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John 20:12 is the twelfth verse of the twentieth chapter of the Gospel of John. Mary Magdalene is peering into the empty tomb of Jesus and sees two angels.
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And seeth two angels in white
- sitting, the one at the head,
- and the other at the feet, where
- the body of Jesus had lain.
The New International Version translates the passage as:
- and she saw two angels in
- white sitting, one at the
- head and one at the feet, where
- the body of Jesus had been lying.
There is some confusion account and the other gospels. In Matthew 28 only a single angle is mentioned. Mark 16 refers to a young man, presumably an angel, sitting on the right side. In Luke two men, again presumably angels, appear standing next to to the women. Those who believe in the inerrency of the Bible argue that these multiple accounts are explained by Mary making multiple trips to the tomb. Rationalist critics believe that there were never any angels and that they were a later embellishment to the tale.
Some have linked the two angels guarding the tomb with the pair that were said to guard the Ark of the Covenant. Wetstein has advanced a thesis linking the pair of angels to the pair of criminal who were crucified alongside Jesus.
The angels appear in the standard garb of Biblical angels, who are always portrayed as either wearing white or radiant clothing. The exact form of the angels is uncertain. The text does not make clear if they were in the form of normal men, who Mary did perhaps not recognize as angels, or if they were the radiant beings Biblical angels are often described as.
The position of the angels says something about the tomb. That they are sitting on something seems to imply that Jesus' body was on a raised shelf or ledge. This is consistent with the rest of the Gospel. However, early pilgrims to Jesus' tomb report that his body was placed in a trough in the tomb. Bruce argues that the grave may very well have been a tough as "angels would not require the same material support as beings of flesh and blood." Some scholars believe that the clear distinction between the head and foot inidcates that Jesus' tomb was one that had a built in headrest. Others believe the writer is just refering to the direction in which Jesus had been placed.
References
- Brown, Raymond E. "The Gospel According to John: XIII-XI" The Anchor Bible Series Volume 29A New York: Doubleday & Company, 1970.
- Bruce, F.F. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983.
- John Calvin's commentary on John 20:10-15 (http://www.ccel.org/c/calvin/comment3/comm_vol35/htm/x.ii.htm)
- Jesus Appears to His Disciples (http://bible.gospelcom.net/resources/commentaries/?action=getCommentaryText&cid=4&source=1&seq=i.50.20.2)
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