•INTRODUCTION:
JOHN CHAPTER 20
JOHN CHAPTER 20
We have
sought answers to questions about the capture, trial, the scorn, humiliation
and beating and crucifixion of Jesus.
Although chapter 19 graphically showed us the savagery of man it also
should us the love of one man Jesus the son of man who was and is the
sacrificial Lamb of God.
In chapter 20 we will learn study the resurrection of Jesus, and
His appearance to the disciples.
•THE EMPTY GRAVE
•1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, *while it was still dark, *and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
•The
Sabbath (and in this year the Passover) would have lasted from 6:00 p.m. Friday
until 6:00 p.m. Saturday.
•The first
day of the week would then be Sunday
•Unlike
the synoptic gospels John does not mention the other women.
•Mary
appears to be the leader of the women; and
she was the focus of Johns attention this probably is why John only
mentioned her (V2)
•Jesus
made 7 evil *spirits leave her. She became his loyal *follower.
•She was
probably the leader of the group of women who traveled with Jesus and his
*disciples
•It perhaps is more plausible the
women traveled to the grave site in small groups rather than one large group
•Mary saw the tomb had been opened
and jumped to a logical conclusion.
•Someone must have robbed the
grave and took the body of Jesus
•Mary did not investigate any
further and immediately ran off to find Peter and the beloved disciple.
• 2 So *she ran *and came to Simon Peter and 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.”
•Who was the other disciple?
•Most believe this disciple to be
John son of Zebedee (writer of the 4th gospel)
•We see the phrase “we do not
know” used here
•Indicating there were more than
Mary at the tomb, even though there is no mention of this by John
•Perhaps we can now know why Mary
Magdalena was the focus of John in this account.
•3 So Peter and the other disciple went fourth and the were going to the tomb.
•At this point we have concluded
the other disciple to be John (X JN 13:23)
•John does not mention whether or
not Mary accompanied Peter and John back to the tomb
•Verse 4 states “they set out”
which could have easily included Mary with Peter and John
4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking *in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.
•John a faster runner that Peter
arrived at the tomb first.
•It is believed John was younger
than Peter, as he lived into the reign of Domitian
• The tomb opening was not large
in most cased 3 feet in height
•We know this because John had to
stoop or bend down to look inside the tomb
•John saw the wrappings
•Because wrappings is plural I
believe it to mean the burial face cloth as well (see also JN 19:40)
•The tomb opening may have faced
East to allow early morning sunlight to illuminate the tomb
•6 And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb: *and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 *and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
•Peter being impetuous by nature
did not hesitate to crawl into the tomb
•Note here how the face cloth was
rolled up neatly
•Why was the face cloth separate
from the body wrap, and why so neatly placed on the slab
•“Much
dispute and difficulty surrounds the translation of these words.
•Basically
the issue concerns the positioning of the grave clothes as seen by Peter and
the other disciple when they entered the tomb.
•Some have
sought to prove that when the disciples saw the grave clothes they were
arranged just as they were when around the body, so that when the resurrection
took place the resurrected body of Jesus passed through them without
rearranging or disturbing them.
•In this
case the reference to the soudavrion being rolled up does not refer to its being folded, but
collapsed in the shape it had when wrapped around the head.” [commentary – Bible.org]
•“Sometimes
in defense of this view metav (which normally means “with”) is said to mean “like” so
that the comparison with the other grave clothes does not involve the location
of the soudavrion but rather its condition (rolled up rather than flattened).
•This
would seem logical if we were to believe this cloth was used to tie the jaw
closed
•In spite
of the intriguing nature of such speculations, it seems more probable that the
phrase describing the soudavrion should be understood to mean it was separated from the other grave clothes
in a different place inside the tomb.” [Commentary – Bible.org]
•It is
also possible that angels were present at the resurrection and assisted Jesus
by clothing Him and arranging His garments in an act of servitude to the Son of
God
•We can safely assume that the
face cloth was part of the ritual burial garments because it is mentioned in
the resurrection of Lazarus
•Authorities on this subject
believe this cloth was wrapped around the chin and head of the diseased to keep
the jaw closed
•I believe these barrel clothes
were arranged by angels
•I arrive at this conclusion, not
because Jesus needed any help in the resurrection, but because was buried with
only loin cloth a body shroud and a cloth tied about His head and Jaw and yet
was seen by Mary to be clothed prior to His ascension to heaven
•This was an act of servitude by
the angels to their master, their God
•8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and saw and believed.
•The other disciple (believed to
be John the beloved) must have been fearful entering the tomb only after Peter
had entered
•Until he saw with his own eyes,
he was unwilling to believe Mary’s account of the empty tomb
•John always believed Jesus was of
God.
•He now witnessed that all that
Jesus had told him was true; for he now believed Jesus rose from the dead
•What was it about the scene which
led the Beloved Disciple to believe in the resurrection?
•Was it simply the presence of the
grave clothes combined with the absence of the body,
•or was it the shape and position
of the grave clothes as well, which suggested to the Beloved Disciple that a
resurrection had taken place?
