John 20 (asv)

^20:1Now on the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, while it was yet dark, unto the tomb, and seeth the stone taken away from the tomb. ^20:2She runneth therefore, 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 tomb, and we know not where they have laid him. ^20:3Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. ^20:4And they ran both together: and the other disciple outran Peter,1 and came first to the tomb; ^20:5and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths lying; yet entered he not in. ^20:6Simon Peter therefore also cometh, following him, and entered into the tomb; and he beholdeth the linen cloths lying, ^20:7and the napkin, that was upon his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.^20:8Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed.^20:9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ^20:10So the disciples went away again unto their own home.

1. the other disciple outran Peter. The passage was written by John, who is presumably “the other disciple.” John represents love, which through its affections is more closely attached to the physical than faith (Peter) is; consequently love (John) precedes faith (Peter) in the desire to find the physical (body of Jesus).

^20:11But Mary was standing without at the tomb weeping: so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; ^20:12and she beholdeth two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet,1 where the body of Jesus had lain. ^20:13And 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. ^20:14When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus2 standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. ^20:15Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. ^20:16Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turneth herself, and saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabboni; which is to say, Teacher. ^20:17Jesus saith to her, Touch me not;3 for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God. ^20:18Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord;4 and that he had said these things unto her.

1. two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet. The two angels at Jesus’ tomb symbolize our spiritual perceptions, which are always consciously in the presence of God, the perceptions which from that high spiritual state are able to make known to us that which is vital. The angel at the head “where the body of Jesus had lain” represents high spiritual perception, and the angel at the foot represents understanding in relation to the world without.
2. she turned herself back, and beholdeth Jesus. She turned around and beheld Jesus. Instead of looking without, we look within and find that there is no reality in the thought of absence; that in the inner recesses of the soul all things are omnipresent, but we know not “that it was Jesus.”
3. Jesus saith to her, Touch me not. Jesus did not want the sorrowing Mary (thought) to touch him, because it would pull him down into the darkness and ignorance of mortality. The spiritual mind does not grieve over anything, nor look to matter and the limitations of the flesh for life eternal. The most effective consolation we can get and give to others under grief, is to deny the human belief in death and separation. This dissipates the flood of sorrow-thoughts that submerge the souls of those who mourn.
4. Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples, I have seen the Lord. Mary Magdalene, the soul-feminine, is the connecting link between the I AM and the body. Love, cleansed of all impurity, is able to perceive spiritually, and therefore beholds the risen Lord. It then spreads the glad tidings among the disciples (the twelve powers of man) that the Lord Jesus is not dead, but has entered into a higher spiritual state.

^20:19When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ^20:20And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side.1 The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. ^20:21Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. ^20:22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: ^20:23whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

1. he showed unto them his hands and his side. After the dissolution of the carnal consciousness, represented by the crucifixion, the body takes up its activities in the psychical or astral realm, where it functions until it is sufficiently purified to enter into the kingdom of the heavens, or the fourth dimension. Metaphysicians who are in the regeneration and are putting out of mind the errors of carnality find that their bodies gradually become more refined, more ethereal in texture and in feeling, and under certain conditions they realize the unreality, of material environment. This is not the true spiritual estate, but is one degree toward it. When we fully enter the spiritual estate our bodies will be raised so high in radiation as to become invisible to physical sight. Such is the body of Jesus.

^20:24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus,1 was not with them when Jesus came.2 ^20:25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

^20:26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. ^20:27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and see my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.3 ^20:28Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.4 ^20:29Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.5

1. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus. Thomas represents one of the twelve faculties through which man, the I AM, functions. He symbolizes the intellect. Intellect or reason connects the inner world of thought with the outer world of action. Didymus signifies the same as Thomas: “twain,” “double,” “twin.” On the constructive side the intellect functions as understanding; on the negative side as doubt and futile questioning.
2. was not with them when Jesus came. Intellectual perception is slower than the other faculties to perceive the truth of the resurrection life. It is much slower than faith or love. “Thomas ... was not with them when Jesus came.” The intellect is the last of man's faculties to comprehend the supremacy of spiritual law over natural law. It must be convinced on its own plane of thought that the body has been raised after it was put to death.
3. be not faithless, but believing. The great truth which spiritual understanding reveals to us is that the resurrection of the body from death is not to be confined to Jesus Christ alone, but that all men may unfold this same ability by following the teachings of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus also takes place in consciousness. Every time that man raises his realization of the perpetual indwelling life flow to the spiritual standard, he is connected with the indwelling Christ. Through the power of the living Word he enters into the realization of a new and higher life activity than that of the physical.
4. Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. When the intellect is quickened to the degree that it can comprehend the spiritual, it may be convinced of the authenticity of a spiritual demonstration.
5. blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. When man becomes conscious of the fact that he does not have to depend upon intellectual reasoning to know and to understand the things of Spirit, he is doubly blessed. He has the power to draw on spiritual inspiration from within, which enables him to bring quickly into the manifest realm his desired demonstrations.

^20:30Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: ^20:31but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ,1 the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.2

1. but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ The question often is asked whether or not we believe that Jesus rose from the dead with the same flesh body in which He walked the earth and, if so, what became of that body. The school of "high criticism" is openly attacking Bible occurrences that it cannot account for under natural law. The historical account makes clear that the flesh body that had been crucified was the body that Jesus had after His resurrection. That Jesus knew how to restore life to dead organs is evidenced by His healing of paralytics, blind people, and in three cases by raising those who had died. He had spent whole nights in prayer, and through the intensity of His devotions had made union with Divine Mind. This union was so full and so complete that His whole being was flooded with spiritual life, power, and substance and the wisdom to use them in divine order. In this manner He projected the divine-body idea, and through it His mortal body was transformed into an immortal body where it exists to this day as a body of ethereal substance directed and controlled by His thought and mind force.
2. and that believing ye may have life in his name. Having a body of spiritually electrified atoms, Jesus is able to quicken the bodies of people who attract His presence by believing in Him; He radiates a glorious life that energizes those who believe in His power. By positive affirmations we must all appropriate this same Christ life, substance, and Truth as ours individually and as the very foundation and substance of our body.