| John 20 | |
|---|---|
_recto_John_16%2c_14-22.jpg) John 16:14-22 on therecto side ofPapyrus 5, written about AD 250 | |
| Book | Gospel of John |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 4 |
John 20 is the twentieth chapter of theGospel of John in theNew Testament. It relates the story ofJesus'resurrection. It relates howMary Magdalene went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. Jesus appears to her and speaks of his resurrection and dispatches Mary to tell the news to thedisciples. Jesus then appears to his disciples. The events related in John 20 are described somewhat differently inMatthew 28,Mark 16, andLuke 24.
The chapter is seemingly the conclusion to the Gospel of John, but it is followed by an apparently "supplementary" chapter,John 21.[1] Some biblical scholars suggest that John 20 was the original conclusion of the Gospel, and John 21 was a later addition, but there is no conclusive manuscript evidence for this theory.
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 31 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
The chapter may be divided into three distinct sections.[5] Verses 1-18 describe events at Jesus'tomb, when it is found to be empty, and the appearance of the risenJesus toMary Magdalene (seeNoli me tangere). The second section (verses 19-29) describes Jesus' appearances to his disciples, while the final two verses (30 and 31) relate why theauthor wrote this gospel. The first section can also be subdivided between the examination of the tomb byPeter and theBeloved Disciple and Christ's appearance to Mary. For the editors of theNew American Bible Revised Edition, this chapter "fulfills the basic need fortestimony to the resurrection", which it does via "a series of stories".[6]
There are several inconsistencies both within the chapter and between it and the resurrection account in the other gospels.Raymond E. Brown has advanced the thesis[where?] that the work is a melding of two different sources. One source originally contained verses 1 and 11 to 18 and described Mary Magdalene's trip the tomb. This information is unique to John. Another had verses 3 to 10 and 19 to the end and dealt with the disciples. This portion is far more similar to thesynoptic gospels, suggesting that this is merely the synoptics rewritten to make it seem like it was an eyewitness account. The portion on Mary Magdalene, by contrast, had to have been based on sources that only John had access to.
TheologianC. H. Dodd states[where?] that thecrucifixion is theclimax of John's narrative and argues that this chapter is written as thedénouement and conclusion. Some scholars argue thatJohn 21 seems out of place and that John 20 was the original final chapter of the work.[7][8] However, ancient manuscripts that contain the end of John 20 also contain text from John 21, so there is no conclusive manuscript evidence for this theory.[9] SeeJohn 21 for a more extensive discussion.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Preceded by John 19 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of John | Succeeded by John 21 |