John 20 brings us to the moment everything Jesus had promised begins to become clear. The Lord Out Of The Tomb is empty, Mary sees the risen Lord, the disciples encounter Jesus, and Thomas moves from doubt to belief. Jesus did not remain in the grave. He conquered death, appeared to His followers, gave them peace, and sent them forward. His resurrection is the foundation of Christian faith and the promise that those who believe in Him may have life in His name
Obedience God’s Covenant, Eternity, Grace, Judgment, Lessons, Blessings, Salvation, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 John 20:1-3 (NIV)
“20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
“3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.”
Mary came to the tomb expecting to find Jesus’ body, but the stone had been removed.
What she discovered was far greater than she could have imagined: Jesus had risen.
The disciples initially struggled to understand what had happened.
Mary herself stood outside the tomb crying until Jesus called her by name.
When she recognized Him, she became the first messenger to tell the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord!”
Jesus then appeared to His disciples and gave them peace.
He showed them His wounds, proving that the One standing before them was the same Jesus who had been crucified.
He breathed on them and spoke of the Holy Spirit.
Thomas struggled to believe until Jesus appeared directly to him.
When Thomas saw Jesus, his response changed from doubt to worship:
“My Lord and my God!”
John then explains why these events were written: so that people would believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing they may have life in His name.
📖 John 20:4-7 (NIV)
“4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.”
The stone being removed from the tomb was more than an empty grave.
It was evidence that death could not hold Jesus.
The disciples saw the linen and the separate cloth that had covered His head, but they were still learning what Scripture had promised.
The resurrection demonstrates that God’s promises continue beyond death.
Jesus had told His followers that He would rise again, and now they were seeing that promise fulfilled.
God’s plan was still moving forward.
📖 John 20:8-14 (NIV)
“8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.”
“11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.”
“13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”
Mary arrived grieving, believing that someone had taken Jesus’ body.
Even when Jesus stood before her, she did not immediately recognize Him.
Then Jesus spoke one word:
“Mary.”
She knew His voice.
Jesus was not simply revealing Himself to a crowd.
He was meeting His followers personally. Mary had experienced sorrow, confusion, and uncertainty, but Jesus transformed her mourning into joy.
She immediately carried the message to the disciples:
“I have seen the Lord!”
When God calls us, our past circumstances do not have to determine our future.
Jesus can turn grief into purpose and believers into witnesses.
📖 John 20:15-20 (NIV)
“15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
“16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
“17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
“18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
“19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
Then Jesus appeared among them and said:
“Peace be with you!”
Jesus did not begin with condemnation. He brought peace.
He showed them His hands and His side so they could see the evidence of His sacrifice.
The wounds remained, but the Savior was alive.
This teaches us that the resurrection does not erase what Jesus endured.
It proves that His suffering accomplished what God intended.
The cross was not defeat. It was part of the Redemption Plan, and the resurrection revealed the victory.
Jesus then sent His disciples into the world just as the Father had sent Him.
📖 John 20:21-26 (NIV)
“21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
“24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
“26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
Jesus did not abandon Thomas.
When Jesus appeared again, He invited Thomas to examine the very wounds Thomas had questioned.
Thomas responded:
“My Lord and my God!”
Jesus then gave a lesson that reaches every generation:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Lived after these events.
We were not standing at the tomb.
We did not physically see Jesus walk into the room.
Yet faith calls us to believe the testimony given to us through Scripture.
Faith is not pretending there is no evidence.
Faith is trusting the truth God has revealed.
📖 John 20:27-31 (NIV)
“27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
“29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
“30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
“Receive the Holy Spirit.”
The resurrection was not simply the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It became the beginning of the mission of His followers.
They were being sent.
The message of salvation was no longer something they were simply learning. It was something they were being entrusted to carry.
Jesus had prepared them through His teaching, His example, His death, and His resurrection.
Now they had a responsibility to share what they had witnessed.
God’s work continues through people who believe, obey, and carry His message forward.
The empty tomb is one of the greatest demonstrations that God’s Covenant stands.
Jesus had promised that He would rise, and He did.
God had promised a Redemption Plan, and the resurrection revealed that the sacrifice of Jesus was not the end.
Sin and death would not have the final word.
The resurrection connects God’s promises from the past to the hope of eternity.
Jesus’ victory over death points believers toward their own future resurrection and eternal life.
God does not make promises casually.
What He says, He fulfills in His time.
The disciples saw the promise fulfilled before their eyes.
Mary saw Him.
Peter saw Him.
The disciples saw Him.
Thomas saw Him.
And John records these things so that we may believe.
John 20 teaches us that belief changes everything.
Mary went to the tomb in sorrow and left with a message of hope.
The disciples were afraid behind locked doors and encountered the peace of Christ.
Thomas moved from doubt to worship.
Their circumstances changed because they encountered the risen Jesus.
We will face uncertainty, grief, fear, and questions in our own lives.
But the resurrection gives believers something the world cannot provide: hope beyond the grave.
Jesus did not simply survive death.
He conquered it.
And John tells us exactly why this story matters:
“By believing you may have life in his name.”
That life is not merely about our time on earth.
It points toward eternity with God.
The empty tomb brings the entire Redemption Plan into focus.
Jesus came from the Father, lived without sin, willingly gave His life, fulfilled Scripture, died on the cross, and rose from the dead.
His resurrection confirms who He is: the Messiah, the Son of God.
The stone could not hold Him.
The grave could not keep Him.
Death could not defeat Him.
And the message of the Gospel does not stop at the empty tomb.
Jesus offers salvation to those who believe.
His resurrection gives hope to those who fear death.
His grace reaches those who recognize their need for Him. His victory points believers toward eternity.
John’s final message is simple but profound:
Believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God—and through believing, have life in His name.
