John 20:9

John 20:9. For not even yet knew they the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. The connection between this and the preceding verse is readily perceived: ‘He saw and believed,' sight was needed to evoke this faith, for not even yet had they learnt that thus it was ‘written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead' (Luke 24:46). It may perhaps be doubted whether self-reproach is to be found in this statement, to the extent, at least, that is commonly supposed. The words seem rather to flow from the conviction which has so strong a hold of the Evangelist, that only in the presence of actual experience do the power and meaning of the Divine Word come forth. The fact was needed in order to illustrate and explain the scripture; and then that faith which has been resting on the inward perception of the glory of Jesus receives confirmation from the discovery that the truth received was long ago made known by God as a part of His own counsel. As in all other places (unless chap. John 19:28 be an exception, see note there) John uses ‘the scripture' in the sense of a particular passage of Scripture (see chap. John 2:22), we are here led to think of Psalms 16:10 as probably being before his mind. It will be remembered that this was ‘the scripture' to which Peter first made appeal as a prophecy of the Resurrection of our Lord (Acts 2:27).