Key Verse: 20:31
“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.’
Part 1. The Empty Tomb (1-9)
Look at verse 1. Read. In Mark 16:1,2 we not only find Mary Magdalene going to Jesus’ tomb to anoint Jesus’ body we also find Mary the mother of James and Salome, all three are going together. One reason John may not have mentioned the other two women was to keep the facts mainly focused on Jesus’ resurrection. Mary had much to be grateful to Jesus for. Before Jesus came into her life she was despised by everyone. Her life seemed to be completely ruined by seven tormenting demons. Worst of all she could not free herself from the destructive control of the evil spirits. Luke 8:2 shows Jesus drove the demons out of her. He then welcomed her to serve in his Messianic ministry. To her complete horror Mary became an eyewitness when the Roman soldiers mercilessly nailed her Lord Jesus to the cross. She stood below the cross of Jesus and listened to the Jews around Jesus scorn him and laugh at him. Mary could not understand this great cruelty of people to her Lord Jesus. She resolved to honor Jesus’ body one more time by anointing it with spices. Mary woke very early on the first day of the week when it was still dark. Her only worry was how to remove the stone at Jesus’ tomb.
When she arrived at the tomb’s entrance she quickly noticed someone had rolled the stone away. She assumed the worst. Verse 2 reads: “So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’” Normally very sorrowful women do not run. However for Mary a dead Jesus was her last hope. Now she thought men’s cruelty went too far by taking the dead body of Jesus to hide it from his followers. She ran to where Peter and John could be found to seek their assistance in helping her to locate Jesus’ body.
Look at verses 3-6a: “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciples outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. John the author points out he was a faster runner than Peter by arriving at the tomb before Peter. At the same time he concedes Peter was braver by entering into the tomb before he did. All this running around by Jesus disciples in itself is evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. Matt 28:13 shows Jesus’ enemies tried to cover-up Jesus’ resurrection by spreading the rumor his disciples came at night and stole the body. John 20 shows us Jesus’ followers were indeed running in a panic around Jesus’ tomb. Not for the purpose to hide his body but to find his body.
What did John and Peter find in the tomb when they entered it? Look at 6b-9: “He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.” Here we see the first hard evidence Jesus had risen. If mischief people or grave robbers had taken Jesus’ body they would not have taken the time to fold the cloth that had been on Jesus’ body. They would have left the tomb with the cloth or left the cloth that were on Jesus in disarray.
By leaving the cloth neatly lying where he had been laid it was Jesus way to give his followers some of the first hard evidence he had risen from the dead.
Look at verse 9: (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) This verse shows us why even this evidence was not enough to cause the disciples to even think of the possibility of Jesus rising. They never understood scripture taught Jesus must rise. Later when Peter became a witness of Jesus’ resurrection he not only used his eyewitness account of Jesus’ resurrection he also used Scripture to prove Jesus’ resurrection. He quoted Ps. 16:10 in Acts chapter 2. “because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Jesus’ resurrection was only a surprise to his followers because they did not understand scripture. This should give us motivation to better understand scripture. The real important matters Jesus wants us to know and believe can all be found in scripture if we choose to study it.
Look at verses 10,11. “Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” In this verse we find the reason why John’s Gospel identifies Mary Magdalene as the first witness of the Resurrected Jesus Christ. The Bible shows us the disciples went back to their homes. Why did the disciples hurry back to their homes? After talking about this with Shep. Steve and Missionary Elijah we came to the conclusion they were too afraid to stay too long outside for fear the Jews would arrest or attack them. Mary on the other hand did not have a fear problem. She wasn’t going to let anyone scare her away from her Lord’s tomb. Look at verses 11b-12: “As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” This now is at least the third time Mary checked out this tomb. The disciples had thoroughly inspected it out and could not find Jesus. Still for some reason she looked again in the tomb. This time she saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been placed. Mary shows those who keep looking for Jesus will eventually find him. She also teaches every time we pick up our bibles we should study it with anticipation we will find something new about Jesus.
