The final chapter of the Book of Glory (Raymond Brown's term for St John's Gospel Chapters 13-21) concludes those elements that make up the hour of Christ’s glorification. First, there is the account of the empty tomb, which records the evidence of the resurrection but emphasizes above all the faith of the beloved disciple (20:1–10). Second, Matthew’s story of Jesus’s appearance to various women (see Matt. 28:9–10) has a parallel in the account about Mary Magdalene, a woman who dramatizes the grief of the apostolic company and their joy upon seeing Jesus again (John 20:11–18). Finally, Jesus appears to his disciples and during his visit breathes on them the Holy Spirit (20:19–29).

Mary’s arrival at the empty tomb (20:1–10) is before morning (20:1; on Mary see 19:25 and Luke 8:2), and alth…