John 20:13
Encyclopedia
John 20:13 is the thirteenth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John
in the Bible
. This verse occurs after Mary Magdalene
has found Jesus
' tomb empty
, except for two angels. In this passage the angels ask Mary why she is crying.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
The word woman is a translation of the Greek
gunai. This term was the polite way to address an adult female, and is in no way lacking in reverence despite how the passage might read to modern ears. In John 2:4, for instance, Jesus uses this same word to address his mother.
In theory the angels should know why Mary is crying
, so it is postulated that they ask the question as a strategy to end Mary's worrying. Jesus uses a similar technique of asking questions, and does so to aid Mary in John 20:15
.
That Mary responds with alacrity is in contrasts with other scenes in the Bible where human beings are shocked and overawed by angels. The description in Mark 16:8 of the reaction of the women upon meeting these same angels is one of shock and fear. Some thus believe that Mary does not recognize the figures as angels, due to her grief or her tears. In Luke 24:4 and Mark 16:5 what are presumed to be the angles are described as "men" perhaps indicating the women's uncertainty of their nature. Another theory is that the women who accompanied Mary to the tomb in the Synoptic Gospels
were so struck be fear that they fainted, which is why they do not appear in the subsequent passage.
Mary's response indicates that she has no inkling of the resurrection and rather believes that some human beings have taken Jesus. H.C.G. Moule presumes that she believes some of the workers of Joseph of Arimathea
have moved Jesus to a different tomb or burial place.
The conversation itself differs considerably from the one reported in the other Gospels. In the other Gospels the angels have a longer exchange with the women, and inform them of Jesus' resurrection. John Calvin
concludes that John's account is just a summary of the event, as John was only including what was necessary to prove the fact of the resurrection.
For a discussion of who Mary might mean by the word they see John 20:2
.
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 Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. This verse occurs after 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...
has found Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
' tomb empty
Empty tomb
Empty tomb most often refers to the tomb of Jesus which was found to be empty by the women who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. They had come to his tomb to anoint his body with spices...
, except for two angels. In this passage the angels ask Mary why she is crying.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And they say unto her, Woman,
- why weepest thou? She saith unto
- them, Because they have taken
- away my lord, and I know not
- where they have laid him
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:
- They told her, "Woman, why
- are you weeping?" She said
- to them, “Because they have
- taken away my Lord, and I don’t
- know where they have laid him."
The word woman is a translation of the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
gunai. This term was the polite way to address an adult female, and is in no way lacking in reverence despite how the passage might read to modern ears. In John 2:4, for instance, Jesus uses this same word to address his mother.
In theory the angels should know why Mary is crying
Crying
Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secretomotor phenomenon characterized by the shedding of tears from the lacrimal apparatus, without any irritation of the ocular structures"...
, so it is postulated that they ask the question as a strategy to end Mary's worrying. Jesus uses a similar technique of asking questions, and does so to aid Mary in John 20:15
John 20:15
John 20:15 is a verse in the Gospel of John. It occurs when Mary Magdalene has returned to Jesus' tomb and found it empty. She does not know that Jesus has returned and they begin conversing without her realizing his identity....
.
That Mary responds with alacrity is in contrasts with other scenes in the Bible where human beings are shocked and overawed by angels. The description in Mark 16:8 of the reaction of the women upon meeting these same angels is one of shock and fear. Some thus believe that Mary does not recognize the figures as angels, due to her grief or her tears. In Luke 24:4 and Mark 16:5 what are presumed to be the angles are described as "men" perhaps indicating the women's uncertainty of their nature. Another theory is that the women who accompanied Mary to the tomb in the Synoptic Gospels
Synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes exactly the same wording. This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be...
were so struck be fear that they fainted, which is why they do not appear in the subsequent passage.
Mary's response indicates that she has no inkling of the resurrection and rather believes that some human beings have taken Jesus. H.C.G. Moule presumes that she believes some of the workers of Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion. He is mentioned in all four Gospels.-Gospel references:...
have moved Jesus to a different tomb or burial place.
The conversation itself differs considerably from the one reported in the other Gospels. In the other Gospels the angels have a longer exchange with the women, and inform them of Jesus' resurrection. John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
concludes that John's account is just a summary of the event, as John was only including what was necessary to prove the fact of the resurrection.
For a discussion of who Mary might mean by the word they see John 20:2
John 20:2
John 20:2 is the second verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament. Mary Magdalene has just discovered that the tomb of Jesus has been opened. In this verse she seeks out and tells this news to Peter and the Beloved Disciple....
.