JOHN 20
OPENS WITH AN EMPTY TOMB AND A RISEN JESUS
Verses 1-2 tells us Mary Magdalene comes upon Jesus' tomb, finds it empty.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early...
Other gospels tell she was not the ONLY woman to come to the tomb that morning. At least three other women accompanied her. But Mary was the one who ran back and told the disciples about the empty tomb.
They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb...
Mary was NOT wishing for a resurrection, and then hopefully imagined it. She had NO thought of resurrection yet, and believed Jesus’ body has been stolen.
Verses 3-10 tells us Peter and John investigate the empty tomb.
“Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.”
The other disciple...As a matter of author's humility, John does not refer to himself directly, but only as the other disciple.
Stooping down and looking in...
Arriving first at the tomb, John was looking in (the ancient Greek word blepo meaning "to clearly see a material object"), and he saw the grave clothes still in the tomb (saw the linen cloths lying there) and JOHN BELIEVED.
He saw the linen cloths lying there...
Peter, going in, then saw (the ancient Greek word theoreo meaning "to contemplate, observe, scrutinize") that the cloths were still orderly and neat. I was as if the body "evaporated" out of the grave clothes.
The neat, orderly arrangement of the grave clothes showed that this was NO grave robbery and that something absolutely unique had happened in that now-empty tomb.
The other disciple … he saw and believed...
After Peter went into the tomb, John went in. He then saw (the ancient Greek word eido meaning, "to understand, to perceive the significance of") and then John BELIEVED.
Upon seeing the grave clothes and how they lay on the "bed" of the tomb, John believed that Mary's report was true, and that something awesome and incredibly unique had happened.
So far, all we have is an empty tomb. But the apostles never emphasized an empty tomb, but a risen Lord. They knew Jesus had risen because they saw and touched the resurrected Christ.
Whatever happened to the grave clothes? Is the Shroud of Turin for real? Is it Jesus’ shroud?
The evidence thus far indicates the probable conclusions that the shroud IS ancient (perhaps from the first century), and it appears to be a man, crucified, but we need to remember crucifixion was well known, and WAS used in all of the Roman empire, and VERY common in that day as the most used form of execution of the Roman Empire. The Roman empire was VAST! but John 19 tells us the truth, Jesus was NOT wrapped in a shroud, which is a long, one piece wrapping cloth that they were basically rolled into until fully covered and in that day, only the prominent dared to approach the Roman leadership and request the body of their friend or family member, most ALL criminals crucified were left to hang on the cross until the wild animals and birds and weather rotted and decayed them and then they were dumped in a common grave, with no ceremony or covering at all, other than the dirt poured over them.
Radioactive testing and and cloth carbon dating, and enzymes testing of modern technology analysis proves so far that it is NOT a fake or a hoax, but with even the amazing advances in DNA and enzyme testing, the shroud contain NO residual signatures of the burial mixture used by Jews alone at burial to speed up the decay process NOT preserve the body, but to HASTEN the process, so that after a few years there was NOTHING left but the bones that could then be put in an ossuary, a stone box and stored in the family tomb.
And we remember from John 19:25-27, John, Mary Jesus’ mother, and Martha, Mary’s sister, and Mary Magdelene were the ONLY ones of Jesus family and followers who witnessed Jesus crucifixion and were right there where Jesus could see them, as He hung on the cross. Joseph and Nicodemus are mentioned and they appeared AFTER Jesus was dead.
DID YOU KNOW...Myrrh was a liquid and aloes was a powder; the two were mixed together. Joseph brought fine linen (Matthew. 27:59). The women helped Joseph wrap EACH limb and the torso of Christ's body with the fine linen strips, and then provided a special napkin for His head.
The testing and markers show NOTHING of the mixture that John tells us in John 19:38-42. John says they bound Jesus in STRIPS of cloth, with 100 pounds mixture of myrrh and aloes. So I trust John’s accounting.
What they do BELIEVE is that the image on the shroud is of a crucified male, bearded, 5'11" in height, weighing about 175 pounds. His physique was muscular and well built, and he is an estimated age of 30-35 years.
