John 20:24-29, Part 2

When Thomas had the irrefutable proof of the resurrected Christ right in front of Him, He immediately worshiped: “My Lord and my God!” This was not a casual, “OMG!” This was downright worship of Jesus as God. Notice that Jesus did NOT rebuke Him, but, in fact, accepted the worship. Had Jesus NOT been God the Son, this statement by Thomas would have been blasphemous. Jesus would have had to reprimand him. But instead, He received the worship due Him. Courson reminds us of three other instances in the Bible when people were admonished for worshiping anyone other than God. When Peter was worshiped by Cornelius, he immediately corrected him:

As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:25-26)

And when Paul and Barnabus were worshiped by a crowd in Lystra, they were greatly disturbed by it and vehemently rebuked the people:

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you." (Acts 14:11-15)

Even an angel will not accept worship. Twice, when John fell in worship before the angel who had been with him while John received the Revelation, the angel protested.

At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10)

And the second time:

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” (Revelation 22:8-9)

But Jesus received the worship from Thomas here in John 20, because He IS God the Son. He also received worship from Peter in Luke 5:9, and from the crowds on His entry to Jerusalem before His crucifixion in Luke 19:28-40. Had Jesus merely been a man, a son of God, He would have been committing blasphemy to receive any form of worship from other men. But because Jesus is not just THE Son of God, but also God the Son, Thomas was right to worship! And we should, too!

When people tell you that Jesus never claimed to be God, point them to Thomas! Not “doubting Thomas,” but “believing Thomas!”  

John 20:24-29

This morning, as I sat down to my study, I attempted to open my document that contains everything I’ve written so far this year on the Gospel of John - and it was gone! The entire file has vanished! Poof! Gone! I guess it was a good thing that Don subscribed to an online backup system just last week (they finished the complete backup of our computer just this past Sunday)! So, I imagine it’s there somewhere... Just a reminder that even though we lose everything we do, the Word of God does NOT fade away! He doesn’t need my help to accomplish His purposes! :)

This morning we are going to look at another flawed character of the New Testament. I think he probably ranks right up there with impulsive Peter and zealous Paul. His name has forever been linked to doubt: that’s right, doubting Thomas! And haven’t we all been just as defiant in our attitudes towards God at one time or another? Let’s see!

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!” 

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.” 

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!” 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.” 

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:24-29)

Jon Courson points out that, when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, Thomas missed the meeting! What conclusion can we draw about Thomas because he wasn’t in hiding behind locked doors with the others? Well, it’s possible that he was not afraid to be outside. In John 11:16, when Jesus announced he was heading to Jerusalem, Thomas boldly proposed, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” He was not a coward!

Maybe he was like “Lone Ranger” Christians, who think they can go it alone, and don’t need the fellowship of the church to worship God. Whatever the reason, Thomas posed a challenge to Jesus in declaring he would not believe unless he could also see and touch. So when Jesus appeared a week later, He spoke directly to Thomas’ doubts. In fact He challenges Thomas to “Stop doubting and believe.” It’s a choice!

Thomas made the choice - to worship! While Jesus commends his decision to believe after seeing, He nonetheless offers a mild rebuke when He tells Thomas that the ones who are truly blessed are those who believe BEFORE they see - that’s you and me! The world tells us, “Seeing is believing!” But Christ tells us, “Believing is seeing!” Believing is not a matter of having enough facts - although the evidence for Christ is overwhelming. Believing is an act of the will. It’s an act of obedience.

Perhaps you have not yet come to the place where you have committed yourself to Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. What is it that holds you back? You may be thinking, “Show me!” Jesus says, “Believe!” Just like Thomas, once you have made that decision to believe, you, too, will proclaim, “My Lord and my God!”

Tomorrow we will look at the implications of Thomas’ declaration. In the meantime, I’m going to try to track down the rest of this study... :)  

John 20:19-23

First, I wanted to give you a couple of updates on prayer requests. I spoke to Jodi yesterday, and while her lesions from the shingles are all gone, she still has pain, and apparently she has a form of shingles that basically lays dormant and then rears its ugly head unexpectedly. Please pray for relief from pain! She and Ed had a wonderful visit with their grandchildren (Justin’s family), and precious daughter-in-law, Stephanie. Jodi is resting up now, as she continues to regain strength. Then, continue to pray for Jacob, my former student, who goes in today for a CT scan and PET scan to see how the two rounds of chemo have affected the tumors. The scans will determine how to proceed with round three. Please pray for clear scans and complete healing!

