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John 20:19-23, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
John 20:19-23
Jesus Gives Peace, Mission, and the Spirit
Peace, wounds, and the Spirit send them as the Father sent him—without a license to hide crime.
On that same first day, evening, the doors are locked where the disciples are for fear of the Jewish leaders. Jesus comes, stands among them, and says 'Peace be unto you.' He shows them his hands and his side, and the disciples rejoice when they see the Lord. He says peace again: as the Father has sent him, he sends them. He breathes on them and says, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' Whose soever sins they forgive are forgiven; whose soever sins they retain are retained.
The risen body is continuous and transformed: wounds remain, and locked doors do not bar him. Peace does not erase fear, grief, or the need for justice. The breathing evokes creation and new creation; it can be related to Pentecost without erasing either narrative by forced harmony. Forgiving and retaining sins has ecclesial, proclamatory, disciplinary, and pastoral readings. None of them authorizes leaders to conceal crimes, coerce confession, silence survivors, or exercise arbitrary control over a person's standing. 'Fear of the Jews' names a leadership threat after the execution; it does not indict Jewish people as a whole.
How this should shape us
Receive peace for a wounded mission, and keep the wounds visible rather than cosmetic. Announce forgiveness truthfully, depend on the Spirit, and keep safeguarding intact. A pastor may declare the gospel of forgiveness; a pastor may not bury an assault in a file, demand a private confession as the price of mercy, or tell a congregation that 'retaining sins' means protecting the institution.
Teach it back
Explain John 20:19-23 in your own words. Include its place in John's movement, the decisive claim or action, one sourced uncertainty, and one use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The risen body is continuous and transformed: wounds remain and locked doors do not bar him. The breathing evokes creation and new creation and can be related to Pentecost without forced harmonization. Forgiving and retaining has ecclesial, proclamatory, disciplinary, and pastoral interpretations; it must not authorize arbitrary spiritual control or conceal crimes.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
John 20:19-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 20:19-23
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 20:19-23
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible John PDF, John 20:19-23 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Enter the Bible John course, Passion, Resurrection, and Beloved Disciple materials; applied to 20:19-23
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Resurrection and Epilogue study guide; applied to 20:19-23
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 20:19-23
Supports: Independence, knowledge-without-use, literary use, and harmony limits.
Mihăilă, “John and the Synoptic Gospels,” abstract, three-model survey, argument, and conclusion; applied to 20:19-23
Supports: Mary Magdalene, embodied resurrection, Thomas, Spirit, forgiveness, purpose, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple.
Working Preacher John 20–21 collection, commentary covering 20:19-23
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: John 20:19-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and critical-text reading checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/John.txt, 20:19-23
Open the John Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT John data, rows for 20:19-23
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — John with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, older-English clarification, material variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible John PDF, John 20:19-23 and attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET John PDF ↗modern scholarly book introduction
John course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Craig R. Koester; revised by Karoline M. Lewis
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2024 revision; current course inspected 2026
Supports: Current historical-critical synthesis, narrative movement, Jewish context, signs, Christology, Spirit, Passion, and resurrection.
Exact location: Enter the Bible John course, Passion, Resurrection, and Beloved Disciple materials; applied to 20:19-23
Open the Enter the Bible John course ↗modern scholarly narrative and theological course
The Gospel of John: course introduction and twelve study guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Literary, historical, theological, gender-aware, sacramental, and reader-oriented interpretation.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, Gospel of John course, Resurrection and Epilogue study guide; applied to 20:19-23
Open the Yale Gospel of John course ↗modern open confessional commentary
John
Andreas J. Köstenberger
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, Current online edition inspected 2026
Supports: Complete confessional evangelical interpretation, represented as a strong traditioned view rather than consensus.
Exact location: Köstenberger, “John,” commentary heading covering John 20:19-23
Open Köstenberger's John commentary ↗modern open scholarly synoptic study
John and the Synoptic Gospels: What John Knew and What John Used
Corin Mihăilă
Perichoresis 22.2, 2024
Supports: Independence, knowledge-without-use, literary use, and harmony limits.
Exact location: Mihăilă, “John and the Synoptic Gospels,” abstract, three-model survey, argument, and conclusion; applied to 20:19-23
Open Mihăilă's article ↗modern scholarly pastoral passage collection
Johannine resurrection and commissioning commentaries on John 20–21
Karoline M. Lewis and multiple Working Preacher contributors
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, Current collection inspected 2026
Supports: Mary Magdalene, embodied resurrection, Thomas, Spirit, forgiveness, purpose, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple.
Exact location: Working Preacher John 20–21 collection, commentary covering 20:19-23
Open Working Preacher's John 20–21 collection ↗