Chapter XX.
Third, Christ's resurrection is treated in a threefold manner.
1. Now on the first day of the week etc. The Evangelist treated above of those things which pertain to the Lord's incarnation and passion; from this place to the end he treats of those things which pertain to his resurrection. Therefore in this part is treated the manifestation of Christ's resurrection. And because the solicitude of the disciples preceded this manifestation, and our instruction or the certitude of faith followed: therefore in this part there are three parts, in the first of which is described the solicitude of the disciples and women, to whom he manifested himself. In the second is described the manifestation itself, at: The disciples therefore went away. In the third, the confirmation of our faith, at: This is that disciple etc.
First, concerning the solicitude of the disciples and women.
The first part is divided; for because the Lord had redeemed both sexes and wished to manifest himself to both: there is set forth not only the solicitude of men, but also of women. Therefore first is set forth the solicitude of Mary; then of the disciples, at: Peter therefore went out etc.
2. (Verse 1). The solicitude of Mary is noted both in her vigilance in seeking and in her diligence in reporting.
She was indeed vigilant in seeking, because she came at the earliest dawn; therefore he says: Now on the first day of the week, namely the Lord's day, which is the first, that is, the first day of the week, that is, of the seven-day period, according to that passage in Luke 18: "I fast twice in the week." Sabbath is also the name of the seventh day; Exodus 20: "Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day." Mary Magdalene came early, as one anxious to see the Lord's body, and therefore she did not wait for daylight; and therefore he adds: While it was still dark, to the tomb. Chrysostom: "Mary, being wholly lovingly disposed toward the Master, because the Sabbath had passed, could not bear to rest, but came at deep dawn to the tomb, wishing to find a certain consolation from the place." And because it was early, therefore she found; Proverbs 8: "Those who watch for me early shall find me."
And she saw the stone: here is noted her diligence in reporting, in this, that she reports the opening of the tomb she had seen to the disciples; whence: And she saw the stone rolled away from the tomb. This removal of the stone was signified in Judges 16, where it is said that "Samson seized both doors of the gate with the posts and bars, and placing them on his shoulders, carried them to the top of the mountain."
3. (Vers. 2.). She ran therefore and came to Simon Peter, who above all others loved Christ, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, that is, to John, who does not name himself out of humility; and she says to them: They have taken the Lord from the tomb: in the Greek my is added to express her affection. They have taken, namely indefinitely, either the Jews or the guards, and I do not know where they have placed him, which was for her a cause of greater sorrow. For since she still knew and loved him carnally, therefore, with his flesh taken away, no consolation remained.
4. (Vers. 3.). Simon Peter therefore went out. Here is noted the solicitude of the disciples, both in the swiftness of running and in the carefulness of examining, at the words: And when he had stooped down. They were therefore solicitous, because, having heard that he had been taken away, they came quickly; whence he says: Simon Peter therefore went out, and that other disciple, and they came to the tomb; this is said by anticipation, that is, they set out on the journey to come to the tomb: and they came quickly, whence he says:
5. (Vers. 4.). And they both ran together, quickly, namely, but in this swiftness unequally; whence:
And that other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb — therefore quickly, because they wished to apprehend: First Corinthians nine: "Those who run in a race all indeed run, but one receives the prize: so run that you may apprehend" — or because he was younger and could run faster, or because he was more fervent in seeing: but nevertheless Peter was more diligent in examining; whence there follows a disparity in the diligence of examination. For:
6. (Vers. 5.). And when he had stooped down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in: and so in seeking he was swift, but in examination remiss, while Peter on the contrary; whence he says:
7. (Vers. 6.). Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb, not content merely to look from outside, as John. And so that saying of Matthew nineteen was verified: "The last shall be first, and the first last." And he saw the linen cloths lying there, separately.
8. (Vers. 7.). And the napkin that had been over his head, not placed with the linen cloths, as though this had been done in haste: but rolled up separately in one place: the linen cloths for covering the body: above in chapter nineteen: "They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths"; the napkin for covering the face: above in chapter eleven: "And his face was bound with a napkin." And so he examined all things diligently before John, who had preceded him, but nevertheless in diligent examination he follows him; whence he says:
9. (Vers. 8.). Then therefore that other disciple also entered, who had come first to the tomb, namely by the example of Peter, and he saw the things which have been mentioned, and he believed. - But it is expounded differently according to Chrysostom and differently according to Augustine. For Chrysostom expounds: he believed, namely that He had risen; and he drew his argument from this, that if someone had taken Him away, he would not have left everything so orderly arranged, things which were more useful than the body. But Augustine expounds it differently: he believed, namely that the body had been taken away, as the woman had said; and he proves this by the following text:
10. (Vers. 9.). For he did not yet know the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead: therefore he did not believe that He had risen, but that He had been taken away. - Nevertheless, if we wish to hold the exposition of Chrysostom, the following text is continued thus: He saw and believed, that is, then for the first time he believed from seeing, because before he did not believe; for he did not yet know the Scripture.
Questions.
11. Question I. But here it is first asked: since other women had come to the tomb with Magdalene, why does John speak only of her?
Augustine responds in the third book of On the Harmony of the Evangelists: "Mary Magdalene," he says, "was far more fervent than the other women who had ministered to the Lord; on account of which John not undeservedly mentioned her alone, passing over in silence the others who were with her, as the other Evangelists attest."
12. Question II. Likewise it is asked concerning what he says: She came to the tomb in the morning.
On the contrary: In Matthew twenty-eight it is said that they came in the evening to see the sepulcher.
Augustine responds saying that "in the evening of the Sabbath" is the same as "in the night of the Sabbath"; and he proves that it ought to be understood thus by the following text: " which dawns on the first day of the week: which cannot be the case if we understand only the beginning of the night; but evening by synecdoche gives us to understand the night, which begins to end at daylight.
Others respond that this was said because in the evening they prepared themselves by buying spices, but in the morning at dawn they came, as John says.
13. Question III. Likewise, what is meant by what is said: While it was still dark, since in Mark sixteen it is said: The sun having already risen ?