Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of John
Chapter 20: My Lord and My God
John 20 is the dawn of resurrection. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is yet dark, finds the stone removed, and runs to Peter and John, who race to the empty sepulchre and see the linen clothes lying and the napkin folded by itself, and 'he saw, and believed.' Mary lingers weeping until the risen Lord speaks her name, 'Mary,' and she turns and cries, 'Rabboni,' and is sent to tell His brethren, 'I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.' That evening He comes through shut doors and stands among the disciples, 'Peace be unto you,' shows them His hands and His side, and sends them as the Father sent Him, breathing on them, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' Eight days later doubting Thomas, invited to touch the wounds, makes the great confession of the Gospel: 'My Lord and my God.' And John states his purpose: 'these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.' The chapter proclaims the risen Christ, the peace and Spirit He gives, and Jesus confessed as Lord and God.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of John chapter 20. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here the risen Lord meets Mary at the tomb, appears to the disciples and gives the Spirit, and receives the worship of Thomas, as John states the purpose of his Gospel. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
He Saw, and Believed
The linen clothes and the folded napkin testify to the risen Lord.
Rabboni
The risen Lord speaks her name, and grief turns to joy.
Receive Ye the Holy Ghost
He gives peace, sends them, and breathes the Spirit.
My Lord and My God
The doubter confesses the deity of the risen Christ.
Mary; Rabboni (John 20:1-18)
The empty tomb and the folded grave-clothes give way to the risen Lord Himself, who calls Mary by name.
I Ascend Unto My Father, and Your Father
"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her."
Word Study
"Rabboni," Aramaic rhabbouni (ῥαββουνί). The word is an Aramaic term of respect and endearment meaning "my Master" or "my Teacher," a heightened form of "Rabbi." John translates it for us, "which is to say, Master." When the risen Lord speaks Mary's name, "Mary," her grief turns instantly to recognition and worship, and she cries "Rabboni." It is the cry of a heart that knows its Shepherd's voice, for He had said, "the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name." One word, her own name from His lips, transforms her sorrow into joy. The risen Christ still meets His own personally and calls each by name; and the fitting response of the found and forgiven is to fall at His feet as "my Master," owning Him as Lord.
Explanation
Mary Magdalene comes in the dark to a stone rolled away, and her grief -- "they have taken away my Lord" -- turns to worship when the risen Jesus speaks her name: "Mary." The Good Shepherd calls His sheep by name, and she knows His voice at once, crying "Rabboni." He sends her as the first witness of the resurrection with the tender new relationship His death has secured: "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Because of the cross, His Father is now our Father, His God our God. The One who wept at a tomb now empties His own, and sends a once-broken woman to preach that He is alive.
Gospel Focus
While it is still dark, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb and finds the stone rolled away. Fearing the body has been stolen, she runs to tell Peter and John, who race to the sepulchre. John, arriving first, looks in and sees "the linen clothes lying"; Peter goes in and sees the same, and "the napkin, that was about his head... wrapped together in a place by itself." The grave-clothes lie undisturbed, and the head-cloth folded, no sign of a hurried theft, but rather of a body that passed out of them. Then John "saw, and believed", the first to believe in the resurrection, moved by the silent testimony of the empty grave-clothes. They did not yet understand from Scripture that He must rise, but the evidence before their eyes awakened faith. The disciples return home, but Mary lingers, weeping. Looking into the tomb she sees two angels who ask, "Woman, why weepest thou?" Her answer is all sorrow: "they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." Turning, she sees Jesus but does not recognize Him, supposing Him the gardener, and pleads to know where the body has been laid. Then comes one of the tenderest moments in all Scripture. Jesus speaks a single word, "Mary." At the sound of her name from His lips she knows Him at once and cries, "Rabboni", Master. The risen Shepherd calls His own by name, and her weeping turns to worship. Jesus tells her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father", not forbidding all contact, but redirecting her from clinging to His earthly presence to the new relationship of the ascension age. And He gives her a message that reveals the fruit of His finished work: "go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." He calls the disciples His "brethren", by His death and resurrection they are brought into the family of God. And note the careful wording: "my Father, and your Father... my God, and your God", He does not say "our Father," for His relationship to God is unique; yet through Him His Father becomes our Father, and His God our God. That He who is the eternal God, now in His glorified humanity as the Son, speaks of "my God" is the language of the incarnate One, who as man worships and ascends to God, even as He is Himself God manifest in flesh. The risen Lord makes His disciples His brethren and brings them to the Father. And Mary, the first witness of the resurrection, runs to proclaim, "I have seen the Lord."
