John

20:19-31

3. The resurrection of Jesus, 20:1-31

iii] Jesus appears to his disciples

All the gospels, other than Mark, recount Jesus' resurrection appearances. John's resurrection stories are particular to his gospel, but still fit with the accounts of the other gospel writers. In the passage before us John records two resurrection appearances, both in a locked room. The first with ten disciples; obviously Judas is missing, but also Thomas is not present. The second, a week later, with Thomas present. Luke, along with John, records a meeting of the disciples with Jesus on the Sunday evening in the upper room, but other than Jesus showing them his wounds, the stories have little in common.

The passage consists of two narratives and an editorial statement. The two narratives make up two of the four accounts of Jesus' resurrection appearances in John's gospel:

i] The first narrative, v19-23, records both "a symbolic promise of the soon-to-be-given gift of the Spirit", Kostenberger, and the gospel authorization of the disciples. In this narrative John emphasizes the fulfillment of promises made earlier to the disciples - a) "I am coming back", 14:18; b) the gift of peace, 14:27; c) renewed joy, 16:22; d) the commission - to be sent as Jesus was sent, 17:18; e) the promise of the Spirit, 16:7.

ii] The second narrative, v24-29. John uses the account of Thomas' journey to faith as the journey required of all those who have never seen Jesus. Our confession should mimic the confession of Thomas; "my Lord and my God." "Blessed are those who have never seen me and yet believe."

iii] The editorial statement, v30-31, establishes the purpose of the gospel, identifying selectivity with regard Jesus' signs/significant acts in order to prompt belief and the present appropriation of life eternal.

Jesus' upper-room appearances, v19-31: i] The appearance of Jesus to his disciples, v19-23.

oushV (eimi) part. gen. "-" - being. Genitive absolute of the verb "to be" forming a temporal clause; "when it was evening."

th/ mia/ sabbatwn "on the first day [of the week]" - on the first [of the week]. The dative is locative, while the genitive sabbatwn, "week", is adjectival, partitive, as NIV. "On the evening of that same Sunday", CEV.

kekleismenwn (klaiw) gen. perf. pas. part. "locked" - having been shut. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the genitive absolute "being". The perfect tense emphasizes the locking, now completed. "The door was bolted so no one could break in."

twn Ioudaiwn "the Jews" - "The Jewish authorities", TEV.

esth eiV to meson "[Jesus came and] stood in the midst / stood among them" - stood into the middle. The preposition eiV, "into", carries here both a sense of motion toward and at rest in.

autoiV dat. pro. "[said]" - [said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

uJmin dat. pro."[peace be] with you" - [peace] to you. Dative of interest, advantage; "I pray that it may be well for you", although often taken as adverbial, accompaniment; "it may be well with you", TH.

eipwn (legw) aor. part. "after he said [this]" - having said [this]. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

autoiV dat. pro. "[he showed] them" - Dative of indirect object.

oun "-" - therefore. Drawing a logical conclusion; "then the disciples were glad", ESV.

ecarhsan (cairw) aor. pas. "were overjoyed" - rejoiced. "The disciples were thrilled with joy", Williams.

idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "when they saw [the Lord]" - having seen. The participle is adverbial, probably forming a temporal clause as NIV, but causal, "because", is possible; "the disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord", NJB.

palin adv. "-" - again. "Jesus said to them again."

kaqwV "as" - in like manner. Comparative.

apostalken (apostellw) perf. "has sent" - The perfect tense indicating the action is completed with ongoing ramifications.

kagw "-" - so also. Adjunctive. "Even so I am sending you", ESV.

pempw pres. "I am sending" - The present tense indicating ongoing action, as NIV, although some argue that this should not be stressed; "as the Father has sent me so I send you", NAB.

eipwn (legw) aor. part. "[and] with that" - [and] saying. The participle is adverbial, temporal; "and when he had said this", ESV.

