Stop Doubting and Believe
John 20:1-31
Key verse 20:27
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."
In this chapter, the Apostle John presents us with solid reason to believe that Jesus, indeed, rose from the dead by providing his personal eyewitness testimony of what happened as well as that of Mary Magdalene and Thomas who met the risen Jesus. By believing in Jesus as the Christ who rose from the dead, we can have life in his name – we can have power through his Spirit to live a fruitful, full life with living hope in the kingdom of God.
I. Empty tomb (1-9)
1. Read verses 1-2.
ANSWER:
Jn 20:1-2 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 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!"
What happened early on the first day of the week? (1)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
“Jesus rose early on the first day of the week... ” (Mk 16:9). Therefore, the tomb was empty. All that remained were his burial clothes (Jn 20:5-7).
The entrance to the tomb was opened (Mk 16:3-4). An angel of the Lord had rolled back the stone (Mat 28:2). Why? God wanted the world to know of his Son’s resurrection and that the work of salvation was completed.
The stone probably weighed one to three tons and the effort of several men was required to move it.
The soldiers who were guarding the tomb had fled and had gone back to report what had happened (Mat 28:4,11).
Mary Magdalene and the others had left for the tomb “while it was still dark” (1) but, by the time of their arrival, it was “just after sunrise” (Mk 16:2). The tomb was now open, the guards were gone, and the tomb was empty.
Why did Mary Magdalene go to the tomb early in the morning? (Mk 16:1-2; Lk 24:1-2)
ANSWER:
Mar 16:1-2 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
Luk 24:1-2 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
Out of thankfulness and indebtedness to Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the other women wanted to honor their Lord who had loved and healed them (Luk 8:2-3). They wanted to anoint his body.
At the time Jesus was buried, the women didn’t have the chance to purchase spices with which they could anoint Jesus’ body (Mk 16:1). The markets were closed because, when Jesus was laid in the tomb, it was almost Friday evening, marking the start of the Sabbath (Mat 27:57; Jn 19:42). So, on Saturday night, when the Sabbath was over, the women bought spices. Then early the next morning (Sunday morning), while it was still dark, they made their way to the tomb (Jn 20:1; Mk 16:2).
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had already given Jesus a rich man’s burial (fulfilling Isa 53:9). Jesus was placed in the tomb that belonged to Joseph who was rich and was anointed with 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes (Jn 19:39) which was very expensive, probably worth thousands of dollars. Yet, since the Sabbath was about to begin, his burial was done in haste. So, the women may have wanted to more adequately honor Jesus.
To whom did she tell the news? (2)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:2 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!"
She told this to Simon Peter and “the one Jesus loved” (Apostle John). But we learn from Luk 24:9 that she actually reported this to the Eleven and others. Perhaps they were all gathered together (and hiding) in the upper room where they had the last supper with Jesus the night before (Luk 22:11-12).
Mary Magdalene seems to have concluded that somebody had broken into the tomb and stolen the body of her Lord. In verse 13, she repeats the same thing: “They have taken my Lord away and I don't know where they have put him.”
The angels inside the tomb had told the women, “He is not here; he has risen!” (Luk 24:6; Mk 16:6; Mat 28:6). So why didn’t Mary Magdalene remember that Jesus was risen? One way to explain this is that perhaps she did not actually enter the tomb but rather left the scene as soon as she saw that the stone was rolled back and went by herself to report the news to Peter and John.
It is significant that the first witnesses of the empty tomb were believing women. Among the Jews in that day, the testimony of women was not held in high regard. But these Christian women had a great testimony, for they knew that their Saviour was alive.
Mary Magdalene's faith was not extinguished; it was only eclipsed. The light was still there, but it was covered. Peter and John were in the same spiritual condition, but soon all three of them would move out of the shadows and into the light.
2. Read verses 3-9.
ANSWER:
Jn 20:3-9 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
How did the two disciples respond to the news? (3-8)
ANSWER:
They ran to the tomb (3). John outran peter and reached the tomb first (4).