In today’s portion of John’s gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples where they are hiding in fear:

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!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:19-23)

Note that it is still Sunday. Jesus did not keep them in suspense. And even though they were apparently in confusion, sorrow, and great fear - to the point that they had locked the doors - Jesus does not chide them for lack of faith. Instead He calms their fear, saying “Peace be with you!” After He proved His identity, by showing them the nail marks of the crucifixion, they were overjoyed!  I can imagine them whooping and hollering, laughing, crying, jumping up and down and hugging each other, for Jesus had to calm them down with another, “Peace be with you!”

Jesus commissioned them to reach out with the gospel message. They were being sent! And so, He breathes on them, giving them life through the Holy Spirit, even as we saw God breathe life into Adam in Genesis 2:7. Remember that John lproclaimed Jesus as Creator and Life Giver in the first verses of his gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. 

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4)

I read some other commentaries this morning on this act of breathing into them the Holy Spirit. Jon Courson says this is the point that the disciples were born again and others agree. One commentator said this was when the disciples received the life of the Holy Spirit, but Pentecost was when they received the power.

Then Jesus appears to give them the authority to forgive or withhold forgiveness. However, every commentary I looked at agreed with Jon Courson, that Mark 2:7 makes it clear that only God can forgive (this was one of Jesus’ claims to deity that so outraged the Jewish leaders). So what exactly does this mean? Well, all commentators I looked at believed that this was part of the commissioning to go out with the message of forgiveness. They were to assure people that forgiveness of sins was guaranteed to those who believed in Christ. The disciples were, and ALL of Christ’s followers are ambassadors to the world, who are to proclaim the message of reconciliation to God.

To those who feel completely unworthy, who feel they could never be forgiven, we need to proclaim that Jesus’ death on the cross completely paid the price for their sins IN FULL. And the Resurrection is proof that the sacrifice was fully accepted. This is SUCH good news to a dying world. We need to shout it from the rooftops! And we also need to appropriate it for ourselves. To be burdened with feelings of guilt and worthlessness is to deny what Christ accomplished. We’ve been given a terrific message of hope. We need to believe it, walk in it, and share it!
  

John 20:10-18

This morning we’ll look at the special encounter Mary Magdalene had with the risen Christ.

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 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 

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.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 

“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.” 

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” 

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). (John 20:10-16)

When Mary first arrived at the tomb, she was unconsolably weeping - so much so that she apparently wasn’t overly impressed by the appearance of angels. She was still focused on the loss of her Lord. And notice that she personalized her relationship with Jesus when she said, “They have taken my Lord away.”

 When she turned from the tomb, she saw Jesus, but did not recognize Him. Maybe having been looking into the dark tomb, then turning to the morning light behind Jesus temporarily limited her vision, or maybe her tears prevented her from seeing clearly. At any rate, she didn’t know it was Jesus - until He said her name! And that was all He said. And she knew instantly that it was her LORD! In John 10, when Jesus claimed to be the Good Shepherd, He said that He knew His sheep by name and that they knew His voice. When Mary heard Him say her name - and nothing more - she instantly knew.

What a precious moment between Mary and her LORD! He had chosen to appear to her first! She had waited at the tomb, while the disciples went back home. And He very tenderly rewarded her by gently saying her name! Oh, if we would just wait on the LORD to hear Him call our name! We are so busy rushing here and there - even to do His will - that we don’t stay still long enough to hear Him call our name. Each morning, as we read His Word, if we will just sit long enough to let it soak into us, we, too, will hear Him say our name as He applies the Scripture directly to our own lives and situations. He will personalize it for us so that we know without a doubt that He is speaking His Word directly to us!

After this encounter, Mary rushed to tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” (vs. 18) She was the first to give out the gospel message! When you have heard directly from the LORD through His Word, you can’t help but want to rush to tell others - to share what He has said to you.

Let’s remember that Jesus had released Mary from bondage to seven demons. She had been completely transformed by her Lord! She had experienced overflowing grace! She knew what it was to be cleansed and forgiven from the inside out. No wonder she was so devoted to Jesus! No wonder she ran to tell the good news! Shouldn’t we be like Mary?  

John 20:1-9 with Matthew 27:62-66

After Jesus’ death, Matthew records an interesting scene with the Pharisees, who pay Pilate a visit:

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. (Matthew 27:62-66)

Isn’t it interesting that the Jewish leaders were better “believers” here than the disciples? They remembered Jesus’ words about raising Himself up after three days - and here they actually apply it to His body instead of the Temple. Meanwhile, the disciples, had they truly believed Jesus, should have been camped outside the tomb to witness the event! Instead, it’s the Pharisees who insist on having a seal on the tomb along with a contingent of soldiers to secure it. This actually provided the evidence that Jesus had, indeed, been resurrected.