enefushsen (emfusaw) aor. "he breathed" - he breathed in, blew upon. A hapax legomenon, once only use in the NT. Possibly reflecting the divine breath in the creation of life, Gen.2:7. The seeming clash with Luke's account of Pentecost may be explained by this event being preparatory, although Phillips tries to handle the problem by translating "the Holy Spirit" with "receive holy spirit", given that there is no definite article. One would expect that this is the appropriate moment for the empowering of the disciples for their ministry of forgiveness though the proclamation of the gospel, but its clash with Luke's Pentecost account is not easy to explain. Certainly Pentecost is the moment when we witness the outpouring of divine power and so maybe John's account is of an inward reality, while Luke's account is of that reality being fleshed out.

autoiV dat. pro. "[and said]" - [and said] to them. Dative of indirect object.

labete (lambanw) aor. imp. "receive" - take, receive, accept, choose. The translation "receive" is ingrained, but possibly "accept", even "welcome" makes more sense.

an + subj. "if" - Introducing a conditional clause, 3rd class, where the condition stated in the "if" clause (protasis) has the probability of coming true; "if, as may be the case, ...... then ....." In English the use of "if" conveys doubt, so possibly "whenever you forgive anyone their sins."

afhte (afihmi) aor. subj. "you forgive" - you release. The word order makes "forgive" emphatic. To release a person of the consequence of their sins. This authority is given to the apostles and it is reasonable to argue that it extends to all believers. Of course, it could be argued that this authority is only given to the apostles and therefore the church and its priestly class, although the text does not support this view. Barclay argues that the authority is not to forgive sins as such, but rather to proclaim the offer of forgiveness - a reasonable observation.

tinwn gen. pro. "anyone's [sins]" - the sins [of anyone]" - The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

afewntai (afihmi) perf. pas. "they are forgiven / their sins are forgiven" - they have been forgiven. Possibly a proleptic (futuristic) perfect tense, but gnomic, even extensive (where the completion of the past act is emphasized) is more likely; "they have already been forgiven."

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - to them. Dative of indirect object / interest, advantage.

krathte (kratew) pres. subj. "do not forgive" - you hold, retain, take hold of. It could be argued that some sins are not capable of forgiveness and are therefore retained in the sense of not forgiven, although the Bible does not support the idea of mortal sins. The only "unforgivable" sin is the sin of rejecting the gospel of forgiveness in Christ (= the sin against the Holy Spirit). Where there is no repentance there is only judgment and the believer has the authority to declare this fact. "If you hold them unforgiven they are unforgiven", Phillips.

ii] The appearance of Jesus to Thomas, v24-29.

de "now" - but, and. Transitional, as NIV, introducing a new literary unit.

oJ legomenoV (legw) pres. pas. part. "called [Didymus] / known as [Didymus]" - being called [Twin]. The participle serves as a substantive, standing in apposition to "Thomas". As a nickname, "Twin", seems a bit far fetched, but I knew a person who was called "brother", a nickname given by his older siblings and picked up by all his friends. "His nickname was 'Twin.'"

ek + gen. "[one] of [the twelve]" - [one] out of, from [the twelve]. The preposition here stands in for a partitive genitive.

met (meta) + gen. "[was not] with [the disciples]" - Expressing association / accompaniment.

o{te adv. "when [Jesus came]" - Temporal.

oun "so" - therefore. Drawing a logical conclusion.

elegon (legw) imperf. "[the other disciples] told" - [the other disciples] said. The imperfect may express ongoing action, "they kept saying to him", Morris.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - to him. Dative of indirect object.

eJwrakamen (oJraw) perf. "we have seen" - They, as with Mary, have seen the Lord, cf. v18.

de "but" - but, and. Here adversative, as NIV.

ean hm + subj. "unless [I see ...... put]" - Introducing a negated conditional clause, 3rd class, where the condition has the possibility of becoming true.

twn h{lwn (oV) gen. "[the] nail [marks]" - [the marks, image, pattern] of the nails. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "marks"; "the nail scars", CEV.

en + dat. "in [his hands]" - in, on [the hands of him]. Expressing space/sphere; "unless I see on his hands the imprint of the nails."

