John 20. The dark period of Jesus death and burial is coming to an end. So tonight we examine the resurrection of Christ

Transcription

1 Jhn 20 The dark perid f Jesus death and burial is cming t an end And in keeping with Jhn s light dark mtif, chapter 20 pens with a new day dawning and Christ risen S tnight we examine the resurrectin f Christ And His appearances t the disciples in the days and weeks after His resurrectin Jhn 20:1 Nw n the first day f the week Mary Magdalene came early t the tmb, while it was still dark, and saw the stne already taken away frm the tmb. Jhn 20:2 S she ran and came t Simn Peter and t the ther disciple whm Jesus lved, and said t them, They have taken away the Lrd ut f the tmb, and we d nt knw where they have laid Him. Jhn 20:3 S Peter and the ther disciple went frth, and they were ging t the tmb. Jhn 20:4 The tw were running tgether; and the ther disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came t the tmb first; Jhn 20:5 and stping and lking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did nt g in. Jhn 20:6 And s Simn Peter als came, fllwing him, and entered the tmb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, Jhn 20:7 and the face-clth which had been n His head, nt lying with the linen wrappings, but rlled up in a place by itself. Jhn 20:8 S the ther disciple wh had first cme t the tmb then als entered, and he saw and believed. Jhn 20:9 Fr as yet they did nt understand the Scripture, that He must rise again frm the dead. Jhn 20:10 S the disciples went away again t their wn hmes. On the first day f the week, tw grups f wmen arrived at the tmb f Jesus Jhn mentins Mary Magdalene arriving first, but the ther Gspel writers mentin ther wmen Beside Magdalene, we find Mary, the mther f James And Salme, Mary s sister and Jhn s mther 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 20 2 f 23 Mary the mther f James is the same Mary wh gave birth t Jesus, yet we ntice that she is nt identified as the mther f Jesus The veremphasis f Mary as the mther f Jesus came much later as a result f teaching frm the Cathlic Church But in the early church, Mary was n mre special than any ther disciple As Jesus Himself said cncerning Mary Luke 11:27 While Jesus was saying these things, ne f the wmen in the crwd raised her vice and said t Him, Blessed is the wmb that bre Yu and the breasts at which Yu nursed. Luke 11:28 But He said, On the cntrary, blessed are thse wh hear the wrd f Gd and bserve it. Jesus specifically cntradicts the ntin that the wman Gd selected t bear Jesus was blessed merely by that act On the cntrary, He says yu are blessed t hear and bserve the wrd f Gd S Jhn lists Mary as merely the mther f James, wh was the half brther f Jesus By the way, James als refused t identify himself as the earthly brther f the Lrd in his letter Once Jesus deity was understd, n disciple dared t claim a privileged relatinship t Gd ther than the ne we all knw by faith alne Luke als says there were als ther wmen present but unnamed in the text Interestingly, n man ges t the tmb While we can make much f this detail, the truth is it wasn t unusual fr wmen t g alne Wmen typically attended t the dead And since Jesus bdy was prepared in haste n Thursday, they returned as sn as pssible t anint Him fr a prper burial 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 20 3 f 23 The wmen g ut t the tmb n the first day f the week, which is Sunday In Jewish reckning f time, Sunday begins n sundwn n Saturday nightfall, cunted frm the mment that three stars are visible in the night sky The wmen have been prevented frm visiting the tmb since Jesus burial n Thursday because f back-t-back Sabbaths n Friday and Saturday A Sabbath prevented a persn frm traveling mre than shrt distances r frm attending t a crpse Since t d these things s wuld be cnsidered wrk S they waited in their hmes fr the Sabbaths t end Once the sun set n Saturday, they were free t visit the tmb, but visiting a tmb in the middle f the night was nt practical nr safe S, Jhn says Mary Magdalene left fr the tmb early while it was still dark And the Synptic Gspels all say that Mary and the ther wmen arrived at the tmb as it began t dawn Dawn in Jewish reckning refers t the mment light appears n the hrizn befre the sun appears This is still part f the night but the day is abut t begin S the wmen timed their departure s that they culd arrive at the tmb as sn as light began t appear in the sky In Israel, dawn can begin as early as 4:00 AM with a clear sky It s