John 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 20[a]
The Empty Tomb.[b] 1 On the first day of the week,(A) Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark,[c] and saw the stone removed from the tomb. (B) 2 So she ran[d] and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 [e]So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 (C)When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths[f] there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.(D) 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. 9 [g](E)For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned home.
The Appearance to Mary of Magdala.[h] 11 But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.(F) And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.(G) 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”(H) She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”[i] which means Teacher. 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,[j] for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”(I) 18 Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
Appearance to the Disciples.[k] 19 On the evening of that first day of the week,(J) when the doors were locked, where the disciples[l] were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.[m] The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.(K) 21 [n][Jesus] said to them again,(L) “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 [o]And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,(M) “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 [p](N)Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas. 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”(O) 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”(P) 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 [q](Q)Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 [r]Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?(R) Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Conclusion.[s] 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book.(S) 31 But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.(T)
Footnotes
- 20:1–31 The risen Jesus reveals his glory and confers the Spirit. This story fulfills the basic need for testimony to the resurrection. What we have here is not a record but a series of single stories.
- 20:1–10 The story of the empty tomb is found in both the Matthean and the Lucan traditions; John’s version seems to be a fusion of the two.
- 20:1 Still dark: according to Mark the sun had risen, Matthew describes it as “dawning,” and Luke refers to early dawn. Mary sees the stone removed, not the empty tomb.
- 20:2 Mary runs away, not directed by an angel/young man as in the synoptic accounts. The plural “we” in the second part of her statement might reflect a tradition of more women going to the tomb.
- 20:3–10 The basic narrative is told of Peter alone in Lk 24:12, a verse missing in important manuscripts and which may be borrowed from tradition similar to John. Cf. also Lk 24:24.
- 20:6–8 Some special feature about the state of the burial cloths caused the beloved disciple to believe. Perhaps the details emphasized that the grave had not been robbed.
- 20:9 Probably a general reference to the scriptures is intended, as in Lk 24:26 and 1 Cor 15:4. Some individual Old Testament passages suggested are Ps 16:10; Hos 6:2; Jon 2:1, 2, 10.
- 20:11–18 This appearance to Mary is found only in John, but cf. Mt 28:8–10 and Mk 16:9–11.
- 20:16 Rabbouni: Hebrew or Aramaic for “my master.”
- 20:17 Stop holding on to me: see Mt 28:9, where the women take hold of his feet. I have not yet ascended: for John and many of the New Testament writers, the ascension in the theological sense of going to the Father to be glorified took place with the resurrection as one action. This scene in John dramatizes such an understanding, for by Easter night Jesus is glorified and can give the Spirit. Therefore his ascension takes place immediately after he has talked to Mary. In such a view, the ascension after forty days described in Acts 1:1–11 would be simply a termination of earthly appearances or, perhaps better, an introduction to the conferral of the Spirit upon the early church, modeled on Elisha’s being able to have a (double) share in the spirit of Elijah if he saw him being taken up (same verb as ascending) into heaven (2 Kgs 2:9–12). To my Father and your Father, to my God and your God: this echoes Ru 1:16: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” The Father of Jesus will now become the Father of the disciples because, once ascended, Jesus can give them the Spirit that comes from the Father and they can be reborn as God’s children (Jn 3:5). That is why he calls them my brothers.
- 20:19–29 The appearances to the disciples, without or with Thomas (cf. Jn 11:16; 14:5), have rough parallels in the other gospels only for Jn 20:19–23; cf. Lk 24:36–39; Mk 16:14–18.
- 20:19 The disciples: by implication from Jn 20:24 this means ten of the Twelve, presumably in Jerusalem. Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo Jn 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in Jn 20:20 echoes Jn 16:22.
- 20:20 Hands and…side: Lk 24:39–40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Ps 22:17.
- 20:21 By means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. Jn 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see note on Jn 13:16). A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Mk 16:15.
- 20:22 This action recalls Gn 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. Cf. also the revivification of the dry bones in Ez 37. This is the author’s version of Pentecost. Cf. also the note on Jn 19:30.
- 20:23 The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Mt 16:19; 18:18.
- 20:28 My Lord and my God: this forms a literary inclusion with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.”
- 20:29 This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters.
