John 20 · The Lantern

The Resurrection

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene comes early to the tomb, it being still dark, and she sees the stone removed from the tomb.

No very exact account seems to be offered in the Scriptures of the hour at which Jesus rose. For the Evangelists have given different descriptions of the parties who came to the sepulcher one after another, and all have declared that they found the Lord risen already. It was "in the end of the sabbath," as Matthew has said. It was "early, when it was yet dark," as John writes.

To the Sun, before sun, once he had set in the tomb The young women bearing incense hastened at dawn, As though seeking the day and saying to one another, "O friends, come Let us anoint with spices The body, life-bearing and buried, The flesh which resurrects the fallen Adam That lies here in this tomb.

2470 Having related the mysteries of the passion of Christ, the Evangelist now speaks of the resurrection. First, he says the resurrection was made known to certain women; secondly, to the disciples (v 19).

She runs therefore and she comes to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus was loving, and she says to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Question: How is it that in John the disciples hearing Mary, and then coming to the sepulcher, believed. But in Luke it is said that "their words appeared in their sight as an idle tale and they did not believe?Answer: Mary, in John, told what she had seen to the chief apostles Peter and John alone, as declaring some secret.

(iii. Mor. ix.) She puts the part for the whole; she had come only to seek for the body of our Lord, and now she laments that our Lord, the whole of Him, is taken away.

2476 Next the Evangelist mentions that this was reported. Because of Mary's exceeding love she could not delay telling what she had seen to the disciples, so she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved: "This day is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us" (2 Kgs 7:9).

Peter went forth therefore, and the other disciple, and they were coming to the tomb;

Peter and John seem to come to the sepulcher in broad daylight (an opportune time). By not coming during the night and in darkness, no one can suspect them of what the chief priests falsely accused them, that is, that they came by night and stole him. Therefore the men did not come by night or while it was still dark but while it was broad daylight.

(xxii. in Evang.) But Peter and John before the others, for they loved most; Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

2477 The Evangelist next shows how this was investigated. First, he indicates the eagerness with which Peter and John acted, for they left the place where they were, Peter then came out with the other disciple.

now the two were running together, and the other disciple ran ahead quicker than Peter and came first to the tomb.

But this account of the Evangelist must not be thought to be without some mystical meaning. By John, the younger of the two, the synagogue; by Peter, the elder, the Gentile Church is represented: for though the synagogue was before the Gentile Church as regards the worship of God, as regards time the Gentile world was before the synagogue.

And they both ran together, quickly, namely, but in this swiftness unequally. And that other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb — therefore quickly, because they wished to apprehend: First Corinthians 9: "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 h…

2478 Secondly, we see the details of their search. First, it is said that they ran, they both ran, they who loved Christ more than the others: "I will run in the way of your commandments" (Ps 119:32); "So run that you may obtain it," the prize (1 Cor 9:25). 2479 Secondly, we see how the disciples arrived, the other disciple outran Peter. John arrived first, and Peter followed.

And having stooped down, he sees the linen cloths lying there; he did not, however, enter.

The cloths lying within seem to me at once to furnish also a proof that the body had not been taken away by people, as Mary supposed. For no one taking away the body would leave the linens, nor would the thief ever have stayed until he had undone the linens and so be caught. And at the same time they establish the resurrection of the body from the dead.

The synagogue came first to the sepulchre, but entered not: it knew the commandments of the law, and had heard the prophecies of our Lord's incarnation and death, but would not believe in Him who died.

2480 It is not without reason that the Evangelist is careful to tell us the smallest details. For these two disciples signify two peoples, the Jews [by John] and the Gentiles [by Peter].

Simon Peter comes then also, following after him, and he entered into the tomb, and sees the linen cloths lying there,

(Hom. lxxxv) Peter on the other hand, being of a more fervid temper, pursued the search, and examined every thing: Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

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 19 was verified: "The last shall be first, and the first last." And he saw the linen cloths lying there, separately.