interesting t cnsider what the wmen were planning t d nce they arrived In fact, in Marks Gspel, they are quted as wndering wh will help them mve the stne The stne rlled ver the entrance wuld have been much t heavy fr them t mve Nevertheless, they went anyway We culd explain their thinking as hpe against hpe 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 20 4 f 23 They didn t have a plan As the scene plays ut, we can tell they were nt expecting t see the Lrd resurrected...n ne was Which makes their dedicatin all the mre remarkable They just had a desperate desire t minister t the Lrd These wmen give us an example f the pprtunities that bedience and dedicatin t the Lrd can create When we fllw the Lrd in spite f fear r uncertainty r the seeming impssibility f what lies ahead, we give the Lrd pprtunity t shw us miracles These wmen went expecting t encunter great barriers they culdn t crss But they went nnetheless, trusting that the Lrd wuld prvide Cnsequently, they were privileged t becme witnesses t the greatest miracle f all Accrding t Jhn, Mary Magdalene went n her wn, befre the ther wmen, and much t her surprise the stne was already rlled away The stne was actually a large disc, like a wheel, cut frm rck It ran in a grve cut int the grund It culd be pushed back and frth t pen r clse the entrance t the tmb But it wuld require several strng men and a fulcrum t accmplish the task Matthew tells us that angels pened the tmb, and at their appearance the sldiers guarding the tmb lay stiff with fear Jhn says Magdalene left at nce t reprt what she had seen Mary never ventures inside the tmb She assumes that the bdy f the Lrd was stlen vernight S she runs back t reprt t the apstles 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 20 5 f 23 While Mary Magdalene is returning t the city, the secnd grup f wmen arrive at the tmb and als see the stne mved Accrding t the ther Gspel writers, these wmen investigate further and happen upn ne f the angels in the tmb This angel explains the circumstances t these wmen The angel gives instructins t the wmen t return t the eleven disciples in the city And they are t reprt that Jesus is arisen and that He will meet with the disciples in the Galilee Eventually, all the wmen meet up with the disciples t give their reprts S these wmen return with this gd news Accrding t the Gspels, the wmen s reprts agree that Jesus tmb is empty Yet the disciples can t accept their reprts, perhaps because they were wmen Wmen weren t cnsidered trustwrthy witnesses S Peter and Jhn run back t the tmb t see fr themselves Jhn says he arrived first (highlighting he can run faster than Peter) Jhn desn t enter at first He merely witnessed the linen wrappings thrugh the entrance Peter entered the tmb and fund nly the bdy cverings used t prepare the Lrd s bdy fr burial The descriptin f the wrappings indicate they were nt unwund as was dne t free Lazarus after he was revived Instead, the Lrd resurrected thrugh His wrappings S clearly the Lrd s resurrected state is ne where His bdy is nt bund by physics in the same way that it was befre As we ll see later in this chapter 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 20 6 f 23 The resurrectin f Christ cnsisted f the return f Jesus Spirit t His physical bdy and a restratin f life t that same physical bdy Jesus was all man even as He was all Gd He had a sinless bdy and He was ne in His spirit with the Father When His bdy died, it was n less dead than when yu and I suffer death But that s where the similarities end Jesus bdy didn t decay, even in the slightest Psa. 16:10 Fr Yu will nt abandn my sul t Shel; Nr will Yu allw Yur Hly One t underg decay. It was dead but never deterirated Because the deteriratin prcess itself was smething Gd instituted as a result f sin The curse n creatin was the result f Adam s sin Gen. 3:19 By the sweat f yur face Yu will eat bread, Till yu return t the grund, Because frm it yu were taken; Fr yu are dust, And t dust yu shall return. Since Jesus didn t share in Adam s sin, He didn t live under the curse S thugh He was dead, the bdy was nt decaying back t dust What caused Jesus s bdy t die at all? As we discussed last week, it was that His Spirit leaving His bdy In Luke 23:46, Jesus says He cmmitted His Spirit int the Father s hand And remember the statement Jesus spke earlier in Jhn s Gspel 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 20 7 f 23 Jhn 10:17 Fr this reasn the Father lves Me, because I lay dwn My life s that I may take it again. Jhn 10:18 