John 20:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

NIV: A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you!'

NASB: Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, 'Peace be to you.'

CSB: A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."

NLT: Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said.

KJV: And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

NKJV: And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”

After Jesus was crucified, both His empty tomb and resurrected Person were seen alive by several of His followers (John 20:1–18; Luke 24:10–11; 23–24). Most of the disciples resisted that truth until Jesus appeared, miraculously, inside a locked room (John 20:19–23). One of inner circle, Thomas, had not been there. He not only refused to believe what had happened, he made an exaggerated demand. Unless he could stick his fingers into Jesus' crucifixion wounds, he wouldn't believe (John 20:24–25).

As He did in His prior appearance, Jesus again passes through a locked door and declares "peace" to the disciples. Most likely, this caused some of the same emotions as His last visit.

This time, however, Jesus will confront Thomas and his overblown, exaggerated demand. Thomas demanded an absurd level of proof before he would believe—now Jesus is graciously offering what Thomas said he wanted. Scripture does not explicitly say that Thomas touched Jesus in response to this, but it does indicate he responded to Christ's appearance with belief (John 20:27–28).

John 20:24–29 is the source of an unfortunate nickname: "Doubting Thomas." Thomas was not present when Jesus came through a locked door and proved to the other disciples that He was alive. He makes an exaggerated demand for proof before he will believe, insisting on more evidence than is reasonable. Once again, Jesus passes through a physical barrier to appear. Thomas is reminded of his earlier stubbornness, but humbly confesses that Jesus is God.

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.