Chapter 20

¹On the day after the Sabbath, very early in the morning while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb, and she saw that the stone had been removed from it. ²So she ran away and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple who was dear to Jesus, and said to them,

“They have taken the Master out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have put him.”

³So Peter and the other disciple went out of the city and started for the tomb. ⁴And they both ran, and the other disciple ran faster than Peter and got to the tomb first. ⁵And he stooped down and saw the bandages lying on the ground, but he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came up behind him, and he went inside the tomb, and saw the bandages lying on the ground, ⁷and the handkerchief that had been over Jesus’ face not on the ground with the bandages, but folded up by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first went inside too, and saw and was convinced. ⁹For they did not yet understand the statement of Scripture that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰So the disciples went home again.

¹¹But Mary stood just outside the tomb, weeping. And as she wept she looked down into the tomb, ¹²and saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at his head and one at his feet. ¹³And they said to her,

“Why are you weeping?”

She said to them,

“They have taken my Master away, and I do not know where they have put him.”

¹⁴As she said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was he. ¹⁵Jesus said to her,

“Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?”

She, supposing that he was the gardener, said to him,

“If it was you, sir, that carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.”

¹⁶“Mary!” said Jesus.

She turned and said to him in Hebrew,

“Rabbouni!” which means Master.

¹⁷Jesus said to her,

“You must not cling to me, for I have not yet gone up to my Father, but go to my brothers and say to them that I am going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

¹⁸Mary of Magdala went and declared to the disciples,

“I have seen the Master!” and she told them that he had said this to her.

¹⁹When it was evening on that first day after the Sabbath, and the doors of the house where the disciples met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came in and stood among them and said to them,

“Peace be with you!”

²⁰Then he showed them his hands and his side, and the disciples were full of joy at seeing the Master. ²¹Jesus said to them again,

“Peace be with you! Just as my Father sent me forth so I now send you.”

²²As he said this he breathed upon them, and said,

²³“Receive the holy Spirit! If you forgive any men’s sins, they are forgiven them, and if you fix any men’s sins upon them, they will remain fixed.”

²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, who was called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came in. ²⁵So the rest of the disciples said to him,

“We have seen the Master!”

But he said to them,

“Unless I see the marks of the nails in his hands, and put my finger into them, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”

²⁶A week after, the disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came in and stood among them, and said,

“Peace be with you!”

²⁷Then he said to Thomas,

“Put your finger here and look at my hands, and take your hand and put it in my side, and be no longer unbelieving, but believe!”

²⁸Thomas answered him,

“My Master and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said to him,

“Is it because you have seen me that you believe? Blessed be those who believe without having seen me!”

³⁰There were many other signs that Jesus showed before his disciples which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and through believing you may have life as his followers.