N ne has taken it away frm Me, but I lay it dwn n My wn initiative. I have authrity t lay it dwn, and I have authrity t take it up again. This cmmandment I received frm My Father. When Jesus spke these wrds, He was describing the timing and manner f His wn death S Jesus bdy sat in the tmb withut decay while His Spirit spent three days in the depths f the Earth greeting the OT saints and preaching t the suls held under judgment Jesus Spirit spends three days separated frm His bdy During the third evening, Jesus was resurrected The resurrectin f the bdy is the mment when His Spirit returned and the bdy returned t life Jesus physical cntainer (i.e., His bdy) was a suitable cntainer fr His spirit t return t the same bdy because it was nt crrupted by sin Resurrectin must be different fr yu and I Our spirit will must be resurrected int an entirely new bdy, accrding t Paul in 1Crinthians 15 Our present physical bdies are crrupted by sin and under the curse f the Garden The curse requires that ur bdies must decay and return t dust Therefre, Gd will resurrect us int new bdies, which takes place at the Rapture After Peter and Jhn see the tmb empty, they return t their hmes in the city These disciples have seen evidence that the Lrd had risen as prmised Mre ver, they heard the testimny f the wmen wh saw the angels Their testimny included instructins frm Jesus t leave Jerusalem and return t the Galilee where Jesus wuld meet them 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 20 8 f 23 And that testimny cnfirmed Jesus earlier instructins recrded in Mark 14 t meet Jesus in Galilee after He was raised Despite all these signs and instructins, the eleven refuse t accept that Jesus is alive again S nw begins a series f appearance f Jesus intended t prvke belief and bedience in these men And apprpriately, Jesus begins t wrk thrugh the faithful wmen wh have attended t Him thrughut Jhn 20:11 But Mary was standing utside the tmb weeping; and s, as she wept, she stped and lked int the tmb; Jhn 20:12 and she saw tw angels in white sitting, ne at the head and ne at the feet, where the bdy f Jesus had been lying. Jhn 20:13 And they said t her, Wman, why are yu weeping? She said t them, Because they have taken away my Lrd, and I d nt knw where they have laid Him. Jhn 20:14 When she had said this, she turned arund and saw Jesus standing there, and did nt knw that it was Jesus. Jhn 20:15 Jesus said t her, Wman, why are yu weeping? Whm are yu seeking? Suppsing Him t be the gardener, she said t Him, Sir, if yu have carried Him away, tell me where yu have laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jhn 20:16 Jesus said t her, Mary! She turned and said t Him in Hebrew, Rabbni! (which means, Teacher). Jhn 20:17 Jesus said t her, Stp clinging t Me, fr I have nt yet ascended t the Father; but g t My brethren and say t them, I ascend t My Father and yur Father, and My Gd and yur Gd. Jhn 20:18 Mary Magdalene came, annuncing t the disciples, I have seen the Lrd, and that He had said these things t her. After the meeting with the eleven, Mary Magdalene returned t the tmb In her grief, she s seeking a place t murn, and the empty tmb was as gd a place as any This time Mary enters the tmb and Mary sees the angels still sitting in the tmb It s like the Lrd is hlding an pen huse at Jesus tmb, and these tw angels were assigned t receive visitrs Apparently, Mary is unaware that these tw were angels, seeing nly tw yung men 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 20 9 f 23 When they asked Mary why she weeps, she says she s lking fr the Lrd s bdy Befre they can answer, the Lrd appears behind her This is the first recrded appearance f the resurrected Jesus t anyne The fact that the first eye witness t Jesus resurrectin was a wman argues fr the authenticity f the Gspel accunts A wman wuld have been an unlikely chice fr first witness f Christ s resurrectin if the Gspel accunts were fraudulent recrds intended t prp up a lie Using a wman as yur witness in that day and culture made yur stry less believable The authr wuld nly include such a detail if it were truly the way it happened The Lrd uses suppsedly flish things t shame the wise As with the angels, Mary desn t recgnize Jesus at first and thinks he s just the man wh attended t the garden Only after she asks Him a questin and He answers des she recgnize this t be Jesus When Jesus calls her name, she indicates she recgnizes Jesus as Rabbi The fact that Mary (and thers) dn t immediately recgnize Jesus tells us smething