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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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GOSPEL OF JOHN Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert C. Jesus’ Resurrection and
Appearances [26 - (Jn 20:1‑31)] 1. The
Meaning of the Resurrection a) The
resurrection proved that Jesus was the “Christ” and His atonement was
accepted by the Father (1Co 15:17). b) The resurrection proved that Jesus was the
“Son of God: (Ro 1:4). c) The resurrection proved that believers
will also experience bodily resurrection (1Co 15:12). d) Therefore, the resurrection is part of the
Gospel (1Co 15:1‑4). e) The resurrection was witnessed by many
people, especially Jesus’ disciples 2. Initial
Responses of the Disciples (1‑10) a) Mary
Magdalene (1) John
focused on the account of May Magdalene. This was not because Mary was to be
the church’s leader (the popular sentiment today, and pointedly inconsistent with
John’s gospel), but a women that had been personally healed by Jesus (Mt
16:9) and became a beloved follower of Jesus, (2) Mary apparently ran ahead of the other
women and saw that the stone had been rolled away. Supposing someone had
moved Jesus’ body (Jn 20:13, 15), she immediately ran back to tell the
disciples what had happened. b) Peter and
John (1) Upon
hearing the news from Mary and the other women (Lk 25:9‑11), Peter and
John ran to the tomb. Being younger than Peter, John was the first to arrive
and look into the empty tomb. John uses several Greek words to explain the
disciple’s initial understanding. (a) In Jn
20:5, John saw the empty tomb first and merely made a “general observation” (blepō). (b) In Jn 20:6, Peter “gazed” (theōreō)
at the empty tomb as if trying to piece together what happened. Perhaps Peter
was sorting out why the grave clothes were lying there if someone had taken
the body (7). (c) Jn 20:8 John went back for a second look
and this time he “saw and perceived” (horaō) and therefore
believed that Christ’s body was not stolen but had been raised from the dead
(8). The grave clothes were no longer wrapped around Jesus, unlike Lazarus
who had to be unbound. (2) Even
though John saw and believed, John’s faith was in the empty tomb, but not in
Jesus’ words or the Scriptures. Apparently, the other disciples did not
believe at all. Only John believed without having first seen the resurrected
Christ. 3. 12 Post‑Resurrection
Appearances a) Mary Magdalene (Mk 16:9; Jn 20:11-18) (1) Mary
Magdalene went back to the empty tomb because she was still concerned about
the whereabouts of Jesus’ body. When she looked in the tomb she saw two
angels sitting aside of Jesus’ grave clothes. They questioned her as to why
she was weeping. Her reply was that Jesus’ body had been taken. (2) However, standing behind Mary was Jesus,
though she did not recognize Him until He said her name and apparently opened
her understanding (cp. Lk 24:45). (3) When Mary recognized the Lord she called
Him "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher), which showed the true
relationship she had with Jesus. She began clinging to Jesus as though He had
returned again to stay. Jesus literally said, “Stop clinging to me” because
He had not come to stay but would eventually ascend to the Father’s right
hand and begin His heavenly ministries. However, He did tell her to go and
tell the other disciples that he was ascending to His Father and theirs. Mary
obeyed and went to the disciples. b) The Other Women (Mt 28:8-10) c) Disciples traveling to Emmaus (Lk
24:13-32; Mk 16:12‑13) d) Peter (Lk 24:33-35 cp. 1Co 15:5a) e) The Other Disciples (Mk 16:14; Lk
24:36‑43; Jn 20:19-25) (1) The
disciples were fearful of the Pharisees who would at least bring excommunication
if not persecution. They were gathered together behind locked doors when
Jesus came and stood in their midst. Whether Jesus went through the doors or
appeared instantly we are not sure, but He greeted the frightened fishermen
with, “Peace be with you.” (2) They evidently did not believe right away
because He had to show them the scars on His hands and feet. Finally, they
believed and rejoiced. (3) Jesus then commissioned the disciples to go
even as the Father had commissioned the Son to preach the Gospel. In
addition, He breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit in a
temporary filling until the Day of Pentecost. (4) With that, He proclaimed to them that their
word would be authoritative for the church. When they communicated the Gospel
and truth, they communicated the correct gospel and truth. When someone
believed in their gospel, they would have remission of sins. Otherwise, they
were still in their sins. (5) Thomas was not with them when Jesus
appeared to them. When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen the Lord,
He replied with a skepticism that would not change unless He himself
witnessed the resurrected Christ. f) Thomas (Jn 20:26-31) (1) The next
Sunday, eight days (Jewish sunsets began a new day), Jesus appeared to the disciples
while Thomas was with them. He once again stood in their midst and said,
“Peace be with you.” He immediately said to Thomas, reach your hand and touch
my scars and commanded him to stop continuing in unbelief but believe. (2) Thomas’ response was perhaps the best thus
far. He called Jesus His “Lord and God.” It was a bold declaration of the Son
of God’s deity. If it were not a true statement, Jesus would have had to
rebuke Thomas for heresy. (3) Instead, Jesus replied that those who will
not get a chance to see what Thomas saw, but believed, would be blessed. They
would have to believe on the testimony of the apostles and the Scriptures. (4) John gave the purpose for the book and the
reason why he included only certain signs that Jesus performed. John does not
include several of the events that the other gospel writers included. He does
not include the earthquake as the stone was being rolled away or that the
guards were frightened (Mt 28:2‑4). He does not include the witness of
the other women (Mk 16:1) disciples on Emmaus Road (Lk
24:13-32; Mk 16:12‑13), or the account of the guards (Mt 28:11‑15).
What he does include specifically demonstrates His purpose for writing, which
was that Jesus was the Christ and the Son of God (20:31). By trusting in the
Person and Work of Christ, a sinner will have forgiveness of sins and eternal
life. g) Jesus’ Disciples by the sea (Jn
21:1-25) h) Jesus’ Disciples in Galilee (Mt 28:16-20) i) 500 brethren (1Co 15:6) j) James, his brother (1Co 15:7) k) Jesus’ Disciples in Jerusalem (Ac 1:3-9) l) Paul (1Co 15:8 cp. Ac 9:3‑6) |
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