I Have Seen My Lord! Why We Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead (by Kurt E. DeHaan): If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the Christian faith is a foolish fantasy. However, if the resu17rrection of Christ did occur, it confirms His life, message, and atoning work. It is the basis of our hope of life beyond the grave. Christ is alive, and the evidence is overwhelming. Here are some of the reasons we can be so sure. 1. Jesus predicted His resurrection (Matt 16:21; Mark 9:9-10; John 2:18-22). 2. The Old Testament prophesied it (Psalm 16:10; compare Acts 2:25-31; 13:33-37). 3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes vacant. if those who opposed Christ wished to silence His disciples, all they had to do was produce a body, but they could not (John 20:3-9). 4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat (Matt. 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-39; John 20:11-29; John 21:1-9; Acts 1:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3-8). 5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized. Though they fled and even denied Christ at the time of His arrest, they later feared no one in their proclamation of the risen Christ (Matt 26:56, 69-75).6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church. The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church (Acts 4:33; 5:30-32; Rom. 5:24). 6. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives. We know that Jesus is alive not only because of the historical and biblical evidence but also because He has miraculously touched our lives. Do you wish you had been there to see Jesus after His resurrection? Jesus said those of us who believed without seeing Him are equally blessed (John 20:29). So has His resurrection changed you as much as it changed Thomas and the other disciples? It was supposed to. FOR DISCUSSION Some events obviously have the power to impact people deeply, leaving impressions that never go away. For Americans, 9-11 certainly was an event like that. Tell about something that happened in your life that left lasting impressions. How did it impact you?
ENCOUNTER Read God s word so that He can speak to you. John 20:11-31 11... but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 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!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. EXAMINE what the passage says before you decide what it means. In this passage, keep track of who said/did what: Underline the questions Circle Lord Put brackets [ ] around peace Draw a box around believe/believed
EXPLORE God s Word by asking questions of what you saw. The notes which follow may help you to think through these questions. 1) On that day of resurrection, people were changed when they saw the Lord. What were some of those changes? 2) What does Jesus resurrection tell you about Him who He is and the things He said? 3) You haven t seen Him with your eyes like the people described in John 20, yet you may have believed in Him. What caused you to believe in Him? 4) How has seeing Jesus as Lord with faith changed your life? [Note, some changes are obvious and others more subtle maybe even hidden to you. But others say you are different, or you discover that you think and act different than people around you] 5) If you are a believer in Jesus, one day you will be raised like Him with a body and nature and glory like Him (1 John 3:2-3). What do you think that will be like?
NOTES ON THE PASSAGE (Adapted from Thomas Constable, Expository Notes) "If the Gospel of John were an ordinary biography, there would be no chapter 20. I am an incurable reader of biographies, and I notice that almost all of them conclude with the death and burial of the subject. I have yet to read one that describes the subject's resurrection from the dead! The fact that John continued his account and shared the excitement of the Resurrection miracle is proof that Jesus Christ is not like any other man. He is, indeed, the Son of God." (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 1:387) 11 - Apparently Mary Magdalene had returned to the empty tomb after she had informed Peter and John about it. Perhaps she returned with them. The other women had evidently left by then. John presented her as lingering there after Peter and John departed. She was still grieving over the death and now the missing body of Jesus. She had not yet realized what John did. She then peered into the tomb for the second time (cf. Mark 16:5). 12 - The presence and positions of the two angels were of more consequence. It is interesting that cherubim stood at either end of the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant (Exod. 25:17-19). Evidently Mary had seen the angels earlier (Matt. 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-7). 13 - The angels asked Mary why she was weeping because weeping was inappropriate in view of Jesus' resurrection. However, Mary did not yet comprehend that Jesus had risen. Her answer revealed that she still thought that someone had removed Jesus' body from the tomb. She still doubted the Resurrection in spite of the angels' earlier announcement that Jesus had risen from the dead (Matt. 28:6, 8; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6, 8). 