abut His pst resurrectin appearance We must assume that Jesus appears different in sme way Arnld Fruchtenbaum suggests this culd be like tw friends wh haven t seen ne anther fr decades and then meet again At first, they dn t recgnize each ther but after a mment, the recgnitin dawns n them In that case, age accunts fr the change in appearance In this case, Jesus resurrectin must have prduced physical changes in His bdy leaving Him t appear differently 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn f 23 At this pint, Mary attempted t embrace Jesus, which wuld have been a natural respnse t seeing Him, but Jesus frbid it In my English translatin, it says stp clinging t me, but that s nt the accurate translatin In Greek, Jesus actually says Tuch me nt S Mary was never allwed t tuch Jesus The reasn Jesus frbids Mary t tuch Him is because He has nt yet ascended t the Father Jesus is speaking abut His ascensin t cleanse the tabernacle In Heaven In Hebrews we re tld Jesus cleansed the tabernacle with His bld as part f His atning wrk n the crss The Jewish tabernacle n earth is patterned after this ne in Heaven It s in this Heavenly tabernacle that the first sin in all Creatin ccurred Ezekiel describes this first sin Ezek. 28:12 ı Sn f man, take up a lamentatin ver the king f Tyre and say t him, Thus says the Lrd GOD, Yu had the seal f perfectin, Full f wisdm and perfect in beauty. Ezek. 28:13 Yu were in Eden, the garden f Gd; Every precius stne was yur cvering: The ruby, the tpaz and the diamnd; The beryl, the nyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquise and the emerald; And the gld, the wrkmanship f yur settings and sckets, Was in yu. On the day that yu were created They were prepared Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn f 23 Ezek. 28:14 Yu were the aninted cherub wh cvers, And I placed yu there. Yu were n the hly muntain f Gd; Yu walked in the midst f the stnes f fire. Ezek. 28:15 Yu were blameless in yur ways Frm the day yu were created Until unrighteusness was fund in yu. Ezek. 28:16 By the abundance f yur trade Yu were internally filled with vilence, And yu sinned; Therefre I have cast yu as prfane Frm the muntain f Gd. And I have destryed yu, O cvering cherub, Frm the midst f the stnes f fire. The first sin was cmmitted by Satan, wh was the cvering cherub Remember that the cvering cherubs f the earthly tabernacle were cast in gld and std abve the mercy seat But this design is patterned after the Heavenly tabernacle, where real cherubs guarded the mercy seat Satan was the chief cherub When he fell, he brught sin int the hly f hlies Therefre, it tk Christ s bld t cleanse that place In the Law, the High Priest went in nce a year t cleanse the tabernacle in this way And n that day, n ne was allwed t tuch the High Priest until he had cmpleted that wrk The annual cleansing prcess by the high priest in the Jewish tabernacle pictured the higher cleansing that wuld cme thrugh Christ S here Jesus tells Mary she is nt permitted t tuch Jesus, Wh is ur High Priest, because He had yet t ascended t the Father and cmplete His atning wrk We cnclude that sme time after this mment, Jesus ascended and brught His wn physical bld int the tabernacle 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn f 23 Ntice, Jesus tells Mary t reprt back t the brethren that Jesus ascends t the Father Only after cmpleting this wrk in the Heavenly tabernacle, Jesus returns t make further appearances with t the Disciples And in thse later visits, the disciples are permitted t tuch Jesus, as Thmas des eight days after Jesus resurrectin Nw Mary returns t the disciples a secnd time, declaring that she has persnally seen the risen Lrd and telling them t meet Him in Galilee Jhn desn t recrd the disciples respnse t Mary, but accrding t Mark, the disciples flatly rejecting Mary s testimny Once again, they are nt accepting the pssibility f Jesus resurrectin And nce again they disbey the Lrd s instructins t leave the city and g t Galilee At this pint, jhn jumps t Jesus final appearance in Jerusalem But the ther Gspels recrd several mre appearances by Jesus, all in an effrt t cnvince the disciples t believe First, in Matthew 28 we re tld that the ther grup f wmen encunter the risen Lrd In this encunter, they tk hld f His feet and wrshipped Him and Jesus says: Matt. 28:10 Then Jesus said t them, D nt be afraid; g and take wrd t My brethren t leave fr Galilee, and there they will see Me. Once again, Jesus fcus is n getting the disciples t believe in