- 20:30–31 These verses are clearly a conclusion to the gospel and express its purpose. While many manuscripts read come to believe, possibly implying a missionary purpose for John’s gospel, a small number of quite early ones read “continue to believe,” suggesting that the audience consists of Christians whose faith is to be deepened by the book; cf. Jn 19:35.
John 20
Amplified Bible
The Empty Tomb
20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw the stone [already] removed from the [groove across the entrance of the] tomb.(A) 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the [a]other disciple (John), whom Jesus loved (esteemed), and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and [b]we do not know where they have laid Him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb.(B) 4 And the two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. 5 Stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen [c]wrappings [neatly] lying there; but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came up, following him, and went into the tomb and saw the linen wrappings [neatly] lying there; 7 and the [burial] [d]face-cloth which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the [other] linen wrappings, but [e]rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, went in too; and he saw [the wrappings and the face-cloth] and [f]believed [without any doubt that Jesus had risen from the dead]. 9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.(C) 10 Then the disciples went back again to their own homes.
11 But Mary [who had returned] was standing outside the tomb sobbing; and so, as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? For whom are you looking?” Supposing that He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you are the one who has carried Him away from here, tell me where you have put Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in [g]Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “[h]Do not hold Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came, reporting to the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had said these things to her.
Jesus among His Disciples
19 So when it was evening on that same day, the first day of the week, though the disciples were [meeting] behind barred doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “[i]Peace to you.” 20 After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with great joy. 21 Then Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you [as My representatives].” 22 And when He said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(D) 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven [because of their faith]; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained [and remain unforgiven because of their unbelief].”
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve [disciples], who was called Didymus (the twin), was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later His disciples were again inside the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though the doors had been barred, and stood among them and said, “Peace to you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not be unbelieving, but [stop doubting and] believe.”(E) 28 Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy, spiritually secure, and favored by God] are they who did not see [Me] and yet believed [in Me].”
Purpose of Writing this Gospel
30 There are also many other signs (attesting miracles) that Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God; and that by believing [and trusting in and relying on Him] you may have life in His name.(F)
Footnotes
- John 20:2 See note 19:26.
- John 20:2 This indicates others were also present.
- John 20:5 Removing the burial wrappings and spices from a dead, decaying body would have been not only extremely difficult (if not impossible), but overwhelmingly nauseating. If a tomb robber had even attempted such a thing, the tomb would have been left in shambles. It would make no sense for a tomb robber to remove a dead body from the wrappings before stealing it.
- John 20:7 The word used here, soudarion, is taken from Latin (sudarium), where it refers to a linen handkerchief (cf Acts 19:12) or large linen napkin. This suggests something of the dimensions of the cloth, which was probably a new, unused piece of material.
- John 20:7 Jesus either caused the tight linen wrappings to fall from His body miraculously or His resurrected body miraculously passed through the linen wrappings, leaving them just as they were where He was lying (except for the face-cloth), unlike Lazarus who emerged from the tomb and had to be released from the wrappings. In either case, the grave wrappings would collapse on themselves on the flat surface of the slab where His body had been placed. The text also indicates that Jesus may have removed the face-cloth Himself once His hands were free, and neatly placed it apart from the other wrappings.
- John 20:8 John, the “other disciple,” knew immediately that no one could have fabricated the sight before him: (1) no one could have surreptitiously removed the stone covering the entrance (cf Matt 28:2), even if the guards assigned to the tomb had fallen asleep, as they were later paid to say by the chief priests (Matt 28:13); (2) removing the grave clothes from a dead body in a dark tomb in the middle of the night made no sense (cf note v 5); (3) stealing Jesus’ body would have accomplished nothing. The disciples’ reaction of disbelief when told of His resurrection implies they were neither expecting nor prepared for this miraculous event (cf Matt 28:16, 17; Mark 16:8-14; Luke 24:6-11). The actual resurrection of a living, flesh-and-bone Jesus gave the disciples the courage to begin proclaiming anew the message of salvation, and provided the strength for them to face both great personal suffering and martyrdom for their faith.
- John 20:16 I.e. Jewish Aramaic.
- John 20:17 In her joy Mary had probably reverently embraced Jesus at the knees or ankles.
- John 20:19 A normal Hebrew greeting.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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