John 20 - NLT Study Bible

20:1 Early on Sunday morning: Literally On the first day of the week. As a devoted follower of Jesus (see Luke 8:1-3; Matt 27:55-56), Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb to help complete Jesus’ burial (see 19:42). • Many Judean tombs were sealed with a rolling stone.

20:2 Mary Magdalene ran and found Simon Peter. Her natural assumption was that someone had robbed the tomb and perhaps stolen the body—which was not an uncommon occurrence.

20:3-10 The other disciple was probably John, “the disciple Jesus loved,” the author of this Gospel (see 13:23). He and Peter validated Mary’s testimony by examining the tomb for themselves. John arrived first, but Peter entered first.

20:6-7 What Peter and John found in the tomb was remarkable. The linen wrappings (19:40) were on the burial bench (see note on 19:41). Jews also used a facial cloth for burials (cp. 11:44), which was rolled, wrapped under the chin, and tied on the top of the head. The apostles found this face cloth folded up on the bench. John’s inclusion of these details counters any suggestion that grave robbers had taken Jesus’ body; such costly garments would have been stolen in a robbery.

20:8-9 he saw and believed: Despite not fully understanding, John knew that God had been at work, and he realized that Jesus was alive.

20:11-13 Although two . . . angels appeared inside the tomb, the riddle of Jesus’ disappearance remained unsolved (see Luke 24:4). • why are you crying? Sorrow was not the appropriate response in this moment.

20:14-15 Jesus, whom Mary mistook for the gardener, repeated the angel’s question and added, Who are you looking for? Jesus’ question was to provoke Mary’s thinking: At this point Mary was looking for the body of Jesus, but she was about to meet the living Christ. Was she truly ready to meet her Lord?

20:16 When Jesus called Mary by name, she recognized him immediately (see 10:3-4).

20:17 Mary thought that with the resurrection, Jesus would resume normal relations with his disciples. She was trying to cling to the joy she discovered in her resurrected Lord. But his fellowship with her would come in a new form (John 20:22). Jesus had not yet ascended to complete his return to the Father, but the process was underway. Before his final departure, he would give the Holy Spirit (John 20:22; see John 14:15-21, 26; 15:26-27; 16:5-15).

20:18 Mary was the first eyewitness to see the Lord following his resurrection. She not only saw him, she heard him and touched him (see 1 Jn 1:1-4). This great privilege was given to a woman whose broken life had experienced healing (Luke 8:2). In Jewish culture this was astounding; a woman could not even be a witness in court. No Jew in this period would make up such a story.

20:19 That Sunday evening: Literally In the evening of that day, the first day of the week. • meeting behind locked doors: The disciples feared prosecution for following Jesus. • Peace be with you: This was a standard Jewish greeting (see also 3 Jn 1:15), but Jesus was doing more than just greeting his disciples: he was offering the Messiah’s peace (see Isa 9:6; 52:7) and delivering the gift of his Kingdom (see John 14:27; 16:33).

20:20 The reality of Jesus’ resurrection was quite clear. Jesus showed them the wounds from the nails and the spear. He did not feign death, but conquered it. He was no phantom, but a real man with a real body. He had been dead, but was now alive. Jesus was fully human both in life (1:14) and in his resurrection.

20:21 I am sending you: God had sent Jesus into the world to establish his Kingdom, and now Jesus was sending his disciples to carry on his mission. Christ’s emissaries carry the truth of Jesus’ words to the world (cp. 17:18).

20:22 Jesus commissioned the disciples and then empowered them with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not been given previously because Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:39). The glorified Jesus, resplendent in his resurrected body, poured the Spirit on his followers. This gift fulfilled many promises that the Spirit would be sent (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13). It foreshadows the arrival of the Spirit’s empowering presence at Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-47).

20:23 If you forgive anyone’s sins: The ongoing work of Christ’s followers parallels the work of Christ. Christ’s followers do not distribute and withdraw God’s forgiveness on a whim, but they follow Jesus’ prompting through the Spirit (15:5), just as Jesus obeyed his Father (14:31).

20:24-25 Thomas (nicknamed the Twin): Literally Thomas, who was called Didymus (see also John 11:16; 14:5). Thomas was absent when Jesus revealed himself. He remained skeptical despite the testimony of his friends, who had seen the Lord. Thomas demanded a concrete experience identical to theirs.

20:26-27 Eight days later was Sunday, one week after Jesus’ resurrection (it was customary to include the current day when counting forward). Jesus’ appearance on the following Sunday helps explain the disciples’ meeting on “the Lord’s Day” (see Rev 1:10). • Peace be with you: This scene was exactly like Jesus’ first appearance (20:19-20). Jesus had already heard Thomas’s complaint and now answered directly. • Believe! Jesus challenged Thomas to believe in the resurrection like the others.

20:28 “My Lord and my God!” This was not an astonished exclamation but a proclamation of heartfelt belief. It concludes John’s study of Jesus’ deity that has framed the whole book (see 1:1-18).

20:29 Jesus points to the generations of Christians who, through the testimony of others, would believe without seeing.

20:30-31 Many scholars view these words as the conclusion of John’s Gospel, viewing ch 21 as an appendix. John’s account is only a selection from Jesus’ many . . . miraculous signs.

20:31 that you may continue to believe: Some manuscripts use the present tense, indicating that John wrote to encourage believers. Other manuscripts read that you may come to believe, suggesting that John wrote to stimulate new faith (cp. 1:7).