John 20:8-10

“ Then entered in also the other disciple who had first come to the sepulchre; and he saw and believed. 9. For they did not yet understand the Scripture which says that he should rise from the dead. 10. Then the disciples returned to their own homes. ”

The singular verbs he saw and he beliered are remarkable. Until this point two disciples had been spoken of, and in the following verse the story joins them again: They did not understand. These two verbs in the singular, which separate the plural verbs, cannot have been placed here unintentionally: the author evidently wishes to speak of an experience which is peculiar to himself. He cannot testify for the other disciple; but he can do so for himself. This must, indeed, have been one of the most ineffaceable moments of his life. He initiates us into an incomparable personal reminiscence, into the way by which he reached the belief in the resurrection, in the first place, and then, through this, the perfect faith in Christ as Messiah and Son of God. The idea of believing, indeed, does not refer, as some have thought, to the contents of the report of Mary Magdalene: “they have taken Him away.”

This fact was the object of sight, not of faith. By examining the condition of the tomb and the position of the linen cloths, the disciple comes to the conviction that it is Jesus Himself who has done this; consequently, that He is alive. We should have expected that he would make mention at this time of a special appearance of the Lord to His beloved disciple: He did appear, indeed, to Peter and James. But no; everything in the narrative is sober: he saw and believed. There was no need of anything more. Nevertheless, we must not find here an eulogy which John would bestow upon himself and which would resemble a boast. The following verse sufficiently shows the spirit of humility which prevails in this narrative. These words must be paraphrased in this sense: “He saw and believed at length. ” John is himself astonished at the state of ignorance in which he, as well as Peter, had remained until this moment with regard to the scriptural prophecies foretelling the resurrection of the Messiah. He says ἤδεισαν, which is an imperfect in sense: “ They were not understanding. ” Even then they did not yet grasp the meaning of the prophecies announcing the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Only after the resurrection did they open their eyes to these prophetic revelations (Psalms 16:10; Isaiah 53:10, etc.; comp. Luke 24:25-27; Luke 24:45).

As to Peter, we do not know whether the view of the condition of the sepulchre brought him also to faith. John does not say this; for the question here is of an inward personal fact. Perhaps there was needed, in order that this result might be fully secured in the case of Peter, the appearance of the Lord which was granted to this disciple on this same day (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5).

The parallel, Luke 24:12, is very probably only a gloss drawn up by means of John's narrative. This whole passage, relating to the disciple whom Jesus loved and to Peter, presents one of the most striking features of the autobiographical character of our Gospel.

The Tubingen school, followed by Strauss and Renan, think that this narrative is a fiction designed to raise John to the level of Peter. The author, a disciple of John, systematically endeavored to make his master the equal of Peter. What! By ascribing to him more agile limbs, yet also, on the other hand, less energy and courage! Or by ascribing to him faith of a more spiritual character, in opposition to the carnal character of the Christianity of Peter, and consequently of the Twelve? But John accuses himself also of a carnal want of understanding with regard to the prophecies. All this Machiavellism attributed to the evangelist vanishes away at the simple and unprejudiced reading of this story, which is so simple and so dramatic.

Colani sees in these words of John 20:9: “ They did not yet understand the Scripture,” a contradiction as related to the predictions of the resurrection which are placed in the mouth of Jesus by the Synoptics. If these predictions were real, the evangelist ought rather to have said: “They did not yet understand the predictions of Jesus. ” But if there was needed only the sight of the linen cloths and the napkin to determine the faith in the heart of the disciple, this was certainly due to the promises of Jesus; they had not sufficed to make him believe in the resurrection of the body of Jesus, because he applied them undoubtedly to His glorious return from heaven; but it was they which made this external circumstance sufficient to bring John to faith. John was not obliged to mention this fact, since of the prophecies of Jesus respecting His resurrection he had quoted only the enigmatical saying in John 2:19.