John 20

₁Early that Sunday morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. It was still dark but she saw that someone had rolled away the stone that had been in front of the tomb. ₂She ran to Simon-Peter and to another disciple, the disciple that Jesus loved very much. She told them: ‘Someone has taken away the Lord's body from the tomb and we do not know where they have put Him.’

₃Peter and the other disciple went to the tomb. ₄They ran to the tomb but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and he got there first. ₅He bowed over and looked into the tomb. He saw the pieces_of_cloth that were lying there but he did not go into the tomb. ₆Then Simon-Peter also came there. Peter went into the tomb and he saw the long pieces_of_cloth. ₇He also saw the cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded and it was not in the same place as the other cloths. ₈Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went into the tomb. He saw that Jesus' body was not there and he believed. ₉At that time the disciples did not understand the Old_Testament where it says that Jesus will live again.

₁₀The 2 disciples went back but ₁₁Mary went to the tomb and she cried. She did not stop crying and she bowed forward to look into the tomb. ₁₂She saw 2 angels. They had white clothes. They were sitting where Jesus' body had been before. One angel sat where Jesus' head had been and the other angel sat where his feet had been. ₁₃The angels asked her: ‘Why are you crying?’ She said: ‘They have taken away my Lord's body and I do not know where they have put Him.’

₁₄After she had said this, she looked back and she saw Jesus. He was standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ₁₅Jesus said to her: ‘Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’

Mary thought that it was the man who worked in the garden and she asked Him: ‘Sir, have you taken away my Lord's body? If you took Him, please tell me where you put Him so I can go and get Him.’ ₁₆Jesus said to her: ‘Mary.’

Then she turned to Jesus and said: ‘Rabboni.’ (Rabboni is a Hebrew word that means: My Lord). ₁₇Jesus said to her: ‘Do not hold Me. I have to go to my Father in heaven. You must go back to my brothers, the disciples. Go and tell them that I am going to my Father and my God. He is also your Father and your God now.’

₁₈Mary Magdalene told the disciples: ‘I have seen the Lord.’ She told them what Jesus had said to her.

₁₉That Sunday evening the disciples were together. All the doors were closed and locked because they were afraid of the Jewish_leaders. Jesus came and He stood in front of them and He said: ‘God gives his peace to you.’

₂₀After Jesus had said this, He showed them his hands and the side of his body where the soldier had pierced Him with his spear. The disciples were very happy when they saw the Lord. ₂₁Again Jesus said to them: ‘I give you my peace. The Father has sent Me. Now I send you.’

₂₂After Jesus had said this, He blew on them and said: ‘I give you the Holy_Spirit. ₂₃If you forgive any person's sin, then God will also forgive him. If you do not forgive his sin, then God also will not forgive his sin.’

₂₄Thomas, one of the 12 disciples, also had another name. His other name was the Twin. He was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them. ₂₅Later the disciples told Thomas: ‘We have seen the Lord.’

Thomas said to them: ‘No, I do not believe it. I will believe only when I see the wounds in his hands where the nails were and when I can put my finger into those wounds. I will believe only when I can put my hand into the wound on the side of Jesus' body.’

₂₆A week later the disciples were together again and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and He stood in front of them. He said to them: ‘I give my peace to you.’

₂₇Then He said to Thomas: ‘Come, put your finger into my wounds and look at my hands. Come and put your hand into the wound on the side of my body. Do not doubt. You must believe.’

₂₈Thomas said to Jesus: ‘You are my Lord and my God.’

₂₉Jesus said to him: ‘You have seen Me now, and that is why you believe. But there will be a lot of people who do not see Me, but they will believe. They will be really happy.’

₃₀Jesus did a lot of other miracles that the disciples saw, but those miracles are not written in this book. ₃₁The miracles that you read about in this book are written so that you can believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If you believe in Him, you will have eternal_life because you belong to Him.