Look at verse 13: “They asked her,’ Woman why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him.’” No sooner did she tell these angels why she was crying, Jesus now comes up behind her and asks her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? Standing before Mary, talking to her is the very man she is looking for. Nevertheless she cannot recognize Jesus because her sorrow has blinded her to the resurrected Jesus. Now we see why they keep asking Mary: “Woman why are you crying?” What they mean is; “Why are you crying, Jesus is not dead but alive.
Finally the resurrected Jesus is able to break through Mary’s sorrow. Look at verse 16: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” Both men and women can have a sorrow problem. John 20 however shows only Mary having a sorrow problem. I grew up with four sisters. Like Mary they are not afraid of anyone but they do allow life long sorrow problems to continue to blind them to the forgiving, and changing power of the Gospel of Jesus. However my oldest sister has a deep committed relationship with our risen Lord. Because of this Jesus has fully healed her many sorrow problems. Within the past two months she has had two accidents. One broke her foot. Just two days ago a dog I gave her knocked her over and broke her kneecap. Even though these have laid her up she is full of joy and thanksgiving because of her faith in Jesus.
To all people with life long sorrow problems the risen Jesus keeps calling out to them: “Why are you crying?” When we choose to believe that the risen Jesus is greater than our sorrow problem, we will find the same power that raised Jesus from the dead will also heal our sorrow problem. Instead of being constantly in sorrow we can celebrate and share the good news how the risen Jesus gave us victory over both sorrow and death.
Jesus was the only man on earth Mary was interested in. She wanted to hug Jesus and never let him go. But Jesus no longer dwelt in the realm of flesh and emotions. More over he had an important and special mission for Mary to carry out. Look at verse17-18: “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.’” 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.” Jesus restored Mary to the original mission God created women for which was to help men carry out God’s mission. The disciples were steeped in guilt because they abandoned Jesus in his greatest hour of need. The message Mary will bring them will reassure them Jesus is more than ready to make them co-heir with him of all his glory.
Part 3. Jesus Appears to His Disciples
Look at verse 19: “On the evening of the 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!’” This verse gives us a picture of the mental state of the disciples. It points out to us most of the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews. Once I studied the bible with a young man who just came from China. Soon he joined a Chinese Christian Church. I went to visit him at his church. Even though it was the middle of the day and people were in the church, the doors were locked. When I knocked on the church door, the people in the church would not open the door for me. I never did get an opportunity to visit him. I left that church with a strong sense those people were very fearful.
The risen Jesus now wanted to visit his fearful disciples. He did not need to knock first on the doors so that his disciples could unlock the door for him. We see now that Jesus is in his resurrected body there is no barriers that can keep Jesus separated from his people. By his supernatural power Jesus made himself appear among his disciples. “Peace be with you!” was his greeting to them. Peace is the first gift Jesus gives to his followers. If we remember in John 16:33 Jesus taught his disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Now Jesus gives the evidence to prove he has overcome the world. Look at verse 20: “After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” The greatest power of earth in Jesus day, Rome tried to destroy Jesus. They nailed him to the cross. With a spear they drove it in his side just to make sure he died. Finally they laid him dead in the tomb. Rome, death, the tomb and Satan himself attempted to overcome all of them. Jesus did not promise his followers a smooth sailing trouble free life. He told them they would have trouble in this world. At the same time in the mist of trouble they can take heart because no matter how horrific the trouble may be Jesus can overcome it. Missionary David Yun contacted a troubling sickness from his mission trip to Venesuela. But I hear no complaints from him nor do I sense any fear because he knows through Jesus Christ he will overcome his sickness. He has become a good example how faith in Jesus can bring peace in the midst of a personal storm.
One man I work with keeps having nightmares. He is telling other people it is a sign something bad is going to happen. He is right to be fearful. Not because of some particular bad event that may happen but because he does not personally know Jesus as his Lord and Christ. Jennifer's father Jerome has a sticker on the back of his van that reads: No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace. That sticker makes it real easy to understand why we don’t have peace and to teach how we can know peace. Inner peace. Freedom from all fear, assurance all will work out OK cannot be found in this world. It can only be found by believing the resurrected Jesus Christ who has overcome this world.
