John and Peter Running

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Near the end of John’s Gospel, there is a detail that has always stuck in my mind, but I dont know what to make of it, or if I should make anything of it at all.

So on the first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalen finds the tomb empty, and goes to find John and Peter. When they hear the news, they of course run to the tomb to see for themselves. The passage makes a point of saying two things that seem meaningful, but whos meaning Ive never been able to figure out on my own. First, that John runs faster than Peter. This is the one that might be insignificant, because its possible John just happened to be faster. But it could also do with putting more effort in.

The other and seemingly more significant detail is that although John arrives at the tomb first, upon seeing the burial cloths (which I guess from context were laid out in front of the entrance), he didnt go in. And when Peter arrives second, he goes right in, and sees some other burial cloths inside, along with the cloth that had covered his head. Only after seeing Peter enter the tomb does John go in.

Again, Im not sure if anything is supposed to be taken from this, or if its just a historical retelling of events, but of course being the gospel, it could be both. Is there some significance to John pausing at the tombs entrance even though he got there first, or Peter comparatively rushing right in even though he was slower to arrive? I could see the interpretation of John being afraid of what he would find making sense, but could also see the reading that John believed without having to actually see the empty room. Or again, maybe theres nothing really significant about it at all. Any thoughts on this passage?
 
What I remember reading about the incident is that John could run faster than Peter because he was younger and therefore speedier. The reason John paused before going in was to respect Peter’s position of leadership. Peter was the first pope and as such would command respect in this situation.

Pax
 
There is a lot of speculation about the meaning of the passages you describe. As already pointed out, some take it to mean that John is younger. There is a theory that John was very young - perhaps a teenager. That MIGHT explain why he was at the only male at the foot of the cross.

Another theory is that the evangelist makes a point of putting the beloved disciple in every scene to serve as a reporter/narrator and as a stand-in for the audience. So he is at the cross, he beats Peter to the tomb, etc.

As to why he waits for Peter, I agree that a common interpretation is that it reflects Peter’s leadership. Of course, it would also be consistent with John being very young, and perhaps unsure what to do or unwilling to act without a real adult there.

What we know is that it is very deliberately included in the account. John presumable only included details he thought would be important or add meaning, so it certainly seems it was included for a reason.
 
The nice thing about Scripture is that details like this provide a lot of food for thought.

The accepted explanation of John running faster is that he was a very young man, the youngest of the Twelve, while Peter was middle-aged.
It could also signify that John, who was at the foot of the cross, was spiritually “ahead” of Peter, who denied Christ.
Or that John had more zeal and faith that he was going to see something miraculous whereas Peter was less sure and thus not in such of a hurry to get there.

Likewise, the accepted reason John doesn’t go into the tomb first is because he defers to Peter who is older and the leader.
But it could be that John was just awestruck from merely looking in and didn’t have to go in and see up close, whereas Peter did.
Or that John, being young, was hesitant or not sure what to do when he got to the tomb.
One might even think of “the last shall be first” - literally!

Maybe it’s some of each. You can think about it all day. Isn’t Scripture great?
 
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John could represent reason… Peter, faith. Reason only enters in after faith, despite arriving at the threshold of belief more quickly.

Also the two represent the contemplative and active lives respectively… maybe another place to look.
 
There are two other instances after the one at the tomb involving John and Peter in which Peter takes the position of going first. So I would think that these events are pointed out in respect to Peter’s position of leadership while Jesus was around, but possibly also to emphasize Peter’s authority as leader of the Church.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
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Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
Click to expand...
 
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Wow thats so simple it never came to mind when reading this. I forgot how young John was. Thanks for the insight.
 
Have checked my bible commentaries I have on these verses and basically they concur with what has already been said above:

The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (Scott Hahn):

20:4. reached the tomb first: John defers to Peter by letting him enter the tomb first (20:6). This is more than a polite gesture, as it reflects his deference to the preeminent honor and authority that Jesus has bestowed on Simon (Mt 16:16-19). Allegorically (John Scotus Erigena, Hom. in Prol. Jn.): the tomb is the Sacred Scriptures. Peter is faith, which is the first thing we bring to its pages, and John is understanding, which afterward enters and penetrates their meaning more deeply. Morally, Peter and John represent the active and contemplative missions of the Church, so that even when contemplatives are the first to arrive at a deeper understanding of the faith, deference is given to the hierarchical leadership, who later defines and promulgates their authentic insights.

Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (Bernard Orchard):

21:3. Peter and John ran to the tomb. John’s youth is sufficient reason for his outrunning Peter. 21:5 . Bending down to the low opening, he saw the bandages but did not go in—retained possibly by some strong emotion or more probably by respect for Peter. 21:6. The latter entered and found complete evidence that the body had not been removed; for bodysnatchers would surely never have carefully divested the body of its linen bands before taking it away. The bandages were not in a confused heap, but were ‘lying’ on the ledge (in the shape of the body and not folded up?). And the napkin that had been over his head was lying apart and carefully rolled up. 21:8. John perceived the truth at once, and with the light of his faith saw the meaning of some Scriptural prophecy of the resurrection (probably Ps 15 (16). 21:10. Each went his way, but Lk shows Peter ‘wondering in himself’.

Haydock Bible Commentary:

21:5. He saw the linen cloths lying. S. Chrys. takes notice, that Christ’s body being buried with myrrh, the linen would stick as fast to the body as pitch, so that it would be impossible to steal, or take away the body without the linen cloths.

21:8. He saw and believed. He did not yet believe that Jesus was risen from the dead, because he was still ignorant that he was to rise from the dead. For although the apostles had so often heard their divine Master speak in the most plain terms of his resurrection, still being so much accustomed to parables, they did not understand, and imagined something else was meant by these words. S. Aug. tract. 120. in Joan.

New Jerome Bible Commentary:

20:4. Just as the Beloved Disciple was closest to Jesus at the supper (13:25), so his exemplary love for Jesus leads him to arrive at the tomb first.

continued….
 
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Navarre Bible Commentary:

20:4. The Fourth Gospel makes it clear that, although the women, and specifically Mary Magdalene, were the first to reach the tomb, the Apostles were the first to enter it and see the evidence that Christ had risen (the empty tomb, the linen clothes “lying” and the napkin in a place by itself). Bearing witness to this will be an essential factor in the mission which Christ will entrust to them: “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem … and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8; cf. Acts 2:32). John, who reached the tomb first (perhaps because he was the younger), did not go in, out of deference to Peter. This is an indication that Peter was already regarded as leader of the apostles.

Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture:

20:3–6. The Beloved Disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. When Peter last appeared, he denied his relationship with Jesus, and the Beloved Disciple’s last appearance was at the foot of the cross, receiving the mother of Jesus as his own spiritual mother. The Beloved Disciple is the first to arrive at the empty tomb: love speeds him on his way to Jesus. Having arrived first, the Beloved Disciple looked into the tomb and saw the burial cloths. He does not enter, but instead he waits for Peter to arrive. Even though his love may be more intense, the Beloved Disciple waits for Peter to enter the tomb first, perhaps because of Peter’s status among the disciples.

20:8. Having first seen the graveclothes from the tomb’s entrance, the Beloved Disciple went in after Peter, and he saw and believed. The nature of the Beloved Disciple’s faith is open to different interpretations. Some scholars think that his is a full-fledged faith in the resurrection, which he arrives at without seeing the risen Jesus. However, there are good reasons to think that the Beloved Disciple has only an initial faith at this point, perhaps simply believing that God has in some way acted here. The form of the Greek verb “believed” can mean “began to believe.” Moreover, as we shall see, John seems to articulate the disciples’ full Easter faith with verbs in the perfect tense (20:18, 25, 29). Finally, John follows up this description of the Beloved Disciple’s faith with a statement about the disciples’ ignorance regarding the resurrection (20:9).

continued….
 