2481 Now the Evangelist recounts the arrival of Peter. As for the literal meaning, the fact that they ran together was a sign of their passionate devotion. John arrived first because he was a younger man than Peter.

and the soudarion which was upon His head not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up by itself in a place.

The napkin about our Lord's head is not found with the linen clothes, i. e. God, the Head of Christ, and the incomprehensible mysteries of the Godhead are removed from our poor knowledge; His power transcends the nature of the creature.

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 19: "They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths"; the napkin for covering the face: above in chapter 11: "And his face was bound with a napkin." And so h…

2483 The Evangelist says that Peter entered the tomb. According to the literal meaning, although John arrived first, he did not enter because of his respect for Peter.

Then therefore the other disciple also entered, the one having come first to the tomb, and he saw and believed;

for they did not yet know the Scripture, that it is necessary for Him to rise out from the dead.

Do you see that they clearly understood nothing about the resurrection? The Evangelist pointed out this very thing when he said, "As yet they did not know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead." In addition to their failure to understand this, they were in much deeper ignorance about other things, such as the kingdom of heaven, that we are chosen as the first fruits, a…

Because he believed Mary and did not think of the resurrection? Because they did not yet know "the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead," and they believed Mary, who suspected that the body had been stolen and moved.

2488 Next when he says, he saw and believed, we see the effect of the investigation. At first glance it seems to mean that he saw the situation and believed that Christ had arisen. But according to Augustine this is not correct, because the next thing the Evangelist says is, for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

The disciples went away therefore again to their homes.

Full of feeling somehow is the female sex, and more inclined to pity. I say this, lest thou shouldest wonder how it could be that Mary wept bitterly at the tomb, while Peter was in no way so affected. For, "The disciples," it saith, "went away unto their own home"; but she stood shedding tears.

(Hom. xxv. in Evang.) Mary Magdalene, who had been the sinner in the city, and who had washed out the spots of her sins by her tears, whose soul burned with love, did not retire from the sepulchre when the others did: Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

2490 Having told how Mary Magdalene came to the opened tomb, the Evangelist now tells how she came to see the angels: first, we see her devotion; secondly, she sees the angels (v 12); thirdly, we have her conversation with them (v 13). Her devotion, which made her fit to see the angels, is praised for three things.

But Mary had stood at the tomb outside, weeping. As therefore she was weeping, she stooped down into the tomb,

And when He was risen from the dead, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, then to Cleopas in the way, and after that to us His disciples, who had fled away for fear of the Jews, but privately were very inquisitive about Him.

(Hom. xxv. ut supr.) For to have looked once is not enough for love. Love makes one desire to look over and over again. (Hom. xxv.) She sought the body, and found it not; she persevered in seeking; and so it came to pass that she found. Her longings, growing the stronger, the more they were disappointed, at last found and laid hold on their object.

2491 First, it was constant, and it deserves praise, especially considering that the disciples left, the disciples went back, not yet understanding the scripture "that he must rise from the dead," back to their homes, where they were staying and from where they had run to the tomb.

and she sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus was laying.

By all these circumstances, as though a door was being opened for her, she was led by little and little to the knowledge of the Resurrection. And the manner of their sitting invited her to question them, for they showed that they knew what had taken place; on which account they did not sit together either, but apart from one another.

And so she who loves thus, who bends down again to the tomb she had looked at, let us see by what fruit the force of love redoubles in her the work of seeking.

2495 Next the Evangelist describes the sight of the angels (v 12). He mentions four things. 2496 First, what Mary saw, which was that she saw two angels, which goes to show that all orders of angels, both those "assisting" and those "ministering," were in service to Christ: "Let all God's angels worship him" (Heb 6:1).

And they say to her, “Woman, why weep you?” She says to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Having said these things, she turned to the back and she sees Jesus standing there, and did not know that it is Jesus.

"Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Again she speaks of laying down, and taking away, and carrying, as though speaking of a corpse.

