John omitted the earthquake, the angel rolling away the stone that covered the tomb entrance, and his sitting on the stone (Matt. 28:2-3). He also did not include the appearance of two angels to the women who visited the tomb early Easter morning, before Peter and John did, and the women's reactions (Matt. 28:5-8; Mark 16:5-8; Luke 24:4-8).
20:1 "The first day of the week"was Sunday. It is interesting that all the Gospel writers referred to the day of Jesus' resurrection this way rather than as the third day after His death. The latter description would have connected the Resurrection with Jesus' predictions of it more directly. Perhaps they did this to associate Easter more clearly with a new beginning.621John may have mentioned the darkness of the night to associate darkness with Mary's limited understanding then (cf. 13:30).622Alternatively this may simply have been a detail that adds credibility to the narrative.
The other evangelists noted that several women came to the tomb.623
Mary Magdalene evidently came first with the other women (cf. v. 2). Another possibility is that she came first and the other women followed shortly, but this seems less likely in view of the other evangelists' descriptions. John wrote that she saw (Gr. blepei) the open tomb of Jesus. He implied that she did not enter it. Perhaps John mentioned Mary Magdalene and none of the other women because of the testimony that she gave after she had seen Jesus (v. 18).
20:2 It would have been natural for Mary, and perhaps others of these women, to report the incident to the leading male disciples. The "other disciple"was probably John himself (cf. 13:23; et al.). Mary first assumed that grave robbers had stolen Jesus' body. Evidently robbing graves was not uncommon around Jerusalem (cf. Matt. 28:13-15). Obviously Mary meant that some of Jesus' enemies had stolen His body, but exactly who she thought they may have been remains a mystery. Mary's reference to "the Lord"could not have been as full of meaning as it was after His resurrection appearances. Here Mary probably used the title only in great respect.
20:3-4 The detail of John outrunning Peter to the tomb was probably just confirmation of an eyewitness report. It also shows that these disciples had not removed Jesus' body. There is no basis in the text for allegorizing these men and making them stand for the Gentile church and the Jewish church.624This is only one of two New Testament instances of people literally running (cf. Matt. 28:8). Both references show them strongly motivated.
20:5 John saw (Gr. blepei, cf. v. 1) the linen strips (ta othonia, cf. 19:40) that had formerly covered Jesus' body lying in the tomb. If grave robbers had removed the body, they would have undoubtedly taken the expensive cloth with which Joseph and Nicodemus had prepared it for burial. John may have assumed that Jesus' body was still there since the light was bad at that hour. Perhaps John did not enter the tomb because he did not want to violate its sanctity or incur ritual defilement.
20:6-7 When Peter arrived at the tomb, he barged right in, probably because he wanted to know exactly how things stood regardless of the consequences. He also beheld (Gr. theopei, beheld intently) the linen burial clothes (Gr. ta othonia) but also the cloth that had covered Jesus' face (Gr. soudarion, cf. 11:44). Evidently John could not see this from his vantage point. It's distance from the other clothes and the care with which someone had positioned it were unusual. Jesus was obviously not there, but someone had been there. That person had apparently been the resurrected Jesus. A grave robber would not have taken the time to fold the head covering neatly but would have left it lying in a heap. It is not clear whether the head covering lay where Jesus' head had lain. What is clear is that someone had folded it up carefully.
20:8 Encouraged by Peter's boldness John also proceeded into the tomb. There he saw (Gr. eiden, perceived intelligently) this evidence and believed what it implied. He believed that Jesus was alive. In this chapter, John carefully recorded that disciples who saw the resurrected Jesus believed on Him (cf. vv. 16, 20, 25, 29). John did not explain what he believed here, but in the context of this chapter it seems clear that he believed that Jesus was alive (cf. 2:22; 11:25; 16:22). The evidence of Jesus' resurrection convinced John even before he met the risen Jesus. Disciples since John can believe in Him because of this evidence too even though we have not yet seen the risen Jesus (cf. v. 29; 1 John 1:1-4).
The writer did not say that Peter also believed. This omission does not necessarily mean that Peter failed to believe. The writer was simply confessing his own belief, not contrasting it with Peter's reaction. Nevertheless John seems to have understood the significance of the empty tomb and the orderly grave clothes better than Peter did (cf. Luke 24:12). He evidently did not confess his belief to others then (cf. vv. 10-18).
Jesus had passed through the grave clothes and through the rocky tomb. The angel opened the tomb to admit the disciples, not to release Jesus (Matt. 28:2).
20:9 John's faith rested on the evidence that he had seen.625Later he and the other disciples would have additional reasons for believing that Jesus had arisen, namely the prophetic Scriptures that the Resurrection fulfilled (e.g., Lev. 23:11; Ps. 16:10-11; 110:1, 4; Isa. 53:11-12; Hos. 6:2; cf. Acts 2:24-31; 1 Cor. 15:3-7). John's faith took a step forward here, but it was not yet as strong as it would be (cf. Luke 24:25-27, 32, 44-47).
"The empty cross and the empty tomb are God's receipts' telling us that the debt has been paid."626
