it could not be said that the resurrection was the fabrication of those who had been told it would happen and who believed it would happen.

So Martha is still seeking the resting-place of the body so that she can anoint it. She is surely not suggesting that the Jews would have removed the body. The last thing they want to do is make it look as though He has risen. They sealed the tomb to stop this happening, Matthew 27:62-66. She says “we” to assure us that she speaks for all the women that came to the tomb with her. All the other believers were avoiding the tomb.

Special note on the visits to the sepulchre
It is very clear from the gospel records that the four evangelists are selective in what they record. They each have their own theme, and they are comfortable to include or exclude as the Spirit of truth guides them. They make no attempt to harmonize their records, confident that as they wrote, there were those still alive who were eyewitnesses of these things.

We shall notice the accounts of the visits to the sepulchre on the basis of the following:

1. That there was but one company of women that came initially. This company consisted of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, (the “other Mary”, Matthew 28:1), Salome, (the mother of Zebedee’s children, James and John), Joanna, (Luke 24:10), and other women, Luke 24:10. Whether they all started out together for safety, or came in groups and met up on the way, we are not told.

2. That when, for instance, John tells us Mary Magdalene came, that does not mean no-one came with her. And so also when Matthew says two Marys came, that does not mean that they did not have anyone with them.

3. That angels are able to appear in whatever guise their Lord decrees; so the same angel can look like a man, and then like an angel. They can also cause their garments to take on the appearance that suits the circumstance.

4. That angels can make themselves invisible if necessary, being spirit beings.

5. That no evangelist tells us everything. For instance, if we read only Matthew we would think that the women only came to look at the sepulchre, that although invited to go inside they did not do so but went off immediately. We have to read the other accounts to get the fullest picture.

After Mary Magdalene has run to tell the apostles the body is gone, the other women, are left near the tomb. Matthew records the fact that the angel invites them to see where the Lord lay, and Mark records this as follows: “And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted”, Mark 16:5 since these two conversations are virtually identical, we may say that they are the same. This means that Matthew’s angel of the Lord is sitting inside the sepulchre when he says “Come, see where the Lord lay”, by which he means come further into the sepulchre.

16:5
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

And entering into the sepulchre- they may have thought that perhaps Joseph of Arimathaea or Nicodemus, or both, were already inside attending to the body, so they seem not to be anxious about entering in.

Sepulchres in those times would often have an entrance room in which the mourners could grieve in private. Then there would be a further room for the actual ledges on which the bodies were laid. It is the first compartment that these women enter.

They saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment- if this personage is the same as the angel of the Lord, then whereas when confronting the guards his face was like lightning in judgment, and his raiment white as snow, unsullied by the defilement of the world that had crucified his Lord, now he is as a young man, and his garment is now described as long and white, in order to not startle the women unnecessarily. The long garment is not drawn up for work, for his task of dealing with the guards and rolling away the stone is done. Mark, as he writes his servant-gospel notices these things.

In the tombs of the rich, as this one was, there would be provision for mourners to sit on pedestals to mourn their departed loved one. But this young man has no reason to mourn. Presumably the young man was sitting on the right side as the women entered the place.

We see in a comparison between Matthew and mark that the former has arranged his material for the purpose of highlighting the difference of the angel’s attitude to the women, who represent the kingdom of God, and his attitude to the guards, who represent the kingdom of Satan.

And they were affrighted- they were not frightened by his appearance, but by the very fact he was there, when they may have been expecting to see two old men, Joseph and Nicodemus, if they expected to see anyone.

16:6
And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted- his appearance outside the tomb had been calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the guards, but now he speaks to ally the understandable fears of these women. He had said nothing to the guards, but spoke words of reassurance to these women.

Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth- Matthew records that he called him simply Jesus, the one he had shown in chapter one of his gospel was of the royal line of David. Mark emphasises the lowly servant character of Christ, who had made Himself of no reputation, seen by the fact He would answer to the name Jesus of Nazareth, the despised place.

Which was crucified- angels rejoiced at His birth; how they must have mourned at His death, and wondered at His self-humiliation. One of their number had sought to rise higher than his proper station at the beginning, but this one willingly took the low place. And to think that the world to which He came in grace went so far as to crucify Him!

He is risen- He who was lifted up on a cross by men has been lifted up from the grave by God.

He is not here- they may have thought that the angel meant that He was alive further inside the sepulchre, but he assures them that He is well clear of the scene of death, never to return to it.

Behold the place where they laid him- there is another thing they need to learn, and that is that He was risen with a spiritual body. They will discover this when they see the graveclothes, and the way they are lying. By “they” the angel means Joseph and Nicodemus, for these women had seen them laying the body in the sepulchre, and saw where He was laid, Mark 15:47. “The place” would mean the actual spot on the ledge where His body had been laid; it does not refer to the sepulchre as a whole because, viewing these women as the same as Matthew and Mark speak of, they are already inside the first part of the sepulchre.
The next statement, commanding them to go on their way, was no doubt is spoken after they had gone further into the tomb and seen the place where Christ had lain. Otherwise we would have the command to go before they gone inside further. We go over to Luke for the account of what happened when the accepted the angel’s invitation.

Luke 24:3
And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus- they entered into the inner compartment where the ledges for the bodies were. They could clearly see that there was no body there, because the napkin around His head was in a place by itself, and there was no neck visible.

24:4
And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout- just as Peter would soon be puzzled also, for the graveclothes were as if the body was still inside, but there was no head. The concept of the resurrection body being a spiritual body, able to rise from the dead and pass through the graveclothes and the stone walls of the sepulchre, was unknown to them, and caused them to greatly wonder.

Behold, two men stood by them in shining garments- no doubt these are the companions of the first angel, and make themselves invisible until the women have taken in the scene, and have sought to come to terms with it. They stand because they have risen up from their seated position as John describes it later.

