John 20:15-31 ▼

15 Jesus asked her, |Dear lady, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?| Thinking he was the gardener, she told him, |Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.|

16 Jesus told her, |Mary!| She turned around and told him in Hebrew, |Rabbouni!| (which means |Teacher|).

17 Jesus told her, |Don't hold on to me, because I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'|

18 So Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, |I've seen the Lord!| She also told them what he had told her.

19 It was the evening of the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them. He told them, |Peace be with you.|

20 After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side, and when they saw the Lord, the disciples were overjoyed.

21 Jesus told them again, |Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.|

22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and told them, |Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven. If you retain people's sins, they are retained.|

24 Thomas, one of the Twelve (called the Twin), wasn't with them when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples kept telling him, |We've seen the Lord!| But he told them, |Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into them, and put my hand into his side, I'll never believe!|

26 A week later, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were shut, Jesus came, stood among them, and said, |Peace be with you.|

27 Then he told Thomas, |Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, but believe.|

28 Thomas answered him, |My Lord and my God!|

29 Jesus told him, |Is it because you've seen me that you have believed? How blessed are those who have never seen me and yet have believed!|

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not recorded in this book.

31 But these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that through believing you may have life in his name.