Open English Translation YHN (JHN) Chapter 20

20 The following Sunday, Maria from Magdala went out to the tomb very early when it was still dark, and she saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she ran quickly and went to Simon Peter and the other intern that Yeshua loved, and told them, “They’ve taken the master’s body out of the tomb and we don’t know where they’ve put it.”

3 So Peter and the other intern went out to the tomb. 4 They were running together, but the other intern was a bit faster than Peter and so he got to the tomb first. 5 Without going in, he stooped down at the entrance and looked in and saw the linen strips lying there. 6 But Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb and also saw the linen strips lying there. 7 But the piece of cloth that had been on the head wasn’t lying there with the linen strips, but had been folded and placed separately. 8 So now the other intern who had arrived first also went inside and he saw it all and believed that Yeshua had risen. 9 (At that time they weren’t yet aware of the scripture about him coming back to life.) 10 So they went back again to their homes.

11 But Maria had stayed there outside the tomb weeping. But when she stooped down and looked into the tomb, 12 she saw two messengers dressed in white sitting there—one at the head end and one at the feet end of the slab where Yeshua’s body had been lying. 13 They spoke to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my master,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

14 Then she turned back around and saw Yeshua standing there, but she didn’t realise who it was. 15 Yeshua asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Maria assumed he might be the gardener, so she answered, “Mister, if you took the body, tell me where you put it and I’ll get it taken away for you.”

16 Yeshua just answered, “Maria.”

She spun around and said, “My teacher!” (‘Rabboni’ in Hebrew.)

17 “Don’t touch me,” Yeshua said to her, “because I haven’t gone back up to the father yet, but go and tell my brothers that I’m going up to my father and the father of you all, and my god and the god of you all.”

18 So Maria went and told the trainees, “I’ve seen the master,” and she told them what he’d said.

19 On Sunday evening Yeshua’s trainees had met together and had the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, but Yeshua arrived and stood in the middle of the room and said, “Peace to you all.” 20 Then he showed them his hands and his side and they were so happy now that they had seen the master. 21 Yeshua continued, “Peace to you all. Now I am sending you all out just like the father sent me out.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the holy spirit. 23 [ref]If you forgive anyone’s sins, then they’ll be forgiven but if you withhold forgiveness, then it will be withheld.”

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve (nicknamed ‘Twin’), wasn’t with them when Yeshua had come 25 so the other trainees told him, “We have seen the master.”

But he replied, “I won’t believe that unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and I can put my finger into the marks and can put my hand into the gash on his side.”

26 Eight days later, Yeshua’s trainees were again together inside, and this time Thomas was with them. 27 Yeshua came and stood in the middle of the room even though the doors were shut, and said, “Peace to you all.”

28 Thomas spoke up, “My master and my god!”

29 “So you believe now because you’ve seen me,” said Yeshua. “The ones who haven’t seen me, but who believe anyway, will certainly be rewarded.”

30 Yeshua went on to do many other miracles in front of his trainees which aren’t recorded in this account. 31 But what has been written here has been recorded so that you might all believe that Yeshua is the messiah, God’s son, and then by believing, so that you might have true life through his power.