Sacra Pagina:

20:8. he saw and believed: Some scholars have questioned the significance of the Beloved Disciple’s faith, especially in light of vv. 9 and 29. For example, Nicholson, Death as Departure 69–71, joins Augustine and other Fathers of the Church in seeing the disciple’s belief as an acceptance of Mary Magdalene’s witness. Among others de la Potterie, The Hour 202–207, argues that the faith of the disciple is only beginning and has yet to be fully illuminated (cf. v. 9). Lee, “Partnership in Easter Faith” 39–40, argues that “v. 8 has no narrative impact” and that v. 9 leaves both the Beloved Disciple and Peter in a situation of unfaith not resolved until John 21. Brown, “John 20” 197–198, uses v. 9 to support the claim that Beloved Disciple comes to perfect faith. He not only believed without seeing Jesus but he did not even need the help of the Scriptures.

The use of Peter and the Beloved Disciple in this narrative is determined by their being founding figures of the Christian community. Others have claimed that Peter represents Jewish Christianity while the Beloved Disciple represents the Gentile Church (e.g., Bultmann, Gospel 685), or that Peter represents the pastoral ministry while the Beloved Disciple represents the prophetic ministry (Kragerud, Der Lieblingjünger 29–32). Brodie, Gospel 563–564, suggests that the Beloved Disciple represents the contemplative while Peter represents the official face of the Church.

Cornelius a Lapide:

Ver. 4.—So they ran both together. Before the rest, as loving Him above the rest, says S. Gregory. And he (John) did outrun Peter, as the younger and more active, and moreover as more desirous of seeing that Body which he had just before seen marred on the cross.

Ver. 5.—Yet went he not in, paying deference to Peter, as his senior and more worthy, says Lyranus, or else hindered by fear, or seized with a kind of sacred dread at the Body of Christ which was buried there.

Ver. 8.—Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre. Tropologically, Toletus says that by John are signified all Christians, but by Peter the Pontiffs, Vicars of Christ. Peter then entered the tomb first as the highest in dignity, as the Vicar of Christ; but John came last, because it is possible that he who is first in rank, is behind others in desert and holiness. And he saw and believed. Both of them, that is, believed that what Mary Magdalene said was true, namely, that the Body of Christ had been taken away. So says S. Augustine, Theophylact, and Jansen. S. Cyril, Chrysostom, Euthymius, and Nyssen add that both believed that Christ had risen. But this word “believed” more clearly and correctly applies only to S. John, who remembered the words of Christ, that He would rise on the third day. But Peter, on account of the strangeness of a Resurrection, and from His earnest desire to see Him alive again, was more slow to believe that Christ had risen. Whence the Angel significantly said to the women, “Go, tell His disciples and Peter.” (Mark xvi. 7.)
 
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nfinke said:
Near the end of John’s Gospel, there is a detail that has always stuck in my mind, but I dont know what to make of it, or if I should make anything of it at all.

So on the first Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalen finds the tomb empty, and goes to find John and Peter. When they hear the news, they of course run to the tomb to see for themselves. The passage makes a point of saying two things that seem meaningful, but whos meaning Ive never been able to figure out on my own. First, that John runs faster than Peter. This is the one that might be insignificant, because its possible John just happened to be faster. But it could also do with putting more effort in.

The other and seemingly more significant detail is that although John arrives at the tomb first, upon seeing the burial cloths (which I guess from context were laid out in front of the entrance), he didnt go in. And when Peter arrives second, he goes right in, and sees some other burial cloths inside, along with the cloth that had covered his head. Only after seeing Peter enter the tomb does John go in.

Again, Im not sure if anything is supposed to be taken from this, or if its just a historical retelling of events, but of course being the gospel, it could be both. Is there some significance to John pausing at the tombs entrance even though he got there first, or Peter comparatively rushing right in even though he was slower to arrive? I could see the interpretation of John being afraid of what he would find making sense, but could also see the reading that John believed without having to actually see the empty room. Or again, maybe theres nothing really significant about it at all. Any thoughts on this passage?
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John was about 19 years old at the time, and Peter much older, so he ran faster, thus arrived at the Sepulchre first. And, out of timidness and sorrow, he knelt down at the entrance to venerate, and get some indication from the things he sees. He only saw, heaped on the floor, the linen cloths placed on the Shroud, then relayed to Peter there was really nothing, that Mary Magdalene had seen accurately, and encouraged him to go in and look.

Peter did so and tried to find Jesus’s body, even called for Him as if He might’ve been concealed in some dark corner. After ascertaining the situation, he confirmed to John that He was gone, then invited him in.