This same account is found in Luk 24:12 which reads, “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Luk 24:24 indicates that Peter was not alone when he ran to the tomb: “Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said...”. So, now John is telling us that he was the companion who ran to the tomb with Peter. He informs us that he was also an eyewitness to this famous event (remember that John is writing 20 years or more after Luke’s Gospel was written when the content of that Gospel was probably well known among Christians).
John was cautious (out of respect for Jesus’ burial place?) and he did not immediately enter the tomb, but impetuous Peter just barged right in.
Why do you think the author described the scene in great detail? (5-8)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:5-8 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
John drew attention to the condition of the tomb, for it was the peculiarity of it that made John believe that Jesus had risen from the dead (8).
John contrasts his response to the evidence with Peter’s. Luk 24:12 says, “Peter...went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” John, however, “saw and believed” (8).
Condition of the tomb:
The strips of linen were lying there (6). Luk 24:12 also says, “...he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves...”
John did not see the 75 pounds of spices in the tomb. That’s probably because they were concealed in the folds of the linen.
With the presence of the spices in the folds of the linen, it would be almost impossible to unwrap a corpse without damaging the wrappings. This suggests that Jesus had simply passed through the linen clothes when he rose from the dead.
Also lying there was “the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head”. The cloth was “folded up by itself, separate from the linen” (7). Much dispute and difficulty surrounds the interpretation of these words.
The burial cloth was by itself apart from the linen in a different place in the tomb. Had Jesus simply passed through the cloth, leaving it undisturbed in its original spot, it would have been together with the linen, perhaps slightly separated by the length of Jesus’ neck.
The face cloth was also “folded up by itself”. This could mean that it was collapsed in the shape it had when it was wrapped around his head. But it could also mean that somebody (Jesus, angels?) had really folded it. The word translated as “folded” can also mean “wrapped together” or “rolled up”.
The fact that the strips of linen and the burial cloth were laying there so neatly was evidence that the body had not been stolen. Grave robbers do not carefully unwrap the corpse and then leave the grave clothes neatly behind.
John used three different Greek words for seeing:
John 20:5, the verb simply means "to glance in, to look in."
John 20:6, the word means "to look carefully, to observe."
The word "saw" in John 20:8 means "to perceive with intelligent comprehension."
Did they understand Jesus’ resurrection from Scripture? (9)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
No. (And Peter did not yet even believe that Jesus was risen, Luk 24:12.)
Until Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit in verse 22, their minds were closed to the Scriptures (Luk 24:45; Jn 2:22, 12:16). Only through the Spirit working through his word, can we believe and receive life (1Co 2:12, 14; Jn 6:63).
John had faith based on evidence. He could see the grave clothes; he knew that the body of Jesus was not there. However, as good as the evidence is to convince the mind, it can never change one’s life.
Those of us who live centuries later cannot examine the evidence, for the material evidence (the tomb, the grave clothes) is no longer there for us to inspect.
But we have the record in the Word of God (Jn 20:9) and that record is true (Jn 19:35; 21:24). In fact, it is faith in the Word that the Lord really wanted to cultivate in his disciples (Jn 2:22; 12:16; 14:26). The Word of God, not personal experiences, should be the basis for our faith (1Pe 1:12-21).
The Old Testament Scriptures concerning Jesus’ resurrection:
Isa 53:10-12.
Psa 2:7 (Acts 13:33)
Psa 16:8-11 (Acts 2:23-36)
Psa 110:1 (Acts 2:34-35)
We also understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead because of the verses which speak of his death (Isa 53:8-9; Dan 9:26; Psa 22:15) and the verses which speak of his eternal reign (1Chr 17:12; Dan 7:13-14; Isa 9:7). The Messiah cannot die and yet reign forever unless he is resurrected.
Jesus himself used the Prophet Jonah to illustrate his own death, burial, and resurrection (Mat 12:38-40; Jonah 1:17). Paul saw in the Feast of Firstfruits a picture of the Resurrection (Lev 23:9-14; 1Co 15:20-23).
II. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene (10-18)
3. Read verses 10-16.
Jn 20:10-16 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 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).
After the disciples went back, what did Mary do? (10-11)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:10-11 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb crying.
