and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and 5 looking in, saw the linen clothes lying: yet went he not in. Then 6 cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie; and the napkin that was about 7 his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple which 8 came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as 9 yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 10 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as 11 she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and 12 seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they 15 say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned 14 herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom 15 seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast Peter. John was the youngest of the twelve. Went into the sepulchre. Characteristic of Peter. The tense of went should conform, according to good grammar, to the verbs cometh and seeth. 7-9. Wrapped together, &c. The orderly arrangement of the garments, betokened the absence of that haste which would have attended a violent and clandestine removal of the body; while the simple fact that they had been separated from the body and remained, showed that something different from a common removal had occurred. Saw and believed. John believed the report of Mary Magdalene, that the body was gone, for he had ocular proof of it when he looked into the tomb; but his belief apparently went no farther at present, for he goes on to give a reason why the disciples did not believe in the resurrection, viz. their misconception of the Scripture, referring to the prophecies which announced Jesus' death and resurrection. The circumstance that the disciples were not expecting the resurrection of Jesus, adds weight to their testimony, that it actually occurred. Another less satisfactory view is, that John speaks here of his individual belief in the resurrection of his Master, but that the other disciples did not expect it. 10. Unto their own home. Or, literally, unto themselves, or their usual places of abode. See Luke xxiv. 13; John xxi. 3. 11. Stood. Or, better, had stopped, remaining after the others had gone. 15, 16. If thou have borne him hence. Her mind is so filled with the thoughts of Jesus, that she speaks as if every one else must necessarily be occupied with the same subject. — 16 laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, 17 Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not: for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God 18 and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith 20 unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the dis21 ciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them Mary. This word was no doubt pronounced with a peculiar intonation, which she recognized at once as that of Jesus. "The tone of that voice thrilled her whole frame." Rabboni. This word is retained probably for the reason mentioned in note on Mark v. 41. 17. Touch me not. Rather, cleave not to me, lay not hold of me. In the fervor of her feelings, she prostrates herself at his feet, and clings to him. Mat. xxviii. 9. But Jesus bids her not detain him, for she would have future opportunities to see him before he ascended to the Father; and it was her duty now to hasten to the disciples and communicate the joyful tidings without delay. "And when thou didst arise, thou didst not With devastation in thy red right hand, few." -My Father and your Father. As much as to say, since we are brethren, we have a common Father and God. This was a consoling assurance. It is a memorable declaration, as showing that Jesus stands in VOL. II. 30 a similar relation to God, as do his disciples. 19. When the doors were shut. The reason is assigned below, for fear of the Jews; and the two clauses would be more properly placed in conjunction in the translation. The apostles naturally stood in great dread, after seeing their Master perish in so terrible a manner by the hatred of the scribes and Pharisees. Came Jesus, &c. Whether he opened the doors by miraculous power or not, is not stated. Many of the best commentators suppose, with good reason, that, as they were fastened to prevent the entrance of the Jews, our Lord caused them to open supernaturally, to admit him to the company of his disciples. So at ver. 26; Acts xii. 10, xvi. 26. Mosheim remarks, that the probable reason why he did not appear publicly in Jerusalem, was, that he knew that the spirit which had prompted the Jews to ascribe his miracles to magic, would still actuate them to call his resurrection a vision or phantom, attributable to the same cause. 20-23. Showed unto them his hands and his side. As proofs of his real, corporeal presence. Glad. again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, 22 and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever 23 sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with 24 them when Jesus came. The other disciples thereforc said unto 25 him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will Their momentary dread, as at the presence of a ghost, gave way to joy as soon as they recognized the actual body of their Lord. Peace be unto you. This was the usual salutation of the Jews, but, as employed by Jesus, was fitted to allay the apprehensions of his awe-struck followers. Chap. xiv. 27. Even so send I you. He delegates his disciples with an inspiration and authority similar to that, with which the Father had invested him. He breathed on them. The same Greek word means wind and spirit. This act was emblematic of the descent upon them of the Holy Spirit of God, especially as poured out on the day of Pentecost. Whose soever sins ye remit, &c. Like their Master, they would be able to discern the heart, and pronounce forgiveness of sins, because they would be endowed with the capacity of knowing, whether the conditions of forgiveness were fulfilled or not. See Mat. ix. 2, 6, and notes. No superiority of rank is assigned to Peter. The authority with which Jesus now invested his disciples, was similar to that given them in Mat. xvi. 19, xviii. 18, and was afterwards consummated by the full effusion of the Spirit. But there is no scriptural or other proof, that their power was to be handed down from generation to generation. No man now has the apostolic authority to bind and to loose, to remit and to retain; for he who arrogates it, must be prepared to work miracles in its vindication. It was the gross doctrine and grosser practice of selling indulgences, or pardons, that first awoke the mighty Luther to grapple with the power of the corrupt church of Rome. 24, 25. Thomas-Didymus. Both words mean twin. The Jews often had two names, one in Hebrew, and one in Greek or Latin, as in this case; Thomas being the Jewish, and Didymus the foreign appellation.