these reprts and mve t Galilee Secndly, Jesus appears t tw disciples leaving the city n the rad t Emmaus These tw men aren t part f the eleven, since Luke names ne f them as Clepas In the curse f that encunter, Jesus sclded these men fr nt believing that He was resurrected 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn f 23 After these men recgnized Jesus, they returned t reprt seeing Jesus t the eleven But Mark 16 says the eleven didn t believe the reprt f these tw witnesses either Why d we suppse the Lrd is wrking s hard t cnvince the eleven that He has truly risen thrugh ther witnesses? He s giving these men a memrable lessn in hw difficult it can be t cnvince thers f the truth f Jesus resurrectin even when the ne testifying is an eye witnesses The eleven will be eye witnesses f the resurrectin as well And they will have a frmidable task f cnvincing the wrld that their stry is true Even thugh they are eye witnesses, that experience in and f itself will nt be cnvincing The nly thing that cnvinces a persn that Jesus is Lrd is the wrd f Gd As Paul says: 1Cr. 1:18 Fr the wrd f the crss is flishness t thse wh are perishing, but t us wh are being saved it is the pwer f Gd. As these spread the Gspel t thers, they might have been tempted t rely n the pwer f their persnal testimnies They needed t think back t these mments t understand that even pwerful eye witness accunts aren t a substitute fr the pwer f Gd s wrd That s why these men authr the New Testament, which brings salvatin by the pwer f Gd s wrd S, having refused t believe multiple reprts, the Lrd appears befre the eleven, beginning with Peter Once again, Jhn desn t cver this appearance in his Gspel But Luke reprts (and Paul cnfirms in 1 Crinthians 15) that the Lrd appeared t Peter individually befre the thers 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn f 23 Luke repts that the appearance t Peter happened at abut the same time as the appearance t the disciples n the rad In fact, Luke says that the tw disciples returned frm Emmaus fund the eleven already discussing Peter s encunter with the Lrd (Luke 24:33-34) Nevertheless, nt even Peter s testimny will cnvince the ther ten We knw nthing mre abut Peter s appearing But the fact that Jesus chse t appear t Peter befre the thers reminds us Peter was the leader Jesus appinted fr the early church But befre he culd lead, Peter needed t be restred in his psitin, bth befre Gd and befre men Jesus tld Peter he wuld deny Him at the Passver meal, but later Jesus prmised he wuld be restred Luke 22:31 Simn, Simn, behld, Satan has demanded permissin t sift yu like wheat; Luke 22:32 but I have prayed fr yu, that yur faith may nt fail; and yu, when nce yu have turned again, strengthen yur brthers. Jesus persnal appearance befre Peter was a part f that restratin prcess The Lrd willingness t appear privately t Peter reassured the apstle that the Lrd still apprved f Peter despite his denials And Jesus decisin t appear t Peter befre the thers cemented Peter s rle as leader in the church I wnder if Peter s testimny f Jesus private appearing was uncnvincing t the rest f the eleven because the whle stry seemed t cnvenient Hw cnvenient that the ne wh denied Christ publicly shuld have a private audience with Christ, where he was assured that he wuld still lead the early church Whatever the reasn, Peter culdn t cnvince them, s anther visit by Jesus is needed Smetime after Peter s encunter, the eleven were still lcked in a rm in Jerusalem fearful f the authrities 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn f 23 In fact, we can see the wisdm f Jesus instructing the men t leave fr the Galilee These men are s afraid, they wn t leave the huse Hw can they d anyne any gd while remaining lcked up? Irnically, they dn t g t Galilee because their fear leaves them unwilling t believe they will find Jesus waiting fr them there Despite seeing an empty tmb, seeing the bandages, hearing reprts f angels and eye witnesses telling them f Jesus appearances, nevertheless they refuse t accept His resurrectin Because f the hardness f their hearts, Jesus makes a persnal appearance befre these men Jhn 20:19 S when it was evening n that day, the first day f the week, and when the drs were shut where the disciples were, fr fear f the Jews, Jesus came and std in their midst and said t them, Peace be with yu. Jhn 20:20 And when He had said this, He shwed them bth His hands and His side. The disciples then rejiced when they saw the Lrd. S late n Sunday afternn, still the