BUT WE WHO STUDY GOD’S WORD, AND REMEMBER EXODUS 20:3, “YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME”, AND WE KNOW GOD SAW THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF ALL THINGS, AND GOD WOULD NOT PRESERVE ANYTHING SUCH AS GRAVE CLOTHES, JESUS CLOTHES, HIS SANDALS, OR HIS CROSS OR GIVING THE EXACT BORROWED TOMB LOCATION, BECAUSE THE LORD DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE BEHIND ANY RELIC THAT WOULD TURN WORSHIP OF HIS PRECIOUS SON TO THINGS TO BE WORSHIPPED OR USED AS THE VIPERS IN THE COURT OF THE GENTILES USED TO CHEAT, LIE, AND DECEIVE.
HISTORY TELLS US THE ROMAN EMPIRE DID NOT FALL UNTIL 476 A.D. THAT IS 476 YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST, AND HISTORY TELLS US THAT The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the new church, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH around 313 A.D., 313 YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST, which made this new "Christianity" the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Catholic religion says that Jesus commited Peter to be their first pope during the life of Jesus on earth. That is not validated by any scripture in the Bible. Peter never even went to Rome, much less became their first pope. Pope was crucified upside down by the Roman government, but he was NOT in Rome.
History tells us the first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first official pope (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period of history known to man, properly known as the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal and true Christians, followers of Jesus Christ and His Word were tortured, imprisoned, and killed.
SO WE SEE THAT ROMAN CRUCIFIXION CONTINUED FOR 476 YEARS, AND SO THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS BIRTHED IN PLENTY OF TIME TO HAVE SEEN CRUCIFIXIONS AND CROSSES, AND THE CROSS BARS OF AN OCEAN OF PEOPLE. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH CLAIMS TO HAVE JESUS ROBES, HIS SANDALS, HIS CROSS, HIS CROWN OF THRONS, AND HIS BURIAL CLOTHES, AND MANY A DECEIVER IN THIS SYSTEM EVEN TO THIS DAY OFFERS TO SELL TRINKETS, AND MICROSCOPIC SLIVERS OF JESUS CROSS TO THE DECEIVED AND THE MYSTICISM MINDED....BUT WE WHO KNOW THE BIBLE ARE NOT DECEIVED OR DRAWN IN BY SUCH FRAUD AND DECEPTIONS OF MAN RULED AND LED BY SATAN HIMSELF WHO ENJOYS DECEIVING AND MAKING A MOCKERY OF OUR JESUS AND WHAT HE DID FOR US AT CALVARY.
Verses 11-13 tells us Mary, stricken with grief, sees two angels in the empty tomb.
“But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
She said to them...
DID YOU NOTICE AS I DID THE WONDER IN THIS PASSAGE? This is one of the FEW places in ALL of the Bible where someone encounters angels and they are NOT stricken with fear. It shows that Mary was so grieved at the loss of Jesus, SO FOCUSED ON FINDING OUR WHERE HER JESUS WAS, that she was unaffected even by an appearance of angels.
Verses 14-16 tells us Mary meets Jesus.
“Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away. " Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).”
I will take Him away...
It's possible that Mary was a large, strong woman and was physically capable of carrying away the body of a dead man. It is more like that she was simply so filled with sorrow and devotion that she is NOT thinking through her plans carefully.
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
YOU NOTICE...Jesus had only to say ONE word, and all was explained. Never was a one-word utterance more charged with emotion than this.
With a single word, Jesus opened Mary’s eyes. He merely spoke her name, “Mary!” and in a flash all of her doubt, confusion, and sorrow vanished. Recognizing Jesus in that moment, she turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Rabboni is a strengthened form of “Rabbi,” and was used as a title to express great honor and supreme reverence (Mark 10:51). Overcome with a profound mix of joy and relief, Mary fell at His feet. Like the other women had done (Matthew. 28:9), she clung to Jesus, prompting Him to say to her, Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Having found Him again beyond her wildest hopes, she did not want to lose Him. Her physical grasp symbolized her desire to secure His presence permanently. But He would be physically present for only a brief time, forty days (Acts 1:3), after which He would ascend to the Father. How much knowledge she had of what Jesus had promised in the upper room is not known. But perhaps she had been told by the apostles that He said He was going to the Father to send the Holy Spirit (14:16–18; 16:7), so He said nothing about that, only that He could not stay, but must ascend.
