John 20:21 - Printer Friendly

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 be with 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.”

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).

John 20:19–23 is the first time Jesus appears to His disciples after being raised from death. They are hiding behind a locked door in fear when Jesus appears to speak with them. Jesus shows physical evidence of His crucifixion, then gives the men a partial measure of the Holy Spirit. This validates the earlier testimony of Mary Magdalene. Thomas is the only disciple not present, and the next passage shows his resistance to believe what has happened.

Peter and John get a report from Mary Magdalene that Jesus' body is gone. They arrive to find an open grave, and empty grave clothes, along with a folded face cloth. When the two men leave, Mary remains and suddenly encounters a resurrected Jesus. Though she tells the others, they resist believing until they see Jesus in person. Thomas is especially stubborn, and Jesus remarks on how blessed they are to have been given so much proof. John points out that his writing is meant to prove that Jesus is the Messiah, arranged to encourage those who read to come to faith.

Most of Jesus' disciples scattered and hid when He was arrested (Matthew 26:56). Only John and some women were present to see His death and burial (John 19:26–30, 41–42; Matthew 27:60–61). When Jesus' tomb is seen empty, there is further confusion. Jesus appears to His followers, proving that He is alive, and remarking that they are blessed to have so much proof. John will complete his account in the next chapter with another encounter and more reminders about the nature of his writing.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.