John 20:2

RETURN OF THE WOMEN

Mat 28:8-10; Mar 16:8; Luk 24:9-11; Joh 20:2. “Then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and says to them, They have taken away the Lord from the sepulcher, and we know not where they have placed Him.” This is spoken of Mary Magdalene, the most prominent of our Lord’s female disciples, and the only woman John mentions in this early visit to the sepulcher. This is not out of harmony with the other three, from the simple fact that she was the leader of the heroic sisterhood who lingered last at the cross, and hastened first to greet the risen Lord and look into the empty sepulcher.

I must here observe, in reference to Mark’s Gospel, that this eighth verse, which you see in the above reference, winds it up, the following twelve verses having been added by an unknown hand after Mark had laid down his pen. This fact of these last twelve verses not appearing in the old and authoritative manuscripts, does not necessarily invalidate their claims to inspiration, the author might have been inspired for ought we know, though we can have no idea as to his name. As it is believed that Peter dictated this Gospel to Mark, his faithful amanuensis and gospel helper, while in Rome, about A. D. 63, some suppose his martyrdom stopped the work, and consequently some one took it on himself to finish it out somewhat after the order of Matthew’s, which had been written A. D. 48. From the simple fact that in all of this writing I have used the Greek Testament by Tischendorf, on the basis of the Sinaitic manuscript which he discovered in the Convent of St. Catherine, on Mt. Sinai, A. D. 1859, and has thrown a flood of light on the New Testament, being the oldest manuscript and the only one entire, and as it closes Mark’s Gospel with this eighth verse of the sixteenth chapter, I shall neither quote nor expound the ensuing twelve verses; for, like Joh 8:1-11, and not a few other isolated passages, they are not in my book.

Matthew: “Having quickly come out from the sepulcher, with fear and great joy, they were running to tell His disciples.” You see how these women take the report of the angels, and run with all expedition to render obedience. “And while they were going to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, Hail! And they having come, embraced His feet, and worshipped Him. Then Jesus says to them, Fear not; go, tell My brethren, that they may depart into Galilee, and there they shall see Me.” Luke: “And returning from the sepulcher, they proclaimed these things to the eleven, and all the rest, And they were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women along with them, who continued to tell these things to the apostles. And their words appeared unto them like a dream, and they believed them not.” Though Jesus had three different times distinctly prophesied to them His crucifixion and resurrection, they had never understood it; but were all settled in the common conviction that the Christ would never die, but abide and reign forever. Luke says that these prophecies were withheld from them, so they understood them not. That was all right. It was absolutely necessary that these most salient facts of redeeming mercy should be prominent in the prophetical curriculum, which, along with miracles, constitutes the basis of all faith in the Christhood.

Then why withhold it from their understanding until after it was all over? Good reason! If the disciples had understood it, they would have fought, bled, and died in His defense. Thousands would have helped them, and a bloody civil war broken out at the time of His arrest. Through fear of the people, His enemies were often restrained from laying hands on Him, finally attacking Him at midnight, doing their best to kill Him before day; and despite the tardiness of Pilate and Herod, actually had Him nailed to the cross at the early hour of 9 A.M., Pilate finally signing His death-warrant as a sheer peace measure, as he saw the crowd gathering rapidly, and knew they were going to fight for Him, and thus involve the whole country in a terrible civil war. In the good providence of God, the prophecies revealing His crucifixion and resurrection were withheld from the understanding of His disciples till after the momentous tragedy of the world’s redemption was consummated. When they saw Him expire on the cross, they gave up all hope of His Messiahship, settling down in the conclusion that He was the greatest prophet the world ever saw and no more, so that when those women came and told them that He was absent from the sepulcher, and the angels had said He was risen, and that they had actually seen Him, their words seemed like a dream — the news was too good to be believed.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20:2 Mary Magdalene ran and found Simon Peter. Her natural assumption was that someone had robbed the tomb and perhaps stolen the body—which was not an uncommon occurrence.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 20:2. Καὶ πρὸς, and to) From the preposition being repeated before both, it may be inferred that both disciples were not together. Yet they went forth together, after that one had sought out the other. It is not said that Mary Magdalene brought the tidings also to the mother of Jesus. The latter confined herself to the house.—ἐφίλει, esteemed [‘diligebat’]) In other passages the word used is ἠγάπα, loved.[397] Comp. note on ch. Joh 21:15.—ΤῸΝ ΚΎΡΙΟΝ, the Lord) She retains her exalted estimation of Jesus: Joh 20:15, “My Lord.”—οὐκ οἴδαμεν, we know not) She speaks in the name of the other women also, or in that of the disciples, whom she knew to be distressed on the same account. [She perhaps was conjecturing that Joseph had laid the body of Jesus only for a time in his own sepulchre, until he should find another place for it.—V. g.]

