John 20

Part of Resurrection and Epilogue📖 John introduction

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¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ✦ ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we do not know where they have put Him!” ✦ ³Then Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. ✦ ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ✦ ⁵He bent down and looked in at the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ✦ ⁶Simon Peter arrived just after him. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ✦ ⁷The cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was rolled up, lying separate from the linen cloths. ✦ ⁸Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in. And he saw and believed. ✦ ⁹For they still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. ✦ ¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes. ✦ ¹¹But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb, ✦ ¹²and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet. ✦ ¹³“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. “Because they have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I do not know where they have put Him.” ✦ ¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not recognize that it was Jesus. ✦ ¹⁵“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” ✦ ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). ✦ ¹⁷“Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” ✦ ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her. ✦ ¹⁹It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them. ✦ ²⁰After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ✦ ²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” ✦ ²²When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ✦ ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” ✦ ²⁴Now Thomas called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ✦ ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.” ✦ ²⁶Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ✦ ²⁷Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” ✦ ²⁸Thomas replied, “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 yet have believed.” ✦ ³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. ✦ ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

John 20 ·29 Luke 24 ·21 Mark 16 ·12 John 21 ·10 John 14 ·10 John 16 ·9 Matt 28 ·8 John 1 ·8

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical
A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
DocumentaryHolyLandSiteHolyLandSite · Free · evangelical
Free on-location videos tying biblical events to the actual sites in Israel — the Temple Mount, Galilee, Capernaum, and more.
ApologeticsCold-Case Christianity (J. Warner Wallace)J. Warner Wallace · Free · evangelical
A cold-case homicide detective examines the Gospels' reliability — forensic faith for skeptics and seekers.

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonGrace to You — John MacArthurJohn MacArthur · Free · reformed
Decades of careful verse-by-verse expository sermons, especially through the New Testament. (MacArthur, d. 2025; archive remains free.)
SermonGospel in Life — Tim KellerTim Keller · Free · reformed
Tim Keller's gospel-centered preaching — sermons stream free (the complete downloadable archive is paid).
ArticleRecommended NT commentaries (9Marks / Schreiner)Thomas R. Schreiner · Free · reformed
A trusted pastor-oriented guide to the best commentary on each New Testament book.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.
VideoVerse By Verse Ministry InternationalVerse By Verse Ministry Int'l · Free · evangelical
In-depth, verse-by-verse expository teaching book-by-book — strong for working straight through a whole New Testament book.
VideoLook at the Book — John PiperJohn Piper · Free · reformed
Watch Piper trace the logic of a passage phrase by phrase on screen — a model of close reading.

Seminary

★ Start hereApologeticsGary Habermas — the resurrectionGary Habermas · Free · evangelical
130+ free videos and lectures from the scholar behind the "minimal facts" method — the start-here on the historical evidence for the resurrection. (Only his books are paid.)
★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed
The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on John 20YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — John 20David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — John 20Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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