AM May 9th John 20

May 9^th              John 20                        (The Witness to the Resurrection)           The Lord is risen

1: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2: Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. 3: Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4: So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5: And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6: Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7: And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8: Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9: For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

The Lord appears to Mary

10: Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11: But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, 12: And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13: And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. 14: And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. 16: Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 17: Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. 18: Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

The Lord appears to the disciples

19: 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, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20: And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

The Lord appears to Thomas

24: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25: The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26: And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27: Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28: And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29: Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

D. The Epilogue                        The purpose of John’s Gospel

30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Mary Magdalene came very early before the sun was up to the tomb. When she saw the stone rolled away she ran to find Peter and John, and said they have taken away the Lord. Peter and John ran to the tomb to find it just as Mary had said. John arrived first but Peter following went right inside. They saw the clothes lying as if Jesus had disappeared from inside them. It was immediately apparent that a resurrection had taken place. If the body had been stolen the grave clothes would have been missing or scattered all on a mess on the floor. They didn’t know the scriptures about the resurrection yet so they had no revelation from the Lord to guide them. The Disciples went home but Mary stayed weeping in her bereavement. When she looked back into the tomb she saw two angels sitting at the ends of the shelf on which Jesus had been laid. The angels asked her why she was weeping. This encouraged her to talk about her grief. She said l am weeping because my Lord has been taken away and l do not know where they have buried him. Right at that moment she felt someone behind her and when she turned she saw Jesus but didn’t recognise him. He also asked why are you weeping. She thinking that he was the gardener said Sir if you have removed the body tell me where you have laid him out. Jesus just called her by her name. ‘Mary’, he said. And suddenly she knew it was Jesus. Nobody ever spoke to her like that except Jesus. She turned around and reached out for him. But he said don’t touch me just now because l have not ascended to my Father but go and tell my brethren that l am going to ascend unto my Father and Your Father and to my God and Your God. Mary went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. And she told them the things he had said to her. On that same day the First day of the week the disciples were holed up in a room because they were afraid of the Jews when suddenly Jesus appeared in the middle of them. And He said. Shalom to you. As my Father has sent me so l send you. And so began the ministry of the Apostles recorded by Luke in his narrative of the Acts of the Apostles. When he had said this he breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave the apostles judicial authority to forgive sins or to not forgive sins. At this time Thomas was not with them. When the disciples told him of this event he frankly didn’t believe them. Eight days later they were together again and Jesus appeared to them again this time Thomas was present. Jesus said to Thomas come and touch my hands and feel my side and stop doubting and believe. Thomas fell at Christ’s feet and called exclaimed My Lord and my God. John explains that there was much more that Jesus did that is not recorded in this book and that if everything was recorded then the world would be full of the books that could be written. But he says this book has been written so that the reader might believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God, and that in believing that you might have the life of God through his name.