When she had said these things, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and she did not know that it was Jesus. It should be noted that Mary, who still doubted about the Lord's resurrection, turned around to see Jesus, because evidently through that very doubt of hers she had, as it were, turned her back to the Lord's face, since she did not at all believe that he had risen.

2504 Now the Evangelist shows how Mary came to see Christ: first, he tells how she saw Christ; secondly, how he was recognized by her. Concerning the first, we see her seeing Christ; and then what Christ said to her. 2505 Firstly, then, Saying this, that is, when Mary said this to the angels, she turned round.

Jesus says to her, “Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?” She, thinking that He is the gardener, says to Him, “Sir, if you yourself carried him off, tell me where you have laid Him, and I myself will take him away.”

Be the first to see the stone taken away, and perhaps you will see the angels and Jesus himself. Say something. Hear his voice. If he says to you, "Do not touch me," stand far away. Reverence the Word, but do not grieve because he knows those to whom he appears first.

He said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" The cause of her grief is asked so that her desire might be increased, so that when she named the one she sought, she might burn more ardently in love for him.

2507 The words of Christ are now given: Woman, why are you weeping? First we see Christ's question; then Mary's answer. 2508 Concerning the first, note that Mary was advancing step by step: for the angels asked her why she was weeping, but Christ asked her whom she was looking for, for her weeping was caused by the desire which led her to look.

Jesus says to her, “Mary.” Having turned around, she says to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni,” that is to say, Teacher.

But how was it that, "She turned herself, and saith," if so be that He was speaking to her? It seems to me, that after having said, "Where have ye laid him?" she turned to the Angels to ask why they were astonished, and that then Christ, by calling her by name, turned her to Himself from them, and revealed Himself by His Voice; for when He called her "Mary," then she knew Him;…

Jesus says to her: "Mary." After he called her by the common word for her sex, and was not recognized, he calls her by name. As if he openly said to her: Recognize him by whom you are recognized.

2513 Next the Evangelist shows Mary recognizing Christ. The Evangelist uses the name Mary, while before he had used the general word "woman," (v 13;15).

Jesus says to her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go, however, to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

Since, again, some who are reckoned among the orthodox go beyond the pre-arranged plan for the exaltation of the just, and are ignorant of the methods by which they are disciplined beforehand for incorruption, they thus entertain heretical opinions.

Some assert, that she asked for spiritual grace, because she had heard Him when with the disciples say, "If I go to the Father, I will ask Him, and He shall give you another Comforter." But how could she who was not present with the disciples have heard this? Besides, such an imagination is far from the meaning here.

2515 Next, the Evangelist shows Mary receiving instructions from Christ: one of them is negative, the other positive, go to my brethren. 2516 He does two things about the first: he states the prohibition, and then gives the reason for it. Christ warns Mary not to touch him, saying, Do not hold me.

Mary Magdalene comes, reporting to the disciples that “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

So great a good is perseverance and endurance. But how was it that they did not any more grieve when He was about to depart, nor speak as they had done before? At that time they were affected in such a way, as supposing that He was about to die; but now that He was risen again, what reason had they to grieve?

Mystically, Mary, which name signifies, mistress, enlightened, enlightener, star of the sea, stands for the Church, which is also Magdalen, i. e. towered, (Magdalen being Greek for tower,) as we read in the Psalms, Thou hast been a strong tower for me. (Ps.

2522 Mary was quick to obey, as we see from Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples etc. "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you" (1 Cor 11:23); "What I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God is Israel, I announce to you" (Is 21:10).

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

When therefore it is evening of that same day, the first of the week, and the doors shut where the disciples were through the fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and He says to them, “Peace to you.”

That He did not abide in death, that the wounds which His body had received from the iron of the nails and spear offered no impediment to His rising again, that after His resurrection He showed Himself as He pleased to His disciples, that when He wished to be present with them He was in their midst without being seen, as needing no entrance through open doors, and that He stren…

The first question of this Gospel reading strikes the mind: how was the Lord's body truly real after the resurrection, if it could enter to the disciples through closed doors? But we must understand that if divine operation is comprehended by reason, it is not wondrous; nor does faith have merit when human reason provides proof.

