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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 John 20:29 and Sanhedrin 100a

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

John and Rabbinic tradition in tractate Sanhedrin similarly value belief without direct experience. In John a disciple believes only after seeing the risen Jesus. In Sanhedrin a student is critiqued for doubting his teacher until he witnesses it himself.

Passages

John 20:29

New Testament
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.
90–110 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John

Sanhedrin 100a

Rabbinic · Babylonian Talmud
Sometime later that student’s ship set sail at sea. He saw the ministering angels cutting precious stones that size. He said to the angels: For whom are these stones? The angels said to him: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is destined to place them at the gates of Jerusalem. When the student returned, he found Rabbi Yoḥanan, who was sitting and teaching. The student said to him: My teacher, teach, and it is fitting for you to teach. Just as you said with regard to the precious stones, so I saw. Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Good-for-nothing, if you did not see it, you would not believe it? You are one who mocks the statements of the Sages. Rabbi Yoḥanan directed his eyes toward him in anger and rendered him a pile of bones.
450–550 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sanhedrin

References

"... John’s use of testimony is not confined to a juridical frame, but is used in a broader context to include the revelation of God. In the Old Testament, sense perception is important in divine revelation and the emotional impact of the divine presence. This revelation is often expressed in the language of testimony. The main issue in John is how Jesus reveals God. There is a similarity here to what we often find in the Old Testament, where God and his will are revealed in sense-perceptible ways. Thus, we argue that John is following Jewish tradition in which sense perception and testimony operate together in the theology of revelation ..."
Kuan Hui Wang, “Sense Perception and Testimony in the Gospel According to John” (diss., Durham University, 2014), 22.

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

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John 20:29 and Sanhedrin 100a

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