When we repeat a particular idea often enough that it becomes part of the air we breathe for years, or even generations on end, it accumulates a gravitas, an authority, that soon goes unexamined. It’s easy for us to see other cultures or communities doing this; it’s difficult to see ourselves doing it. That’s why I’ve sought to expose numerous unquestioned mantras (such as: Jesus’ ministry lasted 3 years, judge not, your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, forgetting what lies behind, and Jesus never broke a bruised reed) that have become unassailably axiomatic in evangelical Protestant circles. I am deeply grateful when others show me that what I’ve always heard and assumed isn’t actually supported by the text of Scripture.
So with all due respect to commentator D.A. Carson and the countless others who have always believed Jesus walked through walls, I raised the question last week: Do John 20:19 and John 20:26 truly claim that Jesus walked through walls? Is the matter as obvious as we typically assert?
The Testimony of the Ancients
John Calvin would disagree, and with flair:
And while the doors were shut. … We ought, therefore, to believe that Christ did not enter without a miracle, in order to give a demonstration of his Divinity, by which he might stimulate the attention of his disciples; and yet I am far from admitting the truth of what the Papists assert, that the body of Christ passed through the shut doors. Their reason for maintaining this is, for the purpose of proving not only that the glorious body of Christ resembled a spirit, but that it was infinite, and could not be confined to any one place. But the words convey no such meaning; for the Evangelist does not say that he entered through the shut doors, but that he suddenly stood in the midst of his disciples, though the doors had been shut, and had not been opened to him by the hand of man. We know that Peter (Acts 10:10) [sic Acts 12:10] went out of a prison which was locked; and must we, therefore, say that he passed through the midst of the iron and of the planks? Away, then, with that childish trifling, which contains nothing solid, and brings along with it many absurdities! Let us be satisfied with knowing that Christ intended, by a remarkable miracle, to confirm his disciples in their belief of his resurrection.
Calvin, J., & Pringle, W. (2010). Commentary on the Gospel according to John (Vol. 2, p. 264). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Augustine read the text to say that Christ “appeared” within the room, without speculating on how exactly he got there:
When he appeared with all the members of his body and used their functions, he also displayed the places of his wounds. I have always taken these as scars, not as actual wounds, and saw them as the result of his power, not of some necessity. He revealed the ease of this power, especially when he either showed himself in another form or appeared as his real self to the disciples gathered in the house when the doors were closed.
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. IVb, Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 356). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Gregory of Nyssa reads the text similarly:
After his resurrection he showed himself whenever he wanted to his disciples. When he wished to be present with them, he was in their midst without being seen, needing no entrance through open doors.… All of these occurrences, and whatever other similar facts we know about his life, require no further argument to show that they are signs of deity and of a sublime and supreme power.
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. IVb, Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 357). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Regarding the grave-clothes left in the empty tomb (John 20:6-8), Chrysostom seems to think they were simply stripped off and laid aside:
They see the linen clothes lying there, which was a sign of the resurrection. For if they had removed the body, they would not have stripped it first, nor, if any had stolen it, would they have taken the trouble to remove the napkin and roll it up and lay it in a place by itself apart from the linens. They would have taken the body as it was.
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. IVb, Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (pp. 340–341). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Eusebius of Caesarea hears the text saying the grave-clothes were simply left lying:
The cloths lying within seem to me at once to furnish also a proof that the body had not been taken away by people, as Mary supposed. For no one taking away the body would leave the linens, nor would the thief ever have stayed until he had undone the linens and so be caught.
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. IVb, Elowsky, J. C. (Ed.). (2007). John 11–21 (p. 341). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Now my point is not to say we must agree with whatever the commentators write. That would go against a fundamental principle of this blog.
Rather, my point is that the notion of Jesus’ resurrected body passing through solid objects is by no means required of the text. Many Bible readers, in cultures and times different than ours, saw nothing of the sort. Or at least, if they did, not many saw reason to say so.
Eyes Back On the Text
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
John 20:19
What is plain is that the disciples were in a room with the doors locked. And John’s explicit reason for mentioning the locked doors is to highlight not Jesus’ miraculous entry but the disciples’ great fear of the Jews. And then at some point, Jesus came and stood among them. He may have entered the room in a miraculous way (which would be consistent with the views of the older commentators quoted above), but again, John doesn’t say so outright.
John doesn’t want us to focus on how exactly Jesus got into the room, though it may have been miraculous. And there is no reason to believe John wants us to think Jesus could pass through solid objects (but as I stated last week: It’s possible he could have!).
John wants us simply to see the risen Christ, in the flesh, offering peace to his fearful followers and sending them to bear witness to these things (John 20:20-23). Those are the facts of which we can be certain, and they ought to be the focus of our attention as we strive to understand and teach John’s message in this text.
If it is unclear to assume that Jesus walked through the wall to greet his disciples, whether this was before or after his ascension to receive a glorified body, wouldn’t walking through the wall be a small thing at this point?
Before his death He walked on water, how would you explain that. Also before his ascension (probably right before), he transfigured himself so that Mary thought he was a gardener. He even transfigured himself before Peter, James and John on the mountain, so isn’t doubting whether he walked through the wall somewhat of a mute point?
The question that should be debated or dissected is, Why aren’t we doing these acts now? Especially since he told us that we would do what he did and more.
For example Peter, a human walked on water. Phillip was translated, Paul and others raised the dead, something that he told all believers to do until he returns, not just some but all disciples of Jesus. What has happened to the church that now we only debate what was done in the past, but are not implementing these acts now? That’s a question for debate or dissection.
I am not arguing that Jesus couldn’t have walked through a wall. He created all things and rose from the dead, so he could do anything. My point is simply that the text does not say even once that he walked through a wall. We tend to treat the idea as a truism, but the text never says it. By contrast, the Scriptures clearly claim that he walked on water, was transfigured on the mountain, and was mistaken by Mary to be the gardener. So we’re on solid ground to affirm such things. We have no such ground to assert that he walked through walls, regardless of whether he *could* have.
I believe that Jesus physically walked through the wall. And let’s not overlook that he walked through the wall of a second-floor room. At least it’s a logical conclusion since there’s no mention of him ascending any stairs and walking into the upper room from INSIDE the house. And I think I can explain how he did it, in a way that can be understood by those preferring a “miraculous” account, as well as to the other camp of thinkers who believe there was nothing miraculous about it—because the reality is….. both possibilities are one in the same (*wink*wink). God has revealed Himself to us through His creation…..and the substance of Creation is far more profound than most people realize. I’d love to discuss it with anyone who has faith enough to believe that truly, for now “we see through a glass darkly” but that one day everyone will have a clear view of the true Light……”face to face”.