💫WEB · John 20:5
What does John 20:5 mean?
"Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he didn’t enter in."
— John 20:5 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
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.
So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed.
Explanation
John 20:5 comes in the middle of the resurrection morning account, describing what happened when Peter and "the other disciple" (traditionally understood to be John himself, the author of this Gospel) ran to Jesus's tomb after Mary Magdalene reported that the stone had been rolled away. This verse focuses on that second disciple, who outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. In plain terms, the verse tells us that this disciple bent down to look through the low opening of the tomb, saw the linen burial cloths lying there, but hesitated at the threshold and did not go inside.
The Gospel of John was written, according to its own testimony, so that readers "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31). This account of the empty tomb serves that purpose directly. The detail of stooping to look in reflects the physical reality of ancient rock-cut tombs, which typically had a small, low entrance requiring someone to crouch to see inside. John's inclusion of this small, eyewitness-style detail lends the narrative a sense of firsthand authenticity — this is written by someone who was there and remembered the physical particulars of that moment.
Theologically, the presence of the linen cloths is significant. Their being left behind, rather than missing along with the body, argues against theft as an explanation for the empty tomb — a grave robber would not have taken time to unwrap a corpse and leave the wrappings neatly behind. The undisturbed cloths become quiet, physical evidence pointing toward resurrection rather than removal. John,
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