She grieved over the loss of Jesus whom she had loved and followed and to whom she was indebted for having cured her (Luk 8:2; Mk 16:9). She was even more grieved because now his body had vanished.
Mary still thought that Jesus was dead. Mary's weeping was the loud lamentation so characteristic of Jewish people when they express their sorrow.
Peter and John had gone back to their hiding place by the time Mary returned to the tomb, so they did not convey to her what conclusion they had reached from the evidence they had examined.
Who spoke to her first? (12-13)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:12-13 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."
Two angels in white spoke with her.
The presence and positions of the two angels were significant. They were seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot like the cherubim who were positioned at the two ends of the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (Exo 25:17-22). They signified that Jesus’ body had made atonement for the sins of the world.
The angels were there to announce to all who might visit the tomb that Jesus was risen. But Mary Magdalene responded to them as she would have responded to human beings. She seems to have been so filled with grief that she didn’t even recognize they were angels.
They addressed Mary as, “Woman,” a highly respectful and affectionate mode of address.
Why didn’t she recognize Jesus, even though he was standing there? (14-15)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:14-15 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."
Because of her grief (but perhaps also because Jesus did not resemble his appearance on the cross, the time when she last saw him).
How tragic that she was crying when she could have been praising, had she realized that her Lord was alive! Then he added, “Who is it you are looking for?”
It is encouraging for us to know that Jesus knows all about our sorrows. The Saviour knew that Mary's heart was broken and that her mind was confused. He did not rebuke her, tenderly, he revealed himself to her.
When did she recognize him? (16)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
As soon as Jesus said her name, “Mary.”
All Jesus had to do was to speak her name, and Mary immediately recognized him. Jesus’ sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (Jn 10:3).
Instantly, her sorrow and grief was swallowed up by surprise and joy.
All she could say was, “Rabboni”— my Master, my Teacher.
The title Rabboni is used in only one other place in the Gospels, Mar 10:51 (in that verse the word “rabbi” is really the Greek word, “rhabboni”). "Rabbi" and "Rabboni" were equivalent terms of respect. In later years, the Jews recognized three levels of teachers: Rab (the lowest), rabbi , and rabboni (the highest).
This was more than an honorific title: She considered herself to be a talmid (student) of her Rabboni who, like Mary of Bethany (Luk 10:39), sat at the Lord’s feet, receiving his teachings with pleasure.
This event, Jesus’ first appearance, is mentioned in Mar 16:9,“When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.” But Jesus also appeared to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in Mat 28:9, “Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.” So these verses must be describing the same event.
4. Read verses 17-18.
ANSWER:
Jn 20:17-18 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.'" 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.
Why did Jesus tell her not to hold on to him? (17)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:17 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.'"
Possible reasons:
She had a job to do – to go tell his brothers that he was alive and would ascend to the Father.
She would see him again anyways because there was still another forty days before he would ascend and return to his Father (Acts 1:3b). So, this was not her last and final meeting with her Lord. Jesus has, by virtue of his resurrection, entered into a new dimension of relationship with all of his followers, and it was now inappropriate that Mary should hold on to him.
He had a job to do – to appear to the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus (Luk 24:13) and counsel them.
Mary, according to Mat 28:9, “clasped his feet and worshiped him.” She was holding on to him because, now that she had found him, she did not want to lose him.
She and the other believers still had a great deal to learn about his new state of glory, they still wanted to relate to him as they had done during the years of his ministry before the cross.
What did he want her to do? (17)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:17 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.'"
He told her to go and tell his disciples the news that he was risen. In Mat 28:10, she was also instructed, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me”.
Now Jesus called his disciples “brothers”. Now his death and resurrection had taken away their sin which had obstructed them from receiving in themselves by the Spirit the full privileges of sonship (Heb 10:20; Gal 4:5).
They had been righteous by faith up to this time (Gen 15:6; Jn 15:3; Luk 19:9).
Jesus says “your Father” rather than “our Father”. Because of his very nature as the Son, Jesus called God “my Father”. But God is our Father by a different means – through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jesus speaks of his Father here as “my God” but, nevertheless, Jesus believed that he himself is God (see verse 29).