Receive Ye the Holy Ghost (John 20:19-23)
Jesus appears among the disciples, gives His peace, sends them, and breathes on them the Holy Ghost.
As My Father Hath Sent Me, Even So Send I You
"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."
Word Study
"breathed," Greek emphusao (ἐμφυσάω). The word means to breathe on, to breathe into; it is the very word used in the Greek Old Testament when "the LORD God... breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). When Jesus "breathed on them, and saith... Receive ye the Holy Ghost," the echo is unmistakable: as God breathed natural life into the first man, so the risen Christ breathes spiritual life into His disciples, the beginning of the new creation. And it is the same one God who does both: the LORD who formed Adam is the Christ who now breathes His Spirit. This act anticipated and prepared for the fullness of the Spirit poured out at Pentecost. The Giver of the breath of life and the Giver of the Holy Ghost are one, for in Jesus the one God has come, and He imparts His own Spirit to His people.
Explanation
That evening the risen Christ stands among His disciples through locked doors, showing His pierced hands and side -- the same crucified body, now glorified. He speaks peace, commissions them -- "as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" -- and "breathed on them, and saith... Receive ye the Holy Ghost." The act echoes God breathing life into Adam (Genesis 2:7): the risen Lord breathes new-creation life into His church, a foretaste of the Spirit to be poured out fully at Pentecost. The Spirit He gives is His own breath, for the Comforter is the Spirit of Jesus, sent to carry His mission of forgiveness into the world.
Gospel Focus
On the evening of the resurrection day, the disciples are hiding behind shut doors "for fear of the Jews." Suddenly Jesus stands among them, His glorified body no longer bound by walls or doors, and speaks the word they most needed: "Peace be unto you." The peace He purchased at the cross He now bestows on His frightened followers. To assure them it is truly He, risen bodily, He shows them "his hands and his side", the wounds of the cross now marks of victory, and "the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord." Then He commissions them: "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." As the Father sent the Son into the world, so the Son sends His disciples, a commission of mission that would carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. But they cannot go in their own power, so "he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." The word recalls the creation of Adam, when God breathed life into the man; now the risen Christ breathes the Spirit into His disciples, the beginning of the new creation, the first bestowal anticipating the fullness of Pentecost when they would be "endued with power from on high." The same one God who gave the breath of natural life gives the breath of the Spirit. And He grants them a solemn ministry: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." This is not a power in the apostles to forgive sins by their own authority, for God alone forgives sin. Rather, it is the authority to declare the terms of forgiveness in the gospel: as the Spirit-filled church preaches repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus, those who believe and obey are assured their sins are remitted, and those who reject the gospel remain in their sins. This is exactly the ministry the apostles carried out in Acts, proclaiming, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." The risen Lord gives His people His peace, His mission, and His Spirit, that they might carry the message of remission of sins to the world.
These Are Written, That Ye Might Believe (John 20:24-31)
Doubting Thomas confesses the risen Christ as Lord and God, and John states why he wrote his Gospel.
That Jesus Is the Christ, the Son of God
"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
Word Study
"God," Greek theos (θεός). Thomas, beholding the risen Christ, cries, "My Lord and my God" (ho kurios mou kai ho theos mou). This is the climactic confession of John's Gospel, which opened by declaring, "the Word was God" (theos), and now closes with a disciple calling Jesus his God. Thomas addresses Jesus directly, and Jesus receives the worship, blessing him for believing, rather than correcting him as He would have had the confession been false; for a mere man or angel would refuse such honour, but Jesus accepts it because it is true. This is no worship of a second God beside the Father, for the Scripture knows only one God; it is the confession that the risen Jesus is Himself the Lord God, the one God manifest in flesh. The Gospel that began with "the Word was God" ends with "My Lord and my God," and the whole book is written that we might believe and, believing, confess the same: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and our God.
Explanation
Thomas, absent and doubting, demands to touch the wounds -- and a week later Jesus grants it, inviting him to reach into His side and "be not faithless, but believing." Thomas's response is the climactic confession of the whole Gospel: "My Lord and my God." The book that opened "the Word was God" (1:1) closes with a disciple worshipping the risen Jesus as God, and Jesus receives the worship, adding a blessing for all who believe without seeing. John then states his purpose plainly: these signs "are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." The Gospel exists to bring the reader to Thomas's confession and to life in that name.
