John 20:1, commentary and pictures

Mary Magdalene came with the other women very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark after the Sabbath had passed, bringing spices they had prepared to anoint Jesus' body. She reached the tomb first, and seeing the stone taken away hurried to tell the disciples, while the other women arriving afterward found the tomb open and empty as the first sign the body was gone. The great stone had been rolled away before dawn as Jesus rose, with a mighty angel bright as lightning sitting upon it, and the women found the guard gone, the burial cloths remaining, and angels declaring that Jesus had risen. The disciples had forgotten His repeated promise that He would rise the third day and at first grieved and feared that enemies had taken Him, yet John remembered His words and believed, and the empty tomb with the stone removed together with seeing the risen Jesus establishes the resurrection as an actual victory over death. The verse identifies the day of the resurrection but does not call the first day the Sabbath or a sacred day, nor does the resurrection change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first or abolish God's law.

Early Morning at Tomb

The visit took place very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, after the Sabbath had passed. While Jesus lay in the tomb the disciples rested through the Sabbath hours. Mary Magdalene arrived at that early hour to find the stone already taken away from the sepulchre, and her coming opens the discovery that Jesus had risen.

She came with the other women, bringing spices they had prepared on the day before the Sabbath to anoint the body of Jesus. They came before daylight for that purpose of anointing, and they did not expect Him to rise from the dead. As they approached, the earth trembled and the heavens were brightly lit.

Mary Magdalene reached the tomb first and saw that its stone had been removed. Upon seeing it she hurried away to tell the disciples. The other women arrived afterward, and finding the tomb open was the first sign that the body was no longer there.

Mary had once been controlled by demons and had been brought from despair through Christ's power to become His close learner and servant. She had stood by His cross, had followed Him to the tomb, and was the first to proclaim that He had risen.

The tomb was Joseph's tomb, with a great stone placed before its entrance. That immense stone was taken away before dawn as Jesus rose from the dead. A mighty angel laid hold of it and rolled it away as if it were a pebble and sat upon it, amid shaking and trembling of the earth, with face bright as lightning for brightness and garments white as snow.

When the women arrived they found the Roman guard gone, light around the tomb, and the tomb empty. The body of Jesus was gone, though the burial cloths remained and were seen in the empty tomb. Angels told them that Jesus had risen and directed them to tell His disciples.

At first the empty tomb brought grief and fear that the enemies of Jesus had taken Him away. Mary remained there weeping over the missing body. She reported that the body was missing, and Peter and John then came and found the tomb as she had said. John in his zeal for his Master hastened to the tomb and outpaced the impetuous Peter.

Resurrection Meaning and Sabbath

The grief over the crucifixion and bewilderment at the violence done to Jesus kept the disciples from grasping His repeated words that He would rise from the dead and that those words would be fulfilled. It was hard for His followers to believe He would do exactly what He said He would do, for He had said He would rise the third day, but they had forgotten it, and the comfort His promise should have given was lost because they had forgotten. John believed Jesus had risen because he remembered Jesus' own words, though the disciples did not yet understand the Old Testament scriptures that foretold Christ's resurrection.

The stone had been removed and the body of Jesus was gone because He had risen, and the empty tomb with the witnesses' report establishes the resurrection as an actual event, not a claim based on a stolen body. The disciples' visit added firsthand evidence, for they saw the burial cloths but did not find His body, and together with seeing and speaking with the risen Jesus this refuted the claim that His body had been stolen. The opened tomb marked His release from death and victory over it, with the stone removed and the earth shaking as angels came to the tomb. A form of great glory emerged from the sepulcher while heaven and earth were made vocal with songs of victory and joy, showing that Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus is not still buried but has risen and lives as the Head of the church.

The Roman guards were stricken powerless, then recovered strength to find the tomb empty, rose in consternation, left overwhelmed by what they had seen and heard, and made their way with haste to the city relating the marvelous scenes to those they met. When summoned and closely questioned they gave a full statement to the priests and rulers, and disciples who had passed a sleepless night heard the wonderful story with mingled hope and fear. In this way the priests and rulers were told that Christ whom they crucified is risen from the dead. The verse identifies the day of the resurrection but does not call it the Sabbath, the Lord's day, or a sacred day, nor teach that it replaces the Sabbath, and it provides no evidence that the first day is holy or should be kept in honor of the resurrection. The resurrection on the first day does not change the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, for neither His resurrection nor His death was intended to alter or abolish God's law, with the resurrection commemorated through baptism while the Lord's Supper commemorates His death.