How many guards were actually dispatched? We don’t know for sure, but most agree that there were between 16 and 50 guards sent to protect the tomb from tampering. The tomb probably had a rope around the stone that was given the Roman seal of wax to keep anyone from messing with it. Had the disciples attempted to steal the body, even if all the guards were asleep, they would have surely awakened the guards with the noise required to break the seal, move the heavy stone with some kind of tool, then carry the body out. One thing everyone agreed on: the tomb was empty!

In John’s account, we see Mary Magdalene, who was completely devoted to Jesus, seeking to be with Him first thing in the morning, while it was still dark:

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. 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!” (John 20:1-2)

Now, Mary assumes someone else has taken the body, so she runs to get Peter and John. Even having seen the stone rolled away, she doesn’t get it yet!

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple 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. 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. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (vs. 3-9)

Jon Courson points out that the verbs which are used for “looked” and “saw” are different. When John looked in to see the linen strips, the verb is blepo, which means “to look at, to see visibly.” When Peter “saw” the strips, the verb is theoreo, meaning “to study more carefully” (it’s where we get out word “theory”). Then, when John “saw and believed”, the word for “saw” is eido, from which we get the word “idea.” (Courson, P. 594) It means that John got it. John saw the empty tomb and he believed. Now, he says that they still did not get how it all was prophesied in the Scripture and how it all tied in, but he knew Jesus was alive. So, verse 10, which follows, is pretty funny:

Then the disciples went back to their homes...

Huh? I’m thinking they needed to cogitate on what it all meant... But we are told that Mary lingered at the tomb. And because she did, she was the first to see the resurrected Christ! We’ll look at that precious encounter next!  

John 19:31-42

Proving the death of Jesus would be crucial to the power of the Resurrection. Had Christ not died, but merely passed out on the cross, then just woke up three days later, the sacrifice would not have been made and we would still be dead in our sin. So, these final verses in John 20 are crucial.

With the Sabbath approaching, the Jewish leaders wished to get finish this execution and have the bodies removed. So they asked that the legs of the thieves and Jesus be broken to hasten their deaths. With broken legs, they would be unable to push up to get a breath. The soldiers indeed broke the legs of the thieves, but not Jesus‘ legs:

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” (John 19:34-37)

Notice that John insists that this is a true testimony, his eyewitness testimony, given so that you may believe.

Then, two respected Jewish religious leaders, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, appeared, risking their status and reputations, to take care of the burial of Jesus. They wrapped Jesus’ body in linen and spices (weighing 75 pounds). They laid Him in a new tomb.

Jon Courson points out here that on the Jewish holy day - Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement - the high priest took off his priestly robes and put on a robe of linen (like the linen that wrapped Jesus) and went into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat. If the priest had gone in while defiled himself, he would instantly die, so he went in with a rope tied around his waist, so he could be pulled out if necessary! If he came out alive, then the people rejoiced, because they knew the sacrifice had been accepted and they were forgiven for another year.

Courson writes, “Here, our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, is inside the tomb. Would He emerge? Did the sacrifice work? Are we free? Only if He came out among the people as He had prophesied could there truly be celebration and could we know that our sins are forgiven - not just for one year, but forever.” (Courson, Application Commentary: New Testament, P. 590)

Tomorrow we will visit the tomb with Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John. I can’t wait!  

John 19:28-30 with Matthew 27:45-54

Jesus was born to die. He came to earth, Emmanuel, God with us, for the specific purpose of paying the price for our sin, so that we might be reconciled to the Father. Everything He said and did during His life here on Earth pointed to this one event. We’ll look at it with some help from Matthew:

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46)

Jon Courson reminds us that when Jesus “became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), the Father had to turn His back on the Son, because He could look on iniquity. At this point Jesus was completely alone. The atmosphere mirrored the judgment as darkness overtook the land. When Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He was not only expressing His agony, but He was, in mercy, pointing the people to Psalm 22, which begins with that cry, and which describes in detail the crucifixion, hundreds of years before it was a form of execution.  He was pointing to the fulfillment of that prophecy.

John tells us what happened at the end:

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)

 “It is finished.”

The significance of that statement is huge! The work of salvation was completed. The price for ALL our sin, past, present, and future was PAID IN FULL! There is nothing left to do - neither Jesus nor we can add anything to that work. The message of the good news is not DO, but DONE!

As proof that the sacrifice had satisfied the debt, Matthew tells us that the veil in the temple that separated the people from God in the Holy of Holies was ripped in two, from top to bottom! (Matthew 27:51) The way to God had been opened forever through Christ’s sacrifice. I love that Matthew gives the detail that the veil split from top to bottom, because it signifies that the work of salvation is God reaching down to us, not us trying to reach up to Him.

Matthew further tells us that there was an enormous earthquake that even opened up graves! (vs.46). It was enough to completely shake up one of the centurions standing guard at the cross:

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

To that I add, Hallelujah!