Comments John 20:1 John 20:1 happens at the same time as the events described in Luke 24:1-7, Matthew 28:1-7, and Mark 16:1-7 meaning that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb with other women very early, still being dark, but the sun was risen (See Mark 16:2).
[On the first day of the week "still being dark" (John 20:1); "when the sun was risen" (Mark 16:2); "as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week" (Matthew 28:1); "on the first day of the week, at early dawn" (Luke 24:1). Dawn means the period in the day when the light from the sun begins to appear.]
Q: Why are we given various terms to describe the time of the coming of these women to the tomb, with John saying still being dark and Mark saying when the sun has risen? A: Think this way as well, the earth is here, and the sun is here, and the sun shines up; the people in this part did not see the sun, but if they look at the sky, they notice the light but the sun itself does not shine yet to the earth, just on the sky only, that is why the verse has told it is being dark.
Q: Why does this section, John 20:1-19, focus mainly on what Mary did and experienced? A: The apostle John writes the Gospel from an eyewitness perspective, but under the dictation of the Holy Spirit, and here he details the story as given to him by Mary and as he himself witnessed the events at the tomb. We also need to think of the character of the people as well. Mary's character is an outspoken person; she had talked out before anyone else had to say anything, and what John has told is from what Mary told him what had happened over there and John wrote down according to what the Holy Spirit guided him, the way he should tell the order from his experience and witness; when the women has met him and told him the story, at that time Mary was the one who described to him what she and other women have seen.

Comments John 20:2 “She runs therefore … the Lord out of the tomb.” Mary only tells what she believes is correct in her mind; in her own understanding, she believes someone else has carried the beloved Son of God out from the tomb; that is what her mind has told her regardless of what else her eyes have seen, or ears have heard, her understanding is cut off, just the heart acknowledgment of what she believes. Most people are like her; even the Holy Bible tells many things, but if the heart does not want to accept, that heart will feed the mind with only selective admission of the Word.
“and we know not where they have laid Him.” This verse shows that Mary Magdalene also went to the tomb with the other women, and they discussed where Jesus could be (See Luke 24:1-7, Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:1-7). So the women that have seen the empty tomb, in their hearts, have only one thing, that someone has taken the beloved Son of God away from the tomb, and they did not know where those people have put Him; the human mind has already imagined things, but in this place, they only have told that they did not know who has taken away the body of the beloved Son of God and where He was.
See Comments Mark 16:9-11 and Comparison Analysis Mark 16:1-8.
Complete summary of events on the first day of the week when the Lord rose from the dead:
1. Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the other women went to the tomb early morning on the first day of the week still being somehow dark, but the sun was risen, with the purpose of further preparing the body of Jesus with spices; within their hearts they want to prepare the body of the beloved Son of God according to the custom of the people of God would do for the dead body. (See Luke 24:1, John 20:1, Matthew 28:1, and Mark 16:1-2).
2. These women witnessed the earthquake, the angel at the tomb, and the angels inside the tomb as described in the Gospels. However, we do not know how many of them went inside the tomb and who they were by name that had seen the angels. (See Luke 24:2-5a, Matthew 28:2-4, Mark 16:3-6a).
3. The angels told them that Jesus is risen and told them to announce this to His disciples. (Luke 24:5b-8, Matthew 28:6-7, Mark 16:6b-7).
4. The women left frightened and didn’t talk to anyone on their way but went to tell His apostles first. Mary and all the women are involved in telling the apostles, but Mary is the outspoken one and speaks for all of them, as shown in John 20:2 (“… and we know not where they have laid Him”). (Luke 24:9-11, Matthew 28:8, Mark 16:8, John 20:2, Luke 24:22-24).
5. Then Peter and John went out and ran together to the tomb to see what had happened. Peter and John witnessed the empty tomb as well. (John 20:3-9, Luke 24:12).
6. After seeing the empty tomb, Peter and John returned to their place. (John 20:10).
7. After talking to the apostles, we can understand that Mary Magdalene and the other women followed them as they ran to the tomb. We are told that Mary Magdalene reached the tomb and stayed behind at the tomb. However, we are not told where the other women were at this time. (John 20:11a).
8. Mary Magdalene again stooped inside the tomb (John 20:11b) and saw two angels (John 20:12) who talked to her (John 20:13).
9. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, standing outside the tomb behind her, but she didn’t recognize Him (John 20:14). This was the first appearance of the Lord to someone after His resurrection (a href=/mark/chapter-16#verse_9>Mark 16:9).
10. Mary talked to the resurrected Lord. (John 20:15-17).
11. Next, Jesus met the other women, and they worshiped Him, and Jesus talked to them (Matthew 28:9-10). Note there is a gap of time between Matthew 28:8 and Matthew 28:9. The next moment after Mary met the Lord, He met the other women, who were in a different area than Mary; this could have taken place sometime before 9 am. In Matthew 28:11, we are told about these women going after meeting the Lord, but we are not told in any Gospel about them reporting that they saw the resurrected Lord.
12. Mary Magdalene, however, went and told the apostles that she had seen the Lord, but they disbelieved. (John 20:18, Mark 16:10-11); this could have taken place sometime before 9 am.
13. The Lord appeared to two of His disciples this same day as they were traveling on the road to Emmaus village. Jesus drew near them as they were walking, and He joined them and talked to them, but they did not recognize Him; however, the Lord Jesus interpreted to them the Scriptures concerning Himself. The Lord Jesus dined with them as it was toward evening, and the day was now far spent (Luke 24:13-31a, Mark 16:12-13). Therefore, we can assume here that this event happened before 6 pm. Q: From their discussion with the Lord on the road, it appears that they were not yet aware of the Lord’s appearance to Mary or the other women, even though the Lord appeared to them sometimes earlier in the day. A: We can assume these men were not in the inner circle of the Lord’s disciples. Most of the time, they stayed away from the rest of the people; all they knew was that the tomb was empty now; they did not know what Mary had seen, but later on, after they had met with others, they learned all about it.
14. The two men returned from the Emmaus village to Jerusalem to meet the apostles and tell them they have seen the Lord (Luke 24:32-33). There they find out that Jesus appeared to Simon Peter as well (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5). Combining these events so far, we can understand that if the Lord walked with these men and dined with them sometimes towards the evening and by the time they came and met the apostles the Lord already appeared to Simon Peter as well, that the Lord appeared to Simon Peter sometimes before the Lord Jesus met these two on the road and after the Lord appeared to the women. (Luke 24:34, 1 Corinthians 15:5).
15. The Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples in the evening of the first day of the week, while these two men reported to the apostles “how He was known of them in the breaking of the bread” during their meal together in the village. (John 20:19-23, Luke 24:35-48, Mark 16:14-18). The appearance of the Lord to these two men is a vital part of the Lord’s resurrection because both have witnessed the disciples now that they also have met with the Lord. Now it is not only the inner circle that has witnessed the resurrection of the Lord but other disciples as well.
16. The Lord Jesus revealed again to the disciples the second time while Thomas was present (John 20:26-29.
17. The Lord Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples the third time at the sea of Tiberias.(John 21:1-25).
18. As written in Acts 1:3, the Lord Jesus appeared to the disciples for a period of 40 days and spoke with them about the kingdom of God. After the events described in John chapters 20 and 21, we can understand that the Lord appeared to the disciples at other times and in various places, which are not all recorded.
19. The saying of the Lord Jesus in Luke 24:49 happened during a different appearance of the Lord Jesus to the disciples, while in Jerusalem, sometimes shortly before His ascension, when He instructs them to remain in the city (Jerusalem) to be “clothed with power from on high.” More specifically, this saying in Luke 24:49 took place at the same time as the saying in Acts 1:4 when the Lord “was staying with them” in Jerusalem at a place where all were gathered together. From this place in Jerusalem, while the Lord stayed with them, He led them up to Bethany on the Mount of Olives, from where He ascended into heaven (See Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:4-11).