How did she become the first witness of Jesus’ resurrection? (18)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:18 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.
She was appointed by Jesus to go, tell his disciples the news. So, she went and did as he had instructed her and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”
It would have been selfish and disobedient for Mary to have clung to Jesus and kept him for herself.
Mark reports that the disciples were mourning and weeping - and that they would not believe her (Mk 16:9-11)! Mary herself had been weeping, and Jesus had turned her sorrow into joy. If they had believed, their sorrow would also have turned to joy.
Mary not only shared the fact of his resurrection and that she had seen him personally, but she also reported the words that he had spoken to her.
Jesus bestowed the honor to Mary Magdalene, rather than Peter or John, of being the first witness of his resurrection (Mk 16:9). He also blessed her to be an apostle to the apostles by entrusting her with the task of announcing to them the news that he was risen.
He honored her like this maybe because of how she had so earnestly sought him. She was at the cross while he was dying (Jn 19:25), and she went to his tomb early on Sunday morning (20:1). She had devoted herself to following Jesus and supporting his ministry out of her thankfulness for the grace she received (Luk 8:2-3; Mat 27:55-56; 1Co 15:10).
III. Jesus appears to his disciples (19-23)
5. Read verses 19-23.
ANSWER:
Jn 20:19-23 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 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."
When and how did Jesus appear to his disciples? (19)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:19 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!"
When:
On the evening of that Sunday when he rose from the dead, Jesus suddenly appeared to them. At that time, they were huddled together in fear behind locked doors, eating dinner (Mk 16:14). The two Emmaus disciples had showed up and were talking about how Jesus had appeared to them (Luk 24:35).
Sunday, the “Lord’s Day,” commemorates Christ’s finished work of redemption, the “new creation.” God the Father worked for six days and then rested (Gen 2:1-3); God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested.
There were at least four resurrection appearances of our Lord to his followers on that first day of the week:
Mary Magdalene (Jn 20:14-17; Mk 16:9; Mat 28:9-10).
The two Emmaus disciples (Luk 24:13-32)
Peter (1Co 15:5; Luk 24:34)
The ten disciples (Jn 20:19-25; Luk 24:36-44; Mk 16:14).
How:
As his resurrected body had somehow passed through the grave clothes and the rock walls of the tomb, so here Jesus mysteriously entered this room though its doors were locked. Nevertheless, his body was physical (Luk 24:39,42-43; Mat 28:9).
Why did he give them ‘peace’ first? (19)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:19 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!"
He said, “Peace be with you!,” because they had great need of peace: They were grieving the loss of their master, they were fearful of the Jews who might be seeking their life, and they were also startled and frightened by his sudden appearance, thinking he was a ghost (Luk 24:37). The fear of death ruled their hearts because of their unbelief (Heb 2:14-15).
It is well known that this was (and still is) the everyday greeting of Jews in Palestine—“Shalom to you!” But never had that word been so filled with meaning as when Jesus uttered it that evening. “Peace be with you!” is the counterpart to Jesus’ declaration on the cross, “It is finished!” (Jn 19:30). He came to administer to them inner, unshakable peace that the world cannot give (Jn 14:27) which he purchased on the cross by breathing onto them the Holy Spirit (22).
The work of the cross is peace (Rom 5:1; Eph 2:14-17), and the message they would carry would be the Gospel of peace (Rom 10:15).
Man had declared war on God (Psa 2:1-3; Acts 4:23-30), but God declares "Peace!" to those who believe.
Not only did Jesus come to them, but he reassured them and showed them his wounded hands and side and gave them opportunity to discover that it was indeed their Master, and that he was not a phantom (Luk 24:39-43).
Why were they overjoyed? (20)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Because they saw the Lord. Like Mary, their grief and fear was instantly turned into joy just as he had promised (16:20-22).
How did Jesus commission his disciples? (21)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
He told them, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Jesus commissioned them to the task of world evangelism. We are to take his place in this world (John 17:18). What a tremendous privilege and what a great responsibility! It is humbling to realize that he has sent us into the world just as the Father sent him.
