John 20:1-31
The Empty Tomb
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The story of Jesus's appearance to the disciples after His resurrection is told in John 20, with verses 24-29 detailing the powerful encounter with the doubting of Thomas, who would not believe that He was still alive...That chapter directly supports the physical nature of Jesus's glorified body and the proof Thomas was given...It is the very source of the story about the physical nature of Jesus...Other chapters, like Luke 24, also describe Jesus showing His physical body to His disciples, but John 20 is the one that includes the iconic "Doubting Thomas" narrative...
The first physical appearance of Jesus, after His death, is deeply personal and is a wonderful example of His continuing humanity...In John 20:11-18, we read that Mary Magdalene is weeping outside the tomb...She first sees two angels, then turns to see a Man she initially mistakes for the gardener...It is only when He speaks her name, "Mary," that she recognizes Him...Her immediate reaction is to reach out and hold on to Him, a completely natural, human response...Jesus's words, "Do not hold on to Me," are often misunderstood, but they imply that she was physically grasping Him...His resurrected body was so real and tangible that she tried to cling to it...This scene isn't about her seeing a spiritual vision; it's about a physical, touchable person she thought she had lost forever...This first appearance establishes His body as real and solid, a comforting Truth for all who believe in the resurrection...
The first touching of Jesus by Mary is still a Great Mystery for me...Maybe Jesus had a specific mission to fulfill in that moment, and it was the next step in "The Way, His Way."...As the firstfruits of the resurrection, He had to present His victory to the Father...The Greek phrase used, "μή μου ἅπτου," is better translated as "stop clinging to Me."...It implies that Mary was already holding on, and Jesus was gently, but firmly, redirecting her to another Way...Her human desire to hold on to Him was entirely natural and born out of her love for Him, but it was clinging to a past reality. Jesus had to prepare her for the new reality of His resurrected, glorified state...His words weren't a rejection of her love, but a correction of her purpose...He needed her to be the first witness to the disciples, to carry the message of His ascension, not to remain in a moment of personal reunion...
Then the disciples get their and more tangible proof...Just a few hours later, Jesus appears to His disciples who are huddled together in a locked room out of fear (John 20:19-23)...The fact that the doors were locked is important; it points to the mysterious, glorified nature of His body, which could appear in a way that transcends physical barriers...However, what He does immediately after appearing is what's most important...To prove that He is not a ghost or a spirit, He shows them His hands and His side—the very places that bore the wounds of the crucifixion...This act is an invitation to look at and believe in the physical reality of His resurrected body...
Luke's Gospel adds another compelling detail in Luke 24:36-43...When Jesus appears to them, they are terrified, thinking they are seeing a spirit...Jesus reassures them by saying, "Look at My hands and My feet...It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."...To drive the point home, He asks for something to eat and consumes a piece of broiled fish in front of them...The ability to eat and digest food is the ultimate sign of a physical, living body...This moment confirms for the disciples—and for us—that the resurrection was a bodily resurrection, not just a spiritual one...
Both of these accounts with Mary Magdalene and His disciples powerfully demonstrate that Jesus's resurrected body was not a phantom...It was a physical body that could be seen, heard, and touched...This is a powerful and comforting truth because it means His humanity was not left behind; it was Perfected and Glorified...
In considering these things about Jesus, a central paradox emerges: how could a Divine Being, One with God, experience the same needs as humanity, and how about after His death and the physical nature of His body?...The physical and emotional demands of constant teaching, healing, and traveling would have been immense for any man both physically and mentally...So He often spent time in solitude and went to talk to His Father...For Jesus, solitude was not an escape, but a necessity for communion with His Father and for renewing His strength needed to carry out His mission and ministry...This demonstrates that even in His Divinity, He fully embraced the limitations and needs of the human condition, setting an example for us to seek rest and spiritual renewal in quiet moments...And the phrase "Do not hold on to me" has been interpreted in a few different ways and is a mystery for me...A common understanding is that Jesus wasn't rejecting Mary's affection; rather, He was telling her that the nature of their relationship was changing...The Greek verb used here can be understood as "stop clinging to Me."...It implies that Mary was already holding on, and Jesus was gently redirecting her...He had not yet ascended to the Father, and their reunion was not meant to be a permanent return to their former relationship...Instead, He was preparing her for the new reality: His Physical Presence would soon be replaced by the Presence of the Holy Spirit...He was commissioning her to be the first witness of His resurrection, telling her, "Go instead to My brothers and tell them, ‘I AM ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”...Her mission was no longer to hold on to His physical body, but to share the good news of His victory over death...So, instead of a rebuke, it was a moment of preparation and a call to a greater purpose...
Jesus’s radical nature is also written about in the Gospels...He was considered a radical figure by some because He fundamentally challenged the established social and religious norms of His time...He spent time with people who were considered outcasts, including women and "sinners," defying social conventions and demonstrating a LOVE that transcended social boundaries...When His disciples harvested grain on the Sabbath, He declared Himself "LORD of the Sabbath," placing the purpose of the Sabbath—human well-being and mercy—above the rigid rules that had grown around it...These actions, along with His claims of being One with God, were not just different; they were revolutionary...They were not for the sake of rebellion but for the sake of revealing the true heart of God's law...In this way, His radical actions were a perfect expression of His Perfect LOVE and justice...
One might ask an interesting question: is He still fully human even today?...Christian theology answers this with a resounding yes...The Incarnation was not a temporary state; it was a permanent change...The resurrection and ascension did not strip Jesus of His humanity...He is still Human today, if it is fair to call Him a man, because He is much more than a man...Instead, the resurrection glorified His humanity...Today, Jesus exists as the risen Christ, Fully Divine and Fully Human in His glorified body, which the doubting Thomas touched, scar healed speared wound and everything like He had at His death...We see this powerfully demonstrated in the story of Doubting Thomas, who was invited to touch the healed, speared wound—proving that Jesus’s resurrected body was real and bore the very scars of His death...Thomas's need to touch the wounds is the very proof we are given that Jesus's resurrected body was not a ghost or a fleeting spirit, but a tangible, glorified human body...Thomas got to see that the scars were still there, and they are a permanent testament to His humanity...This is a powerful and comforting Truth because it means that even now, He understands our struggles, our fears, and our need for rest...As the book of Hebrews reminds us, we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin...He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man forever...
These statements are not only correct but also offer a beautiful and comprehensive view of Jesus’s character...His need for solitude reveals His perfect humanity, while His radical actions reveal and complement His Perfect Divinity...Both are essential to understanding why He is indeed the Way of Life...He showed us how to live a human life in perfect harmony with God, and He continues to be the LOVING and compassionate One who fully understands our journey through our own lives...