Read the Passage: John 20

Listen to the Redeemed Mind Podcast: John 20

Empty Tomb (20:1–10)

John 20 records the resurrection of Jesus, as well as His appearances to Mary, to the ten disciples, and then to Thomas. Scripture reveals that Christ made at least thirteen separate post-resurrection appearances, over the course of forty days, but no Gospel writer records all of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances. It is noteworthy that Jesus only appeared to His followers, not to unbelievers. The appearances that John omits from this chapter and the next are Jesus’ visits: to the “other women”—likely Mary the mother of James the Less, Joanna, and Salome—as they left the tomb (cf. Matt. 28:8–10), to the two men on the road to Emmaus (cf. Mark 16:12–13), to Peter in Jerusalem (cf. Luke 24:33–35), to the disciples on a mountain (cf. Matt. 28:16–20), to 500 people at once (cf. 1 Cor. 15:6), to James (cf. 1 Cor. 15:7), to the disciples at the ascension (cf. Acts 1:3–11), and to Paul on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:3–5).

With sure knowledge of the location of Jesus’ tomb (cf. Luke 23:55), early Sunday morning Mary Magdalene, along with several other women (cf. Luke 24:1–2, 10), went to the tomb in order to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Upon arriving, they saw that the stone had been rolled away; Mary then departed in order to inform the disciples. Note that John does not mention the earthquake, the descent of an angel who rolled the stone away, nor the presence of the terrified guards (cf. Matt. 28:2–4). After Mary left, the other women who had gone with her to the tomb bravely entered and encountered an angel who spoke about Jesus’ ascension (cf. Mark 16:2–8). Next, when Peter and John learned from Mary that the stone was rolled away, they ran to the tomb to verify the account. The other women and the angel had since departed, thus Peter and John found the tomb open and empty.

Initial Visits (20:11–29)

Observe that while the other women had met an angel in the tomb, Jesus had not yet appeared to anyone. It seems that after Peter and John had departed, Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb, weeping. Suddenly, she encountered two angels and then met Jesus Himself. While we learn in Matt. 28:9–10 that Christ had appeared to the other women when they departed from the tomb, Mark 16:9 reports that in the chronology of events, Jesus actually “appeared first to Mary Magdalene.” Thus, after Peter and John departed from the tomb, Christ appeared to Mary; then, Jesus greeted Joanna, the other Mary, and Salome who must have left the tomb just before Peter and John arrived. When Christ met Mary, she first mistook Him for the gardener. Once she identified Him as Jesus, Mary sought to hold on to Christ. Yet, Jesus gently warned her not to selfishly cling to Him, for He would soon ascend to the Father.

John 20:19–29 records two separate appearances of Jesus to His disciples that occurred a week apart. The first time Thomas wasn’t there (cf. John 20:19–25) and the second time Thomas was present (cf. John 20:26–29). Note that Luke gives a fuller account of Christ’s first appearance to the disciples (cf. Luke 24:36–43). John writes that while the disciples were in a locked room, Christ suddenly appeared and greeted them. Perhaps understandably, Jesus offered His nail scarred body as proof of His identity. Note that only John reports Christ’s statement, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). With this saying Jesus was teaching that, on account of His death on the cross, believers can confidently declare the gospel, including forgiveness of sins, if people put their faith and trust in Christ alone.

Later Appearance (20:30–31)

John 20:26–29 narrates Jesus’ appearance to Thomas, who had been absent earlier when Christ visited the gathered disciples. While the text does not explain why Thomas was absent, John 20:24–25 does record Thomas’ statement that he would need to see Jesus’ nail scarred body in order to believe. While this statement is often viewed as a sign of weak faith, Thomas was merely asking to see the same evidence that Christ had offered to the other disciples. Observe that details about this second appearance of Jesus to His gathered disciples are only given by John (cf. 1 Cor. 15:5). Next, when Thomas was presented with the wounds on Christ’s body, he declared, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Note that Thomas did not need to see Jesus eat food, as did the other disciples (cf. Luke 24:41–43). Finally, in John 20:30–31, John notes that his purpose in writing was to foster faith.

Application Questions:

1. Can someone deny the historical truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and still be a redeemed believer (cf. John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:14)?
2. After His resurrection, why did Jesus only appear to His followers and not to unbelievers (cf. Luke 16:31)?
3. After Jesus’ three-year ministry among them, how did the disciples not know that Christ would be resurrected?
4. Would you rather have the indwelling Holy Spirit, or have the physical presence of Jesus?
5. Given that Jesus had already appeared to many, why were the disciple living in “fear of the Jews” (John 20:19)?