Gospel Focus
Thomas was absent when Jesus first appeared, and he refuses to believe the others' testimony: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails... I will not believe." His demand for proof has made his name a byword for doubt, yet his very stubbornness shows that the disciples were no gullible band ready to believe a rumor; they were convinced only by undeniable encounter with the risen Lord. Eight days later Jesus comes again through shut doors, and in mercy turns straight to Thomas, offering the very proof he demanded: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands... and be not faithless, but believing." The risen Christ meets the doubter with patient grace. And Thomas, overwhelmed, makes the highest confession in the Gospel: "My Lord and my God." He addresses Jesus as both Lord and God, and Jesus does not rebuke him for blasphemy but accepts the worship and blesses his faith. Here is the settled testimony of the fourth Gospel to the deity of Christ: the risen Jesus is confessed as God, and He receives it as His due, for He is the one Lord God come in flesh. Then Jesus speaks a word for every believer since: "because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." A special blessing rests on all who, without seeing the risen Lord with their eyes, believe on Him through the witness of the Scriptures, which includes us. And that is exactly why John wrote. He tells us plainly the purpose of his whole Gospel: "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." The signs were recorded not to satisfy curiosity but to bring us to faith, and through faith to life. To believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and our God, and to receive life through His name, this is the goal of the Gospel and the heart of the Apostolic faith. The book that began with the eternal Word who was God ends with a doubter's worship, "My Lord and my God," and an invitation to us to believe and have life.
Chapter 20 in Review
John 20 is the record of the resurrection and the goal of the Gospel. Mary finds the tomb empty, and Peter and John see the grave-clothes lying and the napkin folded, and "he saw, and believed." Mary weeps until the risen Lord speaks her name, "Mary," and she cries, "Rabboni," and is sent with the message, "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." That evening Jesus stands among the disciples, "Peace be unto you," shows His wounds, sends them as the Father sent Him, and breathes on them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Eight days later Thomas, invited to touch the wounds, confesses, "My Lord and my God," and Jesus blesses "they that have not seen, and yet have believed." And John states his purpose: "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter is the crown of the Gospel. The resurrection is certain, attested by the empty tomb, the ordered grave-clothes, and the repeated appearances of the risen Lord to those who did not expect Him and would not believe without proof. The risen Christ meets His own personally, calling Mary by name, turning grief to worship, and making His disciples His brethren, brought through Him to the Father and to God. He gives His people His peace, His mission, and His Spirit, breathing on them as God breathed life into Adam, the firstfruits of the new creation and the forerunner of Pentecost, and entrusting them with the ministry of proclaiming remission of sins in His name. And in Thomas's cry, "My Lord and my God," the Gospel reaches its confession: the risen Jesus is Lord and God, worshipped as the one God come in flesh, the same Word who was God in the beginning. John wrote it all with one aim, that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life through His name. So believe on the risen Lord, hear Him call your name, receive His peace and His Spirit, and confess with Thomas, "My Lord and my God," that you may have life in His name.
- The empty tomb and ordered grave-clothes testify to the risen Lord (20:6-8).
- The risen Christ calls His own by name and turns grief to worship (20:16).
- By His resurrection His disciples become His brethren, brought to the Father (20:17).
- He gives peace, mission, and the Spirit, breathing new-creation life (20:21-22).
- Thomas confesses the risen Jesus as "My Lord and my God" (20:28).
- The Gospel is written that we might believe and have life in His name (20:31).
Questions for Reflection
- Have you met the risen Lord who calls you by name?
- Have you received His peace and His Spirit for the mission He gives?
- Do you confess with Thomas that Jesus is your Lord and your God?
- Have you believed that Jesus is the Christ, and found life in His name?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The resurrection foretold and attested: Psalm 16:10; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Luke 24:1-12. The risen Shepherd calling His own: John 10:3-4, 27; Isaiah 43:1. Believers made brethren of Christ: Hebrews 2:11-12; Romans 8:29; Galatians 4:6. The breath of life and the Spirit: Genesis 2:7; Ezekiel 37:9-10; Acts 2:1-4. The ministry of remission of sins: Acts 2:38; 10:43; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20. The deity of the risen Christ: John 1:1; Isaiah 9:6; Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20. The purpose of the Gospel: John 3:15-16; 5:24; 1 John 5:13. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The empty tomb and Mary Magdalene: John 20:1-18; Psalm 16:10; John 10:3-4.
- The risen Lord and the gift of the Spirit: John 20:19-23; Genesis 2:7; Acts 2:38.
- Thomas and the purpose of the Gospel: John 20:24-31; John 1:1; 1 John 5:13.