John is a Gospel of encounters: Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman at the well, the cripple at Bethesda, the man born blind, Mary and Martha, and even Pilate. In each case the person or persons encounters Jesus, the light of the world, and respond with faith and faithfulness or turn away into the darkness. In the same style, the appearance of the risen Jesus becomes a series of encounters that illustrate different faith reactions.
Four episodes:
20:1-10: Reactions of Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple
20:11-18: Reaction of Mary Magdalene
20:19-23: Reaction of the disciples
20:24-29: Reaction of Thomas
The first two occur in relation to the empty tomb on Easter morning and the second pair take place when the disciples are gathered, Easter evening and then a week later. The way one person reacts does not influence the others and thus we see a range of responses and factors that cause people to come to faith.
Episode 1: 20:1-10 Peter and the Beloved Disciple
Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb twice, only in John. The second visit is the one in parallel to the other Gospels while the first visit sets the stage for the story of Peter and the Beloved Disciple. Only John tells us that it was still dark (which is symbolic in this gospel: darkness lasts until someone believes in the risen Jesus). Mary finds the tomb empty and races off to tell the other two, “they took the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him”.
The two disciples who respond to Magdalene’s report are Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple. The later figure, never mentioned as such during the first part of the gospel appears often in the second part when his Hour has come to pass from this world to the Father. Before this scene, we encounter the Beloved Disciple at the Last Supper, sitting near Jesus, in the courtyard of the high priest by Simon Peter, and near the cross of Jesus next to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Luke 24:12 tells us Peter rose and ran to the tomb, looked in and saw the linen cloths and went home amazed without mention of another disciple. The beloved disciple is the invisible man in the Synoptic Gospels. It is possible that this person was important in the Johannine community and not well known in other segments of the Petrine church.
The difference in the responses of Peter and the Beloved Disciple in John is vivid. The famous Peter runs but the other is faster and reaches the tomb first, but allows Peter to enter first. The two respond differently to what they see in the tomb: the burial garments and separate headpiece without the body. The beloved disciple believed and there is no indication that Peter believed at that moment. The way the detailed account of where the garments were and neatly rolled up may have intended the effect of having the beloved disciple deduce that the body had not been stolen, for grave robbers would not have unwrapped the corpse to move it. But this does not say why Mary nor Peter believed. Lazarus came from the tomb, bound hand and foot with linen strips and his face wrapped in a cloth (John 11:44). Jesus left the same two cloths folded in the tomb. Lazarus was resuscitated to natural life but would die again, by contrast, the garments left in the tomb of Jesus revealed he had risen to eternal life. For the disciples did not understand the Scriptures, or that Jesus had to rise from the dead to accept the resurrection. In either case we get the impression that the faith of the beloved disciple is a notch above Peter’s and the rest.
Episode 2 (20:11-18) Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene is very frequently named in the Fourth Gospel, next to Peter, James and John (14 x in all). Mary sees in the tomb the cloths and two angelic beings placed where the head and feet would have been. Mary reports the empty tomb but in the context of suspicion that his body was stolen by enemies which sets up the positive encounter with Jesus himself.
All the gospels enclude an appearance to Magdalene and so it is very old in the tradition as one of the witnesses to the resurrection (see 1 Cor 15:5). John’s version is that Jesus appears but Mary does not recognize him. Jesus asks her, Whom are you looking for? [Remember John 1:38 when he asked two disciples of John the Baptist the same question?] Magdalene is looking for the dead Jesus and she will find the living Lord!
Mary thinks he is the gardener (only John has the tomb in a garden) when Jesus asks her why are you weeping? Then he calls her by name (like the good shepherd in Jn 10:3, 5) and she immediately knows him, and responds, Rabbuni, teacher! As the Beloved Disciple’s faith stemmed from seeing the now useless burial clothes represented one form of perceptiveness based on love, Mary’s faith is activated by hearing her name called (in Jn 10:4 Jesus told her and others “I know my sheep and mine know me.”)
She responds in worship, but he tells her not to cling to him for he must ascend to his Father, reiterating his home is in heaven, and he adds, and to your Father. Resurrection faith assures that her home is in the mansions he has prepared for all and he sends her to tell the other disciples. She tells them, “I have seen the Lord” and thus…The beloved Disciple was the first to believe and Magdalene was the first to proclaim the risen Lord! [PS that makes Mary Magdalene an apostle.]
Episode 3 (20:19-23)
On the evening of Easter day, the disciples were gathered in a room with the door locked for fear of the Jews, when Jesus came and said “Peace to you”. At his last Supper he said peace will be my farewell to you, my peace is my gift to you, not as the world gives, but even though I am going away, I will come to you (14:27-28). Jesus then shows them his hands and side, the marks of the cross, removing all question of his identity, again fulfilling his promise at the Last Supper: You are sad now, but I shall see you again and your hearts will rejoice with a joy that no one can take from you.” (16:21-22). The disciples saw it was “the Lord”.
Jesus repeats the phrase, peace to you, to further clarify a gift of peace to accompany the disciples in their future mission. He commissions them saying, “As the Father has sent me, so do I send you.” (similar to Luke 24:46, Matthew 28:29, Mark 16:15). Just as the Father was present in the son, so must the disciples in their mission manifest the presence of Jesus to the point that whoever sees them sees Jesus who sent them. Again he is following the promise of the Last Supper (13:20) “whoever welcomes anyone that I shall send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me.” Such representation of Jesus on the part of the disciples becomes possible through the gift of the HS (20:22). Jesus says, “receive the Holy Spirit” as he breathed on them (evokes Genesis 2:7)…just as God’s breath brought into existence a human being in his image and likeness, so now Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit makes the disciples children of God in the likeness of the son.
Furthermore, if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven and if you retain the sins of any they are retained. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is sharing his reconciliation and mission with the disciples.
Episode 4 20:24-29 Reaction to Thomas
The refusal of Thomas to believe without first hand experience is often exaggerated as “doubting Thomas” and John does give a dramatic image, “unless I put my finger in his hands…I shall never believe.” The reappearance of Jesus to the 12 with Thomas present and again, Jesus says, Peace to you. Jesus then invites Thomas to examine his hands and side…did he do it? Scripture does not tell us. Jesus tells Thomas, do not persist in your disbelief but become a believer. Thomas then professes faith, My Lord and my God, the most profound confession in all the gospels.
The Beloved disciple believed when he saw the garments left in the tomb
Mary Magdalene believed when she heard the voice of the risen Lord call her name
The Disciples believed when they saw the risen Jesus and realized that it was the Lord
Tomas believed when challenged by the risen Jesus to carry out a disbelieving program of probing….and finally in John 20 Jesus praises another group:
Us…blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe….and have life in his name.