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John 20:1-2
New Catholic Bible
John 20:1-2
New Catholic Bible
The Appearances of the Risen One[a]
Chapter 20
The Mystery of the Empty Tomb.[b] 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb. 2 Therefore, she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.”
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- John 20:1 Here, as in the rest of his work, John is pleased to dwell on some incidents not set down, or at least barely noticed, by the Synoptics; more than once, these are episodes involving the very person who is passing them on to his brethren in the faith. We owe to John the most extensive part of the Easter Gospel. By speaking of the empty tomb, he emphasizes the victory of life over death. When he describes one or other of the appearances, he wants to show how Jesus was recognized by his followers, what his new presence in their midst is like, how we are to believe in Christ, the mission to be carried out in the world in order to bear witness to him, and the gift of the Spirit to all believers. The last chapter, which has every appearance of having been added by disciples to the first edition of John’s Gospel, emphasizes and expands the ecclesial perspective: The Resurrection, which ends the earthly career of Jesus, begins the earthly career of the Church.
- John 20:1 Why is the body no longer there and why are the linen cloths still there? The beloved disciple, who had come with Peter, becomes the witness of the event and its meaning. Because he looks at the linen cloths with faith, he understands them as belonging to God’s plan: the linen cloths mean that Jesus is alive.
The tomb is the symbol of death, but in the presence of this tomb the sign of death is changed. We are here at the beginning of a new life. Death is overcome.