2523 Having described how Christ appeared to the holy women, the Evangelist now tells of his appearance to the apostles: first, his appearance at Jerusalem before all except Thomas; secondly, his appearance when Thomas was present (v 26); thirdly, the events near the Sea of Tiberias (ch 21).

And having said this, He showed the hands and the side to them. The disciples rejoiced then, having seen the Lord.

In the same manner, therefore, as Christ did rise in the substance of flesh, and pointed out to His disciples the mark of the nails and the opening in His side (now these are the tokens of that flesh which rose from the dead), so "shall He also," it is said, "raise us up by His own power." And again to the Romans he says, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the…

And so the reason why the Lord stood in the midst of the disciples, even though the doors were closed, after the passion but not before it, was that you might know that your body was sown as a physical body but raised as a spiritual body.

2533 Jesus gives them sure proof that it is really himself by showing them his hands and side. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, because in them the marks of his passion remained in a special way: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself" (Lk 24:39).

Jesus said therefore to them again, “Peace to you; even as the Father has sent Me forth, I myself also send you.”

But it is manifest where and by whom remission of sins can be given; to wit, that which is given in baptism. For first of all the Lord gave that power to Peter, upon whom He built the Church, and whence He appointed and showed the source of unity-the power, namely, that whatsoever he loosed on earth should be loosed in heaven.

(Hom. xxii. in Evang.) The Father sent the Son, appointed Him to the work of redemption. He says therefore, As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you; i. e. I love you, now that I send you to persecution, with the same love wherewith My Father loved Me, when He sent Me to My sufferings.

2535 Now he charges the apostles with their ministry: first, he grants them the bond of peace; secondly, he charges them, as the Father has sent me. 2536 Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. He said this to counter a twofold anxiety.

And having said this, He breathed on them and He says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

The sacred books acknowledge with regard to Christ, that as He is the Son of man, so is the same Being not a [mere] man; and as He is flesh, so is He also spirit, and the Word of God, and God.

With these words he teaches them the identity of the giver and the distributor of all these goods. His "breathing" convinces them to have no doubt about this because the body was created in the beginning as immobile and inanimate but then received life, which it did not have in itself when the soul entered into it through "breathing," as the blessed Moses said.

2538 Jesus makes them adequate for their task by giving them the Holy Spirit, "God, who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:6). In this giving of the Spirit, he first grants them a sign of this gift, which is, that he breathed on them.

If of any you may forgive the sins, they have been forgiven to them; if of any you may retain, they have been retained.”

Hence the power of loosing and of binding committed to Peter had nothing to do with the capital sins of believers; and if the Lord had given him a precept that he must grant pardon to a brother sinning against him even "seventy times sevenfold," of course He would have commanded him to "bind"-that is, to "retain" -nothing subsequently, unless perchance such (sins) as one may ha…

"Whose soever sins," He continues, "ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever ye retain, they are retained." The Church's love, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, discharges the sins of all who are partakers with itself, but retains the sins of those who have no participation therein.

2541 Thirdly, we see the fruit of the gift, If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. This forgiving of sins is a fitting effect of the Holy Spirit. This is so because the Holy Spirit is charity, love, and through the Holy Spirit love is given to us: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rom 5:5).

Jesus Appears to Thomas

But Thomas, one of the Twelve, who is being named Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

With respect, again, to the Decad, they maintain that it is indicated by those ten nations which God promised to Abraham for a possession. The arrangement also made by Sarah when, after ten years, she gave her handmaid Hagar to him, that by her he might have a son, showed the same thing.

But why does this Evangelist say that Thomas was absent, when Luke writes that two disciples on their return from Emmaus found the eleven assembled? We must understand that Thomas had gone out, and that in the interval of his absence, Jesus came and stood in the midst.