same day as Jesus resurrectin, Jesus makes a fifth appearance t ten f the eleven men (Thmas isn t there) Despite the dr being lcked, Jesus appears in the rm, demnstrating that Jesus resurrected bdy is different And His first greeting is peace be with yu, a greeting the disciples repeated cmmnly in their letters He is calming them in a mment when they must have been shcked In Luke s Gspel, we re tld that the grup was terrified and didn t believe it was Jesus at first They thught it was spirit, as in a ghst r apparitin Despite Jesus standing there in the flesh, they can t accept the ntin that a man might live again Their cllective respnse t Jesus appearance demnstrated the prblem These men were bund by what they culd accept in nature 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn f 23 They weren t willing t cnsider Gd s supernatural pwer t transcend flesh, time and space Jhn s narrative picks up with Jesus shwing His bdy marking t these men Jhn then says the disciples rejiced, but it wasn t that easy In Luke s Gspel we learn that Jesus had t g a step further t cnvince them He asked fr a piece f fish t eat in frnt f them They needed prf that He was really alive, nt merely sme visin The fact that Jesus bdy still bre the markings f the crucifixin at this pint prve that the trture f the crss didn t take Jesus life Fr therwise, hw culd we explain hw His bdy culd live n again with the same hles in his hands, feet and side? I als wnder if the hles in Jesus bdy might have been the means by which He pured ut His bld in the tabernacle? In Israel, the high priest drained bld frm the animal sacrifice at the altar And then a bwl f that bld was carried int the Hly f Hlies where it was sprinkled n the mercy seat Perhaps Jesus perfrmed that wrk in a similar manner, using His physical bdy as the surce f that bld Jhn s prtrayal shws the extent t which Jesus had t g t bring these men t the pint f acceptance Accrding t Mark s Gspel, this encunter was als the mment fr Jesus strngest rebuke in all the Gspel accunts Accrding t Mark, Jesus said: Mark 16:14 Afterward He appeared t the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reprached them fr their unbelief and hardness f heart, because they had nt believed thse wh had seen Him after He had risen. This was exactly the prblem...these men were hard-hearted 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn f 23 Hard-heartedness in the Bible refers t the difficulty with which a persn will accept spiritual truth Unbelievers are by nature hard-hearted, until the Lrd shuld chse t pen that heart t the truth They will repeatedly reject the truth f the Gspel because they are spiritually dead and unable t cnsider the message as truth But believers can als becme hard-hearted Pride, arrgance, stubbrnness, anger, bitterness, apathy, laziness and the like can cnspire t blck spiritual truth frm reaching a believer s heart Bible teachers and pastr rutinely encunter believers wh had shut dwn t new truth They nly seem interested in hearing smene affirm what they already believe and will argue against anything different The nly way t penetrate that kind f hardness is by the swrd f the Spirit, that is the wrd, cutting int the sul That s why it s a plicy f VBVMI (and my persnal plicy) never t engage in debates ver the meaning f scripture We strive t present an hnest, accurate view, well-supprted by the text f scripture At the same time, we knw we err ccasinal in ur interpretatin, as every teacher and ministry will at times Therefre, we remain pen t critique and cnsider all feedback carefully in light f scripture We gladly answers sincere questins and explain ur reasning frm scripture But we never debate thse wh have unteachable, hard hearts We teach thse wh have ears t hear and remain pen t what Gd is prepared t deliver by His wrd We trust in the Lrd t pen clsed hearts 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn f 23 Jhn 20:21 S Jesus said t them again, Peace be with yu; as the Father has sent Me, I als send yu. Jhn 20:22 And when He had said this, He breathed n them and said t them, Receive the Hly Spirit. Jhn 20:23 If yu frgive the sins f any, their sins have been frgiven them; if yu retain the sins f any, they have been retained. Having rebuked the disciples, Jesus then reiterates He is at peace with them Jesus may nt have been happy with their unbelief, but this desn t mean they risk lsing their peace with Gd They have been saved by Gd s grace S they will frever be at peace with Gd Therefre, they still