John 20:9
in John 20For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
KJV
For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
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This verse in John 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verse"For they did not yet know the Scriptures, that he must rise from the dead." In this matter the greatness of divine providence must be considered, that the hearts of the disciples are both kindled to seek and yet delayed from finding, so that the weakness of the soul, tormented by its own sorrow, might become purer for finding, and might hold on more firmly when it found, the later it found what it was seeking.
This site's exposition
he saw, and believed
on John 20:8-10
Then went in also that other disciple, and he saw, and believed, John's own testimony to the moment his faith in the resurrection was born, from grave clothes alone before any appearance of the risen Lord. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead is John's honest admission that neither disciple arrived at the tomb expecting this, belief following the evidence rather than being read back into it after the fact, the disciples' own hope of resurrection not yet connected in their minds to what had just happened. They went away again unto their own home, the plain ending of the scene, Mary alone left at the tomb for what follows.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
on John 20:8-9
When these men (I mean Peter, and John the writer of this book, for he gives himself the name of the other disciple) heard these tidings from the woman's mouth, they ran with all the speed they could, and came to the sepulchre in haste, and saw the marvel with their own eyes, being in themselves competent to testify to the event, for they were two in number, as the Law enjoined.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The Old Testament spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah; they believed him to be the Messiah; he himself had often told them that, according to the scriptures of the Old Testament, he should rise again; but they had not presence of mind sufficient by these to explain the present appearances.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
They knew not the scripture - Viz. Psa 16:9, Psa 16:10: Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell - כי לא תעזב נפשי לשאול ki lo taazob naphshi l'sheol - For thou wilt not abandon my life to the grave, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. It was certainly a reproach to the disciples that they had not understood this prophecy, when our Lord had given them often the most direct information concerning it. Christ had referred to the history of Jonah, Mat 12:40, which was at once the type and the proof of his own resurrection.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on John 20:3-10
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came first to the sepulchre--These particulars have a singular air of artless truth about them. Mary, in her grief, runs to the two apostles who were soon to be so closely associated in proclaiming the Saviour's resurrection, and they, followed by Mary, hasten to see with their own eyes.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
For as yet they knew--that is, understood. not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead--In other words, they believed in His resurrection at first, not because they were prepared by Scripture to expect it; but facts carried resistless conviction of it in the first instance to their minds, and furnished a key to the Scripture predictions of it.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οὐδέπω | oudepo | not yet | G3764 → | 4 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ᾔδεισαν | edeisan | they knew | G1492 → | 374 times |
| τὴν | ten | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| γραφὴν | graphen | Scripture | G1124 → | 49 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| δεῖ | dei | it is necessary for | G1163 → | 101 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐκ | ek | out from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| νεκρῶν | nekron | [the] dead | G3498 → | 128 times |
| ἀναστῆναι. | anastenai | to rise. | G450 → | 107 times |
οὐδέπωnot yet
oudepoG3764 →4 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ᾔδεισανthey knew
edeisanG1492 →374 times
τὴνthe
tenG3588 →19766 times
γραφὴνScripture
graphenG1124 →49 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
δεῖit is necessary for
deiG1163 →101 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
ἐκout from
ekG1537 →911 times
νεκρῶν[the] dead
nekronG3498 →128 times
ἀναστῆναι.to rise.
anastenaiG450 →107 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 16:10For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
it leads to
- Acts 2:27–31
because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.
- Acts 13:35–38
So also, He says in another Psalm: ‘You will not let Your Holy One see decay.’
- Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
- Acts 2:27–31
Through
Isaiah 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
- Hosea 13:14
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- 1 Corinthians 15:54
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
- Revelation 21:4
Through
Isaiah 26:19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her…
it leads to
- Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Daniel 12:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
On this verse
On this chapter
- 1 John: the Study Guide
- The Gospels
- The Deity of Christ
- Why Four Gospels
- How to Study the Bible
- Jesus: Titles & Roles
- Mary Magdalene: the Witness at the Tomb
- Miracles of Jesus
- The Seven Signs: John's Book of Signs
- The Sevens of Scripture
- The Tests of Life: 1 John's Three Tests
- The Man Who Asked to Touch: John 20:24-29
- The Twelve Disciples
About John
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 12; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 22; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.