2545 After describing our Savior's appearance, the Evangelist now mentions the doubt of one of the disciples. First, we see that this disciple was absent; secondly, he is told about our Lord's appearance; and thirdly, we see his stubborn doubt.

The other disciples were saying therefore to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I shall see in His hands the mark of the nails, and shall put my finger into the mark of the nails, and shall put my hand into His side, I shall certainly not believe.”

And again, in other words, David in the twenty-first Psalm thus refers to the suffering and to the cross in a parable of mystery: 'They pierced my hands and my feet; they counted all my bones.

Why does the hand of a faithful disciple in this fashion retrace those wounds that an unholy hand inflicted? Why does the hand of a dutiful follower strive to reopen the side that the lance of an unholy soldier pierced? Why does the harsh curiosity of a servant repeat the tortures imposed by the rage of persecutors?

2548 Thomas is told about our Lord's appearance. Because he had not been with the others, the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. This was by the divine plan, which is that what one receives from God should be shared with others: "As each has received a gift, employ it for one another" (1 Pet 4:10); "I have seen the Lord, and I have been saved" [Gen 32:30].

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus comes, the doors being shut, and He stood in the midst and said, “Peace to you.”

The sacred books acknowledge with regard to Christ, that as He is the Son of man, so is the same Being not a [mere] man; and as He is flesh, so is He also spirit, and the Word of God, and God.

With good reason, then, are we accustomed to have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but yet Christ visits us and appears unto us all, both invisibly and also visibly; invisibly as God, but also visibly in the Body.

2551 Now the Evangelist presents our Lord's second appearance. It was to all the disciples, including Thomas. First, he mentions Christ appearing; secondly, we see that Thomas is now convinced; thirdly, the Evangelist comments on what he has included in his gospel (30).

Then He says to Thomas, “Bring your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

And I know that He was possessed of a body not only in His being born and crucified, but I also know that He was so after His resurrection, and believe that He is so now.

"But Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto 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 place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.

2555 Now the Evangelist shows how the doubting disciple was rescued and persuaded. Here we see a second sign of God's pity, which is that he quickly comes to help his elect even though they fall. Indeed, the elect fall at times, just like the reprobate.

Thomas answered and said to Him, “O my Lord and O my God!”

And I know that He was possessed of a body not only in His being born and crucified, but I also know that He was so after His resurrection, and believe that He is so now.

You have heard that those who do not see and believe are more praised by the Lord than those who see and believe, and even those who have been able to touch. For the apostle Thomas, when the Lord had shown himself to his disciples, was absent; and when he heard from them that Christ had risen, he said: Unless I put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

2562 The Evangelist now mentions Thomas' profession. It seems that Thomas quickly became a good theologian by professing a true faith. He professed the humanity of Christ when he said, My Lord, for he had called Christ this before the passion: "You call me Teacher and Lord" (Jn 13:13). And he professed the divinity of Christ when he said, and my God.

Jesus says to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; happy are those not having seen and yet having believed.”

He who believeth then the divine Scriptures with sure judgment, receives in the voice of God, who bestowed the Scripture, a demonstration that cannot be impugned. Faith, then, is not established by demonstration.

It is the strength of great minds and the light of firmly faithful souls unhesitatingly to believe what is not seen with the bodily sight and to focus your affections where you cannot direct your gaze. And from where should this godliness spring up in our hearts or how should someone be justified by faith, if our salvation rested on those things only that lie beneath our eyes?

2563 Our Lord reproaches Thomas for being slow to believe, because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed; and then he praises the others for being quick to believe. 2564 Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed.

The Purpose of John’s Book

Many indeed therefore also other signs Jesus did in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Therefore did the Lord also say to His disciples after the resurrection, "O thoughtless ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

"So, from the many miracles performed after the resurrection, only these have been recorded, and not out of boasting, or to add glory to the Only-Begotten, but, he says, so that you might believe." And what is the benefit, and to whom does it pertain? Not to Christ. For what benefit is our faith to Him? But it serves us ourselves.