Verses 17-18 tells us Jesus sends Mary to tell the disciples.
“Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. '" Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”
Do not cling to Me...
Why didn't Jesus want Mary to touch Him?
Actually, the ancient Greek construction of this phrase "means to stop an action already begun rather than to avoid starting it. Mary was holding on to Jesus and did not want to let Him go.
This shows that the resurrection body of Jesus was different, yet similar to His pre-resurrection body. It was definitely real, viewable, touchable, and tangible, and Jesus not a phantom.
AND REMEMBER THIS...SOME WRONGLY TEACH THAT JESUS DID NOT WANT TO BE TOUCHED BY MARY LEST SHE DEFILE HIM. BUT WE KNOW, Jesus was not protesting that Mary should not touch Him lest He be defiled, but was admonishing her not to detain Him because He would see her and the disciples again.
I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God...
Go to My brethren and say to them...
The fact that Jesus makes a woman the FIRST witness of His resurrection that HE speaks to is significant.
WHY?
The law courts of that day would NOT recognize the testimony of a woman, but Jesus did.
This also argues for the historic truth of this account. If someone HAD fabricated this story, would they make the FIRST witnesses to the resurrection women, who were commonly (if unfairly) regarded as unreliable witnesses?
Verse 19 tells us Jesus appears in their midst.
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."
We are told of FIVE appearances of Jesus on the resurrection day: to Mary Magdalene, to the women, to two on the road to Emmaus, to Peter and here to ten of the disciples, Thomas being absent. The Gospel of John tells of TWO of these five appearances.
When the doors were shut … Jesus came and stood in the midst...
How did Jesus enter the room?
John wants us to see that the risen Christ was NOT limited by closed doors. THIS REMINDS US AND ENCOURAGES US THAT LOVE JESUS CHRIST AND CALL HIM LORD, SAVIOR, MASTER, AND FRIEND, THAT ONE SWEET DAY, OUR resurrection bodies are not subject to the same limitations as our present bodies.
Peace be with you...
After their desertion of Jesus on Friday, the disciples were probably expecting words of rebuke or blame. Instead, Jesus brought a word of peace, reconciling peace.
Verses 20-23 tells us The risen Jesus ministers to His disciples (more than the ten are gathered here, according to Luke 24).
“When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. " And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
He showed them His hands and His side...
Jesus gives assurance to the disciples about who He is and that He really has risen from the dead..He wants them to KNOW He is NOT A GHOST, A VISION, OR A MASS DELUSION AS SOME BLASPHEMOUSLY AND OUTRAGEOUSLY TEACH AND PROCLAIMED THEN AND NOW.
As the Father has sent Me, I also send you...
Jesus gives His disciples a mission, to continue His work on this earth.
Receive the Holy Spirit...
Jesus gives His disciples the Holy Spirit, bringing new life and the ability to carry out their mission. Many people see the connection between this breathing on the disciples and when God created man, and breathed the breathe of life in him. This is a work of re-creation, even as God breathed life into the first man. This is where the disciples ARE born again.
If you forgive the sins of any...
Jesus gives His disciples authority to announce forgiveness and to warn of guilt, as authorized by the Holy Spirit.
This lays down the duty of the church to proclaim forgiveness to the penitent believer, and the duty of the church to warn the unbeliever that they are in danger of forfeiting the mercy of God.
As part of their witness to Him, the disciples would have His authority delegated to them. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them,” Jesus told them, but “if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” This verse has been misinterpreted by Roman Catholics to mean that the Roman Catholic Church has had the apostles’ authority to forgive sins passed down to it. But Scripture teaches that God alone can forgive sins (Mark 2:7; cf. Dan. 9:9). Nor does the New Testament record any instances of the apostles (or anyone else) absolving people of their sins. Further, this promise was not made to the apostles alone, since others were also present (Luke 24:33). What Christ was actually saying is that any Christian can declare that those who genuinely repent and believe the gospel will have their sins forgiven by God. On the other hand, they can warn that those who reject Jesus Christ will die in their sins (8:24; Heb. 10:26–27).
