John 20

²Mary ran as fast as she could to find Simon Peter and the disciple Jesus loved, and she told them breathlessly: 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don't know where they have put Him!'

³Peter and the other disciple — the one Jesus loved — immediately set off together toward the tomb.

⁴They both ran, but the disciple Jesus loved was faster — he reached the tomb first.

⁵He bent down and peered inside the tomb — and saw the linen burial cloths just lying there. But he didn't go inside. He stopped at the door.

⁶Then Peter arrived — and Peter being Peter, he went straight inside the tomb. He looked and saw the linen burial cloths lying there.

⁷He also noticed the cloth that had covered Jesus' head — it was not scattered with the linen cloths but was folded up neatly, lying separately in its own place.

⁸Then John — the disciple who had arrived first — finally went in too. He looked at everything, and he believed.

⁹They still didn't understand that the Scripture had said Jesus would rise from the dead — that understanding would come later. But they believed what they saw.

¹⁰Then the two disciples went back home. They had seen what there was to see — and they went to think about what it all meant.

¹¹But Mary stayed outside the tomb, crying. Through her tears, she bent down and looked inside the tomb one more time.

¹²She looked in — and saw two angels dressed in white, sitting where Jesus' body had been. One was at the head and one was at the feet.

¹³The angels asked her: 'Woman, why are you crying?' She answered: 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have put Him.'

¹⁴After she said this, she turned around — and there was Jesus, standing right behind her. But she didn't recognise Him. She didn't know it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus said to her: 'Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' She thought He was the gardener, and said: 'Sir, if you have moved Him, please tell me where you have put Him and I will go and get Him.'

¹⁶Then Jesus said just one word: 'Mary.' And in that one word — her own name — she knew exactly who He was. She turned and cried out: 'Rabboni!' which means 'Teacher!'

¹⁷Jesus said: 'Do not hold on to Me — I have not yet returned to My Father. But go and tell My brothers: I am going to My Father and your Father, My God and your God.'

¹⁸Mary ran to the disciples and told them: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them everything He had said to her.

¹⁹That same evening — the first day of the week — the disciples were gathered in a room with all the doors locked tight, because they were afraid. And then, suddenly, Jesus appeared standing right in the middle of them and said: 'Peace be with you.'

²⁰Then He showed them the wounds in His hands and the wound in His side. And when the disciples saw that it was really the Lord — they were filled with joy!

²¹Jesus said again: 'Peace be with you. Just as My Father sent Me into the world, I am now sending you.'

²²Then He breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'

²³Then Jesus said: 'If you forgive someone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.' He was giving them the ministry of reconciliation — telling people about God's forgiveness.

²⁴Thomas — also called Didymus, which means 'the twin' — was one of the twelve disciples, but he had not been there when Jesus appeared.

²⁵The other disciples told Thomas: 'We have seen the Lord!' But Thomas said: 'Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and touch them with my own finger — and put my hand in His side — I will not believe it.'

²⁶Eight days later, the disciples were gathered again — and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were shut. And again, Jesus appeared and stood in the middle of them and said: 'Peace be with you.'

²⁷Then Jesus turned to Thomas and said: 'Put your finger here — look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it in My side. Stop doubting and believe!'

²⁸Thomas answered — and all his doubts fell away in one moment. He said: 'My Lord and my God!'

²⁹Jesus said to Thomas: 'You believe because you have seen Me. But how wonderfully blessed are all the people who believe in Me without seeing Me — and still trust Me completely!'

³⁰Jesus did many other miracles and signs in front of His disciples — more than could ever be written down in one book.

³¹But these stories and miracles were written down for one reason: so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ — the Son of God — and so that by believing in Him, you will have life through His name.