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John 20

John presents the risen Jesus through encounters and recorded signs so that readers may believe and have life in his name.

Mary Magdalene reaches Jesus’ tomb while it is still dark and finds the stone removed. Peter and the disciple Jesus loved run to inspect the empty tomb, though they do not yet understand the Scripture about his resurrection. Jesus appears to Mary, then to his frightened disciples behind locked doors, showing his wounds and sending them as the Father sent him. Eight days later, he confronts Thomas’s unbelief. The closing verses explain why these signs have been recorded.

doubtdeath and what comes aftergrief
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1Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2Therefore she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid him!”
4They both ran together. The other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
5Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he didn’t enter in.
6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying,
8So then the other disciple who came first to the tomb also entered in, and he saw and believed.
9For as yet they didn’t know the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
12and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.”
14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, and didn’t know that it was Jesus.
15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabboni!” which is to say, “Teacher!”
17Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.
19When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord.
21Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
22When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.”
24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came.
25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26After eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.”
27Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
30Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;
31but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
John 20:31This purpose statement directs the resurrection accounts toward faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and life in his name.
John 20:17Jesus sends Mary to his brothers with news of his coming ascension and their shared relationship to his Father.
John 20:21The risen Jesus joins his greeting of peace to a commission grounded in the Father’s sending of him.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew and Luke share the events of the empty tomb and encounters with the risen Jesus, followed by a commission to his followers. Acts shares the themes of the risen Jesus sending his witnesses and the Holy Spirit equipping them for their task.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out to you about how Jesus addresses Mary’s grief and Thomas’s demand for evidence?

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How does the stated purpose in verse 31 shape your reading of the empty tomb and Jesus’ appearances?

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Questions people ask about John 20

Why did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene not to hold him?

Jesus connects his command with his coming ascension and sends Mary to tell his brothers. The scene shifts from her recognition of him to her task as a witness. The text does not explain the precise nature of her hold or give a fuller reason for the command.

Did Thomas touch Jesus’ wounds in John 20?

John does not say that Thomas touched the wounds. Jesus offers Thomas the evidence he had demanded, including his hands and side, and calls him to believe. Thomas then answers, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus speaks of Thomas having seen him; no act of touching is recorded.

What is the purpose of John 20:31?

Verse 31 explains why the signs in the book were selected and written down: that readers may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name. It follows the acknowledgment that Jesus performed many other signs, so the account makes no claim to record them all.

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What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about death →What the Bible says about grief →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).