The Risen Lord

John 20
 

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 

3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 

4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 

5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 

7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 

8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 

9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 

10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 

13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 

15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). 

17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to 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 to 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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 

20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 

23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 

27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 

29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 

31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

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The scriptures in the KJV say that Jesus was in the heart of the earth for three days and nights.

Matt 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
 

The Apostles Creed says, “He descended into hell”.

“Hell” is not a good translation, because at this moment there is no one in hell.
Hell is really “Gehenna”, the final place of torment. It is reserved for the antichrist, the False prophet and eventually Satan himself.

The translation “hell” in the KJV is Greek “Hades” or in Hebrew, “Sheol”. Hades or Sheol is divided into two compartments. Upper and lower Hades.
“Abraham’s Bosom”, refers to the upper part of Hades.

The lower part of Hades is an awaiting place of judgement.
 
Before the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, Hades is where the souls of those who died went on death. The body went to the grave. Those who died in faith went to Abraham’s Bosom and those that died in unbelief went to the awaiting place of judgement (Lower Hades).
 

In Luke 16:19–31, Jesus relates a story about “Hell”.
This is the only “Parable” where Jesus uses real names. Lazarus and Dives.
The traditional name Dives is not actually a name, but instead a word for "rich man", dives, in the text of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate.

Luk 16:22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 

The story relates something about Hell/Hades/Sheol.
There are two places.
 

Luk 16:23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 

Between the place where the rich man was, (Lower Hades) and the place where Lazarus was, (Abraham’s Bosom) there was a gulf.

Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

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When Jesus died, we are told in 1 Peter 3:9 By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison.
 

Which means that when Jesus died,  He went to Hades to release the captives.
Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise”.
 

When Jesus died, He went and removed Paradise, (Abraham’s Bosom), from Upper Hades to heaven.

The Resurrection.

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 

Jesus rose from the dead, early Sunday morning. If He was dead for three days. He must have died on Thursday afternoon.
The Jewish day begins at sundown and ends late afternoon. So day one began Thursday/Friday. Day two,  Friday/Saturday and day three, Saturday/Sunday.

When Mary arrived at the tomb, Jesus had already risen.

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 
 

Mary believed His body had been taken.
Even though this account only mentions Mary, other texts say there were three women. This is verified by the word “We”. “we do not know where they have laid Him." 

3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 

4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 

The other disciple referred to here, was John himself. Just in the same way, he did not name himself when saying, “the one that Jesus loved”. He only referred to himself as “the other disciple”.
John was the youngest of the Apostles and so this is why he was able to outrun Peter.

5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 

John didn’t go into the tomb but saw the grave clothes. Peter as always, the most impulsive, went right in.

7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 

8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 

 

The stone had been laid in front of the tomb and it had been guarded, yet here was a napkin, folded. By whom?
Seeing this, the text says: “and he saw and believed”.

 

The Greek word for “saw” is Eidos, which has the meaning “to understand, to perceive the significance of”.

There was no body and the face cloth was neatly folded. Jesus must have risen.

 

9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 

The other disciples believed, only after knowing that Jesus had risen. Thomas only believed after touching the risen Jesus.
John believed because he saw the tomb was empty.
Notice: The text does not say that Peter believed at that moment.

The resurrection is a most important part of our belief. For it shows that Jesus is divine and that because He died and rose again, we too, one day will be raised with Him.

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 

Jesus Himself said:

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

 

10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.

Mary still hadn’t grasped what had happened. She looked into the tomb and saw two angels. John and Peter didn’t see the angels when they looked in.
 

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 

12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 
 

Interesting, we noticed earlier how Jesus was placed in the centre.
The two angels were at each end of where Jesus had lain.

 

In Greek, the term for “Mercy seat” is “hilasterion” and that is precisely the term that Paul uses in Romans 3:25. That which makes expiation or propitiation.

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (hilastērion) through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Hilastērion (specifically) the lid of the Ark (in the Temple): - mercyseat, propitiation.

By means of the crucifixion of Jesus, God has provided the “Mercy seat”, once and for all.
One can trust, (have faith) that an atonement has been made.
At each end of the Mercy seat were two angel beings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ark of the covenant, the chest containing the two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, was the most sacred object of the tabernacle and later in the temple in Jerusalem, where it was placed in an inner area called the Holy of Holies. Also within the ark were the golden pot of manna, such as was provided by God in the wilderness wanderings (Exodus 16:4) and Aaron’s almond rod (Numbers 17:1-13). On top of the ark was a lid called the mercy seat on which rested the cloud or visible symbol of the divine presence. Here God was seated, and from this place He dispensed mercy to man when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled there.

 

13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 

 

Mary still thought that someone had stolen His body.
 

14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 
 

Was it the grief tear ridden eyes that stopped her from seeing Jesus. Remember, later on, Jesus walks on the road to Emmaus and Cleopas and his companion didn’t recognise Him either. So maybe His appearance had changed, maybe due to the beatings and the fact that they tore out His beard.

The prophecy in Isaiah tells us:

Isa 50:6  I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 

 

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). 

 

Could it have been the way He said her name?

 

17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' " 

KJV says, “Touch Me not”. It appears that Jesus could be saying, do not try to keep Me here, admonishing her not to detain Him because He would see her and the disciples again.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. 

Jesus appears to His 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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 

20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 

This was evidence to them of the reality of Jesus resurrection.
Twice He says “Peace to you”.
These are the disciples that abandoned Him, yet here He was, greeting them with comforting peace.

Spurgeon Quote:
“Our Master came to His cowardly, faithless disciples and stood in the midst of them, uttering the cheerful salutation, Peace be unto you. My soul, why should He not come to thee, though thou be the most unworthy of all, whom He has bought with His blood?
End of Quote.

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 

 

This was Jesus commission, even though He knew they were weak and fearful, He gave them this task, to go into the world and continue His work.
In their own strength, they could not accomplish the task but when they received the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit dwelt in them and when later, they would receive the promise of the Father of the Holy Spirit coming on them giving them the power to be witnesses, they would have the means to fulfil the task.
 

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 

In the same way that God breathed life into an inanimate piece of clay, that was Adam and he became a living being.
So Christ breathed new life into the disciples and they were born again.

Becoming new creations in Christ.

2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

 

John 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 
 

This does not mean that the Apostles had the power to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins.
However, they could pronounce that God forgives sins.

 

24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 

Each of us must see the Lord for ourselves. Each of us must express our personal faith in the risen Christ.
Thomas was told by the others, “we have seen the Lord” but Thomas, not being there, did not believe.
 

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 

 

Eight days later, Jesus appeared again in their midst.
 

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 

Jesus addresses Thomas personally.

27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 

None of us can believe on behalf of another, so how much we would like to.
We can tell them about Jesus. We can tell them what He has done for us and that He is risen but the decision must come from them. It is a personal encounter with Jesus.

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 

Thomas’s unbelief was turned to belief and he acknowledged Jesus as Lord, accepting the truth that Jesus is deity,
Jesus graciously allowed Thomas the proof he needed to believe but then said:
 

29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

 

We do not need to see proof of the fact of Jesus death and resurrection for we have believed the testimony of those who saw Him and touched Him.
“The just shall live by faith”.

The purpose of this book.
 

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 

31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Thankfully, the Bible contains a clear definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
 

Simply put, the biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”

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