John 20–21

The Empty Tomb

20On ^mthe first day of the week ⁿMary Magdalene ^ocame to the tomb ^pearly, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone ^qhad been removed ^rfrom the tomb. ²So she ran to Simon Peter ^sand to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, ^tand we don’t know where they have put Him!”

³At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. ⁵Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths ^ulying there, yet he did not go in. ⁶Then, following him, Simon Peter came also. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷The wrapping ^vthat had been on His head was not lying with the linen cloths ^wbut was folded up in a separate place by itself. ⁸The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then entered the tomb, saw, and believed. ⁹For they still did not understand the Scripture ^xthat He must rise ^yfrom the dead. ^z10Then the disciples went home again.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

¹¹But ^aMary stood outside facing the tomb, ^bcrying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹²She saw two angels ^cin white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus’ body ^dhad been lying. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” ^eshe told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” ¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. ^f

¹⁵“Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” ^g—which means “Teacher.” ^h

¹⁷“Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended ⁱto the Father. ^jBut go to My brothers ^kand tell them that I am ascending to My Father ^land your Father—to My God ^mand your God.”

¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” ⁿAnd she told them what ^oHe had said to her.

The Disciples Commissioned

¹⁹In the evening of that first day of the week, ^pthe disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews. Then Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” ^q

²⁰Having said this, He showed them His hands and His side. ^rSo the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, ^sI also send you.” ^t22After saying this, He breathed on them ^uand said, ^v“Receive the Holy Spirit. ^w23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ^x

Thomas Sees and Believes

²⁴But one of the Twelve, Thomas ^y(called “Twin”), was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, ^zand put my hand into His side, ^aI will never believe!” ^b

²⁶After eight days His disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace to you!”

²⁷Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.” ^c

²⁸Thomas responded to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. ^dThose who believe without seeing ^eare blessed.”

The Purpose of This Gospel

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs ^fin the presence of His disciples that are not written ^gin this book. ^h31But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, ⁱthe Son ^jof God, ^kland by believing you may have life in His name. ^m

Jesus’ Third Appearance to the Disciples

21After this, Jesus revealed ⁿHimself again to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. ^opHe revealed Himself in this way:

²Simon Peter, ^qThomas ^r(called “Twin”), Nathanael ^sfrom Cana of Galilee, ^tZebedee’s ^usons, and two others of His disciples were together.

³“I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them.

“We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. ^v

⁴When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore. However, the disciples did not know it was Jesus. ^w

⁵“Men,” ^xJesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” He told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, ^yand they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. ⁷Therefore the disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” ^z

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer garment around him ^a(for he was stripped) and plunged into the sea. ⁸But since they were not far from land (about 100 yards ^bcaway), the other disciples came in the boat, ^ddragging the net full of fish. ⁹When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.

¹⁰“Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus told them. ¹¹So Simon Peter got up and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish—153 of them. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. ^e

¹²“Come and have breakfast,” Jesus told them. None of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish.

¹⁴This was now the third time ^fgJesus appeared ^hito the disciples after He was raised from the dead.

Jesus’ Threefold Restoration of Peter

¹⁵When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, ^jdo you love ^kMe more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”

“Feed ^lMy lambs,” ^mHe told him.

¹⁶A second time He asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love ⁿMe?” ^o

“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”

“Shepherd ^pMy sheep,” ^qHe told him.

¹⁷He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love ^rMe?”

Peter was grieved ^sthat He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything! ^tYou know that I love You.”

“Feed ^uMy sheep,” Jesus said. ¹⁸“^•I assure you: ^vWhen you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” ¹⁹He said this to signify by what kind of death ^whe would glorify God. ^xyAfter saying this, He told him, “Follow Me!” ^z

Correcting a False Report

²⁰So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved ^afollowing them. That disciple was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray You?” ^b21When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord—what about him?”

²²“If I want him to remain until I come,” ^cJesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow Me.”

²³So this report ^dspread to the brothers ^efthat this disciple would not die. ^gYet Jesus did not tell him that he would not die, but, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”

Epilogue

²⁴This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

²⁵And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books ^hthat would be written. ⁱ