That angels are not always visible is seen in the incident where the king of Israel sent a great army to arrest Elisha the prophet. His servant was alarmed, but Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes to see that they were surrounded by an invisible army of angels in chariots of fire, 2 Kings 6:13-17.

Their garments are shining, which means that they are flashing like lightning. This is no doubt a warning, designed to prevent the women from touching or disturbing the graveclothes in any way, for the way they are laying will be vital evidence to Peter and John when they arrive and see them. The first angel’s face was like lightning, for he was repelling the guards, and rendering them powerless. These, whilst they have a controlling ministry here, have not faces that speak of judgment, only garments that gently but firmly warn.

24:5
And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth- they recognise these as heavenly visitants, and are awed by their appearance. Their bowing down is not an act of worship, only of respect, or else the angels would have rebuked them, as the angel did when John fell at his feet, Revelation 22:8,8. Clearly the angel of the Lord had not appeared to them in such a way as to inspire fear, for he was commissioned to invite them into the tomb; but these two are commissioned to safeguard the graveclothes.

They said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? There is a mild rebuke here, for the Lord had told them He would rise, and the angels state that in the next verse. It was important that they came to the sepulchre, but also important for them to learn that they need not have come.

The angels were sure He was amongst the living, but also just as sure that He was not in a tomb but alive; he was clear of death entirely. This gives the lie to the idea that the women came to the wrong tomb. Whatever tomb He was in is now empty. But they knew very well which tomb to come to. Even if Joseph and Nicodemus had planned to move Him elsewhere, they could not have done it, for the authorities had sealed the tomb.

24:6
He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

He is not here, but is risen- this is the same as the word of the first angel to them. According to the law, every word is established by the mouth of two or three witnesses.

Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee- they defer to the authority of Christ on the matter, and do not expect the women to believe only through their word. These women were from Galilee, Luke 23:55.

24:7
Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again- the gospel records do not contain exactly these words, but they are the essence of what the Lord told His disciples after He had foretold the building of the church.

They speak of Him being delivered into the hands of sinful men, which would include Judas’ betrayal, the handing Him over to the Gentiles by the chief priests, and the handing of Him over to the soldiers by Pilate.

Then they emphasise He was crucified. The Lord did not use this word until after He had left Galilee, but the angels know what He meant by “and be killed” in Matthew 16:21. the first angel said, “which was crucified”, and now these other two speak of His death in the same way. They seem horrified that men should sink so low as to crucify the Lord of glory. Having spoken of what men did, they gladly declare that, in the exercise of His own authority, He rose again. Of course there is the truth that He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, but here the emphasis is on the asserting of His authority, and the triumph over what men did.

24:8
And they remembered his words,

And they remembered his words- surely not that they had forgotten them, but they came home to them with new force and meaning. Luke tells us that the Lord’s saying about His crucifixion and resurrection was hid from them, and they did not understand, Luke 18:31-34. Now they are beginning to take it all in.

24:9
And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.

And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest- it seems from later verses the disciples were in different places, for the two on the road to Emmaus spoke of women “of our company”, verse 22, and then “the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them”, verse 33. the Lord had foretold that they would be “scattered, every man to his own”, John 16:32, and so it came to pass. Sadly their words were not believed, and dismissed as idle tales, verse 11.

We now resume where we broke off in John’s account. Mary Magdalene has brought her news to Peter and John, and they set our for the sepulchre.

20:3
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre- they are mentioned individually again, as if they are coming from different places.

20:4
So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

So they ran both together- they seem to join up before they reach the sepulchre, even though possibly coming from different houses. They not only ran with concern, fearing the body had been stolen, but also perhaps with fear, in case any had seen them start out, and they were being followed.

And the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre- there was perhaps a certain hesitancy with Peter. He had denied the Lord three times, and had said he would go into prison and death with Him if necessary. We can well understand that his steps were not quite so eager as John’s. He would also be more fearful of being spotted, since he had used the sword in the garden. It may be that John was younger, and therefore outran Peter for this reason, but we should remember that Peter was a rugged fisherman, used to strenuous exertion, so it is more likely that John outran him because he had less on his conscience.

20:5
And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

And he stooping down- Jewish sepulchres were usually six feet high inside, and had a nine foot by nine foot area upon entry, and then a nine foot by six foot area for the niches for the bodies. These niches would be seven handbreadths from the ground and six hand-breadths wide. We could understand how the doorway would be lower than this, (or else the stone doorway would be too heavy to move), so that a person needed to stoop down to gain entry.

And looking in, saw the linen clothes lying- John does not enter, perhaps being of a more sensitive nature in the face of death, but can see the linen clothes on the ledge within. Perhaps in the semi-darkness of dawn he cannot see distinctly.

Yet went he not in- even though he could see the linen clothes, he could not see clearly enough to realise their implication. He is satisfied that the body has not been stolen, for the linen clothes are still in the tomb, and are as if wrapped around a body.

20:6
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

Then cometh Simon Peter following him- Peter now arrives on the scene. It needn’t be more than a minute or so after John.

And went into the sepulchre- with characteristic and business-like purpose he goes straight into the sepulchre. Perhaps John told him that he had seen the linen clothes, and Peter wanted to make sure for himself that the body was still there.

And seeth the linen clothes lie- he now sees close-up what John sees from a slight distance. The linen clothes are lying as if the body within is outstretched, for this is the meaning of the word used for “lying”. They are not lying in a heap.

20:7
And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

And the napkin, that was about his head- clearly there were more than one linen cloths, (hence 19:40 speaks of winding the body with linen clothes), and one was for the head, the others for the body, separately. Lazarus had come forth from the grave bound hand and foot with grave clothes, suggesting that the limbs were wrapped separately, allowing for enough movement to come forth but still with some restriction.

