TEACHING NOTES ‌ Introduction In the last session we covered the early morning events of resurrection Sunday. John and Peter have seen the empty tomb, but they did not see Jesus. Mary Magdalene is the first witness to the risen Jesus and is told to go tell the other disciples that she had seen the Lord. In this session, the story continues with events in the evening of resurrection Sunday. ‌ John’s Purpose of Jesus’ Appearances: John tells us about these appearances to show that Jesus kept His promises from earlier in this Gospel. Jesus said in John 14:18–19 “18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” And in John 16:22 “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” ‌ Jesus is also keeping His promise that He will give them the Holy Spirit in John 14:16–17 “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” ‌ Old Testament Background: Throughout the Gospel of John it is obvious that readers need to connect what Jesus is doing to passages from the Old Testament. The resurrection appearances are no different. What Jesus is going to say and do connects back to prophesies in the Old Testament about the new covenant. ‌ Isaiah 32:14–18 “14 For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; 15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. 18 My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” ‌ Jeremiah 31:31–34 “31 Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law [Torah] within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” ‌ Ezekiel 11:19–20 “19 And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” ‌ Joel 2:28–29 “28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” ‌ Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” ‌ John 20:19 ESV 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ‌ On the evening of that day = The resurrection happened “early, while it was still dark” (John 20:1). Now it is evening (dark) of that same day. Remember, in John’s Gospel darkness represents fear, doubt, unbelief, or evil. In this story, John will tell us that the disciples are afraid and confused. ‌ Where was Jesus from morning until evening? John tells us that Jesus was resurrected early on Sunday morning. Then Jesus appears to the disciples in the evening of that same day. Luke tells us where Jesus was during the day and what He was doing. Luke 24:13-35 tells us that during the daytime Jesus appeared to two disciples and walked with on the road to Emmaus. Once they arrived in the town they asked Jesus to stay with them because it was beginning to get dark. Jesus eats with them and reveals Himself, then vanished from the sight. Those two disciples then go to Jerusalem and find the disciples gathered in a locked room. John’s Gospel leaves out the daytime events and picks up the story in the evening. John 20:19-29 is John’s version of Luke 24:36-49. ‌ The first day of the week = John wants his readers to be clear that Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. Why? Because it explains to Jewish readers why the early Christians worshiped on Sunday rather than Saturday (Sabbath). ‌ The doors being locked = John wants us to know that there was no physical way to get into the room. Why? Because Jesus is going to appear in physical form while the doors are still locked. ‌ For fear of the Jews = The disciples are afraid that the Jewish leaders are looking for anyone who was a disciple of Jesus. Historically, there had been several people before Jesus who claimed to be Messiah and had followers. All of these “would-be Messiahs” were killed and their followers were either killed or fled to other countries. ‌ Jesus came and stood among them = Since the doors were locked, Jesus appeared among them without coming through the door. Apparently, His resurrected body is no bound to the laws of physics. This is a new kind of body that is still physical, but is not bound by physical limitations. ‌ Peace be with you = Why did Jesus say this? Because He just appeared out of nowhere in a locked room to a bunch of scared disciples. ‌ John 20:20–21 ESV 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 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ‌ He showed them his hands and side = Jesus is proving that it really is Him. Apparently, Jesus’ resurrected body still has the wounds from the crucifixion. ‌ The disciples were glad = The Greek word for “glad” here is chairo, which is the word for “joy” and “rejoice.” This fulfills Jesus’ promise in John 16:22 “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” ‌ I am sending you = This is the great commission in John’s Gospel. This was not new information for the disciples because Jesus has already told them in John 13:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” ‌ John 20:22–23 ESV 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” ‌ He breathed on them = When God created Adam in Genesis 2:7 we’re told “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” In Old Testament Hebrew, the word for breath and spirit is the same word (ruah). The Spirit is what gives life to the body. In Ezekiel 37:9 God tells the prophet “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” The Spirit is also the source of resurrection. The Old Testament ends with prophesies that God would pour out His Spirit on all people (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 36:27; Joel 2:28-29; Zech. 12:10). In New Testament Greek, the word for spirit is pneuma and is also the word from breath. Jesus alludes to this wind/Spirit connection in John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” ‌ Receive the Holy Spirit = The first indication that the Spirit would be given is