they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top through out. 24 They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it whose it shall be that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment anong them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. 25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple stand 23. Four parts, &c. Hence it appears that four soldiers had special charge of the crucifixion. Probably a larger number were present, to prevent any confusion among the people; these four may have been the executioners. They divided the outer garment between them. The coat, or tunic, or inner garment, was disposed of by lot, ver. 24. T Without seam. The high priest's "vesture was not composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the shoulders and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have an aperture for the neck; not an oblique one, but parted all along the breast and the back. A border also was sewed to it, lest the aperture should look too indecently; it was also parted, where the hands were to come out." Josephus, Ant., B. III. ch. vii. § 4. That which Jesus wore seems to have been similar; and it was proper that the great High Priest of our profession should be thus clothed. ing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. 28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. ing circumstance, which the other evangelists omit. During his most intense agony, our Lord did not forget the mother who rejoiced at his birth, watched tenderly over his infancy, and regarded him with the most lively interest while he remained on the earth. Her husband being probably now dead, Jesus committed her to the care of his most confidential and affectionate disciple, who cheerfully and faithfully executed the trust committed to him. T Whom he loved. See note on John xiii. 23. T Woman. See note on John ii. 4. Behold thy son. Let him be a son to thee, instead of me. ¶ Behold thy mother. Regard her as a mother, and perform for her the filial duty of a son, for my sake and in my name. T From that hour, &c. Tradition says the mother of Jesus lived about fifteen years after his crucifixion, and that she dwelt with John. According to the testimony here, she dwelt with him while she lived, whatever was the pre 24. Let us not rend it, &c. The out-cise period. er garment, with its appendages, might be divided, without material harm. But the coat was so made, that, if rent, it would become useless. This verse has furnished a theme for many fanciful imaginings; but it seems needless to dream of mysteries beyond the plain meaning of the record. T That the scripture, &c. Ps. xxii. 18. 25-27. John here narrates an affect It 28-30. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 48-50. See also Mark xv. 36, 37; Luke xxiii. 46. That the scripture, &c. See Ps. lxix. 21. ¶ I thirst. is said that the sufferings of crucified persons are always attended by extreme thirst. It is finished. All things written concerning him had been accomplished; the work committed unto him by the Father had been completed; 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, (for that sabbath-day was a high day) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. the mystery hid from ages had been revealed; life and immortality brought to light; the unchanging love of God to man displayed; and the system of means put in successful operation, which should result in enlightening and sanctifying the human family. It only remained that he should confirm all things by his death and resurrection, and then ascend to his Father, and reign until the full consummation of his labors. 1 Cor. xv. 24-28; Heb. ii. 8, 9. ver. 14. 33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs : 34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. 35 And he that saw it, bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. 36 For these things were done, garden, by the excitement, and trials, and wakefulness, of the preceding thirty hours, and by the scourging he had endured. His death was doubtless hastened by these preceding sufferings. 34. Pierced his side. One of the soldiers, doubting perhaps whether he were dead or in a swoon, thrust a spear into his side, so deeply, that this wound alone would have destroyed life, if it had not already been extinct. From what follows, it is probable it penetrated to the heart. Blood and water. Generally supposed to be the watery substance which is contained in the pericardium, or membrane enclosing the heart, vulgarly called the heart-case. This would have the appearance of water. The blood flowed from the heart, or some other large blood-vessel. 31-37. See note on Matt. xxvii. 57. 