Not lying with the linen clothes- the clothes that were around the body showed that they had not been unwrapped. This would mean one of two things. Either the body was still within, or it had been raised as a spiritual body. A spiritual body does not need the grave-clothes to be unwrapped in order to allow it to leave them. (This, incidentally, shows that Lazarus did not come forth with a body fit for resurrection conditions, but with his body unchanged from when he was alive before. If he had been given his resurrection body, the stone would not have needed to be removed from the entrance to the tomb, nor would the grave-clothes restrict him. Christ must be the first of them that should rise from among the dead, with a resurrection body, Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:23).

The position of the napkin settles which of the two possibilities is in fact the case. If the napkin had been in its original position, then it would not be evident that the body was gone. But since there is a space between the body-clothes and the head-cloth, it is certain that there is no body.

But wrapped together in a place by itself- is it not the case that the Lord Jesus, raised from the dead, lays the cloth or napkin that was wound about His head some distance away? (The other option is that the angels did it, but this would introduce an element of interference, and it is vital that neither man nor angels interfere with the grave-clothes. The angels say nothing about the napkin to the women, but simply point out where the Lord lay, and not where the napkin lay). So there are now three indications that He is risen. One, the clothes which were around His body are undisturbed. Two, the cloth that was wound around His head is not where it would be if His head were still within it and attached to His body. And three, because the word John uses for “wrapped together” is the same one that Matthew and Luke used for “wrapped” in connection with the burial, then the head came out of the napkin without disturbing the cloth, for it is still as when Joseph wrapped it round His head, but lying a short distance away.

20:8
Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre- notice these two men seem not to say anything to one another. They are each having their own thoughts about what they are seeing. Encouraged by Peter’s entry, John now either joins Peter in the tomb, or goes in after Peter has come out, we are not told which.

And he saw, and believed- John understands now the implication of the state and position of the grave-clothes, and by this means he believes Christ is in fact risen. This shows that the state of the grave-clothes was significant, and enough to prove that Christ was risen.

20:9
For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead- they should have realised the meaning of the Old Testament scripture about the resurrection of Christ. The psalmist wrote about the Messiah as follows,

“I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel:

My reins also shall instruct me in the night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me:

Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:

My flesh also shall rest in hope.

For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;

Neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life:

In thy presence is fulness of joy;

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore”.

Psalm 16:7-11.

In the first five statements, the Messiah speaks of His dependence upon His God, and His determination to have Him foremost in His thoughts at all times. As a consequence He is confident that after He has died, there will be the same care for Him as was evident during His life. His flesh will rest in the grave in hope, and that hope is based on three things. One, that God will not leave His soul in hell. Two, that His body will be kept free from any external defilement whilst in death. And three, that the path of resurrection life will open up before Him. Now on the day of Pentecost the apostle Peter used this scripture to show that the resurrection of Christ was foretold in the Old Testament, Acts 2:24-31. But at this point in time it is only John amongst the apostles that has made the connection between the grave-clothes and Psalm 16. As a result, he believes. But since he was among those whom the Lord upraided for unbelief later in the day, we may think of him believing that the Lord was indeed risen from the dead, but as a spirit and not with a body of glory.

Luke tells us that God deliberately withheld from the apostles the meaning of the Lord’s words when He said, “‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again’. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken”, Luke 18:31-34. No wonder Luke next tells us of the blind man in Jericho whose sight was restored. He was like the apostles, blind to the truth about Christ until the moment of God’s choosing. There is the added thought that the giving of sight to the blind was one of the features of the Messiah as foretold in Isaiah 35:5; Luke 4:18; Luke 7:18-23.

It seems from what the Lord said to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, that they only believed the glory part of the prophecies about the Messiah. So that when Jesus of Nazareth was ill-treated and crucified, instead of seeing this as a fulfilment of what He told them would happen, they began to doubt whether He was the Messiah after all. And the consequence of not believing what He said about His person was that they did not believe about His rising again.

We have already been reminded from Luke 18:34 that these things were hid from the apostles by God. This means that they did not preach the resurrection of Christ simply because they believed what He said. They preached about the resurrection of Christ as those who did not believe at first that He was going to rise, but who had seen with their very own eyes that He had risen. It was not, then, that their enthusiasm for His words led them to convince themselves that He alive from the dead when in fact He was not. Their unbelief was turned to belief by evidence, not by wishful thinking.

Now that the apostles have gone through this process, and can personally testify to the resurrection of Christ, then we, nearly twenty centuries later, may have confidence, both in their writings, and also in the Old Testament scriptures as well. We may come into the blessing the Lord promised when He said, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”, John 20:29. For us, the scriptures are the evidence.

20:10
Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Then the disciples went away again unto their own home- they need time to digest the things they have seen. They are not hasty in their reactions, but soberly consider what has taken place.

We now come to the event that Mark summarised by saying, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils”, Mark 16:9. It is characteristic of Mark’s gospel that he mentions a work done by God’s Servant, the casting out from Mary Magdalene the seven devils that possessed her. She had much reason to be grateful to the Lord for what He had done for her. It is appropriate for her to be first to see the triumphant Lord in resurrection, for she had been held fast by the powers of evil, but now she sees the one who has defeated all the forces of evil.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN CHAPTER 20, VERSES 11 TO 23:

20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

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

20:13 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.

20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

20:15 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, and I will take him away.

20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

20:19 Then 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, Peace be unto you.

20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

 

20:11
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping- the tense of the verb (pluperfect) suggests that she had been standing at the tomb a little while before she stooped down. Hence John points out that she was without, to contrast with Peter and John who had been within. She had been very brave to stand by the cross, and now she is brave as she stands by the sepulchre, for who is to tell when the guards will wake up? Her love for her Lord was greater than her fear of the guards.

She was standing facing the sepulchre, (such is the preposition used for “at”), and yet was outside. Her interests lay in the direction of the tomb. She was weeping, understandably, not only because the Lord had been crucified, but now with further grief, for His body seems to have been stolen, and she cannot pay her respects by anointing His body.