Comments John 20:3 With hearts full of joy, both disciples went straight to the tomb of the beloved Son of God. Their hearts were joyful to hear something regarding the beloved Son of God, so they immediately went to the tomb to see what truly had happened.

Comments John 20:4 All readers can notice that Peter and John ran together, but John physically was stronger than Peter; the two men were running together to the same place, but physically one was stronger, so he reached there first.

Comments John 20:5 “and having stooped down, he sees the linen cloths lying.” Even though John had been there at the tomb first, the courage that he had did not make him enter the tomb where the Lord had been, and that was not because he did not love the Lord; however, because of his respect for where the Lord has laid he would not just enter to see the things; but stooping down he could see the linen cloth being there, but he did not see the beloved Son inside. In his heart, all the information the women had told had been confirmed; someone had already taken the beloved Son of God’s body away from the tomb. At that time, no one understood what the beloved Son of God had said that He would rise out of the dead; no mind has yet linked that together.
“however, he did not enter in.” As this part of the verse tells, even John was first to reach there, but in his heart, because he has run together with another, the love he has for another disciple also has kept him outside to wait to know that the beloved Son of God was not in the tomb; also seeing only the linen clothes lying made him have the expectation as well that something truly happened here and thinking together with another disciple he would reach to understand better the situation; that is another reason that made him wait and not enter in.

