201 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb , while it was still dark , and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb . 2 So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved , and said to them, " They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb , and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth , and they were going to the tomb . 4 The two were running together ; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first ; 5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also came , following him, and entered the tomb ; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head , not lying with the linen wrappings , but rolled up in a place by itself . 8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered , and he saw and believed . 9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture , that He must rise again from the dead . 10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes .
11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping ; and so , as she wept , she stooped and looked into the tomb ; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting , one at the head and one at the feet , where the body of Jesus had been lying . 13 And they said to her, " Woman , why are you weeping ?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord , and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 When she had said this , she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus . 15 Jesus said to her, " Woman , why are you weeping ? Whom are you seeking ?" Supposing Him to be the gardener , she said to Him, "Sir , if you have carried Him away , tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away ." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary !" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew , " Rabboni !" (which means , Teacher ). 17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father ; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father , and My God and your God .' " 18 Mary Magdalene came , announcing to the disciples , "I have seen the Lord ," and that He had said these things to her.
19 So when it was evening on that day , the first day of the week , and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews , Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, " Peace be with you." 20 And when He had said this , He showed them both His hands and His side . The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord . 21 So Jesus said to them again , " Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this , He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit . 23 " If you forgive the sins of any , their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any , they have been retained ."
24 But Thomas , one of the twelve , called Didymus , was not with them when Jesus came . 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord !" But he said to them, "Unless e I see in His hands the imprint of the nails , and put my finger into the place of the nails , and put my hand into His side , I will not believe ."
26 After eight days His disciples were again inside , and Thomas with them. Jesus came , the doors having been shut , and stood in their midst and said , " Peace be with you." 27 Then He said to Thomas , " Reach here with your finger , and see My hands ; and reach here your hand and put it into My side ; and do not be unbelieving , but believing ." 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God !" 29 Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed ? Blessed are they who did not see , and yet believed ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on John 20:1-29
Commentary on John 20:1-10
(Read John 20:1-10)
If Christ gave his life a ransom, and had not taken it again, it would not have appeared that his giving it was accepted as satisfaction. It was a great trial to Mary, that the body was gone. Weak believers often make that the matter of complaint, which is really just ground of hope, and matter of joy. It is well when those more honoured than others with the privileges of disciples, are more active than others in the duty of disciples; more willing to take pains, and run hazards, in a good work. We must do our best, and neither envy those who can do better, nor despise those who do as well as they can, though they come behind. The disciple whom Jesus loved in a special manner, and who therefore in a special manner loved Jesus, was foremost. The love of Christ will make us to abound in every duty more than any thing else. He that was behind was Peter, who had denied Christ. A sense of guilt hinders us in the service of God. As yet the disciples knew not the Scripture; they Christ must rise again from the dead.
Commentary on John 20:11-18
(Read John 20:11-18)
We are likely to seek and find, when we seek with affection, and seek in tears. But many believers complain of the clouds and darkness they are under, which are methods of grace for humbling their souls, mortifying their sins, and endearing Christ to them. A sight of angels and their smiles, will not suffice, without a sight of Jesus, and God's smiles in him. None know, but those who have tasted it, the sorrows of a deserted soul, which has had comfortable evidences of the love of God in Christ, and hopes of heaven, but has now lost them, and walks in darkness; such a wounded spirit who can bear? Christ, in manifesting himself to those that seek him, often outdoes their expectations. See how Mary's heart was in earnest to find Jesus. Christ's way of making himself known to his people is by his word; his word applied to their souls, speaking to them in particular. It might be read, Is it my Master? See with what pleasure those who love Jesus speak of his authority over them. He forbids her to expect that his bodily presence look further, than the present state of things. Observe the relation to God, from union with Christ. We, partaking of a Divine nature, Christ's Father is our Father; and he, partaking of the human nature, our God is his God. Christ's ascension into heaven, there to plead for us, is likewise an unspeakable comfort. Let them not think this earth is to be their home and rest; their eye and aim, and earnest desires, must be upon another world, and this ever upon their hearts, I ascend, therefore I must seek the things which are above. And let those who know the word of Christ, endeavour that others should get good from their knowledge.
Commentary on John 20:19-25
(Read John 20:19-25)
This was the first day of the week, and this day is afterwards often mentioned by the sacred writers; for it was evidently set apart as the Christian sabbath, in remembrance of Christ's resurrection. The disciples had shut the doors for fear of the Jews; and when they had no such expectation, Jesus himself came and stood in the midst of them, having miraculously, though silently, opened the doors. It is a comfort to Christ's disciples, when their assemblies can only be held in private, that no doors can shut out Christ's presence. When He manifests his love to believers by the comforts of his Spirit, he assures them that because he lives, they shall live also. A sight of Christ will gladden the heart of a disciple at any time; and the more we see of Jesus, the more we shall rejoice. He said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, thus showing that their spiritual life, as well as all their ability for their work, would be derived from him, and depended upon him. Every word of Christ which is received in the heart by faith, comes accompanied by this Divine breathing; and without this there is neither light nor life. Nothing is seen, known, discerned, or felt of God, but through this. After this, Christ directed the apostles to declare the only method by which sin would be forgiven. This power did not exist at all in the apostles as a power to give judgment, but only as a power to declare the character of those whom God would accept or reject in the day of judgment. They have clearly laid down the marks whereby a child of God may be discerned and be distinguished from a false professor; and according to what they have declared shall every case be decided in the day of judgment. When we assemble in Christ's name, especially on his holy day, he will meet with us, and speak peace to us. The disciples of Christ should endeavour to build up one another in their most holy faith, both by repeating what they have heard to those that were absent, and by making known what they have experienced. Thomas limited the Holy One of Israel, when he would be convinced by his own method or not at all. He might justly have been left in his unbelief, after rejecting such abundant proofs. The fears and sorrows of the disciples are often lengthened, to punish their negligence.
Commentary on John 20:26-29
(Read John 20:26-29)
That one day in seven should be religiously observed, was an appointment from the beginning. And that, in the kingdom of the Messiah, the first day of the week should be that solemn day, was pointed out, in that Christ on that day once and again met his disciples in a religious assembly. The religious observance of that day has come down to us through every age of the church. There is not an unbelieving word in our tongues, nor thought in our minds, but it is known to the Lord Jesus; and he was pleased to accommodate himself even to Thomas, rather than leave him in his unbelief. We ought thus to bear with the weak, 1 John 5:11.