have a missin waiting As the Father sent Jesus int the wrld, s He sends them S let s ask hw did the Father send Jesus? Jesus was sent with a message f truth and with pwer t validate the message...but He was met by a skeptical and hstile audience S it will be fr the apstles Their message is Christ s message, that f the Kingdm And these men will pssess Christ s miraculus pwers by the Spirit t validate their message and authrity And like Christ, many f thse wh hear their message will dubt, disbelieve and react in anger But these men can t fulfill that missin until they re willing t face the dangers that serving the Lrd requires Men prefer the darkness because the light reveals their evil deeds Still, yu can t be used by Gd t invade spiritual darkness if yu re afraid t walk int the shadws 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Jhn f 23 At this pint Jesus des smething curius: He breathes n the ten men and declares they shuld receive the Hly Spirit Was this the mment the men received the indwelling f the Spirit? On the cntrary, we can knw this can t be the mment they received the Spirit fr tw reasns First, these same men received the Hly Spirit at Pentecst as described in Acts 2 If they had already pssessed the indwelling f the Spirit here, then an additinal indwelling wuld nt have been needed Secndly, any indwelling f the Spirit prir t Pentecst wuld vilate the purpse f the Feast Pentecst f Acts 2 was the fulfillment f the Feast f Pentecst The Jewish feast f Pentecst r the Feast f Weeks cmmemrates the giving f the Law t Israel at Sinai That law was written n stne and it was given t Israel 50 days after the Passver escape frm Egypt This feast pictures the giving f the Spirit t Gd s peple Exactly 50 days after Christ fulfills the Passver in His bdy, the Lrd delivers a law t His peple, a law written n their hearts This law cmes by way f the indwelling f the Hly Spirit n the day f Pentecst Just as Jesus had t die exactly n the day f Passver t fulfill that feast as Gd intended, s must the indwelling f the Spirit happen n the prper feast day Therefre, the Spirit culdn t have cme t the disciples in this mment f Jhn 20...it had t wait fr the Pentecst mment as it did fr all believers Then what is happening here when Jesus breathes n them? It helps t remember that the wrd fr breath in Hebrew is the same wrd used at times fr spirit S breath r air can be used as a picture f the Spirit 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Jhn f 23 Just as Jesus used wind as a symbl fr the Spirit in Jhn 3 Therefre, Jesus uses this gesture t prmise things t cme As Jesus cmmissins these men t take His place, He uses His breath as a symblic gesture f the arrival f the Spirit, Wh will empwer them fr that missin The Spirit s arrival at Pentecst will fulfill this prmise And the disciples will remember that the Spirit was sent by the Sn as like His breath Lastly, the Lrd designates these men with the apstlic authrity t bring men t salvatin just as Jesus did by His persnal ministry Jesus gives a cnditinal cmmand If yu frgive smene...they will be frgiven We knw that the pwer t frgive sins is Gd s alne and it cmes based slely n belief in the Gspel Luke 5:20 Seeing their faith, He said, Friend, yur sins are frgiven yu. Luke 5:21 The scribes and the Pharisees began t reasn, saying, Wh is this man wh speaks blasphemies? Wh can frgive sins, but Gd alne? Luke 5:22 But Jesus, aware f their reasnings, answered and said t them, Why are yu reasning in yur hearts? Luke 5:23 Which is easier, t say, Yur sins have been frgiven yu, r t say, Get up and walk? Luke 5:24 But, s that yu may knw that the Sn f Man has authrity n earth t frgive sins, He said t the paralytic I say t yu, get up, and pick up yur stretcher and g hme. S Jesus didn t say these men will decide wh will be frgiven by Gd Jesus is saying that the utcme f their ministry determines wh are saved frm thse wh are nt These men will use the same basis fr determining frgiveness as did Jesus: belief in the Gspel S t paraphrase Jesus, He said, when yu preach the Gspel and smene receives it, yu can assure the persn that Gd has frgiven their because f their faith Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Jhn f 23 Likewise, when smene rejects the Gspel, yu can assure them that they remain in their sins This statement may seem bvius t us nw, but it s nly became bvius after watching it wrk ver centuries f evangelism At the beginning f the Church, these men wuld have had little reasn t understand that they pssessed