Comments John 20:6 “Then Simon Peter also comes, following him, and entered into the tomb.” Let all readers notice that even though Peter comes after, he enters first. With his heart full of questions, he wanted to see what truly happened; therefore, even though he was slow in running to come but when he reached there, he did not want to wait another moment; in his heart, he wanted to know if anything wrong or not has happened with the body of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, he entered first, with a brave heart; regardless of what was waiting ahead, with love in his heart toward the beloved Son of God, he entered without delay. This tomb was a big room, but we cannot say that it was large; it was bigger than normal, which could be used to bury two people together, but the beloved Son of God has been buried alone in this tomb; the room internal may be big, but it had nothing in it only empty space, which was enough for the beloved Son of God to be left in there alone. Also, even though He did not stay long in this tomb, this tomb has been dedicated to His body and has become the beloved Son of God’s tomb on earth.
“and he sees the linen cloths lying.” When the beloved Son of God left the tomb, the linen cloths that were on the Lord's body, He did not need to use them at all; they were left there as they have been removed from the whole body of the beloved Son of God. The one that entered inside the tomb saw the linen cloths and could think that they were still wrapped around the body of the beloved Son of God. The disciples saw the linen cloths and acknowledged that the beloved Son of God had left the tomb but not in a hurry. In order to have the linen cloths left there in a normal way as they had been wrapped, someone would think that it must have taken a lot of time to remove them from each part of the body. Also, when the disciples saw the linen cloth, they brought back the memory for them as well, thinking about where those linen cloths had been before.
However, the beloved Son of God rose in human form by the Father Himself. It was the Father who removed the linen cloths because it was not for the beloved Son of God to be wrapped in linen cloths for burial; the Father Himself came and took the beloved Son into His hand; we can also think as the body has been lifted out from the linen cloths without tearing them because the Father Himself has put His hand to take the body of the beloved Son of God out from those linen cloths.
The beloved Son of God’s resurrected body will not use earthly clothes anymore. He will use the heavenly clothes covering His body; no human hand or eyes have ever touched or seen the heavenly clothes, but only the beloved Son of God in human form alone has seen and touched them. The disciples did not see the heavenly clothes the Father put on His body but saw another cloth He used. Each time He appeared to the disciples, they would have seen only that cloth, but no human eye could see the heavenly clothes. There is a difference between those clothes; when the Father gives the beloved Son the heavenly clothes, these are the clothes that also the heavenly hosts can notice; however, only the beloved Son of God can wear them; they are a special type of clothes which will tell the difference of position so even the heaven itself can notice the difference as well. Another cloth is from the Father as well but does not have the radiance of the heavenly host on it, which is why it looks different. The explanation would be that the Lord Jesus has heavenly clothes and an earthly cloth, the heavenly clothes the disciples didn’t see or touch; human eyes do not have the ability to see or touch the heavenly clothes; therefore, the Lord Jesus appeared to them in the earthly cloth.
The Lord Jesus can eat earthly food, but it will never go for digestion; when the food enters His resurrected body, it will be put somewhere else but not in the body itself because He does not need earthly food anymore for the body. The heavenly body doesn’t need this food, either.

Comments John 20:7 “and the face cloth, that was upon His head, not lying with the linen cloths.” When the Father's hand came to take the beloved Son of God, His body was lifted up and wearing the new heavenly clothes on Him; the linen cloths that were wrapped upon His body had fallen off on the place; the face cloth that had covered the face of the beloved Son of God also was left in its own place as it was put on the face. The Father has taken the body of the Lord Jesus out of those linen cloths altogether; the beloved Son of God no longer needs earthly clothes upon His body; the Father Himself has prepared the heavenly clothes for Him to wear. His appearance in front of the Father will be in the heavenly clothes to magnify His glory in achieving the hard work the beloved Son of God has fulfilled, the job the Father has given Him. His human body was resurrected out of the linen cloths of the earth, when the Father’s hand has wrapped around His body, and lifted up His body from the earthly linen cloths and clothed Him with the heavenly clothes in the same moment. Those earthly clothes just fell off to the ground in the place. The human tradition of cutting the body will take time, but when they did bury the beloved Son of God, they did not have that time to do that tradition, so they only wrapped the body with spices and laid Him down on the floor without even a coffin to keep the body.
“but folded up in one place by itself.” The body was wrapped around with the linen cloths up to the shoulders, and His head had the face cover. When the Father lifted His body, that face cloth still folded up felt down in its place as the Father had lifted up the beloved Son's body out of the clothes in His palm; therefore, the way they folded the cloth upon His face remained as it was; when the body was lifted up, all the body clothes have not been thrown off but fell off the body and stayed where they were.
The miracle that Peter and John saw was that these clothes were intact as they were on the Lord’s body, but the body of the Lord was not inside these clothes, they were just empty on the ground but not unwrapped or the face cloth unfolded as somebody took them off from the body. This is more than a miracle for the human body of the Lord Jesus to rise up through the clothes, which does not even disturb their shape and the way they were. After they put the body of the Lord Jesus wrapped down, the face cloth was put on the face with no wrapping but folded on the face, and this cloth was on the ground as it was initially put on the face of the Lord Jesus, not disturbed. The reason we are given this information is to understand the miracle of the body resurrection done by the Father Himself; it is not that someone or an angel went and unwrapped the clothes of the Lord first or that the Lord rose in those clothes and then He unwrapped Himself or something like that; the Father took the body of the Lord Jesus out of those clothes, through the clothes without touching those clothes. So therefore, the body of the Lord Jesus was lifted through those clothes by the Father Himself, and this is the miracle of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Comments John 20:8 “Then, therefore, entered in the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb.” Another disciple now had courage enough to enter as well; this does not mean he did not have faith, but the respect in his heart was high towards the beloved Son of God, and entering for him was not easy. Still, when another disciple entered in before him, it also made him think that he should be there as well and see the place of his Lord where He was laid down; the gentle heart that he had made it hard for him to enter in.
“and he saw, and believed.” When he saw the empty tomb, it made his heart wonder what had happened there and where the beloved Son of God’s body could be; and having seen the empty tomb and the clothes in the way they were, it was hard for him to accept that someone had taken the beloved Son of God away from the tomb.

