💫WEB · John 20:4
What does John 20:4 mean?
"They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first."
— John 20:4 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw the stone taken away from the tomb.
Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
Therefore Peter and the other disciple went out, and they went toward the tomb.
They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter, and came to the tomb first.
Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he didn’t enter in.
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying,
and the cloth that had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but rolled up in a place by itself.
Explanation
John 20:4 captures a small, vivid detail in the larger story of the resurrection morning. In plain language, it simply tells us that two disciples — Peter and "the other disciple," traditionally understood to be John, the author of this Gospel — raced toward Jesus' tomb after hearing that it was empty, and John got there first because he ran faster.
The context is essential to appreciating this verse. Earlier that morning, Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb while it was still dark and found the stone rolled away. She ran and told Peter and John, assuming someone had taken Jesus' body. In response, both men sprang into action and ran to see for themselves. John, writing his own Gospel account, includes this personal detail — likely because he was there and remembered it vividly. The Gospel of John often includes such eyewitness touches (like being reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper, or naming who held the linen), which lend the account a sense of firsthand testimony rather than secondhand legend.
Theologically, this verse itself is not laden with doctrine, but it sets the stage for what follows — the disciples' discovery of the empty tomb and the folded grave clothes, which becomes crucial evidence for the resurrection. The eagerness and urgency of both men — running rather than walking — reflects the shock and hope stirred by Mary's report. Their footrace is a subtle but powerful human reaction to news that seemed almost too significant to believe: that the tomb was empty and something extraordinary might have happened.
On a more literary and pastoral level, this
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