[397] ‘Amabat.’ But Trench reverses the words, making φιλεῖν answer to ‘amare;’ and ἀγαπᾶν to ‘diligere.’ The Vulgate mostly supports Trench’s view, giving also at times ‘osculari’ for. φιλεῖν. Here, however, some MSS. of Vulg. have ‘amabat,’ others ‘diligebat,’ as Bengel gives it.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 20:2 . τρέχει οὖν … αὐτόν . She therefore runs, disregarding unseemliness, and comes to those who would be most interested, and without preface, breathless and anxious, exclaims: ἦραν … “they have removed the Lord from the tomb, and we know not where they have laid Him”. Evidently she had no idea that a resurrection had taken place. The plural οἴδαμεν may naturally be accepted as confirming Mark’s account that she was not alone.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 2. Then she runneth] This was after the women had seen the angels, who said he was risen from the dead, Lu 24:4. She told, not only Peter and John, but the other apostles also, Mt 28:8; but only the two disciples above mentioned went to the tomb to see whether what she had said was true.

They have taken away the Lord] She mentions nothing of what the angels had said, in her hurry and confusion; she speaks things only by halves; and probably the vision of angels might have appeared to her only as an illusion of her own fancy, and not to be any farther regarded.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) To Simon Peter, and to the other disciple.—St. Matthew has, “to His disciples;” St. Luke has, “to the Eleven, and to all the rest.” St. John relates only that announcement of which he had special personal knowledge.

For “the other disciple” comp. Introduction, p. 375. For the connection between St. John and St. Peter, comp. Introduction, p. 371.

Whom Jesus loved.—Comp. Note on Joh_11:3; Joh_21:15. The word here used of St. John is that which is used of Lazarus in Joh_11:3. It is not the word which occurs in Joh_19:26; Joh_21:7; Joh_21:20.

We know not where they have laid him.—The plural has frequently been pressed to prove that Mary included the other women with herself in what she says—i.e., that St. John’s narrative here implies that of the earlier Gospels. This certainly may be so, but we cannot say more than this. It certainly may be that, in her feeling of despair, she speaks generally of the utter hopelessness of human effort, whether her own or that of others. It is the passionate cry of her woman’s heart. They have not only crucified the Lord, but have robbed the body of the resting-place which love had provided for it, and of the tender care with which love was seeking to surround it—“They have taken away the Lord; and we know not to what fresh indignity their hatred, against which even the grave is not proof, has subjected the body of Him whom we have loved. We know not where they have laid Him.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Then she runneth] She runneth therefore, concluding that the body must be gone.

Simon Peter] His fall was probably known and his deep repentance also: he is still chief of the Apostles, and as such the one consulted first.

and to the other] The repetition of ‘to’ implies that the two Apostles were not lodging together, although Joh_20:3 implies that they were close to one another.

whom Jesus loved] Perhaps the expression is meant to apply to Simon Peter also; ‘the other disciple whom Jesus loved.’ This becomes probable when we notice that the word for ‘loved’ is not that used of S. John in Joh_19:26, Joh_21:7; Joh_21:20 (agapân), but the more general word (philein). See on Joh_11:5.