Comments John 20:9 Even though the disciples have been with the beloved Son of God for a long time, and even though the beloved Son of God has told them what will happen to Him, they themselves still could not understand what it really meant to rise from the dead. Now they saw the place where the beloved Son of God had been raised being empty; however, in their minds, it did not come yet to the understanding that the beloved Son of God had already been raised up from the dead.

Comments John 20:10 After the disciples had seen the empty tomb, they did not know what else they could do, so they returned to their own place.

Comments John 20:11 This verse confirms to us that this is the second time that Mary came to the tomb, and now at this time she came following the disciples (See John 20:2).
“But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping.” Here, let all readers notice as well that Mary has a heart for the beloved Son of God; her love for Him has made her be there and weep her sorrow out. This woman has a love for the beloved Son of God, and even though He has departed already from this world, she has been there weeping without expecting that the beloved Son of God will have to pay her or do anything for her. All of you that weep for your loved ones when they depart from you also think of her. Will you be there and weep like her, alone and crying her heart out? This is Mary, the commoner who has cried for God’s beloved Son.
“then, as she wept, she stooped down into the tomb.” Then, as Mary stood outside alone, she stooped down to look inside the tomb; even though she did not enter but her heart had already entered in with grief to see the place where her Master’s earthly body was laid to rest; the sadness in her heart also has been shown out by way of her own actions.

Comments John 20:12 Mary’s heart wept deep out from her soul when she saw the place where the beloved Son of God had lain. Mary always wanted to serve the beloved Son of God, and when she came to the tomb, it made her heart cry out in sorrow, thinking of her Master. Nevertheless, the Lord has looked upon her tear and had mercy; the two angels have been in the tomb and let Mary see them out of the mercy that the beloved Son of God has towards her. These two angels are the angels that have come to worship the beloved Son of God when He has risen and received an order to wait until they meet with Mary and have a conversation with her.
These two angels were the same ones that were present in Luke 24:4-7 and Mark 16:5-7 when the women went first to the tomb, but the angel from Matthew 28:1-7 that descended from heaven was a different angel than these two.
Q: Why did one angel sit at the head and one at the feet where the Lord has lain? A: These two angels both are angels but have different duties. When the Father's hand has come to take the body of the beloved Son of God, these two angels also have received duty, one which stayed at the head portion and another stayed at the foot portion; the head portion will be the angel that also will have a duty in helping the thought of anyone that has looked upon the cross and thinks of Him that died for them on the cross; the angel at the feet will be the one that is waiting and helps everyone that has been helped from another angel to walk following the teaching of the beloved Son of God and worship the Father. So the two angels have different duties, but their duty will be tangled to one another as one duty because it is only one begotten Son of God (See Matthew 4:11b, Hebrew 1:14).
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, and He controls all the angels of heaven because the Holy Spirit receives straight direction from the Father; whatever orders the Holy Spirit gives to the angels, they all will obey as it is from the Father Himself.

Comments John 20:13 This verse talks clearly about Mary at the tomb and the two angels. The two angels asked her regarding her feelings because her cry was not only a physical crying but a cry of sorrow from her soul. Furthermore, these two angels received the order to talk to her, and the conversation that she received would bring joy to her soul; the answer Mary gave them also pointed out the reason why she was crying here; her Master had died, and now the body of the beloved Son of God was gone from the tomb, and for Mary, this was a big loss again; she lost the Master because He died and now she has lost His body and does not know where she can find Him again, so the cry of the unknown has broken her heart.

Comments John 20:14 See verse Mark 15:9, which tells that the Lord Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Also, see Comments John 20:2 for a summary of the events at the tomb and an understanding that Mary has been there twice. “When she had thus said, she turned back behind, and beholds Jesus standing.” As Mary was talking with the angels, she saw the beloved Son of God with her own eyes when she turned her face back. Still, her heart that was in sorrow had covered her eyes, and the radiance of the body of the beloved Son of God had blurred her eyes, making her unable to recognize the beloved Son of God. “and did not know that it is Jesus.” Mary is a commoner and has seen the beloved Son of God in human form only; therefore, when her eyes have seen the beloved Son of God, the radiance that the beloved Son of God showed off has blocked all her mind and the understanding in her heart has turned blanked of all questions, and she could not recognize that it was the beloved Son of God Himself.

Comments John 20:15 “Jesus says to her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek?” The beloved Son of God has spoken to her as a common man would normally speak with any woman. The simple question He has made to her has also told her that He had noticed the weeping heart she was in, but when He asked her, “whom do you seek” that question brought her heart back to realize where she was; now Mary came to realize the One that has asked her the question has asked her with love but also with authority above her.
“She, thinking that He is the gardener, says to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him.” The question that Mary received also made her heart think about what she was doing here and also brought her back to what she was doing in this place right now; her Master’s body had disappeared, and she was concerned about where and how she could find Him. When she understood that he could be the one who was taking care of the tomb, that was when her question, “if you have carried Him away,” came; everyone would have the same question when they would talk to someone whom they believe could give them an answer; also take notice that she asked him to let her know where he has put her Master, and she would do everything she could to take Him back.
“and I will take Him away.” In this place, Mary proposed to him that she would take full responsibility for His body. With her heart full of love towards the beloved Son of God, she would do anything to take His body back to the place where His body belongs to be, to the tomb where His body was laid; there was the place Mary believed it was the proper place for His body to lay at rest. When she said to take Him away, she meant to take His body away from the gardener’s responsibility.

