John 20 - NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

20:1 Early on the first day. The Sabbath ended Saturday at sundown, and so is no longer a deterrent. Mary’s travel to the tomb in the dark, even though she is not from the environs of Jerusalem, requires serious commitment. stone had been removed. In this area a tomb entrance was often covered by a disk-shaped rock, a yard/meter in diameter, requiring multiple people to move it. Such a stone lay in a groove but could not be moved from inside; the practice is common enough for John to take for granted here that his audience understands it.

20:2 taken the Lord out of the tomb. The authorities would have sometimes deposited the bodies of the executed in group graves designated for criminals, handing them over only after a year.

20:3 Aside from it being dark when Mary headed for the tomb, men in the ancient Mediterranean world often viewed women as undependable in their testimony. Even if they trusted her fully, however, they would want to discover where the body was.

20:4 the other disciple outran Peter. Ancient writers compared not only good and bad figures, but good and better ones. Athletic young men (as these fishermen likely were) sometimes competed with one another as friends; the beloved disciple’s strength expresses devotion to the Lord, as does Peter’s in 21:7, 11.

20:5 bent over. Some tombs had a low entrance (see also v. 11).

20:14 did not realize that it was Jesus. Jewish people told stories of angels who came disguised and initially unrecognized, and sometimes of God disguising some people’s appearances. Jesus’ resurrection body differs from usual human bodies in this age (cf. Php 3:21).

20:15 Thinking he was the gardener. Gardeners were of low social station.

20:16 Rabboni! Being from Galilee, Mary’s mother tongue would be Aramaic; “Rabboni” means something like “my master.”

20:17 not yet ascended to the Father. Gentiles had many stories of spiritual ascensions; Jewish people had stories of bodily ascensions, including the explicit Biblical example of Elijah. Ancient writers sometimes reported predictions that would be fulfilled only after the work’s conclusion. Go. Jesus sending Mary is striking, given the wider culture: both Jewish and Roman law normally regarded women’s testimony as of quite limited value. brothers. Language suitable for fellow Jews but here means more (see note on Ac 9:17).

20:19 first day of the week. The first Sunday evening after the crucifixion the disciples would still be inside in Jerusalem. Not only was the festival continuing, but they were in mourning. The first week of mourning was particularly heavy, making travel unusual (see note on 11:20); so far as they knew, they had several more days left in this week of mourning. doors locked. The doors are probably barred or bolted. Peace be with you! The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, i.e., “Peace be with you.” This greeting constituted an implicit prayer to God for the well-being of the person addressed.

20:20 showed them his hands and side. People often displayed wounds to demonstrate their commitment; here Jesus uses them to confirm his identity, just as documents often cited scars as identity markers.

20:21 I am sending you. A commissioned agent could act on the authority of the sender to the extent that the agent accurately reflected the commission.

20:22 breathed on them . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. As God breathed into humanity the breath of life (Ge 2:7), so Jesus here imparts the Spirit. In the OT, God alone could bestow the Holy Spirit, i.e., God’s Spirit. Jewish sources, including the OT, often associate the Spirit with prophetic empowerment (relevant for v. 21).

20:25 nail marks in his hands. Romans most often tied persons to crosses with rope, but sometimes nailed them, as a sadistic (but often death-hastening) variation on the execution. Unless the person were also tied to the cross, a person could not be simply nailed to it through the palm of the hand, as this would not support his weight (the hand would simply tear open). The Greek term translated “hands” does allow for the nails to be in the forearms.

20:26 See note on v. 19.

20:27 see my hands. See note on v. 25.

20:28 My Lord and my God! The emperor who reigned when John’s Gospel was probably written, Domitian, reportedly desired to be called “Lord God” (Suetonius, Domitian 13). Those familiar with the Septuagint, the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT, however, would already recognize Thomas’s confession as a divine title (e.g., Ps 35:23).

20:30 this book. Papyrus was expensive, so only the well-to-do could afford long works; the Gospels, like other ancient biographies, were the appropriate length for circulation.

20:30–31 Writers often reinforced a major point in a statement concluding a work or section. Jesus affirms Thomas’s recognition of Jesus’ deity as faith, but greater faith belongs to those who have not seen (vv. 28–29); now, John concludes, this book records the signs so that those who have not seen may believe. Writers often noted, as here, that they could have recounted many other stories (see note on 21:25).