the pwer t bring salvatin t ther men Until this pint, they had nly witnessed Jesus declaring that smene s sins were frgiven It wuld be easy t think that unless Jesus persnally declared smene frgiven, n ne culd have that assurance These men were t becme instruments f Gd s salvatin and judgment wrking in Jesus absence Paul says the same thing in Rmans Rm. 1:16 Fr I am nt ashamed f the gspel, fr it is the pwer f Gd fr salvatin t everyne wh believes, t the Jew first and als t the Greek. Rm. 1:17 Fr in it the righteusness f Gd is revealed frm faith t faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. Gd s salvatin is revealed frm faith t faith As a persn demnstrates faith in the message f the Gspel, they reveal Gd s pwer t save Their faith is prf f Gd s wrk in their heart And Jesus is explaining t His apstles that the citizens f the Kingdm will be fund thrugh them by this manner Just as Gd multiplied the ppulatin f earth thrugh a cmmand fr men t prcreate, s nw He reveals He will grw the Church thrugh a cmmand t men t preach the Gspel 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 Jhn f 23 Jhn 20:24 But Thmas, ne f the twelve, called Didymus, was nt with them when Jesus came. Jhn 20:25 S the ther disciples were saying t him, We have seen the Lrd! But he said t them, Unless I see in His hands the imprint f the nails, and put my finger int the place f the nails, and put my hand int His side, I will nt believe. Jhn 20:26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thmas with them. Jesus came, the drs having been shut, and std in their midst and said, Peace be with yu. Jhn 20:27 Then He said t Thmas, Reach here with yur finger, and see My hands; and reach here yur hand and put it int My side; and d nt be unbelieving, but believing. Jhn 20:28 Thmas answered and said t Him, My Lrd and my Gd! Jhn 20:29 Jesus said t him, Because yu have seen Me, have yu believed? Blessed are they wh did nt see, and yet believed. Jhn 20:30 Therefre many ther signs Jesus als perfrmed in the presence f the disciples, which are nt written in this bk; Jhn 20:31 but these have been written s that yu may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sn f Gd; and that believing yu may have life in His name. As I mentined earlier, nly ten f the eleven men were present in the first appearance f Christ, leaving Thmas still withut that pprtunity t see Christ Thmas hesitatin t believe has lng been held against him We still have the saying dubting Thmas as a result f this scene But t be hnest, Thmas gets a bad rap here All the disciples were equally dubting Thmas was just the last man t see the prf he required Thmas hears the reprts f the thers but demands t see it himself This ges n fr seven mre days Imagine the frustratin f the ten trying fr a whle week t cnvince Thmas that Jesus was raised If ten apstles can t cnvince anther apstle that Jesus has been resurrected, hw hard will it be fr them t cnvince thers? 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

23 Jhn f 23 On the eighth day, Jesus returns t the eleven when Thmas was present Jesus grants Thmas the same pprtunity t inspect His resurrected bdy This experience cnvinces Thmas that Jesus is in fact Gd T which Jesus says if seeing cnvinced yu, hw blessed are thse wh will be cnvinced seeing? The blessing Jesus is describing is the blessing f Gd s grace pured ut n peple like yu and me wh have been granted eyes t see and ears t hear by faith It s an eternal blessing that Gd pened ur hearts and shwed us the truth f Jesus as Lrd This is the nly way anyne truly believes S althugh these men ultimately became cnvinced by Christ s appearance, Jesus is saying this wn t be the usual methd Jesus desn t intend t make persnal appearances In fact, after He ascends t the Father, He will nt appear again until He returns fr the Church at the Rapture In the meantime, we are blessed t receive the gift f faith by which we are saved With that, Jhn essentially ends His Gspel He explains there was much mre He culd say, but he s prvided enugh fr his readers t knw and believe that Jesus is the Sn f Gd And by believing in His name, we might have eternal life This is the pint f the Gspel Jhn wrte and he feels he has accmplished his purpse Then why d we have chapter 21? Jhn writes it as a ftnte, a cnclusin t shw that these men eventually beyed His instructins t leave the city Als, Jhn will cmbine many f the themes and strylines frm the rest f His Gspel...can yu find them all? 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.