Go to Related Reading
About this book

John

About this book
Chapter 20

1 Now very early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. 2 So she went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out to go to the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down and saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who had been following him, arrived and went right into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen cloth lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been around Jesus’ head, not lying with the strips of linen cloth but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, came in, and he saw and believed. 9 (For they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.) 10 So the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Mary replied, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!”⁠ 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus replied, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Go to my brothers and tell them,⁠ ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and informed the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said to her. 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the disciples had gathered together and locked the doors of the place because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.⁠ 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.” 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”⁠ 26 Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” 28 Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.”⁠ 30 Now Jesus performed many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 37:5 and John 20:22

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Share:

Summary

Ezekiel describes a vision where dry bones are given life and breath, symbolizing the end of the exile and restoration through God’s spirit. John echoes this language when Jesus breathes on his disciples and tells them to receive the spirit.

Passages

Ezekiel 37:5

Hebrew Bible
3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: Look, I am about to infuse breath into you and you will live. 6 I will put tendons on you and muscles over you and will cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will live. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. There was a sound when I prophesied— I heard a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

John 20:22

New Testament
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.” 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

References

"... There are several broader connections between the spirit/breath/wind in John 20 and Ezekiel 37. John’s allusions to nearby material suggest his interest in this section of Ezekiel. John has already alluded once to the dry bones oracle in John 5:25-28 (above), as well as to the “one nation” oracle that follows in Ezekiel (John 10:16, 11:52 / Ezekiel 37:19-25). The material in Ezekiel’s preceding oracle (the “new spirit” and sprinkling of water, Ezekiel 36:25-28) also seems to have influenced John’s use of water symbolism. Both Ezekiel 37 and John 20:22 describe the giving of God’s Spirit. Ezekiel explains the meaning of the raised dry bones in Ezekiel 37:13-14, “You will know that I am the Lord when I open your graves… and I will give my Spirit in you, and you will live, and I will place you in your land.” Ezekiel pictures the despairing exiles as dead, in the tomb of Babylon. The restoration of Israel is pictured as the restoration of life, God’s breathing life back into the dead bodies ... Jesus’ prophetic action of blowing, combined with the uttering of the words ‘receive the Holy Spirit,’ seems intended to announce the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy and the arrival of the new covenant. Ezekiel’s promise of national restoration, however, is muted; John does not use Ezekiel’s promise of return to the land, and it is only the disciples of Jesus, rather than the “whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11) that receive the gift of the Spirit ..."
Gary T. Manning Jr., “Shepherd, Vine, and Bones: The Use of Ezekiel in the Gospel of John,” in After Ezekiel: Essays on the Reception of a Difficult Prophet, ed. P. Joyce and A. Mein, LHBOTS (London: T&T Clark, 2010), 1–31.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Ezekiel 37:5 and John 20:22

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library