Look at verse 21-22: “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has went me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
In the movie Sound of Music Julie Andrews wanted to hide from the world by staying in the abbey. But she was sent out of it to find and do God’s will for her life. Jesus did not want his disciples to live in some exclusive Christian community. He sent them out into the world to become the light and salt in this dark, corrupt world. He empowered them to carry out this mission by breathing on them the Holy Spirit. Every day we go into this world we should go as if Jesus is sending us forth. We should ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to carry out Jesus’ will for us to be the light and salt of this earth. Moreover, we should never limit or close the door to the Holy Spirit. Remember, whatever the Lord Jesus calls us to do, he also will give us the Holy Spirit to do it. Jesus wants to use our bodies as vessels and instruments for the work of the Holy Spirit. If we say no, no, sorry I can’t do it then we are denying the Holy Spirit the opportunity to work through us.
Look at verse 23: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” In one sense this verse means what it says: If we forgive someone their sins they are forgiven. If we do not for give them they are not forgiven. On the other hand we know the Spirit of Jesus, the life of Jesus and the word of Jesus all teaches us to forgive our enemies. Again by our own power it is sometimes too hard to forgive the wrong others have done against us. When it’s too hard for us to forgive we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us to forgive.
Part 4. Jesus Appears to Thomas
Look at verse 24: “Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’”
For a moment put yourself in Thomas’ sandals. If 10 of your close friends, tell you they have seen the resurrected Lord would you believe or would you not believe?
The real of Thomas of the bible boldly stood before all these disciples and 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.” Because of this declaration Thomas has been nicknamed Doubting Thomas. But I think a more accurate way to describe him is to call him a stubborn unbeliever. Imagine a student studied the bible with 10 of us here. To each one of us he boldly declared the same thing Thomas said. I think a few of us would give up on him. Maybe we would even become angry and tell him: “You will go to hell if you keep refusing to believe!”
Let us now see how Jesus handles a stubborn person like Thomas. Look at verses 26-27 Again Jesus supernaturally appeared among his disciples even though they had the doors locked. He greeted them the same way: “Peace be with you!” This time however he goes right up to Thomas. Maybe if we were one of the disciples we would be saying to ourselves: “I bet Jesus will sledge hammer Thomas for his stubborn unbelief!” Let us now see what Jesus does to Thomas. He says to Thomas: Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Jesus actually granted Thomas’ demand. What we learn here is that even the most stubborn unbeliever is not beyond the grace and power of the resurrected Jesus to change. It is never our right to judge others. Jesus calls us to share the good news with them. It is up to Jesus to actually help them to believe the good news.
Thomas now proved himself to be a good disciple. He immediately repented by saying to Jesus: My Lord and my God!” Here we see a true disciple of Jesus is not perfect. But they do repent when they are corrected.
Now look at verse 29: Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Who here has never seen the resurrected Jesus? Now let me ask you. Even though you have never seen him do you believe he has resurrected and is living right now? Those of you who said yes are blessed according to Jesus’ word. What is the opposite of blessed? Cursed. I do not know fully how believing in the resurrected Jesus blesses both you and me. But one thing we can be sure as long as we believe in the resurrected Jesus we are no longer cursed. As we go forth in the week before us and things don’t seem to work out the way we would like it, at such times let us by faith claim the blessedness Jesus promises us when we believe in him even though we do not see him.
Look at verses 30-31: The resurrection of Jesus along with the other miracles John mentions in this gospel all have one theme. Jesus did all of them to help us to believe he is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.
Finally we are reminded believing or not believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God is the difference between life and death. We know in many countries of this world if you claim you believe in Jesus they will put you to death. Therefore this life or death does not apply to our temporary life on this earth. It means eternal life or eternal death. By believing Jesus has resurrected we also then can believe he will resurrect our own bodies. When we believe in the resurrected Jesus we no longer need to worry or fear for our eternal existence. The best way to keep it safe is to claim the power of the resurrected Jesus to solve all our fear and sorrow problems. Let us no longer focus our thoughts on our fears and sorrows. Instead let us focus our thoughts and place our faith in the resurrected Jesus who is greater than all our fears and sorrows.