They have taken] She does not attempt to determine who, whether friends or foes.

we know not] This possibly implies that other women had been with her, as stated by the Synoptists. If so, she may have outstripped them in going to the garden.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter,.... That is, after she had not only seen that the stone was took away, but had looked into the sepulchre, and saw that the body of Christ was removed; for otherwise she could not have said, that it was took away out of it: upon which she made all the haste she could to Peter; who, where he was she knew; and she was particularly bid by the angel she saw in the sepulchre, to go to him:

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved; John the writer of this Gospel; for these two were together, as they usually were; nor were they alone, for the rest of the disciples were with them:

and saith unto them, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. The Oriental versions, the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic, read, "I know not where they have laid him"; who they were that had taken the body of Christ away, whether friends or enemies, she could not say; nor did she, or any of the women that were with her, know where it was put; whether in some other grave, or was exposed to the insults of men, or to birds and beasts of prey; whether it was laid in a more suitable and convenient place, or in a scandalous one; and whether this removal was for his greater honour, or reproach; to know this, gave her great concern and uneasiness, as she knew it must the disciples also: so Christ, in a spiritual sense, may be removed from his people for a time, and they know not where he is; sometimes he removes himself, to chastise them for their former carriage, to try and exercise their grace, to inflame their love to him, and sharpen their desires after him, and to endear his presence to them the more, when they enjoy it again; sometimes he is taken away from them by preachers, when they leave him out of their discourses; and by their own sins and transgressions, which separate between him and them, with respect to communion; and who, for a time, may not know where to find him: and for the direction of such it may be observed, that he is to be found in the ministration of his word and ordinances in his churches.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Ver. 2. Then she runneth] Amor addidit alas, love is impatient of delays. Christ cometh leaping over the "mountains of Bether," Son 2:17; all manner lets and impediments. And the Church, as impatient as he, bids him "Make haste, my beloved, and be like to a roe," Son 8:4, or to a fawn of the harts, which when it fleeth, looketh behind it, saith the Chaldee paraphrast there. She affects not only a union, but a unity with him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then she runneth; that is, Mary Magdalene ran into the city to tell Peter; and that seemeth to be the reason why John mentions only her going to the sepulchre: but yet Luke Luk 24:10 makes not Mary Magdalene only, but Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, the reporters of the news to the apostles; but possibly she was the most forward and first reporter of it. She came to the eleven, and told all these things to them, Luk 24:9, but possibly her chief discourse was with Simon Peter, and John, the beloved disciple: she complains to them that her Lord was removed out of the sepulchre, whither and by whom she knew not. But how did they know that? Mark saith, they entered into the sepulchre, Mar 16:5. Or if that were after, as it should seem by Joh 20:11 of this chapter; they guessed that the body was gone when they saw the stone rolled away, and the door open.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Runneth—She waits neither to examine the sepulchre, nor to consult the other women; nor can she calmly walk, but runs to the chief apostles for aid. It is evident that Peter and John abide at no great distance from the sepulchre, and separately from the other apostles. They are in west Jerusalem, while the others are probably in Bethany.

Taken away the Lord—She has no thought of a resurrection; neither do her terms imply that he has been stolen. She afterwards suspects that the keeper of the garden in which the sepulchre is, may have removed him to some other place.

We know not—The we is here used by Mary in behalf of not only herself but of the whole company, clearly showing that even John’s narrative implies that other women were with her.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then she runneth in advance of the other women, who are each intent on communicating what she had seen and heard, and cometh to Simon Peter why not, if, as Mark says, Peter had been specially mentioned by the angel? and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved. The form of the expression suggests that they were living in different houses. There were two disciples on whom Jesus poured out the abundance of his love. The word here used is not hgapa , that which is used in Joh_13:23 and Joh_21:7-20, and which denotes the love of highregard, but efilei , the love of personal affection, the kind of love showered on Lazarus and his sisters. (Joh_11:5) So far, then, from John especially exalting himself at the expense of Peter, he gives to Peter the first place in the affection of his Master. And she saith to them, They have taken away the Lord even the corpse of Jesus was the Lord to this urgent and impassioned discipleout of the sepulcher, and we know not where they Joseph and Nicodemus, or the chief priests, or Roman soldiers, or Jewshave laid him. We know not what other burying-place "they" have chosen! The anti-harmonistic commentators, with ponderous literalism, insist that Mary could have said nothing more. A gushing woman like Mary of Magdala uttered one sentence, and that was all: It is, however, entirely evident that she must have said enough to excite great wonderment, haste, and activity in the breasts of these two disciples (see above on the three hypotheses).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was a great honour that God put upon this poor woman, Mary Magdalene, that she has the first notice of our Saviour’s resurrection, and is the first that discovers it to the apostles.