Later, when he was about to ascend to heaven, he again reminded them of their commission to take the message to the whole world (Mat 28:18-20).
What did he do to equip them? (22-23)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:22-23 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."
He gave them the Holy Spirit.
John 20:22 reminds us of Gen 2:7 when God breathed life into the first man. In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for "breath" also means "spirit." The breath of God in the first creation meant physical life, and the breath of Jesus Christ in the new creation meant spiritual life.
The Holy Spirit teaches us from Scripture who Jesus is so that we may know God (1Jn 5:20; Jn 16:14; 1Co 2:12). So, it was on the evening of that Easter Sunday that their minds were opened by the Spirit whom they received to understand Jesus Christ from the Scripture. Luk 24:45 reads, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” Upon receiving the Spirit, Jesus could teach them and they could finally understand from Scripture why he had to rise from the dead (9; Luk 24:46-47; Jn 2:22, 12:16, 14:26).
Objection: Even though Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit on Easter Sunday it didn’t seem to make much of any difference in the lives of the disciples; in John 21 and Acts 1:6 they seem as blind and earthbound as before. But, we see the signs of a new, rock-like Peter arising in Acts 1:15-22 where he seems to have been stirred by the Spirit whom he received on Easter Sunday to rise and address the believers and he demonstrates insight and direction from Scripture through the Spirit.
Is there a distinction between this event and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2? Yes. On Easter Sunday, Jesus gave his disciples the breath of eternal life, the Holy Spirit, in fulfillment of Jn 14:17, 20, 7:39, 16:7, etc. But, at Pentecost, he gave them the baptism of the Spirit – an outpouring of the Spirit whom they already had in lesser measure – to empower them for mission work (Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4; Luk 24:49). Apart from the filling of the Spirit, they could not go forth to witness effectively.
The Holy Spirit is given to those who believe in Jesus and obey him (Jn 14:15-17, 21, 23, Acts 2:38, 5:32).
Jesus’ promise that we will “bear much fruit” and have life “to the full” are administered to us through the Spirit he gave us. All God’s children have the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:13, Ro 8:9) but the degree to which we have “streams of living water flowing from within us” (7:38) is another matter. Jesus calls us to come to him and drink and quench our thirst and be filled with his Spirit (Jn 7:37, 4:10; Eph 5:18; Luk 11:13).
IV. Jesus appears to Thomas (24-31)
6. Read verses 24-31.
ANSWER:
Jn 20:24-31 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." 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.
Why did the risen Jesus have to appear again to his disciples? (24-26)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:24-26 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!"
Because Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve stubbornly refused to believe the testimony of his brothers that Jesus was risen.
The verb “said” in verse 25 means that the disciples “kept saying to him” that they had seen the Lord Jesus Christ alive. No doubt the women and the Emmaus pilgrims also added their witness to this testimony. On the one hand, we admire Thomas for wanting personal experience; but on the other hand, we must fault him for laying down conditions for the Lord to meet.
Thomas' words “I will not believe it” help us to understand the difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, "I cannot believe! There are too many problems!" Unbelief says, “I will not believe unless you give me the evidence I ask for!” In fact, in the Greek text, there is a double negative: "I positively will not believe!"
How often have we refused to believe and insisted that God prove himself to us.
John 11:16 seems to indicate that Thomas was basically a courageous man, willing to go to Judea and die with the Lord! Jn 14:5 reveals that Thomas was a spiritual man who wanted to know the truth and was not ashamed to ask questions.
How did Jesus help Thomas to believe his resurrection? (27-29)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:27-29 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."
He appeared to him a week later. He said, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
The other ten men had told Thomas that they had seen the Lord's hands and side (v20), so Thomas made that the test. Jesus was not physically present in verse 25 but he knew what Thomas had said.
How gracious our Lord is to stoop to our level of experience in order to lift us where we ought to be. The Lord granted Thomas his request.
The physicality of Jesus’ risen body as described here refutes the Gnostic teaching that Jesus was spirit and did not take on a physical body which they considered to be evil.
Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” (28). Amazingly, he said that Jesus is God! To this, Jesus replied, “Because you have seen me, you have believed...” (29). The fact that Jesus accepted Thomas’ confession of himself as God without modification shows that Jesus considered himself to be God. This is an incontrovertible declaration of Jesus’ deity ranking second to John 1:1 as the clearest. Other declarations of his deity are Jn 10:30, Ro 9:5, Tit 2:13, 2Pe 1:1, Col 2:9, 1Jn 5:20, Php 2:6, etc.
Jesus told him, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”
It is not necessary to "see" Jesus Christ in order to believe. Yes, it was a blessing for the early Christians to see their Lord and know that he was alive; but that is not what saved them. They were saved, not by seeing, but by believing.
Why did the author write this gospel? (30-31)
ANSWER:
Jn 20:30-31 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.
John was selective in what he wrote. He presented these particular miraculous signs in this Gospel so that all might believe in Jesus and be saved.
The point of this Gospel is that it is through the word of God rather than through seeing miracles that we may receive life through his Spirit (Jn 6:63; Jas 1:8; 1Pe 1:23) You and I today cannot see Christ, nor can we see him perform the miracles (signs) that John wrote about in this book. But the record is there, and that is all that we need. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Rom 10:17).
As you read John's record, you come face to face with Jesus Christ, how he lived, what he said, and what he did. All of the evidence points to the conclusion that he is indeed God come in the flesh, the Saviour of the world.
This verse seems to state that, to be saved, a person needs to not only believe that Jesus is the Christ but also that he is God, the Son. But it is highly doubtful that Zacchaeus believed that Jesus was God and yet he was told in Luk 19:9 that he was saved.
Yet, John may have also written this to strengthen the faith of those who already believed in Jesus.
Many manuscripts read, “But these are written that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God...”
Perhaps John wrote this Gospel to strengthen the faith of believers so that they might not be led astray by false teachers. He states in 1Jn 2:26, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” In the late first century when the Gospel of John and the letter 1John was written, the church was threatened by Gnostic teachers.
If this Gospel was, indeed, written for believers also, it would explain why this Gospel appears to be written with the assumption that the readers are familiar with the synoptic Gospel accounts of Jesus. For example, it is assumed that the readers are familiar with the story of Mary when she is identified in 11:2 as the one who anointed Jesus' feet with oil.
“The door to such a grave weighed from one to three tons (.9 to 2.7 metric tons), hence the miracle of the stone being rolled away from Jesus’ tomb (Luke 24:1 John 20:1).” (J. D. Douglas, The Zondervan Bible Dictionary, entry: Tomb) “The rock hewn tombs in Palestine were usually closed by a circular stone, weighing several tons, and set in a slanting groove so that when the stone was released, it would by its own weight roll into place over the door. Very little strength would be required to close the door, but the united effort of several men would be necessary to open it.” (Merrill Chapin Tenney, John: the Gospel of belief: an analytic study of the text, Pg 280)
Verse 1 does not mention the other women but, in verse 2, Mary’s use of the word “we” indicates that she did not visit the tomb alone. This fits with what is stated in the synoptic Gospels (Luk 24:1,10; Mk 16:1; Mat 28:1)
But this “darkness” might allude to the spiritual condition of Mary.
Grave robberies were not uncommon as demonstrated by the charge made by the Jews against Jesus’ disciples in Mat 28:13. “The robbing of graves was a crime sufficiently common that the Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) eventually ordered capital punishment to be meted out to those convicted of destroying tombs, removing bodies or even displacing the sealing stones.” (D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, Pg 636)
Note 1: According to Mat 28:9, Jesus seems to have met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they hurried from the tomb to report the news to Peter and John. But in John 20, Jesus does not appear to Mary until her second visit to the tomb in verse 14. Also, in Luk 24:22-23 the women reported only of what the angels had said and spoke nothing of Jesus’ appearance to them. So, it is likely that Matthew’s account has compressed the narrative: The details of how Mary Magdalene told the news to Peter and John and then went back to the tomb were simply not included in the narrative. So, the incident in Mat 28:9 is probably the same as that in Jn 20:14. (Gospel writers used compression. See Jn 20:30 and compare Luk 24:40-53 with Acts 1:3b and compare Mat 21:19 with Mk 11:13-20. There are numerous other examples).