And as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre- how true to life this all is. It takes courage to look into a sepulchre, especially alone, and with guards laying around, who might awake at any moment. She fears that the body has been taken away, but her fears are going to be relieved. Not, indeed, with the idea that the Lord is still in the tomb, and his body has not been stolen, but that His body is not there because He is risen.

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

And seeth two angels in white sitting- Luke 24:22 records the two on the road to Emmaus saying that the women had seen a vision of angels. But it fact the women did not see a vision, but the angels themselves appeared to her, and to the other women separately, as recorded in Matthew 28:1-7. Angels appeared at His birth, and now they appear at His resurrection. They were not in evidence at Calvary, for their help was not requested, although it was available. The work of Calvary must be done alone. In any case, Calvary was a very public place, whereas His birth and His resurrection were private.

There are two angels, enough for adequate witness. They are in white, for they come from the pure glory of heaven, and sit in a scene of death, but unpolluted. This tomb is unique in this. All other burying-places, (even of believers), contain corruption. The tomb had not been defiled by a previous occupant, (for it was Joseph’s own new tomb, Matthew 27:60, so he could be sure no-one else had lain there, for he had hewn it out, and he was the first and only owner of it, and Luke tells us “wherein never man before was laid”, Luke 23:53). It had not been defiled by the Lord’s body, for He is “holy, harmless, and undefiled”, Hebrews 7:26. If He is undefiled in Himself, He cannot defile other things or persons. Nor has it been defiled by the presence of robbers or those sheltering in it, (lepers for example), for it had been sealed.

The one at the head, and the other at the feet- like the cherubim over the ark. Significantly the preposition used is “pros”, meaning towards, or facing, just as the cherubim were facing the mercy seat in the tabernacle. They are guarding the valuable evidence to the resurrection of Christ, His grave-clothes. He has no further need of them to wear, but they represent vital evidence nonetheless.

Where the body of Jesus had lain- the angels are said to be sitting where He had lain, not where the clothes were still laying, although that was true. They were either end of the place where He had lain. Perhaps the glory of the angels and her tears, caused that she only saw them, and not the grave-clothes. She does not need the evidence of the grave-clothes, as Peter and John did, for she is about to see the Lord Himself, hence the angels are in which, but there garments do not flash like lighning as a warning not to come near, as they did with the other women.

20:13
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.

And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? To ask a woman in normal circumstances why she was weeping at a grave, would be insensitive. But this is to encourage her to tell what is in her heart, so that they may relieve her sorrow.

She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him- she is still concerned about anointing Him, and so emphasises she does not know where the body is. She calls Him “My Lord”, for He had rid her of seven devils, and showed Himself superior to the forces of evil that had held her. She is about to learn that He is also Lord over death, for He has defeated the one who had the power of death, the Devil Himself. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living”, Romans 14:9.

Mary Magdalene is the only one to speak to the angels. The other women only listened. They did not appear at all to Peter and John, perhaps because they were sensitive to the fact that they had forsaken the Lord, and in the case of Peter, had denied Him. The Lord warned that denial of Him would mean denial in the presence of the angels, Luke 12:9.

Mary now grieves because of the apparent stealing of the body. She had not gone into the sepulchre, but had only seen the angels through her tears, and still thought the body had gone. She had thought that when she saw the stone rolled away, and now she still thinks it. Perhaps she thought the angels had been sent to tell her that this was the case.

We note in all the visits to the tomb, and also the reaction of the disciples to the news that Christ was risen, a refusal to believe at first. “Their words seemed unto them as idle tales, and they believed them not”, Luke 24:11. “And they, when they had heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not”, Mark 16:11. “After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them”. “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after he was risen”, Mark 16:14.

Luke tells us that God had ordained that this should be so, for he tells us that when the Lord foretold His death and resurrection, “they understood none of those things,: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken”, Luke 18:34. So it was not that they were expecting it, and then convinced themselves it had happened.

So Mary is not expecting the Lord to have risen after just three days. She thought He was going to rise at the resurrection of the just. Perhaps she thought the “three days” was figurative, as Hosea uses the term when he wrote about the nation of Israel, “After two days he will revive us, in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight”, Hosea 6:2.

20:14
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

And when she had thus said- the angels do not respond to her statement, no doubt because they know the Lord is now present, and defer to Him, for He is Lord of angels.

She turned herself back- she has not gone into the tomb, but only stooped to look within. She now turns her head away from the sepulchre, sensing that someone is behind her.

And saw Jesus standing- this is not only literal, but figurative, for He stands in resurrection, after having fallen in death. John saw Him in heaven as the Lamb, standing, Revelation 5:6. He was as one who was slain, with the marks of Calvary upon Him still, but not laying on the altar any more.

And knew not that it was Jesus- it is said of the two on the road to Emmaus, “their eyes were holden, that they should not know Him”, Luke 24:16. They, and Mary, must know Him in the way He chooses, and that is by Him speaking to them. So it is for us. We are to know Him with spiritual faculties, not natural, so we are at no disadvantage to the apostles and those who saw Him in resurrection. We know Him as He speaks to us in His word, the Bible.

20:15
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, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? He asks the same question as the angels did, no doubt for the same reason.

Whom seekest thou? Without waiting for an answer, for He saw her distress, the Lord moves quickly to the matter in hand. Notice He does not say “What seekest thou?”, even though He knew she was seeking a body. He will not for one moment allow that He is not alive, and is about to prove this to her.

She, supposing him to be the gardener- John tells us that the tomb was in a garden, 19:41. It was Adam who was the original gardener, but he failed in that garden, and was defeated by evil there. This “gardener” has defeated evil, and is now beginning to show that victory, for He is last Adam. Cain became a gardener too, and made the mistake of offering to God the fruits of a cursed earth. The Lord is Head of the new creation, and will remove the curse from creation when He comes. Meanwhile, His people are in Him, and as such are a new creation, 2 Corinthians 5:17. Mary does not think the man is either Joseph or Nicodemus, for she knew what they looked like, having watched them bury the body of the Lord.

Saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away- these are very forceful words, and they can be rendered literally, “Sir, as for you, if you carried Him off, tell me at once where you have laid Him, and, as for myself, I will carry Him off”. The strength of her affection gives strength to her resolve, even if she was mistaken in some things. She seems to think that the questions of this “gardener” are a distraction from the matter that is foremost in her mind. His body had been mis-treated enough, and she will prevent that happening again. If she had answered His questions, she would have realised that He was not the gardener. Then she would have stopped weeping, and also learned that He was alive in the body, and not lying elsewhere, dead.

How disastrous this would have been if the man was really the gardener, and the body had been removed, and he had known where the body was, and told her, and she had carried Him away. This was exactly what the Sanhedrin, lying, said had taken place, Matthew 28:13.

This would have been disastrous for another reason, for the place where He lay would have become a shrine, with all the attendant superstition and money-making that accompanies such places. This is why God did not disclose where Moses’ body was buried, Deuteronomy 34:6. It was important that where the Lord Jesus was buried should be well-known while He was there, so that after He was risen it could be shown that He was in it no longer. It is noticeable that the sepulchre did not become a centre of interest for the disciples in the Book of the Acts; they were taken up with their risen Lord.

20:16
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Jesus saith unto her, Mary- she does not seem to have recognised His voice when He asked her the two questions. What alerts her is the fact that He knew her name. He was not a stranger, as the gardener would be, but the Lord she was seeking. But she was seeking Him in the wrong place. As the angels said to the other women, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”, Luke 24:5. He is the great shepherd of the sheep, and He has been brought again from the dead by the God of all grace, Hebrews 13:20. One of His features as shepherd is that “He calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out”, John 10:3. He has carried over into resurrection all the feelings that He had for His own before the cross. His personal interest, personal knowledge, and personal care for His own are now to be known in resurrection. He has laid down His life and taken it again, and as such He has shown ultimate concern.

She turned herself- we see her first standing facing the sepulchre, verse 11, then stooping to look inside, in which position she seems to have remained until she realised there was someone standing behind her. At that point she did not turn her whole body around, for she did not expect the Lord to be alive. The sense of “turned herself back” is to “turn oneself to the rear”, which she could do without turning her body, for she was preparing to concentrate on the tomb again, after she had spoken to the “gardener”.

And saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master- even though she told the angels she was looking for the Lord, in the intensity of her emotion she calls Him what the disciples had often called Him, their Teacher. But, again in her intense emotion, she calls Him “Rabboni”, which is a Galilean form of the word Rabbi, meaning “My Great Master”.

20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not- aware of the strength of her feeling, the Lord pre-empts her touching Him. It was not that no-one was to touch Him in resurrection, for He invited Thomas to do so a week later, verse 27. The point is that all contact with Christ, as far as John’s gospel goes, must be on a heavenly level. The gospel is the “burnt offering gospel”, for just as everything with the burnt offering was upward, (one of its names was “ascending offering”), so the emphasis with John is Christ’s link with heaven, and His journey back there.

In Matthew’s gospel we read of the other women that came to the sepulchre holding the Lord by the feet, Matthew 28:9. This is entirely appropriate in the context, for Matthew presents Christ as the rightful King of Israel who shall reign over the earth one day. He does not record the ascension of Christ, although of course he believed it happened. It is as if Matthew holds Christ to the earth as well, and shows Him to be fit to rule over it.

The apostle Paul made it clear that the link the believer has with Christ now is a spiritual one, for he wrote, “But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit”, 1 Corinthians 6:17. The link between believer’s spirit and Christ is established by the Spirit of God. Because of this, the apostle can speak of “holding the head”, Colossians 2:19, meaning to grasp firmly the truths regarding the headship and supremacy of Christ. This is not to say that our hold of Him is what guarantees eternal security; but it does mean that we need to hold to the truths about Christ and not let them go in the face of error. It is in this way that we touch Him even now. The apostle paul used the word “joint” in Ephesians 4:16 when he was speaking of the way God supplies what we need to grow into Christ-likeness. (“grow up into Him in all things”, verse 15). The word has the idea of touching about it, so we touch Christ when we listen resond to the ministry of apostles and prophets, (written), and evangelists, pastors and teachers, (oral).

For I am not yet ascended to my Father- in this way the Lord emphasises that links with Him are heavenly in character. It is as an ascended Christ that we know Him. This is how Paul came to know Him, for he saw Jesus of Nazareth in heaven, and his conversion is the pattern for conversion during this age, 1 Timothy 1:16. Of course we must believe in Christ as the one who was crucified and rose again, but we must not stop there if we would come into the fulness of Christian things.

This is the third time that the ascension of Christ has been spoken of in John’s gospel. Each of the references is directly from the Lord Jesus. In His conversation with Nicodemus He said, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven”, John 3:13. Here the emphasis is on the fact that even as a man upon the earth He has not lost His Deity, for He claims to be in heaven still, God being omnipresent. In John 6:62 He said, “What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?” here the emphasis is on His coming down in the past. The manna had come down from heaven from God, yet the people did not understand what it was. Nor did many of them understand who Christ was. If they did not understand the meaning of His coming down, how would they understand the meaning of His ascending up?

Here in John 20, however, the reference is to what Christ will be for His people after He has ascended. He is returning to the Father, conscious that all He was sent to achieve has been accomplished. He could say, “I have glorified thee upon the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do”, John 17:4.

But go to my brethren- one day the message came to the Lord as He taught in a house, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him which told Him, Who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother”, Matthew 12:47-50. So it is spiritual relationship which is the most important, and that spiritual relationship is with Him as the ascended Man.

