The Meaning of John 20:20 Explained

John 20:20

KJV: And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

YLT: and this having said, he shewed them his hands and side; the disciples, therefore, rejoiced, having seen the Lord.

Darby: And having said this, he shewed to them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced therefore, having seen the Lord.

ASV: And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  when he had  so  said,  he shewed  unto them  [his] hands  and  his  side.  Then  were  the disciples  glad,  when they saw  the Lord. 

What does John 20:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Evidently Jesus showed the disciples His hands and side with their wounds to convince them that it was really He and not just a phantom (cf. Luke 24:37-40). Luke added that He showed them His feet too ( Luke 24:39). Then these disciples rejoiced because they saw (Gr. idontes, i.e, perceived intelligently, cf. John 20:8) who Jesus really was.
"Thus the disciples were forced to grasp what became a central confession of the church: the risen Lord is none other than the crucified sacrifice." [1]
The disciples" initial reaction to Jesus" unexpected appearance was terror ( Luke 24:37). However upon examining His wounds their fear turned to faith. The disciples" joy was the proof of their perception and the testimony to their faith.
"Christian joy has been born, the joy of the redeemed, which Jesus had promised would be theirs after the travail pangs had passed (see xvi20-22)." [2]
Clearly Jesus" resurrection body resembled His former body, but perhaps His beatings and crucifixion had so scarred Him that even His closest friends could hardly recognize Him (cf. Isaiah 52:14). His resurrection body also possessed properties of immortality that enabled Him to pass through solid objects and to materialize and dematerialize at will, though it was not ethereal.

Context Summary

John 20:19-25 - The Risen Christ Brings Peace
Evidently our Lord was clothed in the spiritual body of which the Apostle speaks, not subject to the laws governing physical life. Twice He uttered the salutation, Peace be unto you. The first time He accompanied His words with the indication of His wounds: He showed unto them His hands and His side. This was the peace of forgiveness, falling on conscience-stricken hearts as the dew distils on the parched herbage. "Look at the wounds of Jesus!" cried Staupitz to Luther, and there is, indeed, no other sign which can give rest to the penitent. This is the peace of the evening hour, when we come back from the soil and fret of the world, and need to have our feet washed and our heart quieted.
The second time the message of peace was accompanied by an injunction to go forth into the world, as He was sent from the Father, on the great errand of world evangelization. Then He breathed on them and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, which shortly after was to descend as a rushing, mighty wind. There is no way of remitting sin but by preaching the gospel of reconciliation, with the Holy Spirit accompanying our message. This is the peace of the morning, when we go forth to our post of duty or danger. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 20

1  Mary comes to the tomb;
3  so do Peter and John, ignorant of the resurrection
11  Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene,
19  and to his disciples
24  The incredulity and confession of Thomas
30  The Scripture is sufficient to salvation

Greek Commentary for John 20:20

Showed [εδειχεν]
First aorist active indicative of δεικνυμι — deiknumi This body, not yet glorified, retained the marks of the nails and of the soldier‘s spear, ample proof of the bodily resurrection against the modern view that only Christ‘s “spirit” arose and against the Docetic notion that Jesus had no actual human body. Luke (Luke 24:39.) adds feet to hands and side. Were glad Second aorist passive indicative of χαιρω — chairō Jesus had said (John 16:22) that it would be so. Luke adds (Luke 24:41) that they “disbelieved for joy.” It was too good to be true, though terror had first seized them when Jesus appeared (Luke 24:37) because of the suddenness of Christ‘s appearance and their highly wrought state. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 20:20

Luke 24:40  []
Another Western non-interpolation according to Westcott and Hort. It is genuine in John 20:20 . [source]
John 19:34 With a spear [λογχηι]
Instrumental case of this old word, here only in the N.T. Pierced his side First aorist active indicative of νυσσω — nussō old word to pierce, here only in N.T., and πλευραν — pleuran (side), another old word, occurs in N.T. only here and John 20:20, John 20:25, John 20:27. Blood and water Dr. W. Stroud (Physical Cause of the Death of Christ) argues that this fact proves that the spear pierced the left side of Jesus near the heart and that Jesus had died literally of a broken heart since blood was mixed with water. [source]
John 4:1 When therefore [ως ουν]
Reference to John 3:22. the work of the Baptist and the jealousy of his disciples. Ουν — Oun is very common in John‘s Gospel in such transitions. The Lord So the best manuscripts (Neutral Alexandrian), though the Western class has ο Ιησους — ho Iēsous Mark usually has ο Ιησους — ho Iēsous and Luke often ο Κυριος — ho Kurios In the narrative portion of John we have usually ο Ιησους — ho Iēsous but ο Κυριος — ho Kurios in five passages (John 4:1; John 6:23; John 11:2; John 20:20; John 21:12). There is no reason why John should not apply ο Κυριος — ho Kurios to Jesus in the narrative sections as well as Luke. Bernard argues that these are “explanatory glosses,” not in the first draft of the Gospel. But why? When John wrote his Gospel he certainly held Jesus to be Κυριος — Kurios (Lord) as Luke did earlier when he wrote both Gospel and Acts This is hypercriticism. Knew Second aorist active indicative of γινωσκω — ginōskō The Pharisees knew this obvious fact. It was easy for Jesus to know the attitude of the Pharisees about it (John 2:24). Already the Pharisees are suspicious of Jesus. How that Declarative οτι — hoti (indirect assertion). Was making and baptizing more disciples than John Present active indicative in both verbs retained in indirect discourse. Recall the tremendous success of John‘s early ministry (Mark 1:5; Matthew 3:5; Luke 3:7, Luke 3:15) in order to see the significance of this statement that Jesus had forged ahead of him in popular favour. Already the Pharisees had turned violently against John who had called them broods of vipers. It is most likely that they drew John out about the marriage of Herod Antipas and got him involved directly with the tetrarch so as to have him cast into prison (Luke 3:19.). Josephus (Ant. XVIII. v. 2) gives a public reason for this act of Herod Antipas, the fear that John would “raise a rebellion,” probably the public reason for his private vengeance as given by Luke. Apparently John was cast into prison, though recently still free (John 3:24), before Jesus left for Galilee. The Pharisees, with John out of the way, turn to Jesus with envy and hate. [source]

What do the individual words in John 20:20 mean?

And this having said He showed both His hands His side to them Rejoiced then the disciples having seen the Lord
καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν 〈καὶ〉 τὰς χεῖρας τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῖς Ἐχάρησαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ ἰδόντες τὸν Κύριον

τοῦτο  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
εἰπὼν  having  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
ἔδειξεν  He  showed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: δείκνυμι 
Sense: to show, expose to the eyes.
〈καὶ〉  both 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
τὰς  His 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
χεῖρας  hands 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: χείρ  
Sense: by the help or agency of any one, by means of any one.
τὴν  His 
Parse: Article, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
πλευρὰν  side 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πλευρά  
Sense: the side of the body.
αὐτοῖς  to  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Ἐχάρησαν  Rejoiced 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: χαίρω  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.
μαθηταὶ  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
ἰδόντες  having  seen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: εἶδον 
Sense: to see with the eyes.
Κύριον  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.