Comments John 20:16 “Jesus says to her, Mary.” So let all readers give attention that the beloved Son of God has called her by her own name Mary; to be recognized by the Lord by your earthly name also tells the people that if you truly worship Him from your heart, He will recognize you by your own name as well, even later on you will have a different name, but now she has an earthly name.
“Having turned around, she says to Him in Aramaic, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher.” Everybody should take notice of this verse; Mary has accepted the beloved Son of God as her Holy Teacher; she called Him Rabboni, which means Teacher. The Holy Teacher will teach you all knowledge.
We can conclude that the Lord appeared first to Mary and then to Peter (See Comments John 20:2). Because of her weeping heart, she lagged behind, and her tender heart made the Lord have mercy on her, and this appearing also will strengthen Mary’s faith in the beloved Son of God.

Comments John 20:17 “Jesus says to her, Touch Me not.” The beloved Son of God was resurrected recently from the dead, and His earthly body that Mary has been looking at is now also covered with the heavenly body; therefore, the cleaning of the body is the part that the beloved Son of God has to maintain until going up to heaven. When a human touches His body, the human’s physical body will also make His heavenly body partially unclean, and at this point, the beloved Son of God did not go to see the Father yet, so He must keep His body pure; therefore, to take His earthly body to meet with the Father, He has stopped her before touching Him. Immediately after the resurrection, the human body of the beloved Son of God is pure and clean, which the beloved Son of God wants to offer to the Father, which was the main reason for not touching Him yet. Therefore, the reason Mary was not to touch the Lord was not that the Lord Jesus did not ascend to the Father, which takes place forty days later (Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11), but the reason was that Jesus did not meet with the Father yet after His resurrection to receive new commandments as the resurrected Lord. Hence, Jesus needed to keep His human body clean. The Bible does not tell where and when this meeting between the Lord Jesus and the Father occurred, but we can understand that Jesus met the Father right after His appearance to Mary and before meeting the group of the other women.
“for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” The Lord Jesus would see the disciples before He ascended to heaven (be carried up to heaven). Even though God is One together, the beloved Son of God in human form still has to meet with the Father; so, in the prospect of meeting with the Father in human form, the beloved Son of God has told, at this moment, that He has not yet gone back to heaven. This part is the reason to go to tell the disciples.
“but go to My brethren, and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father.” So, in this part of the verse, the beloved Son of God has told His disciples that He is going to see the Father and also makes the disciples aware that the Father of the beloved Son of God is also their Father; this also tells the disciples that the love from the Father has been extended to them as well because from now on they are not just only the disciples of the beloved Son of God but they have become children of the Father as well.
“and My God and your God.” At this saying, the Lord Jesus also has told all humans that He is the beloved Son of God, but the Father is also His God, and if the Father is the God of the beloved Son of God, then the Father will be God of all that believe in the Lord Jesus. God the Father has the Trinity in Himself; the Father has the Trinity of God in Himself; the beloved Son of God and the Holy Spirit are also One in the Father.
The Lord Jesus didn’t go back and forth to heaven; He remained on earth for a while after His resurrection and met with His disciples. The ascension (or carried up) of the Lord Jesus is given in Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11 and happened at the time given in these verses.
Q: In Matthew 28:9, the verse says, “And behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him.” Therefore, how do we put this verse together with our comments about Mary in John 20:17 not being allowed to touch the Lord Jesus? A: Give attention to the comments in John 20:17; the Lord stopped Mary because He did not meet the Father yet. At that moment, the Lord Jesus, in His resurrected body, did not meet the Father, but later on, the Father came down to meet Him. Therefore, when the Lord met these women specified in the Gospel of Matthew, the Father had already met with Him, so He did not stop them from holding Him.
Q: Also, we said that the Lord Jesus was raised in the Father’s palm, so how can this comment say that the Lord didn’t meet the Father yet? A: There is no confusion in the comments if we consider the order of things in each situation; each step of the situation also has many things that have happened already. When the Father has come to take the beloved Son of God, it is different than when the beloved Son of God ascended to meet with the Father; many things must happen before, and many things also can happen right after. The Bible does not tell the specific time when this group of women met the Lord; for a short time on earth, many things have already happened in heaven.
After the Father has met the beloved Son, the Lord Jesus in the human body could be touched as normal. Still, the Father has already met with the beloved Son in the human body, but the beloved Son of God had to maintain the cleanliness of the body so the beloved Son of God can touch the Father; if the body of the beloved Son is unclean, then the Father cannot touch Him further. However, after the meeting, everything can be as normal.