•We know from verse 7 that the
cloth called soudavrion (face cloth) was separate from the linen shroud, and in
fact was not ever where Jesus’ head would have been
•It is likely the arrangement of
the grave clothes which led John to believe
•There was no mention here whether
or not Peter also believed in the resurrection.
•Could the arrangement of the
grave clothes have a theological meaning not yet seen?
•If we are to answer this question
we must first remember when Lazarus was raised from the dead he emerged from
the tomb in his grave clothes.
•Jesus left his worldly clothing
behind
• He had was redressed in heavenly
arraignment to ascend to the Father
•His garments where arranged and
left in the tomb as a sign of His resurrection (disciple examined the evidence
and he *believed).
• “Jesus’ *resurrection proved
that he was really God’s Son. He had defeated even death. For *Christians,
death is not the end, but the beginning of a new *life with God.” [commentary-Bible.org]
•9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
•It is evident from this verse
that neither Peter or John understood the OT pertaining to Jesus’ resurrection.
• Luke 24:25-27
establishes that only after the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to the
disciples did they come to understand the full significance of Christological
prophecies in the OT
•The resurrect may have been more
readily understood by the reference in Jonah 1:17 and Hos 6:2 because of the
mention of “the third day”. Beyond this it is not possible to be more specific.
•10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.
•“After entering the tomb and
seeing the grave clothes, both Peter and the Beloved Disciple left and went back to their homes. John
makes no comment on their state of mind at this point, but Luke mentions in the
parallel account (24:12) that Peter was “wondering at what had happened”.
Whether he had any discussion with the Beloved Disciple, who is said to have
“believed” in verse 8, is not recorded.”’ [commentary – Bible.org]
•11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;
•Mary returned to the tomb
sometime after Peter and John had entered to tomb and left for home.
•Mary was weeping which would have
been a traditionally an expression of her grief.
•It is the practice of mourners in
the Near East to show their grief of a lost one by weeping loudly
•However I believe Mary’s grief
was worsened by her belief that Jesus’ body had been stolen.
•12 *and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
•Mary did only saw the angels not
the grave clothes.
•Whether or not the grave clothes
were still there can not be ascertained with certainty
•Peter or John could have removed
the grave clothes to keep as a religious artifact
•The appearance of the two angels
more likely would have caused her gaze to be upon them and nothing else.
•The angels seated at the foot and
head of the burial shelf beg the question as to why they were there.
•I believe it was to give to
resurrection message to Marry
•13 *And 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.”
•Notice here that Mary takes
possession of Jesus my say “My Lord” as apposed to what she said earlier “the
Lord”
•Mary must have been at the tomb
alone
•We can ascertain this by the use
of the Phrase “I do not know” as apposed to “we do not know”
•She explains her tears by stating
what she still believed
•Jesus had been taken away by
someone unknown to her.
•14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it way Jesus.
•Did Jesus look so different that
He was unrecognizable?
•Scripture does not tell us why
Mary did not recognize Jesus, just that she did not recognize Him.
•We could speculate that Mary did
not expect to see Jesus and therefore did no see Him or
•Perhaps because Jesus’ body was
glorified and Might have looked different.
•This is unlikely because in V15
Mary believes Jesus to be the gardener
•15 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, *she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
•Now Jesus asked Mary the same
question the angle ask her but added “whom are you seeking”
•Mary confused at this time drew
the wrong conclusion and thought that the person she was talking to carried
Jesus away
•It was not logical for Mary to
believe that a gardener
•would have or could have opened
the tomb and carried a body away
•Mary was understandably not
thinking clearly
•16 Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned *and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
•Mary evidently turned her gaze
back to the tomb and turned back to Jesus when He spoke saying her name
•Mary may not have recognized
Jesus physical appearance and only recognized Him when He spoke her name
•17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”
•Mary evidently recognizing Jesus
reached out and embraced Him.
•There is much speculation about
Jesus’ command “Stop clinging to Me.
•This command may have been given
to Mary because Jesus must felt an urgency to ascend to the Father to present
the shedding of His blood for the sins of believers.
•Mary was given a message to Jesus
to go to John (Jesus’ half brother mentioned in 2:12, 7:3, 7:5, and 7:10)
•Jesus entered
into a new dimension of relationship with all of his followers, and it is now
inappropriate that Mary should hold fast to him. Instead, Jesus has a mission
for Mary to perform: she is to go to
the other disciples and inform them that she has seen the risen Lord, and he is
ascending to the Father. probably refers here not just to the
half-brothers of Jesus mentioned in 2:12, 7:3, 7:5, and 7:10, but to all the
disciples. If Mary was supposed to go to Jesus’ literal brothers then we are
not told in verse 18 that she did so.
