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| Chapter 20 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ On the first day of the week came Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher and saw the stone taken away from the sepulcher. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him!" 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. 4 And they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the sepulcher. 5 And stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen cloths lying, yet he went not in. 6 Then came Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher and saw the linen cloths as they lay 7 and the napkin that had been about His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came first to the sepulcher, went in also; and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11 ¶ But Mary stood outside at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher, 12 and saw two angels in white, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She said 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 around and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, "Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said unto her, "Mary!" She turned herself and said unto Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, "Master"). 17 Jesus said 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. 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 their midst and said unto them, "Peace be unto you." 20 And when He had so said, He showed 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 said unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit. 23 Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained." 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, "Unless 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 the disciples were again within, and Thomas was with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be unto you." 27 Then said 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 said unto him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." 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. |
The Sabbath day passes in silence in Jerusalem. The body of Christ remains in stillness in the tomb. The final test of who He is was about to be proved Matt 16:21 - the Resurrection. Was He Jesus of Nazareth the carpenters son, or the Messiah, the Son of God. Matt 27:62-66 tells us that the priests mounted a guard on the tomb to prevent people stealing the body and claiming a resurrection. v1 "The first day of the week" The day after the Sabbath, or the third day after the crucifixion. The Sunday. Several women came to the tomb that morning, Matt 28:1 but John only mentions and tells the story for Mary Magdalene. V2 indicates that she was not alone "we know not where they have laid Him!" The women had gone to the tomb to make the anointing of the body more permanent. Mark 16:1. "the stone taken away," access to the tomb would have been difficult for the women with the stone in place, with the stone gone there was the question of the body being missing. v2-4 Mary still treats Peter as the leader, even though he had denied Jesus. Peter and John, "the beloved disciple" run to the tomb. v5-7 John arrives first and looks in, only seeing the empty grave clothes. Peter, with his usual boldness, goes straight into the tomb, he sees the linen clothes which had been wrapped round the body laying out as if the body had just disappeared from inside them, not in an heap as you would expect if the body had been carried off, in addition the head napkin was carefully folded separately. v8 John enters looks round and believes. No comment is made as to whether Peter understands or not. v9 The disciples had not apparently received any instruction from Jesus on His coming resurrection. They had heard Him prophecy of resurrection Mark 9:10 but did not understand. v10 The disciples then seemed to just return to their homes. v11,12 Mary remains outside the tomb crying, for some reason she looks into the tomb again. She sees something that the disciples had not seen, two angels sitting where the head and feet of the body had been. In Luke 24:22,23 we are told other women also saw the angels. v13,14 Seeing angels would normally have made Mary excited but she was so sad, all she wanted to know was where the body of Jesus was. She did not see the man standing by her, she thought he was a gardener. v15 Jesus speaks to her, still she does not recognize Him, ‘find the body’ was her only aim in life at that time. v16,17 Suddenly she hears her name spoken in a familiar voice, she bursts out "Master" Suddenly her world had changed. She must have reached out to grasp the sacred body of Jesus, but Jesus stops her, there must have been something different about His body, it was now a glorified body, His relationship with Mary was changed. He referred to "My Father," a different relationship we have with the Father. Later Jesus does not stop the women touching Him Matt 28:9 and even invites Thomas to touch Him John 20:27. v18 Jesus has a task for her, "go and tell My brethren(brothers)," the closeness of relationship with the Son of God and His followers is still there. v19 The disciples were gathered together for their own safety, the Jewish leaders thought that they had destroyed the leader of this unwanted ‘teacher’ now destroy the followers. Jesus warned of this Matt 16:24; John 15:20. Jesus suddenly appears in the room, the text indicates that Jesus did not come in through the door, He had the power to de materialize his body. Luke 24:33ff. "Peace be unto you," to remove the fear that the disciples must have felt. Luke 24:37-43 Next He had to prove who He was by showing the nail wounds in His hands and feet. How happy they were. v21 He now prepares them for the task they are to take on. The plan of God the Father moves on. v22 Jesus gives them power to carry out the tasks, the full giving of the Holy Spirit will not occur until Pentecost. At this time they needed the necessary equipment and power for the task until Pentecost. v23 Christ gives authority to the disciples. v24,25 John mentions that Thomas was not present, but does not say why he was not with the disciples. Jesus had not made any remarks about Thomas not being present so we do not know why, perhaps he just wanted peace in his sadness. When Thomas returned later the disciples were full of Jesus appearing among them. Thomas demands that not only does he want to see the wounds he wants to touch them before he will believe. v26 A week later, the disciples are locked away as before but this time with Thomas. Again Jesus just appears, the same greeting of Peace is given. Jesus obviously knows what Thomas had said, He tells him to satisfy himself by putting his finger in the wounds. v28 Thomas does not need to do this, his doubts are gone, he makes a declaration of his faith "My Lord and my God!" he knows that he is in the presence of God. v29 The sight of Jesus was enough to satisfy Thomas and for him to believe, but Jesus now speaks of those who will not have this opportunity to physically see Him. Jesus gives a blessing on these millions of people who will believe just by the Word. 1 Peter 1:8. v30,31 John give the reason for his writing of the Gospel, he points out that he has only recorded a few of the signs and wonders Jesus did. Sufficient evidence is given to allow a person to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and belief in Him will give eternal life. Because these verses seem an end to the Gospel some Bible experts wonder if the final section we call chapter 21 was written by John later or even not written by John, but there is no indication of this. |
Easy English Translation
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