in John 3:34 “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” Because Jesus is sending the disciples into the world on a mission, they will need the power and inspiration of the Spirit. See John 16:7-15 for Jesus’ explanation of what the Spirit will do for the disciples. ‌ If you forgive sins = This is a highly debated verse and has been for many centuries of Christianity. In the Catholic church, it is taught that the priest and the pope has the power and authority to give or withhold God’s forgiveness to others. However, the Catholic view did not exist early, but is a much later invention. In the Greek text, the phrase “they are forgiven them” and “it is withheld” is in the divine passive voice, which means that forgiveness is given or withheld by God, not the disciples. The most common sense interpretation is that the disciple will be spreading the Gospel of forgiveness found in Jesus alone. The Spirit in them would be giving them the message and drawing the listeners. In that sense, the disciples are responsible for offering forgiveness to the world. But only those who believe and repent are given forgiveness from God. Those who reject the Gospel are rejecting the Spirit of God and are not forgiven. ‌ This is also connected to Matthew 16:19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The early Christians taught that both Matt. 16:19 and John 20:23 refer to the authority of the apostles to declare who is part of the church family and who is not. Only those who have repented and declared allegiance to Jesus were welcomed into the church family. Those who rejected the Gospel were not welcomed into the church. And those who were not being faithful to Jesus and refused to repent were put out of the church family until they repented. ‌ John 20:24–25 ESV 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” ‌ Thomas the Twin = Thomas is te’om in Hebrew and te’oma’ in Aramaic, which both mean “twin.” The Greek Thomas and Didymos also means “twin.” There are several views on why Thomas was called the Twin. Some believe that Thomas was the twin brother of one of the other disciples, possibly Judas or James. Others believe that Thomas was called the Twin because he looked like Jesus. ‌ Unless I see, I will never believe = This is ironic because in John 11 Thomas is the only brave disciple who is willing to go with Jesus back to Judea. Now Thomas is the one who is doubting the resurrection. John is the only Gospel author that tells this story about Thomas. In the other Gospels, Thomas is only mentioned in the lists of the disciples. John wants to connect this event as another instance of the theme of light and darkness, which is connected to sight and blindness. ‌ John 20:26 ESV 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ‌ Eight days later = Thomas goes eight days without see the risen Jesus. ‌ Thomas was with them = Thomas was not with the other disciples on resurrection Sunday when they saw the risen Jesus. But this time Thomas is in the room. ‌ The doors were locked = Again, John points out to the reader that the doors were locked and Jesus could not have come through the door. ‌ John 20:27–29 ESV 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ‌ Do not disbelieve, but believe = The Greek phrase is more like, “Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” While Thomas’ statement earlier “Unless I see I will never believe” seems negative, Jesus graciously grants that request. ‌ My Lord and my God! = Throughout John’s Gospel Jesus is called Son of God, the Christ, the Lamb of God, Lord, Savior, etc. But here Jesus is called God. ‌ Blessed are those who believe without seeing = Jesus is referring to all those who would believe the Gospel message in the future. Jesus is referring to us today who believe without seeing these events ourselves. ‌ John’s First Ending John 20:30-31 reads like a summary statement or conclusion to the book. Some have even called it the first ending of John. However, there is another chapter in John and even a second ending to the book. Both endings are very similar and contain the same ideas. The second ending also includes a statement by a “we” who claims, “we know that his testimony is true.” ‌ John 20:30–31 ESV 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ‌ Jesus did many other signs = John is clear that his Gospel does not include everything that Jesus did and said. In fact, none of the Gospels record everything Jesus did and said. The Gospels are the highlight reels of Jesus’ ministry. ‌ These are written = John’s Gospel is a collection of specifically chosen actions and teachings of Jesus. This means that John (through inspiration of the Spirit) has chosen these specific stories to make specific points. ‌ That you may believe = John makes his agenda clear. He wants the reader to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. This is not referring to simply a mental agreement. “Believe” or “have faith” in the Bible is about loyalty or allegiance. To have faith in Jesus is to be faithful to Jesus. ‌ By believing = Notice the present tense here. The Greek verb is pisteuontes, which is present tense and active voice. This means that “by believing” could be translated “by faithfulness.” ‌ Life in his name = From Gen. 2:7 it is the Spirit which makes a person alive, which is why the New Testament refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2, 10-11; 2 Cor. 3:6; Rev. 22:17). John’s Gospel uses “life” in the sense of eternal life (John 1:4; 3:15-16, 36; 4:14; 5:21, 24, 26, 39-40; 6:27, 33-40, 47, 63; 10:10, 28; 11:25). The word “life” appears 47 times in John’s Gospel. ‌‌ Homework: Read John 21:1-14.