The believer’s link to Christ is heavenly, and does not depend on anything of earth. Mary had the closest natural relationship to the Lord, yet He said to her, “What have I to do with thee, mine hour is not yet come”, John 2:4. In other words, even Mary’s spiritual relationship with Him depended on what He would do in “His hour”, the time between His prayer to the Father in John 17 and His return to the Father spoken of here in John 20. She would be linked with Him in exactly the same way as every other believer of this age. The fact that she is His mother gives her no advantage.

Psalm 22:22 had foretold that in resurrection He would declare the Father’s name to His brethren, and He had also pledged to do that in His prayer just before He was arrested. He said, “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them”, John 17:26. He is fully able to declare the Father’s name, (meaning His character), because He shares all the characteristics of the Father, being His Only begotten Son. He did this upon the earth, but the disciples were not able to appreciate fully. When He returned back to heaven, however, He would send the Holy Spirit, and they would understand in a much better way.

And say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father- notice He does not say “Our Father”, although both He and His people have relationship with the Father. His relationship is as the Only-begotten of the Father, who is one with Him in the full possession of Deity. Believers call Him Father because they have been born again of the Spirit of God, and from that moment share His life.

No sooner has Mary found the Lord she sought, that He declares He is leaving her! But as He had said to the disciples in the Upper Room, “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”, John 16:7. So the Spirit of God would come to make good to them all that the Lord had said, and other things besides.

And to my God, and your God- if having God as Father speaks of relationship, then having Him as God speaks of resources. The Lord Jesus has known God as His Father for all eternity, but it was only as He came into manhood that He could address His Father as His God. As “the Spirit of Christ”, (1 Peter 1:11) expressed beforehand in Psalm 22:10, “Thou art my God from my mother’s belly”. It was as He came into manhood that He needed the resources from Him as His God, so that He could glorify Him in His life in the flesh. We need resources too, and they are readily available from our all-sufficient God in heaven. Those resources are released to us because the Son has gone back to heaven, for Paul wrote to the Philippians, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”, Philippians 4:19. Well might we add, in the words of the following verse, “Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen”.

20:18
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord- note that John now reverts back to the name by which Mary was known normally. In verses 11 and 16 she was simply Mary, (the only places where she is called by this single name), but when it is a question of being linked to Christ in heaven, where she came from becomes irrelevant.

Magdala was near Galilee, Matthew 15:39. She was of Magdala by birth, but of heaven by new birth. Now that she is conveying a message to the disciples, her everyday name is used, being the name they knew her by.

It is one of the marks of the genuineness of the gospel records of the resurrection, that it is based on the testimony of the women. Now the testimony of females was not allowed in Jewish courts, so any Jew attempting to write a forged account would carefully avoid giving prominence to the testimony of women. Not so the writers of the true gospels. They are confident that what they write about is true, and are very comfortable with telling the facts as they are.

And that he had spoken these things unto her- so her testimony was two-fold; what she had seen, and what she had heard. She had seen a living Person, the one who had been crucified on a cross, but who was now alive for evermore. She had heard His unmistakable voice, and she now passes on what she heard.

John does not tell the reaction to her words, but Luke does, and he writes, “And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not”, Luke 24:11. So it was that love and faith found their reward in the first sight of the Lord, but unbelief would soon meet with its rebuke, for Mark tells us “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him after He was risen”, Mark 16:14.

Luke tells us that Peter went to the tomb on his own, Luke 24:12

Luke also records the appearance of the Lord to the two on the road to Emmaus, 24:13-35. We continue with John’s account:

20:19
Then 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, Peace be unto you.

Then the same day at evening- the order in Genesis chapter one was “the evening and the morning”. Now, however, that is reversed as the new creation begins, for verse 1 speaks of “the first day of the week…early”. Now we have the same first day, but in the evening.

Being the first day of the week- it is one of the marks of the great change that Christ has brought in, that it is the first day of the week that is special, not the last day, the sabbath, as with the Jews. Certain of the Old Testament rituals took place on the first day of the week, but it was described, not in that way, but as “the day after the sabbath”, still keeping the dominance of the seventh day, which has to do with the earth, being the day which commemorates the completion of the creation of the world in six days, Exodus 20:8-11.

There are three things especially connected with the first day of the week now. The first is, of course, the resurrection of Christ. The second, the remembrance of Him, Acts 20:7. The third, the collection for the work of the Lord, as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no collections when I come”.

So the remembrance of the Lord in the Lord’s Supper is not on the same day of the week that it was instituted, nor is the shewing of His death on the day of the week He died. Rather, it is done on the day on which He rose from the dead. His resurrection gives reality to the Supper, as we look back and remember Him in a state in which He is not now, for He is glorified.

When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews- they are still fearful. They have rejected the testimony of the women, and have not yet the confidence which His rising again will bring to them. In verse 26, a week later, the doors were shut again, but this time John does not need to add “for fear of the Jews”. We are not specifically told that this took place in the upper room, no doubt to prevent any earthly place being made into a shrine.

Came Jesus and stood in the midst- He re-occupies the place He had in the upper room. He must always be central. The resurrection body is not restricted by closed doors, being a spiritual body. All physical limitations are absent from it.

And saith unto them, Peace be unto you- this is just what they needed, the peace He alone can bring. Fear of the Jews recedes when His peace comes into the heart. John does not make any mention of His rebuke for their unbelief, as Luke does, Luke 24:14. John is emphasising the Lord, and not the disciples.

20:20
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side- in Luke’s account, the Lord said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself”, Luke 24:38. They supposed that they had seen a spirit, but a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as He says in verse 39. Hands and feet are parts of the body exposed to view when the Eastern robe is worn. The disciples were used to seeing these, and knew them to be His, totally apart from the nail-prints. In Luke the emphasis is on proving that He is a real person of flesh and bone, and not merely a spirit disguised as a man. He shows them parts of His body that can easily be seen to have bones to satisfy them on this pointed.