Comments John 20:18 “Mary Magdalene comes and reports to the disciples.” Let all believers notice in this verse Mary with a heart full of trust and belief in the beloved Son of God, the beloved Son of God told her to go to tell the disciples the most important news of all; the first person that has received the duty Mary a simple woman has become the tool in spreading the good news of God, by going and telling the disciples what she has seen; also has made the good news spreading out around the world from the first messenger of the resurrected Lord is Mary herself; everyone can notice that from this verse itself, Mary has become the messenger of the Lord as well.
"I have seen the Lord; and He had said these things to her." The important message now what she has said, the human has witnessed the resurrected Lord of life; what Mary has seen is the most important news for humans, human eyes have seen the resurrected Lord of life return back as human, this is the most important news the messenger can tell, a true witness that still walking among people and received the duty from the mouth of the resurrected beloved Son of God Himself.
As the Holy Bible has told us, the lowly have become important; Mary, a simple commoner, has become the first messenger of the resurrected Lord of Life in human form. The Lord has lifted up the simple to be important, and even nowadays if you truly believe and trust in the Holy Bible, you can also become a messenger of the Lord; the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart about what you can do in serving the Lord, and then your ears also will hear the order of work. However, humans nowadays do not trust the invisible voice of the Lord in the heart but trust the invisible voice of technology; people have created the technology, but the invisible voice of the heart comes from God, but humans do not put value into it. Technology has become a tool for spreading the word, but also technology has been used in many other ways; therefore, when anyone uses technology, and the heart does not listen to the voice in their heart of what they should not look at, then their mind will receive only negative things about the Lord; many have used technology in spreading blasphemous messages throughout the world as well, and also the Lord has used technology in spreading the good news as well; therefore, all depends on the heart of the user of what voices they are listening to; they have the choice to choose, and now the freedom becomes effective, what message you want to feed your soul, choose it wisely and be in prayer and the Lord will guide you what is good and what is wrong.
Between verses 18 and 19, there is a gap of time, and the Lord Jesus appeared to the other women that were at the tomb, to Peter, and to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (See Comments John 20:2). See also Comments Mark 16:9-11.

Comments John 20:19 “It being, therefore, evening, on that day, … because of fear of the Jews.” The life of the disciples at that time was not easy for all of them because of the good news they had spreading regarding the beloved Son of God, which was against the majority of people’s belief. The disciples believed that the beloved Son of God in human form was also truly the Son of God even though He is a human; God has become a Man and dwelled with humans; therefore, He is the Son of Man.
“Jesus came and stood in the midst, and says to them, Peace to you.” The beloved Son of God was concerned about the disciples because what they would face was not easy for any human. So, when He appeared to them the term, He said to them, "Peace to you," will give them peace in their hearts; by doing this, their faith also has grown; they have seen and heard the word of the beloved Son of God, and this will also give them the positive feeling and their strength with grow.
“and the doors having been shut … Jesus came and stood in the midst.” Jesus resurrected in the body, which here is important in how He appeared to them. The beloved Son of God is a hundred percent human and a hundred percent God simultaneously. The resurrected Lord has concurred all; He concurred the living and the death; nothing can block Him anymore; even being in human form, He can go through all things; nothing can block His way anymore. After the beloved Son of God was resurrected from death, His human form and the heavenly form were joined, not just covered any longer; the human form of the beloved Son of God now has the same power as the heavenly form because He has concurred all. We should not think that Jesus’ human body was transformed at the resurrection, but instead, we must think that His resurrected human body has joined His heavenly body; if the human body is transformed, then it will change, but when they are joined, the two will cover over each other, the two become one and the beloved Son of God has both forms, the human form, and the heavenly form. Furthermore, we cannot think that the human body of the Lord Jesus is being preserved through the heavenly body; however, we must believe that His human body came to life and is alive as a human body, which has joined with the heavenly body. The heavenly form has given life to the human form; in the human form, the beloved Son of God now has blood and water from the heavenly form to replace all that He has lost on the cross. When humans have crucified the beloved Son of God on the cross, the heavenly form has given all the life back to the human body; now the beloved Son of God has complete human life and body in Him, and He has joined with the heavenly form; the beloved Son of God has become one hundred percent of both forms in One. All the food and every nutrition for this human body are received through His own heavenly form; He does not need human food, but all the food that His human body needs, the heavenly form has given for Him.
Only the beloved Son of God will have human form in the new world; He will be the only true human left.

Comments John 20:20 “And having said this, He showed both His hands and His side to them.” Then, to make sure that the disciples realized what they were doing in their hearts, the beloved Son of God showed them all the injuries that He had received at the hands of humans; therefore, the disciples always will remember that their own Master had been killed by them as well, not only by the hands of the outsiders that have harmed the beloved Son of God. When their eyes have seen His wounds, the pain has grieved their hearts. The scars on His body also have talked to their hearts about why it happened, and then the guilt will also come to them; they all have fled away from their Master and have let their Master suffer alone; they will feel in their hearts as their own action has surrendered their Master to be crucified and that is the guilt they will have. “The disciples then rejoiced, having seen the Lord.” So when the beloved Son of God appeared in front of them, their eyes saw the resurrected Lord of life, and their hearts were rejoicing because their Master was living again. So now their faith has been strengthened, the peace has come to their hearts that the Master of their life truly has returned to them again; the loss they have felt in their hearts has been eliminated when they have seen the resurrected Lord again.