balw (ballw) aor. subj. "put [my hand]" - throw, cast. A strong word, so "thrust my hand into his side."

ou mh + subj. "[I will] not [believe it]" - The double negative with the subjunctive produces a subjunctive of emphatic negation, "I will never believe"; "I refuse to believe", NJB.

meq hJmeraV "a week later" - after eight days. The counting probably means the following Sunday.

esw "in the house" - inside. "Were indoors together again", Barclay.

met (meta) + gen. "[Thomas was] with [them]" - [Thomas] with [them]. Expressing association.

kekleismenwn (lkeiw) gen. perf. part. "though [the doors] were locked" - [the doors] having been locked, closed, shut. The participle is adverbial, possibly concessive, "although ...", as NIV, but given that the participle is part of a genitive absolute construction, temporal is more likely; "When the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them", Barclay.

eiV meson "among them" - into [the middle]. Spacial.

uJmin dat. pro. "[peace] be with you" - [peace] to you. Cf. v19.

ei\ta adv. "then" - Serving to introduce a temporal clause.

tw/ Qwma/ (a aV) "[he said] to Thomas" - Dative of indirect object.

mh ginou apistoV "stop doubting" - do not be unbelieving. The command takes a present imperative. The distinction often drawn between an aorist and present imperative is questioned by some commentators, but many argue that the present imperative relates to ongoing action, here the cessation of that action, so "stop doubting"; "be unbelieving no longer, but believe", REB.

alla "but [believe]" - Strong adversative, as NIV.

oJ kurioV (oV) "My Lord" - Although nominative, it is usually taken as a vocative; "you are the one who rules over me, and you are the God whom I worship", TH.

Often 29a is translated as a question. Either a question or a statement is possible, given that Greek manuscripts at this time did not use a semicolon to indicate a question.

oJti "because" - that. Here probably causal, as NIV.

makarioi adj. "blessed" - blessed, happy. Referring to a state of joy in response to benefiting from God's favour; "happy are those who find faith without seeing me", REB.

oi mh idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "are those who have not seen" - the ones not having seen. The participle serves as a substantive, while the aorist is probably gnomic, expressing a universal truth without reference to time.

iii] Conclusion - an editorial comment regarding the careful selection of Jesus' words and deeds recorded in this gospel, and this for a deliberate purpose, namely, to provoke saving faith, v30-31.

oun "-" - Here probably transitional; "Now Jesus did many other signs", ESV.

men ...... de "- ...... but ......" - This adversative comparative construction covers v30 and 31; "on the one hand Jesus performed many signs not recorded ....... but on the other hand the ones recorded in this book are written down that you may believe ...."

shmeia (on) "miraculous signs" - signs. "Jesus did many other things .... in which the power of God was demonstrated in action", Barclay.

enwpion + gen. "in the presence of [his disciples]" - before [the disciples of him]. Spacial, but here possibly temporal; "while he was with his disciples."

gegraptai (grafw) perf. pas. "written" - have been written. Perfect indicating completion of the writing. What is written is written. A very important statement in that it declares John's purpose for writing the book, a purpose which is clearly evangelistic.

iJna + subj. "that [you may believe]" - in order that. Here introducing a purpose clause.

oJti "that" - Introducing a dependent statement of perception expressing what "you may believe."

iJna + subj. "that [by believing you may have life]" - that. Again possibly introducing a purpose clause, but a consecutive clause expressing result may be a better option; "and so (as a consequence) gain life by believing."

pisteuonteV (pisteuw) pres. part. "by believing" - believing. The participle is adverbial, probably modal, expressing manner, so NIV, although instrumental may be better; "through this faith", REB.

en tw/ onomati autou "in his name" - in the name of him. The preposition en may be expressing space/sphere, with the sense of incorporative union, such that God's gift of eternal life is found in / in union with his Son - "name" = person; "in union with the person of Christ", so "in him", CEV. "The name" can carry the sense "the authority of", such that en would then take an instrumental sense, "by, through, with = by means of the authority of Jesus"; "under his authority."

John Introduction.

Exposition

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