This was not new information to the disciples, since the Lord had spoken very similar words long before in Caesarea Philippi: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19).
Here Jesus spoke of the delegated authority of believers. He told Peter, the Twelve, and by extension all believers, that they had the authority to declare who is bound in sin and who is loosed from sin. He said believers have the “keys of the kingdom,” the realm of salvation, because they have the gospel truth that saves (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18–25). Christians can declare that a sinner is forgiven or unforgiven based on how that sinner responds to the gospel of salvation.
The church’s authority to tell someone that he is forgiven or that he is still in sin comes directly from the Word of God. In Matthew 18:15–20, the Lord taught His disciples (and by extension all believers) that if a professing believer refuses to turn from his or her sin, even after being privately confronted (vv. 15–16) and publicly rebuked (v. 17), then the church is commanded to treat that individual as an unbeliever. Those within the church have both the authority and the obligation to call the sinning brother back to repentance (vv. 18–20), and to let him know that because of his blatant disregard for the Word of God, he has subsequently forfeited fellowship with the people of God. The reality is that he may not be a child of God at all (John 8:42; 14:15; 2 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 2:3–6).
Believers have the authority to do this because God has given them His Word as the supreme standard by which to judge. Their authority does not come from anything within them; it is not founded on their own personal righteousness, spiritual giftedness, or ecclesiastical position. Instead it comes from the authoritative Word of God.
That which the Scriptures affirm, Christians can dogmatically and unhesitatingly affirm; that which the Scriptures denounce, Christians can authoritatively and unapologetically denounce. Believers do not decide what is right or wrong, but they are to declare with boldness that which God has clearly revealed in His Word. Because the Scriptures present sin as an affront to God, His people must be faithful to confront it. Insofar as their judgment corresponds to the Scriptures, they can be certain that it harmonizes with God’s judgment in heaven.
When people reject the saving message of the gospel, denying the person and work of Jesus Christ, the church has divine authority, based on the revealed Word of God, to tell them that they will perish in hell unless they repent (Luke 13:1–5; John 3:18; 1 Corinthians 16:22). Conversely, when people profess faith in Christ as their Savior and Lord, the church can affirm that profession, if it is genuine, with equal confidence—based on passages like Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
The church’s authority comes from THE SCRIPTURES ALONE. Because Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians. 1:22; 5:23), the Word of Christ (Colossians. 3:16) is the supreme authority within the church. When believers act and speak IN ACCORD with His Word, they can do so knowing that Jesus stands in agreement with them.
Verses 24-29 tells us Jesus convinces the previously absent disciple, the skeptic Thomas.
“Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord. " So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. " And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. " And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Unless I see … I will not believe...
Thomas is an unbeliever who will not accept the valid testimony of others.
Do not be unbelieving, but believing...
Jesus explicitly repeats Thomas' demands back to him. This must have been very impressive to Thomas, and very convincing.
Do not be unbelieving, but believing...
Jesus also plainly commands him to cease his unbelief and to start believing
My Lord and my God...
Both Lord and God were titles of deity, and Thomas boldly and explicitly assigns these titles to Jesus. Jesus accepts these titles, and did not tell Thomas, "Do NOT call Me that."
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed...
There is a SPECIAL promise blessing given to those who believe. The faith of Thomas is the climax of the book: Jesus has triumphed over sickness, sin, evil men, death and sorrow; now He conquers unbelief.
Thomas is a good example in many ways.
1. He refused to say he understood when he did not.
2. He refused to pretend to believe when he did not.
3. And when he did understand and believe, he went all the way and properly called Jesus Lord and God.
Verses 30-31 tells us the SUMMARY statement of the book.
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
Jesus did many other signs...
John admits that he presents an incomplete collection, written for a purpose.
One collects everything possible about a dead prophet; it is all one has of him. But one only tells enough of a living person to introduce one's hearers to him.
John knows, trusts, and believes without waivering that a personal relationship with Jesus will reveal more to the believer.