14 - "The fact that He appeared to Mary rather than to Pilate or Caiaphas or to one of His disciples is significant. That a woman would be the first to see Him is an evidence of Jesus' electing love as well as a mark of the narrative's historicity. No Jewish author in the ancient world would have invented a story with a woman as the first witness to this most important event. Furthermore, Jesus may have introduced Himself to Mary first because she had so earnestly sought Him. She was at the cross while He was dying (John 19:25), and she went to His tomb early on Sunday morning (20:1)." (Edwin A. Blum, "John," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, p. 681) had made her somewhat irrational (cf. 11:21, 32). However there seems to have been something about Jesus' resurrection body that made immediate recognition of Him difficult for many people (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16; John 21:4; cf. 1 Cor. 15:35-49). Perhaps this was due partially to the terrible beatings that He had received. 17 Jesus instruction to Mary is difficult to understand. The best explanation seems to be that Mary was holding onto Jesus as though she would never let Him go (cf. Matt. 28:9). Jesus told her to stop doing that or, if He knew she was about to do it, He told her not to do it. He was almost ready to disappear permanently. The reason she should release Him was that He had not yet ascended to the Father. He had other work to do first. Only in heaven would it be possible for loving believers such as Mary to maintain contact with Jesus forever. This view makes good sense of the text and harmonizes with Jesus' invitation to Thomas (v. 27). Thomas needed to touch Jesus to strengthen his faith. Mary needed to release Him because she did not have to fear losing Him. Jesus had spoken of His ascension before (e.g., 7:33; 14:12, 28; 16:5, 10, 17, 28). His disciples needed to understand that His death and resurrection had not wiped out these earlier predictions. 19 - The disciples had gathered in a secure room because they feared the Jewish authorities. The Jewish authorities had crucified their rabbi, so it was reasonable to think that they might come after them as well. Jesus' resurrection body had passed through grave clothes and a rocky tomb. Now it passed through the walls of this structure. 20 - Evidently Jesus showed the disciples His hands and side with their wounds to convince them that it was really He and not just a phantom (cf. Luke 24:37-40). Luke added that He showed them His feet too (Luke 24:39). Then these disciples rejoiced because they saw (Gr. idontes, i.e.,perceived intelligently, cf. v. 8) who Jesus really was. 21 - Each Gospel plus Acts records a different version of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8). Jesus apparently gave this commission on at least four separate occasions. Jesus was presenting His mission as a model for His disciples' mission. 15 - Mary did not answer either of Jesus' questions. Her grief 22 Most likely Jesus was giving these disciples a symbolic
and graphic reminder of the Spirit who would come upon them later. It was a demonstration of what Jesus would do when He returned to the Father and which He did do on Pentecost. He was not imparting the Spirit to them in any sense here. This interpretation accounts for Thomas not receiving the Spirit before Pentecost. It also explains why this event had no changing effect on the disciples. Evidently there was only one coming of the Spirit on these disciples, and that happened on Pentecost. 23 - When His disciples went to others with the message of salvation, as He had done, some people would believe and others would not. Reaction to their ministry would be the same as reaction to His had been. He viewed their forgiving and retaining the sins of their hearers as the actions of God's agents. Their ministry would be a continuation of His ministry relative to the forgiveness of sins, as it would be in relation to the Spirit's enablement. 27 - Jesus knew what Thomas had said even though He had not been physically present when he had said it. The purpose of this test was not just to satisfy Thomas' curiosity, however. It was to bring him to faith that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah. 28 - The sight of his Savior seems to have been enough to convince him (cf. v. 29). Thomas then uttered one of the most profound declarations of saving faith in Scripture. For a Jew to call another human being "my Lord and my God" was blasphemy under normal circumstances (cf. 10:33). Yet that is precisely who Thomas believed Jesus was. It is also who John presented Jesus as being throughout this Gospel. 29 - Most believers have believed on Jesus because of sufficient evidence without the physical confirmation that Thomas required (cf. v. 8; 1 Pet. 1:8-9). Those were the people whom Jesus had in view when He made this statement. This beatitude does not make believers who live after Jesus' ascension superior to those who saw Him in the flesh. Rather it guarantees their blessing by God. 31 - John's purpose was not academic; it was not simply that people might believe intellectually that Jesus is the divine Messiah. It was rather that they might believe those foundational truths so they could possess and experience the life of God fully (cf. 10:10). This divine life affects the whole person, not just the intellect. Moreover it affects him or her forever, not just during that person's present lifetime. GOING FURTHER One thing we can do to train ourselves to remember, is to memorize a part of what our Father has said to us. The Holy Spirit can use this to change our thinking so that our heads are more like Jesus. This week, memorize John 20:30-31.