In John, however, the emphasis is on His hands and His side, and later He will invite Thomas to satisfy himself that He has nail-prints, and the wound from the spear-thrust.

Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord- He had promised that they would see Him again, and the experience would be like a mother who has just given birth to a child, when all the pain of the previous hours is overwhelmed by her new-found joy, John 16:21,22. So it is now with the disciples. They forget the trauma they had been through as the find themselves in the presence of their Risen Lord.

20:21
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you- He had given them peace because of the past and the present, (fear of the Jews, verse 19), but now gives peace because of the future, for He is about to send them out into a hostile world.

Who are “them”? If just apostles, then others do not have power to remit sins, and it cannot happen today. John is writing a history, so although he was present he writes “them”, not “us”. See verse 24.

As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you- this is John’s equivalent to the Great Commission. This is a reference to His prayer, “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world”, John 17:18. This gives great dignity to going out into the world, for it is following His example. He came from heaven to the world, we go from “the upper room”, symbolising the assembly, into the world.

20:22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

And when he had said this- so His next act has reference to His commission.

He breathed on them- just as God had breathed into Adam the spirit of life, to enable him to represent Him to the world, so the disciples are given the Holy Spirit to enable them to represent Christ in the world. “The second man was made quickening spirit”, 1 Corinthians 15:45; that is, instead of being the recipient of the power to live naturally, as Adam was, Christ in resurrection is the giver of the power to live spiritually.

And saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost- is this a symbolic action to represent what would happen at Pentecost, or a special provision for these disciples until Pentecost? No doubt it has something to do with the next verse.

20:23
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them- so as these disciples went forth into the world with the gospel, preaching the remission of sins through Christ, Luke 24:47, they are assured here that they may confidently tell men that if they have truly repented and believed, their sins are in fact remitted.

And whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained- the reverse is the case. If men refuse to repent and believe they must be told that there sins are still bound to them. This is not that mere men have power over the destiny of sinners, but that the Holy Spirit gives the needed strength to tell people what the true situation is, whether good or ill.

THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES, AS FOUND IN THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN CHAPTER 20, VERSES 24 TO 31:

20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

20:26 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, Peace be unto you.

20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

 

20:24
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus- by this time the apostles were eleven in number, but “the twelve” is a technical term for the apostolic band. See 1 Corinthians 15:5. The name Didymus is the Greek equivalent to the Aramaic Thomas, and would be the name he was known by in Asia Minor where John was writing from. The Lord does not repeat the giving of the Holy Spirit when Thomas is present, and this goes to show that it was a symbolic gesture, for Thomas would receive the power to preach the forgiveness at sins after the Spirit actually came at Pentecost.

Was not with them when Jesus came- John 11:16 tells us that Thomas was willing to die with the Lord. John 14:5-7 gives a conversation with Thomas about the way, the truth and the life. So why did he stay away from the meeting? This was despite the fact that the Lord had warned them of what was coming, “that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am He”, John 13:19; see also similar words in John 14:29. The next verse shows he wanted to see to believe.

20:25
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord- is this the best approach to those who miss meetings? Thomas has not lost interest, but he is no doubt very depressed by events. John wrote, “We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world”, 1 John 4:14. So the gospel is still, “We have seen the Lord”.

But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails- he must have heard that the Lord had been crucified, even though he and the rest of the apostles had fled at the time of the arrest. It must have been the accepted idea that a person could be recognised, even to the extent of wound-marks. The resurrection body is the same body as before, but different, as we see from the apostle’s words, “It is sown…it is raised”. But on the other hand, “thou sowest not the body that shall be”, 1 Corinthians 15:37,38. Christ’s scars were not the result of His own sin, so can be carried over into resurrection.

And put my finger into the print of the nails- he not only needs to see, but also to touch. John had seen, and his hands had handled, 1 John 1:1, but that was in a spiritual sense. He saw the miracles and he saw their meaning. He had handled Divine things by having fellowship with the Lord in His life. Yet so had Thomas done these things.

And thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe- he must have heard about the soldier piercing Christ’s side. All such information had devastated him, and his depth of despair was such that it would take a lot to rescue him.

There were three men in Jerusalem with pierced hands. Two were dead and buried, so if there was a living person with pierced hands it must be Christ. There was only one with a pierced side, the solid proof that it was Christ.

To thrust one’s hand into the side of a man recently crucified is a very dramatic thing to do. It shows the intensity of his feelings at this time. He is indicating that he is going to take a lot of convincing.

20:26
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, Peace be unto you.

And after eight days again his disciples were within- we tend to not count the current day when we speak of what will happen in a few days time. So on Sunday we would think of “eight days”, as meaning week Monday. But the Jews included the current day in their reckoning.

It is clear that the first day of the week had already become special to the disciples, even though they were not to observe days, Galatians 4:10. It was not on the day the Supper was instituted that they met together, nor on the day of His crucifixion. Nor did they go to the tomb and venerate it. They are not said to keep the Lord’s Supper until after Pentecost. It is kept in His absence, and “until He come”. It would not be appropriate to remember Him when He was present, and had not gone. There is also the fact that the partaking of the Lord’s Supper is an assembly activity, and there were no assemblies until after Pentecost. Then “they continued steadfastly in…the breaking of bread”, Acts 2:42.

And Thomas with them- John makes no criticism of Thomas. He does not say, as we might have done, “Thomas was with them this time”. Those who fail to come to meetings need to be treated gently, but firmly.

Then came Jesus- as on His visit before, they immediately knew who it was. And He was the same Jesus, for He is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever”, Hebrews 13:8.