31. The preparation. See note on That the bodies, &c. In Deut. xxi. 22, 23, it is forbidden that the bodies of executed criminals should hang on the tree, or, as we should say, on the gallows, during the sabbath. Death by hanging is very speedy, if not instantaneous. This law, therefore," This was a natural effect, and would was easily observed. When the Romans introduced crucifixion into Judea, a punishment which sometimes did not result in death for several days, it became necessary to hasten death by other means, in order to avoid a transgression of the Jewish law. This the Jews desired in the present case. High day. Literally, a great day. So called, because it was the paschalsabbath, the great day of the feast. That their legs might be broken. In order to hasten their death. When the legs were broken, the whole weight of the body fell upon the arms, and the additional pain thus produced, with that occasioned by the fracture of the limbs, generally ended in speedy death. 32, 33. Having broken the legs of the thieves, they discovered, by the usual indications that Jesus was dead already. Perhaps the centurion called their attention to the fact. Matt. xxvii. 54. It should be remembered that Jesus had become exhausted by his agony in the follow in any other case. Commenta- That that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced. 38 And after this, Joseph of Arimathea (being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took the body of Jesus. 39 And there came also Nicodemus (which at the first came to Jesus by night) and brought a mix hundred pounds weight. 40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. 42 There laid they Jesus therefore, because of the Jews' preparation-day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. CHAPTER XX. HE ture of myrrh and aloes, about a ly, when it was yet dark, unto the fore asserted that fact so circumstantially and positively, because the Gnostics had then begun to teach that his death was only in appearance. But it must have been actual, else his resurrection would furnish no proof of ours. Hence this evangelist is so particular on this point. 36, 37. That the scripture, &c. See Exo. xii. 46. John here applies what was said of the paschal lamb to Jesus, of whom it has always been regarded as a type. Some, however, suppose the reference to be to Ps. xxxiv. 20. But the former interpretation is the more general. Another scripture. See Zech. xii. 10. It is worthy of remark, that the Jews, while using every effort in their power to prove that Jesus was not the Messiah, but an impostor, fulfilled or procured to be fulfilled so many prophecies which they acknowledged were uttered concerning the Messiah; and all this, without the least apparent consciousness that they were confirming his testimony and condemning themselves. Had the prophecies depended for their fulfilment on the conduct of friends, it might have been said by scoffers, that they were fulfilled by them in order to consummate a deception. But the fact was otherwise. So far as the fulfilment of prophecy by man was concerned, the work was accomplished almost exclusively by enemies. Thus marvellously does God cause the wrath of man to praise him, and restrain the remainder. The enemies of Jesus furnished convincing evidence of his Messiahship. 38, 39. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 57, 58. See also Mark xv. 43, 45; Luke xxiii. 50-52. ¶ Joseph. He was a member of the Sanhedrim, but had not consented to the death of Jesus, as is fully related by Luke. He was a disciple of Jesus; but, like Nicodemus, concealed his faith, for fear of the Jews. He seems to have been roused to courage by these violent and bloody proceedings, and claimed the body of Jesus, for burial,-a service which none of his disciples had courage or confidence to perform. ¶ Nicodemus. This was another timid disciple, also a member of the Sanhedrim. See John iii. 1, 2. At the least, he deserves credit for this final act of devotion. 40-42. See notes on Matt. xxvii. 59, 60. See also Mark xv. 46; Luke xxiii. 53, 54. There was a garden. Many such were in the suburbs of Jerusalem; and Jesus was crucified without the walls of the city. Wherein was never, &c. An important circumstance, inasmuch as no other body could be mistaken for that of our Lord. ¶ Preparation-day. See note on ver. 14. The burial seems to have been hurried, on account of the approaching sabbath. The whole tragedy was consummated, the betrayal, the trial, the crucifixion, and the burial, in about eighteen hours, or between midnight and the succeeding sunset. But the effect shall endure while the world standeth. sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 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. 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie; 7 And the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen CHAPTER XX. 1-18. For some remarks on the order of the events here narrated, see note on Matt. xxviii. 9. And on the general subject of the resurrection of our Lord, see notes on Matt. ch. xxviii.; Mark xvi. 1-11; Luke xxiv. 1-12. 2. We know not where, &c. None of the disciples had any expectation that Jesus would rise from the dead, ver. 9. When Mary Magdalene ascertained, therefore, that the body was not in the sepulchre, she supposed it had been taken away by human hands. 