---
title: John 20:16
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/john-20-16/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/john-20-16.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: John 20:16
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# John 20:16

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> Jesus said to her, “Mary.”  She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

## NWT Wording of the Key Phrase

- NWT (2013 revision): "Jesus said to her: 'Mary!' On turning around, she said to him in Hebrew: 'Rabboni!' (which means 'Teacher!')"

## JW Usage

Witnesses honour Mary Magdalene's recognition of the risen Jesus as evidence of his resurrection. The verse is rarely deployed doctrinally; it sits inside the broader resurrection narrative Witnesses affirm. The Watchtower's distinct reading of the resurrection (a spirit creature, not a bodily resurrection) surfaces more sharply in the Thomas episode at verse 27.

## Protestant Usage

Two points worth carrying from this verse. First, Mary recognises the risen Christ as a real person — speaking his name, calling him "Rabboni" (teacher), reaching out to embrace him. The risen body has continuity with the pre-cross body; he is identifiable. This cuts against the Watchtower's "spirit creature" resurrection Christology as decisively as the Thomas episode in verse 27 does. Second, Mary is identified by name as the first witness of the resurrection. In a culture where women's testimony was legally inadmissible, this is a startling editorial choice and speaks to the Spirit-driven equality of access in Christ — the point Paul makes more abstractly in Galatians 3:28. Equal standing before God is enacted here at the empty tomb.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Galatians 3:28 Is About Who Can Be Saved, Not What You Become in Heaven](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/galatians3-28-jew-gentile-unity.md) — Galatians 3:26–29 — Equal Access, Not Cosmic Dissolution of Gender [Salvation]