Why did Mary Magdalene come to the tomb so early while it was still dark?

Mary came to the tomb very early because she loved Jesus and wanted to care for his body, bringing spices with the other women as the other accounts explain. She was not expecting a resurrection; she simply wanted to honor him even in death. Her early visit shows a heart that keeps seeking Jesus even when things seem hopeless. God meets her in that place of love and grief, turning her sorrow into joy when she becomes the first person to see the risen Lord and is sent to tell the others.

What is the meaning of the empty tomb and the folded grave clothes?

When Peter and the other disciple enter the tomb, they see the linen clothes lying there and the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head folded and set in a separate place. This shows that his body was not stolen in a hurry, since thieves would not carefully unwrap and fold the cloths. The calm order of the scene points to a real, bodily rising from the dead. The empty tomb is God’s sign that Jesus’ work for our salvation is finished and accepted, and that death did not keep him.

Why did Jesus say to Mary, “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended”?

This verse has been understood in more than one way, but a common reading is that Jesus is gently telling Mary not to cling to him as if he were staying on earth in the old way. His work is moving toward his return to the Father. Mary will know him now by faith, not by holding on to his physical presence. Instead of letting her stay there, he gives her a task: go to his “brethren” and tell them that he is going to his Father and their Father, his God and their God.

What does it mean when Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Ghost”?

When Jesus breathes on the disciples and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit, he is preparing and authorizing them for their future work. The breath pictures the Spirit who gives life. This moment points forward to the fuller giving of the Spirit. He then speaks about forgiving and retaining sins, showing that the message they will preach centers on the offer of forgiveness through him and the warning that those who refuse to believe remain in their sins.

What does Jesus mean by “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted”?

Jesus is not giving his followers power to forgive sins in their own right. He is sending them to preach the good news that God forgives sins through him. When they preach that message and someone believes, they can truly say that person’s sins are forgiven. When people reject that message, their sins remain. So this verse sums up the heart of the gospel: through faith in the risen Jesus there is real, announced pardon, and without him there is still guilt before God.

Why was Thomas called doubting, and how did Jesus answer his doubt?

Thomas was not with the others when Jesus first appeared, and he refused to accept their report. He said he would not believe unless he saw and touched Jesus’ wounds himself. Eight days later, Jesus appears again and invites Thomas to do exactly what he had demanded. Jesus knows Thomas’s words and meets him in his weakness. Thomas moves from stubborn doubt to a clear confession, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus then blesses those who will believe without seeing him with their own eyes.

What does Thomas’s confession “My Lord and my God” tell us about Jesus?

When Thomas sees the risen Jesus and says, “My Lord and my God,” he is not using empty words. He is calling Jesus both his Master and his God. This shows that the risen Christ is not just a holy man or a teacher, but truly shares in God’s own nature. The passage shows that Jesus accepts this confession. The resurrection is the setting where this truth becomes clear: the one who died on the cross is the Son of God, worthy of worship and personal trust.

Why does Jesus say, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”?

Jesus speaks this after Thomas believes on the basis of seeing and touching. He is not scolding Thomas so much as turning to the many who will come later. Most believers will never see the risen Jesus with their physical eyes. They will have the written witness of those first disciples. Jesus says they are blessed when they trust him based on this faithful testimony. Faith rests on his word and the witness of Scripture, not on physical proof in front of us.

What is the purpose of the signs written in this passage about the resurrection?

Near the end of the chapter, the writer says that Jesus did many other signs that are not written here, but that the ones recorded have a clear purpose. They are written so that readers may believe that Jesus is the promised Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing they may have life in his name. So this story of the empty tomb, the appearances to Mary and the disciples, and Thomas’s change of heart is meant to lead people to real faith and spiritual life.

How can this passage help someone who feels doubt or distance from Jesus today?

This passage shows several people who feel lost, afraid, or unsure. Mary thinks someone has taken the body and weeps. The disciples hide behind shut doors, afraid of the leaders. Thomas bluntly says he will not believe without proof. Jesus comes to each of them in kindness, speaking peace, calling Mary by name, showing his wounds to the disciples, and inviting Thomas to believe. This encourages anyone who struggles that Jesus knows our fears and doubts and gently draws us to trust him.

John.20.1

John 20:1

KJV

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 Resurrection

1 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.

2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13 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.

14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

The Purpose of John’s Book

30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.