3. That other disciple. Probably John himself. See notes on John xviii. 15; xix. 35. 8. And believed. Not that a resurrection had taken place; for this was a doctrine which none of the disciples yet understood, ver. 9; and subsequently, when Mary and the other women informed the disciples that they had seen Jesus alive, not one of them believed. Mark xvi. 9-14; Luke xxiv. 11. The meaning is, that he saw and believed that the body was gone, according to the story of Mary. 9. Knew not the scripture. See notes clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, 12 And seeth two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. 14 And when she had thus said, on Luke xxiv. 25-27. They understood not the ancient predictions concerning the death of Christ: nor did they understand his own plain and repeated declarations that he should rise from the dead. Understanding neither, their hopes were blasted; and while they still believed he was a good man and a prophet, they evidently abandoned their faith in him as the Messiah note, end of Matt. xxviii., and Luke xxiv. 19-21. See 13. They have taken, &c. Mary had returned to the sepulchre with Peter and John. After their departure, she lingered near the sepulchre, weeping that even the remains of him who had so richly blessed her and whom she so affectionately loved were taken away and hidden from her sight. So absorbed was she in grief, that, when accosted by the angels, she noticed nothing extraordinary in their appearance; but answered their question, and turned away, ver. 14, that she might weep in secret. She still supposed the body of her Lord had been removed by human agency. See also ver. 15. 14. Knew not that it was Jesus. It is not necessary to suppose that he had not she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not for I am not yet ascended his ordinary appearance, or that he was "in another form," Mark xvi. 12, even though this devoted disciple did not recognize him. She had not the least expectation of meeting her living Lord; moreover, it was very early in the morning, before the full light of day had appeared, and her eyes were suffused with tears and dimmed by weeping; and as she supposed it might be the gardener who addressed her, it is not probable that she scrutinized his features very attentively. 15. See notes on ver. 2, 13, 14. 16. Mary. This word was doubtless uttered in a familiar tone, to which her heart instantly responded. That voice which pronounced the forgiveness of her sins, which came to her with soothing and consoling power, which raised the beloved Lazarus from the dead, which gave assurance of a blessed and holy immortality, was recognized at once, and her heart leaped with joy. T Rabboni. Overpowered by unexpected joy, she could only exclaim, Master! Her heart was too full for utterance. Her silence was more eloquent than any language could be. The evangelist interprets the meaning of this word; but preserves also the original, perhaps for a reason similar to that mentioned in note on Mark v. 41. 17. Touch me not. The first impulse of Mary was probably to cast herself at the feet of Jesus and embrace them. But he prevented her, having a different service for her to perform. Intimating that he was not immediately to ascend, and that there would be another opportunity to see him and express the fulness to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God. 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. of her gratitude and joy, he directed her to inform his disciples that he had risen and would soon ascend. It has surprised some that Jesus should forbid this devoted female to touch his feet, and so soon afterwards, ver. 27, insist that the unbelieving Thomas should touch not only his feet, but his hands and his side. The reason, however, is sufficiently obvious. Thomas did not believe in the resurrection, and was to be convinced. But Mary had not the slightest doubt, from the moment when she heard her name pronounced in tones which thrilled her heart. ¶ My brethren, That is, the eleven who remained of the original twelve apostles. See John xv. 15. T My Father and your Father, &c. "Nothing was better fitted to afford them consolation than this assurance that his God was theirs, and that though he had been slain, they were still indissolubly united in attachment to the same Father."-Barnes. It should not be overlooked, that our Lord recognized the same distinction between the Father and himself, acknowledging the Father as his God, after his resurrection, as before his death. 19, 20. See notes on Mark xvi. 14. Luke xxiv. 36-40. The same day at evening. That is, on the evening of the first day of the week, the day of the resurrection of Jesus, hence called the Lord's day. ¶ The disciples were assembled. This may be regarded as the first Christian assembly on the Lord's day, though the disciples probably convened for other purposes than religious worship at this time. They were in the utmost perplexity. They knew their |