John 20:1
Encyclopedia
John 20:1 is the first verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John
in the New Testament
. John 20
covers the resurrection
of Jesus
after his crucifixion
. In this verse Mary Magdalene
travels to Jesus' tomb and finds it opened.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
The "first day of the week" refers to the first day after the Sabbath
, the modern Sunday
and the third day after Jesus' crucifixion. However as Mary went while it was still dark the word day cannot refer to the Jewish day which begins at sunrise. That it is still dark seems to conflict with Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:1 that both mention that it was light. Leonard believes this can be explained by having John describing the time of departure and the other two describing the time of arrival. A more complex solution, but one that can also help explain other inconsistencies in the chapter, is that Mary made two different trips to the tomb one while it was dark and the other at dawn. This can also explain why the other Gospels have Mary in a group of women and John has her alone.
Brown reports that the Codex Sinaiticus
does not add the word "Magdalene" describing the woman as only Mary. In the early church a parallel tradition existed that it was Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is referred to in this passage. Ephraem's On the Diatessaron uses this version of the story. Loisy
believes that this was the original version and the Virgin was later replaced by Mary Magdalene to make John match the other three gospels more closely. Brown notes that nowhere else in the Gospel is Jesus' mother referred to simply as Mary, making this theory less likely.
Unlike the other gospels John does not mention why Mary comes to the tomb. Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:1 say that the women came to the tomb to continue the burial rituals. Matthew 28:1
mentions that the trip was to look at the tomb. John 19 makes it seem as though the burial preparations were already complete. Brown thus thinks that the Gospel of Peter
's story that she came simply to mourn is more likely. The Midrash Rabbah states that Rabbi Bar Kappera was of the opinion that mourning should peak on the third day. Bernard considers the whole trip improbable as it is highly unlikely that a lone woman would go to a place of execution outside the city walls while it was still dark.
The Gospel of John is equally spartan when talking of the tomb. He refers to simply "the stone" assuming the reader knows what stone is being referred to. While the other three gospels mention that the stone had been rolled away, John only states that it was moved.
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. John 20
John 20
John 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the Bible. It relates the story of Jesus' resurrection. It relates how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. Jesus appears to her and speaks of his resurrection and dispatches Mary to tell the news to the disciples. ...
covers the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
after his crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
. In this verse Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
travels to Jesus' tomb and finds it opened.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- The first day of the week
- cometh Mary Magdalene early,
- when it was yet dark, unto the
- sepulchre, and seeth the stone
- taken away from the sepulchre.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- Now on the first day of the week,
- Mary Magdalene went early,
- while it was still dark,
- to the tomb, and saw the
- stone taken away from the tomb.
The "first day of the week" refers to the first day after the Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, the modern Sunday
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection....
and the third day after Jesus' crucifixion. However as Mary went while it was still dark the word day cannot refer to the Jewish day which begins at sunrise. That it is still dark seems to conflict with Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:1 that both mention that it was light. Leonard believes this can be explained by having John describing the time of departure and the other two describing the time of arrival. A more complex solution, but one that can also help explain other inconsistencies in the chapter, is that Mary made two different trips to the tomb one while it was dark and the other at dawn. This can also explain why the other Gospels have Mary in a group of women and John has her alone.
Brown reports that the Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...
does not add the word "Magdalene" describing the woman as only Mary. In the early church a parallel tradition existed that it was Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is referred to in this passage. Ephraem's On the Diatessaron uses this version of the story. Loisy
Alfred Loisy
Alfred Firmin Loisy was a French Roman Catholic priest, professor and theologian who became the intellectual standard bearer for Biblical Modernism in the Roman Catholic Church...
believes that this was the original version and the Virgin was later replaced by Mary Magdalene to make John match the other three gospels more closely. Brown notes that nowhere else in the Gospel is Jesus' mother referred to simply as Mary, making this theory less likely.
Unlike the other gospels John does not mention why Mary comes to the tomb. Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:1 say that the women came to the tomb to continue the burial rituals. Matthew 28:1
Matthew 28:1
Matthew 28:1 is the first verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse opens the resurrection narrative as Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" visit Jesus' tomb after the crucification....
mentions that the trip was to look at the tomb. John 19 makes it seem as though the burial preparations were already complete. Brown thus thinks that the Gospel of Peter
Gospel of Peter
The Gospel According to Peter , commonly called the Gospel of Peter, is one of the non-Canonical gospels which were rejected by the Church Fathers and the Catholic Church's synods of Carthage and Rome, which established the New Testament canon, as apocryphal...
's story that she came simply to mourn is more likely. The Midrash Rabbah states that Rabbi Bar Kappera was of the opinion that mourning should peak on the third day. Bernard considers the whole trip improbable as it is highly unlikely that a lone woman would go to a place of execution outside the city walls while it was still dark.
The Gospel of John is equally spartan when talking of the tomb. He refers to simply "the stone" assuming the reader knows what stone is being referred to. While the other three gospels mention that the stone had been rolled away, John only states that it was moved.