John stood up and went in and saw for himself. At that point Peter discovered the Sudarium in a corner, folded diligently and within it the Shroud rolled up carefully. They thought His body had been abducted, and because they hadn’t been there they felt responsible, as well as wondered where they had put Him. They came out of the Sepulchre looking annihilated.
 
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St Thomas Aquinas (in his “Catena Aurea”) also quotes St Gregory the Great who expands on the mystical meaning of these verses:

GREGORY. (Hom. xxii. in Evang.) But this account of the Evangelist must not be thought to be without some mystical meaning. By John, the younger of the two, the synagogue; by Peter, the elder, the Gentile Church is represented: for though the synagogue was before the Gentile Church as regards the worship of God, as regards time the Gentile world was before the synagogue. They ran together, because the Gentile world ran side by side with the synagogue from first to last, in respect of purity and community of life, though a purity and community of understanding they had not. The synagogue came first to the sepulchre, but entered not: it knew the commandments of the law, and had heard the prophecies of our Lord’s incarnation and death, but would not believe in Him who died. Then cometh Simon Peter, and entered into the sepulchre: the Gentile Church both knew Jesus Christ as dead man, and believed in Him as living God. The napkin about our Lord’s head is not found with the linen clothes, i.e. God, the Head of Christ, and the incomprehensible mysteries of the Godhead are removed from our poor knowledge; His power transcends the nature of the creature. And it is found not only apart, but also wrapped together; because of the linen wrapped together, neither beginning nor end is seen; and the height of the Divine nature had neither beginning nor end. And it is into one place: for where there is division, God is not; and they merit His grace, who do not occasion scandal by dividing themselves into sects. But as a napkin is what is used in labouring to wipe the sweat of the brow, by the napkin here we may understand the labour of God: which napkin is found apart, because the suffering of our Redeemer is far removed from ours; inasmuch as He suffered innocently, that which we suffer justly; He submitted Himself to death voluntarily, we by necessity. But after Peter entered, John entered too; for at the end of the world even Judæa shall be gathered into the true faith.
 
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St Anthony of Padua (in sermon 34) also provides a commentary on verses 11-12:

So John says of the Magdalen:

Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre, and she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. (Jn 20,11-12)

Note each word. A sepulchre, or ‘monument’, is a reminder of the dead; thus it is a reminder of our own death, a memorial of our burial. It reminds us to continue in sorrow of heart and in works of penitence. Mary stood at the sepulchre, because the humble person maintains a constant awareness of his mortality, so that when he cometh, he shall find him watching. (cf. Lc 12,37)

How does she stand? Outside, weeping. Outside, not inside. Outside there is nothing but

lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children

and would not be comforted, because they are not. (Mt 2,18)

Rachel (meaning ‘sheep’) stands for the simple, penitent soul. Her children are her works, which were dead by the commission of sin; and they are no more alive, as they were before they became dead. Alas! The downward path is easy, but how hard is the path up!

"That which was a long time coming to be, falls in a moment."1

As she was weeping, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. There is the true humility of the penitent. Note the three words: wept, stooped, looked. She wept, and there is contrition; she stooped, and there is confession; she looked, and there is satisfaction, which she truly has before her when she directs here eye at the sepulchre of her death.

And she saw two angels . These two angels (the word means ‘messengers’) stand, in their moral sense, for our wretched entry into life and our bitter exit. We who are the Body of Jesus Christ have one of these at our head and one at our feet, attending on the wretched beginning and ending of our life. They are well-named ‘angels’, because they announce the frailty of our body and the vanity of the world. These are the two angels who, in Genesis,

brought Lot forth from Sodom, and said to him:

Save thy life; look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about;

but save thyself in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed. (Gn 19,17)

Whoever considers well the beginning and end of his life will go forth from ‘Sodom’, the foulness of the world and of sin, and will save his soul. He will not look back, returning to his former sins, nor will he linger ‘in the country about’; for he who dwells among the occasions and images of sin after he has put sin aside has not yet abandoned sin utterly. He will save himself ‘in the mountain’, that is, in excellence of life.
 
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