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John 20:21
ESV Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."
NIV Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
NASB So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.'
CSB Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you."
NLT Again he said, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.'
KJV Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
NKJV So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

What does John 20:21 mean?

During Jesus' High Priestly Prayer, He mentioned that part of His mission was to send others out (John 17:18). Here, He begins a more formal version of that process. The apostles will be given a partial indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) and told to continue teaching according to Jesus' example. In His earlier teaching, Jesus pointed out that His message was God's message (John 14:10) and those who believed Him believed God (John 12:48–50). The same will apply to those who promote Christian truth via the gospel: accepting their message means accepting Jesus Christ, which means accepting God (John 13:20).

Jesus makes a point of declaring "peace" to the apostles once again (John 20:19). The Bible often records reassurance coming at the start of supernatural encounters (Luke 1:11–13; 2:9–10; Acts 10:3–4), likely due to the natural fear of seeing creatures like angels. In Jesus' case, this reassurance echoes the words He spoke during the Last Supper. There, He continually reminded the disciples that they would face hardship but could do so with confidence thanks to His spiritual presence (John 14:25–27).
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