Comments John 20:21 “Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you.” The disciples wanted to hear this saying from the Lord with their own ears. The beloved Son of God has given them His peace, and that peace has given them strength to do the work as well; the peace of the soul, not only the peace of heart, now has covered all their fears and also has given them the hope in serving the true Master of life. The Lord Jesus has come back to them, and the death on the cross of their Master has turned to joy for them because in their hearts, now they have understood that the resurrected Lord has concurred all, even death.
“just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” So, at this point, the beloved Son of God has told them that the Father has sent Him to the earth, and now the beloved Son of God also will send them to go out and tell the whole world what the beloved Son of God has done for humans.

Comments John 20:22 “And this having said, He breathed into.” The breath of the beloved Son of God has power in it. Therefore, if He breathes on anyone, that person also will inhale the breath from the beloved Son of God; therefore, in that person, that breath will also clean the soul and wipe off the dark part of the mind that still clings to the person. When that dark part has fallen off, the heart of the person will be ready and willing to receive the teaching; the willingness without forcing will happen to the heart of that person; this also is a blessing from the beloved Son of God in preparing the heart to be clean and ready to receive the gift from the beloved Son of God which He will give to all that have open their hearts to accept and glorify Him. This also applies now to all the disciples who are in front of Him and open their hearts, and that heart will be ready and capable of receiving the magnificent gift, the Holy Spirit, from the beloved Son of God.
“and He says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.” The beloved Son of God has authority in giving the Holy Spirit because the beloved Son of God and the Father are One, and the Holy Spirit will be given through the beloved Son of God. When the beloved Son of God has cleared the person's heart, that person will be ready to receive the Holy Spirit.
Q: What is the difference between giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples as described here and the baptism with the Holy Spirit as described in the book of Acts? A: There is no difference in receiving the Holy Spirit, but there is a difference in the way of receiving. When received straight from the beloved Son of God, the Holy Spirit has come in straight, deep into the soul through the beloved Son of God’s will. Still, when the Holy Spirit baptism happens as described in the book of Acts, the heart of the person has invited the Holy Spirit straight and has put trust in the beloved Son of God’s mercy; this is because the beloved Son of God has been the One that told all humans that when He has departed from the earth, He will send the Holy Spirit to everyone, and the heart that believes in the beloved Son of God’s works will receive the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when a person is ready to receive the Holy Spirit, if they are willing to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit's teaching and will keep meditating on the Holy Word and use the Holy Word to feed their soul, they will receive the Holy Spirit baptism.

Comments John 20:23 “if of any, you may forgive the sins.” So, the disciples that have received the Holy Spirit through the beloved Son of God's breath of life, the breath of the beloved Son power had retained all the spirit of the disciples as well. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit has told their souls, this person's sin is forgiven, that sin of the person has been forgiven not because of the disciples themselves, but the will of the Holy Spirt that wants to forgive; also, the breath of the beloved Son of God is the same breath with the Holy Spirit; therefore, the disciples have received in the same time two Spirits, the Spirt of Christ and the Holy Spirit, so in their hearts will have the ear to hear which is different than the rest of people.
“they are forgiven to them.” However, to forgive the sins, one must consider why and what that sin is and against whom; the Holy Spirit Himself also knows the true meaning of the sin the person has committed, and each sin has its own consequences.
“if of any, you may retain.” The retain in this place, give attention as well, it is because of the feeling human of dislike or the Holy Spirit in the disciple wishes to retain it. Retain feeling against someone must not be the feeling of human; when the Holy Spirit retains from someone, He also will give feeling to the disciple, and it is done for that person; there is no longer a need to have anything related to that person again, but the disciple must retain the love for that person as well; because it is not the disciple's decision to retain or not retain. Here we talk about retaining the forgiveness of sin.
“they are retained.” When the Holy Spirit makes the decision to retain sin on anyone, that person can no longer receive any forgiveness again; whatever that person will do, it is no longer under the protection of the Holy Spirit, and the soul of that person will be punished for eternity.
Q: How can the disciples handle this power accordingly? A: The disciples may have this power, but if their decision may not be right, to make it happen or not is the decision of the Holy Spirit Himself; therefore, if the disciples have said things out without the will of the Holy Spirit than that word will not be accomplished; however, the disciples in that time, in their hearts also would feel different; when the Holy Spirit has spoken to them, they will say just as they have received regarding forgive or not forgive the sins.
Here, the Lord Jesus entrusted His authority to forgive people's sins to His disciples. See also Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20.
Q: Does this authority given in this verse to the disciples apply to all other disciples or only to the apostles? A: At first, this authority was for the apostles only, but later for spreading the Holy Word, more disciples have received this authority as well; the Holy Bible also has mentioned this (See 2 Corinthians 2:10-11).
In Matthew 10:1-15, Jesus sends out His disciples; at that time, the disciples used the Spirit of Christ in forgiveness, but later on, when they have received the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will also guide them which one is to forgive, if the sin is not forgiven His disciples also will know and they will not speak out that the sins are forgiven because His disciples in their hearts will hear clearly, do not say forgive sins on this person; it is a difference between human forgiving each other, or the Holy Spirit forgiving the sins.

