“And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.”
Bending down to look in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in — the beloved disciple's hesitation (parakuptō, to bend down and peer) is crucial; he perceives the evidence without yet entering. The linen wrappings (othonia) lying there suggest the body passed through them rather than being unwrapped—a hint at the transformed nature of resurrection corporeality. His non-entry preserves a boundary between sight and faith.
Church Fathers on John 20:5
The Sabbath being now over, during which it was unlawful to be there, Mary Magdalene could rest no longer, but came very early in the morning, to seek consolation at the grave: The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher.
Mary Magdalene, undoubtedly the most fervent in love, of all the women that ministered to our Lord; so that John deservedly mentions her only, and says nothing of the others who were with her, as we know from the other Evangelists.
Una sabbati, i.e. one day after the sabbath.
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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