But why had not the Virgin Mary, his disconsolate mother, this privilege conferred on her, rather than Mary Magdalene, who had been a grievous sinner?

Doubtless this was for the comfort of all true penitents, and administers great consolation to them; as the angels in heaven rejoice, much more doth Christ joy in the recovery of one repenting sinner than in multitudes of holy and just persons, (such was the blessed Virgin,) who need no repentance.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. The manifestations were granted to disciples only, but to disciples wholly unexpectant of a Resurrection. The theory that they were visions resulting from enthusiastic expectations, is against all the evidence.

2. The first sign was the removal of the stone.

2. Concluding that the body must be gone, she runneth therefore to S. Peter. He is still chief of the Apostles, and as such is consulted first, in spite of his fall. The repetition of πρός implies that he was not living with S. John, though (Joh 20:3) near him. We are in doubt whether δν ἐφίλει applies to him as well as to ‘the other disciple.’ The special phrase for S. John is ὄν ἠγάπα (Joh 13:22).

ἦραν. She makes no attempt to determine whether friends or foes have done it (comp. Luk 12:20): οἴδαμεν agrees with the Synoptists’ account, that other women came also. She left them to go to the Apostles.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Μαρ. ἡ Μαγδ.] She was not alone (Matt., Mark, Luke). Does this appear in the οἴδαμεν below? This is not, as Meyer says, precluded by the οἶδα in ver. 13. Mary there speaks in her own person, which she might do however accompanied. Still, probably not. She uses the plural as involving all the disciples in her own feeling of ignorance and of consequent sorrow. So Meyer: and it is more natural to take it thus. One thing we may conclude for certain, that she, for some reason, did not see the vision related in Matt., Mark, and Luke.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. τρέχει οὖν κτλ. The haste with which the women ran back from the tomb is mentioned also Mar 16:8, Mat 28:8.

ἔρχεται πρὸς Σίμωνα Πέτρον. Peter was still, despite his denial of Jesus, reckoned as the leader, or at any rate as one of the leaders, of the disciples; and so it is naturally to him that the surprising news of the tomb being empty is carried first. He has not been mentioned since 18:27; and so on his reappearance in the narrative, Jn., according to his habit (see on 18:15), gives his full name Simon Peter. The names of the disciples to whom the women brought the news are not specified in Mat 28:8; but cf. Luk 24:12.

καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄλλον μαθητήν κτλ. As Bengel observes, the repetition of πρός indicates that Peter and “the other disciple” were not lodging in the same house. The women had to visit them separately. Cf. πρὸς αὑτούς of v. 10, and see 19:27.

ὃν ἐφίλει ὁ Ἰησοῦς. See 13:23, and cf. 21:17. This association of Peter and the “Beloved Disciple” is significant, in view of the identification of the Beloved Disciple with John, the son of Zebedee. See Introd., pp. xxxiv ff.

῏Ηραν τὸν κύριον κτλ., “they have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” The subject of ἦραν is indefinite; Mary and her companions did not know who they were. For the designation of Jesus as “the Lord,” see the note on 4:1.

The plur. οἴδαμεν, as has been noted on v. 1, suggests that Mary was speaking for her companions as well as for herself.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Loved [εφιλει] . The word for personal affection. In Joh 13:23; Joh 21:7, 20, hjgapa is used. See on 5 20.

We know not. The plural indicates that Mary was not alone, though she alone is mentioned as coming to the tomb. She may have preceded the others.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.