John 20:1-31

The Resurrection

1-10. The Resurrection. Visits of Mary Magdalene, and of Peter and John to the tomb of Jesus. (For the Resurrection appearances see on the synoptics, especially on St. Matthew; for the visit of Mary Magdalene see Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; Luke 24:10 for that of St. Peter see Luke 24:12.) This section, peculiar to the Fourth Gospel, is marked by specially vivid features. The race to the tomb in which John, the younger man, outruns Peter; the impetuous nature of Peter, who enters first; the more reflective character of John, who reads the meaning of the sign of the graveclothes and believes first; the details of the scene inside the sepulchre; the state of mind of the disciples, who had not yet learnt to expect a resurrection;—all these, as if caught on the plate of a photographic camera, the memory of the aged Apostle faithfully retained. Here is either absolute truth, or artistic realism of a kind unexampled in ancient literature.