•
•"A Note on 20:17
• and the
Ascension: In what sense, however, can Jesus here speak
of the ascension in the present tense, since Luke records in Acts 1:3 that after forty days
of post-resurrection appearances Jesus was taken up out of the sight of his
followers by a cloud? P. Benoit made a useful distinction between the ascension
understood as the glorification of Jesus in the presence of the Father, and the
ascension understood as a levitation symbolizing the end of the appearances of
the resurrected Jesus to the disciples.167 As
we have pointed out many times before, in the Fourth Gospel the death,
resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus to the Father’s right hand are
all portrayed as a unit, often under the term “glorification.” This suggests that the•Evangelist is thinking of Jesus’
ascension here in 20:17 in the sense of glorification rather
than levitation. It
is a process begun on
the cross and culminating in
the presence of the Father. Such an emphasis neither precludes nor contradicts
the ascension recorded by Luke in Acts 1." [Bibe.Org]
•18 Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
•Now Mary probably returned to the
same place to look for the disciples
•Now we know from previous verses
that John the beloved and Peter went to their respective homes
•“We are not told in the Fourth
Gospel how the disciples responded to this announcement Mark 16:9-11 (in
the disputed longer ending of Mark) records that when Mary announced to the
disciples that she had seen the Lord, they refused to believe it. We may well
imagine that such a report would be greeted by extreme skepticism if not
outright disbelief.” [commentary – Bible.org]
•JESUS WITH HIS DISCIPLES
•19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst *and said to them, “Peace be with you
•This first appearance of Jesus to
His disciples happened on Sunday in the evening of resurrection day.
•Undoubtedly the word had spread
like wild fire of the resurrection of Jesus, and the disciples feared for their
own safety
•It is evident that the doors were
not just shut but locked as well, providing additional security.
•We can surmise because of
security concerns that any windows would have been secured as well
•Why does John place so much
significance on these security measures?
•Many think Jesus walked through
the walls or door
•The is no Scriptural evidence to
support this conjecture
•I believe He materialized
(appeared) before their eyes
•John wanted us to know; locked
doors or other obstacles‘ were no match for the power of the resurrected Christ
•20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side, The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
•Why did Jesus show His wounds to
His disciples?
•These wounds were shown as
irrefutable proof that the Man standing before them was the same Man who was
crucified three days earlier
•The disciples rejoiced when they
realized it was Jesus standing before them.
•They rejoiced not just from the
realization they had not lost Jesus but also they realized that this was the
fulfillment of what Jesus had told them (X John
16:20 , :22)
•21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I send you “.
•The term “Peace be with you” is a
common term used in the OT
•Jesus spoke this phrase once
again not so much as a greeting but rather to calm and reassure His disciples.
•Jesus adds His commission to them
“just as the Father has sent me, I also send
you.”
•We heard these words spoken in
chapter 17 verse 18 in Jesus prayer to the Father
•22 And when He had said this, He breathed *on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
•Just as God breathed the breath
of life into Adam Jesus who was instrumental in the original creative act, now
breathed on His disciples giving them a new eternal life made anew with the
Holy Spirit.
•There is also reference to Jesus
breathing on the dry bones and bringing them to life in Ezek 37:1-14
•what is the
relation of this incident in 20:22 to the account of the coming of the Holy
Spirit inActs 2?
•This was the giving of life itself, which flowed out from
within (cf. 7:38-39). The giving of power would
occur later, on the Day of Pentecost: power to witness and carry out the
mission the disciples had been given.
•23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
•This statement should not be
construed as the disciples being given the apostolic power to forgive sin. (X Matt 16:19 and Matt 18:18)
•Instead Jesus was giving them the
authority to act proclaim forgiveness in His name
•Sin can be forgiven only through
the blood of the Christ
•24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
•25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
•Thomas said he would die with
Jesus (X John
11:16 ) and yet refused to
believe what he was being told.
•The other
disciples must have told him that they saw the nail holes and the pierced side
believed.
•Thomas
not only did not believe them but would not even believe his own eyes and
needed also to touch the wounds
•26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
•Interesting to note that John
once again pointing out that Jesus stood in their midst even though the door
were shut (most likely locked as before)
•The only difference being that
this time Thomas was with them
•27 Then *He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into my side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
•Now none of the disciples had
told Jesus of Thomas’ skepticism.
•This is an example of a all
knowing Lord
•Jesus offered to Thomas that
which was not offered to the others
•Know Thomas’ heart Jesus told
Thomas to touch Him and satisfy his skepticism.
•28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
•This confession of belief in
Jesus by Thomas was a proclamation of his newly found faith in Christ
•He was no longer just a teacher
but for the first time Thomas proclaims Jesus as God!
•29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
•CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK OF JOHN
• We have had a
fascinating study of the book of John over the past year; and in conclusion we
look at the reasons why John wrote this gospel in the last two verses of
chapter 20. “30 Therefore many other sings
Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in
this book: 31 but these have been
written so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the
Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His
name.”
•CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
•During the course of this study I have used several sources:
•Scofield Bible commentaries
•Ryrie Bible commentaries
•The student Bible Dictionary – By
Karen Dockrey, Johnnie Godwin, Phyllis
Godwin and published by Barbour Publishing
•