The doors being shut- this time John omits “for fear of the Jews”. Have they become bolder since they saw Him the first time? His peace has kept their hearts. The fact that He is able to move into a closed room tells us something of the non-physical character of the resurrection body. Because it is a spiritual body, it is not limited as our body is now. In the next chapter the Lord will eat fish and honey, showing that some things will continue, even if they do not need to continue for the same reason as before.

And stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you- this word is no doubt particularly for Thomas, as he saw the Lord after his absence. Those who miss meetings purely out of disillusionment need to be assured of the Lord’s concern for them. Of course, those who stop coming because of sin need to be disciplined.

20:27
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Then saith he to Thomas- the Lord directly addresses the problem. This shows He knew what the disciples had said to Thomas, and what he had said to them.

Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands- is the Lord giving him the opportunity of still believing without touching? It is not “reach hither thy finger and put it into the nail-prints”, but “reach hither thy finger and behold my hands”, and come to believe without touching. Can Thomas’ faith be restored even as he stretches out his finger, and before he touches the Lord’s hand? C.f. Matthew 12:13.

And reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side- does the Lord wait to see the response of Thomas to the first remark, and then when he does not reach out with his finger, as faith is restored, that faith is tested? It is not now simply seeing, but of thrusting his hand into His side. But he does not need to do this, for his faith is now totally restored, as the truth of Christ’s resurrection dawns upon him. The one standing before him is the one that John witnessed having His side pierced.

And be not faithless, but believing- Thomas was not totally faithless, but faithless in regard to the one issue, that of the Lord’s resurrection.

20:28
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God- there is no record of him reaching out to touch the Lord. The very fact that the Lord knew what he had said when the disciples went to him and told him they had seen the Lord, convinced him of more than His resurrection. It convinced him in the same way that Nathaniel was convinced at the beginning of the gospel, by the fact that the Lord knew about him and his situation under the fig tree. It is the Lord who knows all things, and Thomas did not need to touch now.

As a devout Jew Thomas believed the testimony of Deuteronomy 6:4,5, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord”. And he had heard the Lord Jesus recite the words, Mark 12:29. So he believed that there was but one Lord, even the One God of Israel. Yet he has learned that there is a plurality of Persons in the Godhead, something which is allowed for in the word “one”, which is a compound unity. Thomas believes Christ is God, for He knows all things, and He is Lord, for He has defeated all His foes and has emerged in resurrection triumph.

20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed- whilst it is true that Thomas did not need to touch Him, he did need to see to believe. He should have believed the disciples when they said, “We have seen the Lord”. This is still the testimony in the gospel, for John wrote, “For we have seen and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world”, 1 John 4:14.

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed- so Thomas is contrasted with those who, all down through the Old Testament era, believed without seeing. The Lord taught that, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them; and hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them”, Matthew 13:16,17. If they were prophets and righteous men they must have been believers.

And the Lord also seems to project Himself to the end of this current age of grace and look back and say, “they believed, but did not see”. A special blessing is reserved for such. It is not that we believe without evidence, but that we believe the evidence in the word of God, the testimony of those who did see, and can say, “We have seen the Lord”.

Thomas represents the nation of Israel who will actually see the Lord when He comes to earth to judge, for “every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him”, Revelation 1:7. Paul speaks of himself as seeing the Lord in resurrection, and therefore being a pattern of those who shall hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting”, 1 Timothy 1:16. He saw the Lord in heavenly glory, and so shall Israel, and believe. The other disciples represent the godly remnant of israel in the Tribulation Period who believe without having seen Him, whereas Nathaniel would represent the nation of Israel in the Tribulation Period, who will believe when they see Him coming in glory, and who will say “Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation”, Isaiah 25:9.

20:30
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

And many other signs truly did Jesus- John calls the miracles signs, because they have deep significance, and tell us doctrine. John is sure this was the case, so says “truly”, for he only records what he witnessed himself. “He that saw it bear record, and his record is true. And he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe”, John 19:35. These two verses serve to bring to an end this part of John’s gospel.

In the presence of his disciples- so they could see, and believe. Nothing was done underhandedly, or behind closed doors. The Lord worked miracles either in the open air, in the temple courts, or in people’s houses, that in the East were accessible to all. It was accepted that anyone could enter another’s house and sit on the seats around the outside of the room. This is what the woman did in Luke 7. The Lord said to the High Priest, “I spake openly to the world; in secret have I said nothing”, John 18:20. And Paul was able to say to Festus, “This thing was not done in a corner”, Acts 26:26.

Which are not written in this book- is this a passing reference to Matthew, Mark and Luke? They record other miracles. The only miracle common to all four gospels is the feeding of the five thousand.

20:31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ- Jesus is the historical man, the man of the gospel records. Christ is the promised Messiah, the man of the Old Testament records. Isaiah wrote of the Messiah, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing”, Isaiah 35:5,6. The Old Testament finds its fulfilment in the New Testament Jesus.

The Son of God- for He is more than man, and His miracles show it. It is God who sends the rain which falls around the vine. Who initiates the process of turning that water into sap, and leaves, and fruit, aided by the shining of the sun, which He is responsible for also. It is He who controls the process by which grapes turn into good wine. The Lord Jesus did all this in a moment of time, “and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him”, John 2:11.

And that believing ye might have life through his name- John does not simply write that men might believe, but that the consequence of believing might take place, namely, that men receive life through His name. All He is, as represented by His name, is the means whereby life is granted. Because He is Jesus He could die to deal with our death in trespasses and sins. Because He is Christ, He is the man of God’s approval, and therefore all He did was satisfactory to God. Men were anointed in Old Testament times to mark them out as those approved by God for a certain task. Their anointing was done with physical oil, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, Acts 10:38, showing His superiority to all others.

It is because Jesus Christ is the Son of God that He has been given to have life in Himself for others, John 5:26. To know Him believingly is to have eternal life, John 17:3.