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John 20:17-19
New Catholic Bible
John 20:17-19
New Catholic Bible
17 Jesus then said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”[a] 18 Mary Magdalene then went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and repeated what he had said to her.
19 Jesus Appears to the Disciples.[b] On the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors of the house where the disciples had gathered were locked because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus then came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 20:17 Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to delay. She must immediately go and announce his Resurrection to the disciples, while he will ascend to the Father before returning to manifest himself to them in full possession of all his prerogatives as the firstborn among many brothers. He had foretold that his glorification was necessary in order for the Holy Spirit to be sent. Hence, for John, the Ascension takes place on the same day as the Resurrection. The external and more demonstrative Ascension described in the Acts of the Apostles (1:6-11), forty days after the Resurrection, was only Jesus’ sensible and definitive departure from the disciples after the various appearances to sustain and confirm their faith.
- John 20:19 This is the first “Sunday” of the Church, the day on which the risen Lord meets his disciples. The season of joy has come (see Jn 15:11; 16:20-24; 17:13). He who comes, alive, into the midst of his followers is the same one who took on himself the suffering of the cross. He will now make them preachers of his mystery and ministers of his forgiveness. He sends the Spirit upon them as the Spirit had been sent on him by the Father at his Baptism, when he was beginning his mission (see also Ezek 37:9; Jn 15:26-27); this marks the beginning of the apostolic mission, which is a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ.