Note 2: According to Luk 24:10, Mary Magdalene was not alone when she told the news to Peter that the body was gone. But perhaps Luke is conflating the report of Mary Magdalene with that of the other women who came shortly after her and who had looked inside the tomb and saw the angels.
“But let not a single witness be credited, but three, or two at the least, and those such whose testimony is confirmed by their good lives. But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex.” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 4.8.15). Josephus claimed that this was what Moses’ law said, but it is more likely that he was giving the interpretation of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees in his day. And this seems to be the attitude of the disciples in Luk 24:11, “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” Carson writes, “...a woman’s evidence was not normally admissible in court (e.g. Mishnah Rosh ha-Shanah 1:8).” (D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, Pg 636)
entulissōto means, “roll up, wrap together” (Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament)
Again, it is inconceivable that Mary Magdalene was present in Mat 28:5-6 when the angel(s) announced that Jesus was risen, for the women were “filled with joy” (Mat 28:8) in response to that news.
“The term ‘to cry” (klaio) denotes the loud wailing typical of people in the ancient Near East” (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: John, Acts, Pg 188)
The word “homes” in the NIV for verse 10 is misleading. All the disciples (except for Judas) were Galileans and did not have homes in Jerusalem (Peter’s home, for example, was in Capernaum, Mat 8:14). Instead, they probably went back to their hiding place (see verse 19 and Luk 24:33). The word “homes” comes from pros autous meaning “to them” (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: John, Acts, Pg 188). Gill says concerning this verse, “The Syriac renders it, לדוכתהון, "to their own place", and so the Arabic and Persic versions; the place from whence they came, and where the rest were assembled together, to pray, converse, and consult together, what was to be done at this juncture.” (John Gill, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)
Luk 24:22-24 indicate that these two disciples had left for Emmaus before Mary Magdalene had reached the Eleven and the assembled believers with the news that Jesus had appeared to her.
Jesus is, of course, not telling her to go to his physical brothers (James, Joseph, Simon and Judas, Mat 13:55). This is made clear when, in the next verse, Mary goes to his “disciples” with the news.
But to observe or not observe Sunday as a special day is something we are free to do (Rom 14:5; Col 2:16).
"Thomas" is Aramaic, "Didymus" is Greek and they both mean "twin."
Source: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament, Pg 314.
Source: Warren W. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament, Pg 315.
The NIV text note beside the word “believe” in verse 31 reads, “Some manuscripts may continue to”. The text-critical note on verse 31 in the NET Bible reads, “A difficult textual variant is present at this point in the Greek text. Some mss (Ì66vid א* B Θ 0250 pc) read the present subjunctive πιστεύητε (pisteuhte) after ἵνα (Jina; thus NEB text, “that you may hold the faith”) while others (א2 A C D L W Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï) read the aorist subjunctive πιστεύσητε (pisteushte) after ἵνα (cf. NEB margin, “that you may come to believe”). As reflected by the renderings of the NEB text and margin, it is often assumed that the present tense would suggest ongoing belief (i.e., the Fourth Gospel primarily addressed those who already believed, and was intended to strengthen their faith), while the aorist tense would speak of coming to faith (i.e., John’s Gospel was primarily evangelistic in nature). Both textual variants enjoy significant ms support, although the present subjunctive has somewhat superior witnesses on its behalf. On internal grounds it is hard to decide which is more likely the original...”(Biblical Studies Press, New English Translation, 2006) “Manuscript testimony is rather equally divided between pisteuête (present subjunctive) and pisteuséte (aorist subjunctive), two forms of the verb “to believe” (GK 4409). The present yields, “that you may go on believing” indicating that the gospel was directed primarily to believers with the hope that their faith would grow and be strengthened; the aorist translates, “that you may come to believe,” in which case the target audience would be nonbelievers.” (Tremper Longman III, Luke---Acts)
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