Page 241 - Demo

JOHN -
The Blood and Water. 31Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down.r 32So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the rst and then of the other one who was cruci ed with Jesus. 33But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, 34* s but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water owed out. 35An eyewitness has testi ed, and his testimony is true; he knows* that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may [come to] believe.t 36For this happened so that the scripture passage might be ful lled:
“Not a bone of it will be broken.”u 37And again another passage says:
“They will look upon him whom they have pierced.”v
The Burial of Jesus.* 38w After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. 39Nicodemus, the one who had rst come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.x 40They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. 41Now in the place where he had been cruci ed there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. 42So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.
*
The Empty Tomb.*
* 1On the rst day of the week,a Mary of Magdala came to the
tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the 20
stone removed from the tomb. b 2So she ran* and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”3* SoPeterandtheotherdisciplewentoutandcametothetomb. 4They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb rst; 5he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6c When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths* there, 7and the cloth that had covered
19:35
John puts great emphasis on the ow of blood and water from the side of the dead
Christ: the body of the cruci ed Christ is the source of life for believers, for the blood and water continue to ow in the Church through the sacraments of Eucharist and Baptism. “Raised up high on the Cross, / he gave himself up for us with
a wonderful love / and poured out blood and water from his pierced side, / the wellspring
of the Church’s Sacraments” (Roman Missal, Preface of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus).
20:1
There is a gradual process of discovery in John’s account
of the resurrection. Mary Magdalene goes rst, nds the tomb empty, and then runs back to tell the others. Peter and the beloved disciple both run to the tomb, and the latter (perhaps younger than Peter) arrives rst, but waits
so that Peter can enter before him. Then the beloved disciple enters, and “saw and believed” (20:8). Faith in Jesus is not like a bolt of lightning, but like a journey of discovery.
CHAPTER 19
q. [19:30] 4:34; 10:18; 17:4; Lk 23:46.
r. [19:31] Ex 12:16; Dt 21:23.
s. [19:34] Nm 20:11; 1 Jn 5:6.
t. [19:35] 7:37–39; 21:24.
u. [19:36] Ex 12:46; Nm 9:12; Ps 34:21.
v. [19:37] Nm 21:9; Zec 12:10; Rev 1:7.
w. [19:38–42] Mt 27:57–60;
Mk 15:42–46; Lk 23:46–49.
x. [19:39] 3:1–2; 7:50; Ps 45:9.
CHAPTER 20
a. [20:1–10] Mt 28:1–10; Mk 16:1–11; Lk 24:1–12.
b. [20:1] 19:25.
c. [20:6] Lk 24:12.
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* [19:34–35] John probably emphasizes these verses to show the reality of Jesus’ death, against the docetic heretics. In the blood and water there may also be a symbolic reference to the Eucharist and baptism.
* [19:35] He knows: it is not certain from the Greek that this he is the eyewitness of the rst part of the sentence. May [come to] believe: see note on Jn 20:31.
* [19:38–42] In the rst three gospels there is no anointing on Friday. In Matthew and Luke the women come to the tomb on Sunday morning precisely to anoint Jesus.
* [20:1–31] The risen Jesus reveals his glory and confers the Spirit. This story ful lls the basic need for testimony to the resurrection. What we have here is not a record but a series of single stories.
* [20:1–10] The story of the empty tomb is found in both the Matthean and the Lucan traditions; John’s version seems to be a fusion of the two.
* [20:1] Still dark: according to Mark the sun had risen, Matthew describes it as “dawning,” and Luke refers to early dawn. Mary sees the stone removed, not the empty tomb.
* [20:2] Mary runs away, not directed by an angel/young man as in the synoptic accounts. The plural “we” in the second part of her statement might re ect a tradition of more women going to the tomb.
* [20:3–10] The basic narrative is told of Peter alone in Lk 24:12, a verse missing in important manuscripts and which may be borrowed from tradition similar to John. Cf. also Lk 24:24.
* [20:6–8] Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved
disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed.