The Gospel of John

The King Who Left the Tomb

John 20

Edward Rangel · September 18, 2026

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What This Lesson Should Do

Follow the witnesses to the risen Jesus
Find the Old Testament promises
Believe Him and obey His word

They had buried Jesus. Now His tomb was empty.

John 19:38–42; John 20:1

Mary finds the tomb open

John 20:1–10

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

John 20:1 · NASB

'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

Leviticus 23:11 · NASB

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20 · NASB

The firstfruits are in. The rest of the harvest is coming.

Christ rose first. Those who belong to Him will follow.

So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

John 20:2 · NASB

Mary said “we”—she did not say she was alone

John 20:2; Luke 24:10

So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.

John 20:3 · NASB

"Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. " Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Zechariah 13:7 · NASB

"But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee."

Matthew 26:32 · NASB

The man who denied Him is still named in the invitation

“And Peter”—Mark 16:7

One of the scattered sheep will care for the others

John 21:15–17

The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;

John 20:4 · NASB

and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.

John 20:5 · NASB

And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,

John 20:6 · NASB

and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

John 20:7 · NASB

Lazarus came out still wrapped. Jesus left His burial cloths behind.

John 11:44; John 20:5–7

So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.

John 20:8 · NASB

For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

John 20:9 · NASB

For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

Psalm 16:10 · NASB

he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.

Acts 2:31 · NASB

But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

Isaiah 53:10 · NASB

So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

John 20:10 · NASB

Jesus calls Mary by name

John 20:11–18

But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

John 20:11 · NASB

and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

John 20:12 · NASB

Two angels at either end of the place where Jesus lay

A possible echo of the mercy seat—not a fulfillment John explicitly states

And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

John 20:13 · NASB

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

John 20:14 · NASB

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

John 20:15 · NASB

Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

John 20:16 · NASB

"To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

John 10:3 · NASB

Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, `I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.' "

John 20:17 · NASB

I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

Psalm 22:22 · NASB

For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Hebrews 2:11 · NASB

The disciples failed Him, and He still calls them His brothers

John 20:17; Hebrews 2:11

Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

John 20:18 · NASB

III

Jesus meets His frightened disciples

John 20:19–23

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

John 20:19 · NASB

And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

John 20:20 · NASB

The One who suffered brings them peace

Isaiah 53:5; John 20:19–21

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

John 20:21 · NASB

And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

John 20:22 · NASB

Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7 · NASB

The Lord who sends them supplies what they need

John 20:22; Acts 1:4–8

"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

John 20:23 · NASB

The apostles preached forgiveness through Jesus

Acts 2:38; Acts 10:43, 48

Thomas meets the risen Lord

John 20:24–29

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

John 20:24 · NASB

So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

John 20:25 · NASB

Thomas had been willing to go with Jesus toward death

John 11:16—his story includes more than doubt

After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."

John 20:26 · NASB

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."

John 20:27 · NASB

Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

John 20:28 · NASB

Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord.

Psalm 35:23 · NASB

John called the Word God. Thomas calls Jesus his God.

John 1:1; John 20:28

Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

John 20:29 · NASB

John tells us why he wrote

John 20:30–31

Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

John 20:30 · NASB

but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

John 20:31 · NASB

The One who died is the One who stands alive before them

John 19 and John 20 belong together

If He is my Lord, His words have authority over me

John 8:31; John 14:15

Come to the risen Lord on His terms

Believe · Repent · Confess Him · Be baptized · Walk faithfully

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 · NASB

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4 · NASB

Christian, return to the Lord who lives

Repent when you fail. Trust His promises. Receive His word.

The King who finished the work has left the tomb

John 20:31

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