— Except I shall see, &c. He demands the evidence of the senses, and it is afforded; but as that kind of testimony to the truth of Christ's resurrection is not now granted, we must be satisfied with the kind of proof of which the subject is capable, nor ask for that which is impossible. We must view Thomas, as has been remarked, as a rationalist among the apostles. He stands as the representative of a class; and that class should be satisfied with his testimony of the proofs which he enjoyed, and of which his witness is as valuable to a candid mind as the evidence of one's own senses. Thomas, therefore, put his finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand into the wounded side, for the benefit, though unknown to him at the time, of multitudes like himself. touching in Christ the wounds of the "By 26 not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my 28 side; and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered 29 and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, flesh, he has healed in us the wounds of unbelief."—I will not believe. The sturdy incredulity of Thomas respecting the testimony of his brethren, shows how far the apostles were from any concerted scheme of imposture to deceive mankind. 26, 27. After eight days, i. e. on the succeeding first day of the week; which now began to be observed as the Christian Sabbath. Acts xx. 7; 1 Cor. xvi. 2; Rev. i. 10.— Faithless, i. e. incredulous, skeptical, in regard to the fact of Jesus' resurrection. The condescension of our Lord to his weak disciple at this time, was in perfect keeping with all his patient kindness and long-suffering with his unspiritual followers during his ministry; and teaches us to bear long and be patient with the wicked or unbelieving. If the prints of the nails and the gash of the spear, identified the body of Jesus, this and other tokens of his goodness, identify, with equal sureness, his spirit and character, and convince us that it is the self-same being, whose life we have been tracing from his birth to his death, that now reappears on the stage and teaches his disciples as of old. No wit of man could have fabricated a single sentence to add to that all-harmonious life, without producing a perceptible discord. — John has been thought to introduce this account of the marks of violence on the body of Jesus being examined by his apostles, in refutation of the Docetæ, by showing that he was not an airy phantom, but consisted of real flesh and blood. See note on ver. 34. 28. My Lord and my God. This is understood by many as a statement by Thomas, that Christ was the Supreme God. But if the words were addressed to him, which is not certain, they by no means constitute a confession by the apostle that Christ was his Lord and his God; for as Beza and Wetstein, Trinitarians, have observed, "the knowledge of Christ's resurrection, could by no means acquaint him with the fact that he who was raised, was God, but he ejaculates, as to God, 'How great is thy power!' He could not collect the deity of Jesus from this event, as if effected by himself, without contradicting Paul. (Rom. i. 4.)” Kuinoel and Rosenmuller, also believers in the Trinity, regard Thomas as addressing Christ in this clause, yet interpret his words, not as a declaration of the absolute deity of his Master, but of his being God in the subordinate sense, in which that word is applied to kings, priests, and the Messiah. Ps. lxv. 6, 7, lxxxii. 1, 6, cx. 1. See note on John x. 34. It is to be remembered, that the question before the apostles, on this occasion, was not whether Christ were God, but whether he had risen from the dead or not. The appearance, too, of Jesus, in a human form, clothed in the garment of flesh and blood, rent by wounds, would not be likely to convince a Jew like Thomas, that his Master was the eternal God. The reply of our Lord, in ver. 29, shows that what Thomas believed, was not any thing respecting his nature or deity, but the fact of his Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his 30 disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are 31 having been raised from the dead, of which fact he had become convinced by handling his body. According, then, to the admission even of some Trinitarians, though Thomas addressed himself to Jesus, it does not necessarily follow that he called him the Supreme God. But, if we consider for a moment the state of the apostle's mind, we shall see that it is much more natural and simple to regard his words as an exclamation, rather than as a set address to any being spoken by rule; as a spontaneous burst of wonder and surprise, not the annunciation of a doctrinal tenet. He had before shown himself capable of very strong emotions. Chap. xi. 16. The language is not very different from phrases now used, without profaneness, by persons under strong excitement, or in peril. The word Lord is applied to God every where in the Scriptures, and the use of both terms, Lord and God, expresses greater intensity of feeling. This mode of interpretation is much preferable to that, which construes the clause, my Lord, as addressed to Jesus; and as an ellipsis for and he said, and my God, as applied to the Almighty. In conclusion, it should be remarked, that if Thomas, on this occasion, called Jesus Christ the Supreme God,-which it is utterly incredible and impossible that a Jew should have ever done,- it would be manifestly contrary to the purpose of John's Gospel, as declared in chap. xx. 31, to introduce such a narrative; for his purpose was to show that Jesus was Christ, the Son of God; not God himself, nor God the Son. 29. Blessed are they, &c. i. e. it would show a better spiritual state, and more candor and willingness to receive the truth, to believe such a fact upon the sufficient testimony of others, than to demand, as Thomas did, a personal, tangible proof to the senses, that Jesus had arisen. Men sometimes require evidences in reasoning upon moral and religious subjects, that are as inconsistent with the nature of those subjects, as the signs from heaven demanded by the Jews were with our Saviour's mission. As observed by Dr. Ware, in his Inquiry into the Foundation, Evidences, and Truths of Religion, "men are skeptical on the subject of religion, or their faith is feeble, and mingled with doubts and uncertainty, not for want of sufficient evidence, but because they have not considered what kind of proofs the subject admits of, and what degree of evidence ought to satisfy a fair inquirer." Lightfoot quotes the following sentence from the Talmuds, illustrative of our Lord's words: "The proselyte is more beloved by the Holy Blessed God than that whole crowd, that stood before Mount Sinai. For unless they had heard the thunderings, and seen the flames and lightning, the hills trembling, and the trumpets sounding, they had not received the law. But the proselyte hath seen nothing of all this, and yet hath come in, devoting himself to the Holy Blessed God, and hath taken upon him the kingdom of heaven." 30, 31. Signs, i. e. miraculous evidences. Jesus not only performed miracles, but his whole life was miraculous. This element cannot be taken away, without entirely destroy |