John 20:9

9 for as yet 1they did not understand the Scripture, 2that he must rise from the dead.

John 20:9 Meaning and Commentary

John 20:9

For as yet they knew not the Scripture
Meaning not some particular passage of Scripture, but the writings of the Old Testament in general, and the various places in it, which spoke of the resurrection of Christ, either in a way of type, or prophecy; such as ( Genesis 22:3 Genesis 22:4 ) ( 10:13 ) ( Jonah 2:1-7 ) ( Psalms 16:10 ) ( Hosea 6:2 ) ( Isaiah 26:19 ) and though our Lord had often referred to some of them, at least as in ( Matthew 12:40 ) ( 16:21 ) ( Matthew 20:18 Matthew 20:19 ) yet such was the dulness of the disciples, or such their prejudices in favour of the Messiah being to continue, and set up a temporal kingdom, that even John, who leaned on his breast, and Peter, who was so inquisitive and desirous of knowing our Lord's meaning in everything, did not understand the sense of his words, nor of those places of Scripture he had reference to:

that he must rise again from the dead:
so it was determined, thus it was predicted, and the justification and salvation of God's elect required it; and yet they knew not the thing, nor the necessity and importance of it.

John 20:9 In-Context

7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Matthew 22:29
  • 2. Psalms 16:10; Luke 24:46; Acts 2:25-31; Acts 13:34, 35; Acts 17:3; 1 Corinthians 15:4
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.