Comments John 20:25 This mindset is a general human mind; when they have only been told, all would be the same as Thomas, all would wish to have a chance to be able to not just see with the eyes but touch with the hands. Thomas, to prove what is real he wants to touch, does not believe his own fellow disciples who have met the beloved Son of God after the resurrection; doubtful human mind happens even among His own disciples themselves; doubt will come to their mind as well, they do not need to have challenges, but the doubt comes even when just been told.
“put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side.” The nails were put through the wrist of the hands and through the feet. The piercing of the spear was an extensive piercing going through the side of the rib cage of His body; the side of the beloved Son of God was ripped open.

Comments John 20:26 “And after eight days, again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them.” The day came when the disciples gathered together again, and Thomas the doubtful was also with them.
“Jesus comes, the doors having been shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace to you.” So the resurrected Lord has come to His disciples, the beloved Son of God wants to confirm their faith, and also, He wants to let them see Him with their own eyes; the resurrected Lord wants to make sure that His disciples will be able to do the work they are called for, and that was one of the main reasons that He appeared when all were gathered together and said to them “Peace to you”; this peace will strengthen their souls as well since difficult work is waiting for them.

Comments John 20:27 Q: In John 20:17, the verse says, “Jesus says to her, Touch Me not; for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” We also commented that the Lord Jesus wants to keep His body clean to meet the Father with His human body. So, how come here the Lord asks Thomas to touch Him? A: Mary wanted to hug His feet as a holding on; to hold on to His human body would make Him unclean, but also, she is a woman; to stay at a distance from her was the proper way to do.
Here, the beloved Son of God has said this to them to strengthen their faith, and also, He knew that Thomas would not touch Him; however, to encourage their faith, He has told him, if you still have doubt come and touch Me. Also, if He would not invite them to touch His body this time, their faith would not be strong enough.

Comments John 20:28 Thomas has acknowledged now who is his God, but let everyone notice as well that he has passed through a difficult time, the doubt in his heart has overcontrolled him; but now he has seen the beloved Son of God with his own eyes, and the beloved Son of God has told him what he has said; however, the beloved Son of God was not there when he has talked about what will make him believe that the beloved Son of God has resurrected from the dead. And now, with the question before him to touch Him, Thomas has come to the final decision that truly, this is the beloved Son of God and his God; Thomas has taken the beloved Son of God for himself as God now.

Comments John 20:29 “Jesus says to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed.” The beloved Son told this not only to the disciples at that time but to all readers; the disciples at that time have seen the beloved Son of God and then have believed; but even now, many also have said to themselves, unless the beloved Son of God has proven Himself or shown Himself in any way to them, then they themselves will put faith in the beloved Son of God.
“blessed [are] those not having seen, and having believed.” This is the most important part for every human; even if you have not seen the beloved Son of God with your own eyes, or you have never thought of Him with the deep of your heart, but you have read the Holy Bible and believe every word that is from God, and what the Holy Bible has told about the beloved Son of God you have believed it, the blessing upon your soul is greater than those that have seen Him; because you have accepted Him with your own heart and soul, you become part of the family of God, and as the verse has told, you are blessed.

Comments John 20:30 This verse has told all, even for the short time the beloved Son of God has been as human on earth, but what He has done has already shown to every eye that the God who created all things also has dwelled with all things; when He has come and walked on earth as a human, He has seen and truly felt what humans go through, the beloved Son of God has tasted them all good and bad of this world, and if all things have been recorded the Holy Bible would become so big and no human could carry it. The Holy Bible tells only a tiny part of what God has done, and even that not all humans go and read it; but you cannot only read, you have to pray and meditate and believe every word as well; every word of the Holy Bible is from the living God, and we cannot take any part as not important.
“This book” in this verse refers to the Gospel of John itself.

Comments John 20:31 “however, these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God, with the name of human, as Jesus, has come and has done many miracles among humans; however, not all that He has done have been put down; each day, the miracles have happened, and the beloved Son of God has taught and performed many miracles, but not all have been written down for humans; the beloved Son of God is the Christ of God the Father Himself.
“Jesus is the Christ.” The beloved Son of God is God Himself as well; He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him. When the beloved Son of God came as a human on earth, the Father Himself also has been human with Him; "as a human," you can think this way as well, the Father has taken part of His heart and has sent that part to be born as human; that is why the term “Jesus is the Christ” is the most exalted human term, no human is part of the Father, but only the beloved Son of God in human form, which comes from the Father’s heart, because God the Father has sent Him to be human; therefore, the beloved Son of God is One with the Father, because He is part of the heart of the Father.
Jesus is “the Son of God;” others have also been called sons of God, but Jesus is the beloved Son of God and the only begotten Son of God; the angels also consider themselves as the sons of God, but those are created things, there is only One who is begotten from the Father, and no other is like Him.
“and that believing you may have life in His name;” and that believing that Jesus is the Christ and the only begotten Son of God you may have life in His name; when anyone who believes in the beloved Son of God and gives their life to Him, after that the life of that person will be the life in the beloved Son of God Himself as well because he has become a true follower of the beloved Son of God.