The Gospel of John - part 43
The Resurrection and Truth
preached October 13, 2019
John 20 recounts the appearance of Jesus after His resurrection. As with much of John’s Gospel, his account is unique in that he includes details not found in the Synoptics while omitting theirs. Throughout the chapter John also includes subtle (some not as subtle) details that provide the defense for the truth of the Resurrection. Today, as we read through John’s version, I would like to pull out these details while also making note of John’s unique eye-witness account. All of these details, and the story as a whole, culminates with John 20:
The Empty Tomb
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.
John 20:1-10
Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb first and tells the disciples. The disciples then run to the tomb to see for themselves.
Mary’s testimony is evidence of its truth, because if the story were made up, having anyone else see the Risen Lord first would give the story more credibility in the first century world.
The significance of this detail is that the first century world did not accept the testimony of women in court. Though several women can all testify the same, the fact that Jesus first appears to women points to the accuracy of the Gospel story. Had the disciples fabricated the events, as often they have been accused, it would make more sense for them to be the ones to find the empty tomb. In fact, it is quite interesting that Mary Magdalene happens to be the first considering she does not feature that prominently in the four Gospels. She is mentioned as one who ministered to Jesus and one who Jesus healed, but her lasting legacy is the fact that Jesus first appears to her. The legends that crop up surrounding Mary, including the modern versions, all stem from this fact.
Couldn’t someone have just stolen Jesus’ body?
Two reasons for ‘No’:
The stone is removed. Take note which verb John uses to describe the stone. The ESV translates it as “removed”. When the stone is put in place, it is “rolled” into its place. Keep in mind the stone is a giant disc shape that would be placed in a groove along the entrance and rolled in front of the opening. The women were concerned with how to roll it away because it would be so large. However, they find the stone ‘removed’, meaning it may not have just been rolled to the side, but altogether removed from the groove. Some commentators believe the stone may have been violently removed based on the change in verb, but the significance is that the stone is not in its place. Grave robbers would be more careful to cover their tracks.
The burial cloths remain behind folded. John describes the two disciples running to see the tomb find the burial cloths still inside folded up. Grave robbers typically aren’t so neat. In addition, the myrrh used in burial acted as a glue with the linen. Chrysostom described the bond as “not less firmly than lead.” Had Jesus’ body been stolen, the thieves would have more likely taken the whole thing than take the time to separate burial linen from the body.
The folded burial linens remove the possibility of someone stealing Jesus’ body.
The Appearance to Mary
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
John 20:11-18
Mary is once again at the tomb crying over the loss of the body. She had hoped to give Jesus a proper burial, but that is not going to happen. Two angels appear and ask why she is crying. As she explains her plight, it appears they make some motion behind her, because she turns and sees Jesus. Now, at first she isn’t sure who it is. Each of the Gospels have a similar story where a person does not recognize Jesus at first. Apparently, there was something about the Risen Lord’s body that made Him difficult to recognize.
It is at the moment Jesus calls her name she recognizes the Lord. It is reminiscent of John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they know me.”
Jesus makes Himself known to those who ask.
Verse 17 has been traditionally translated as “Don’t touch me”, but it could also be “Don’t cling to me”. The point of Jesus is not that her touching is somehow going to defile Him, after all she has most probably rushed to Him. Likewise, Matthew shares when the four women see Him, they clasp His feet and worship. Instead, He is probably simply saying, “I won’t be with you long.” The relationship between the disciples and Jesus has shifted. Instead of walking alongside them physically, Jesus will ascend to the Father and send the Holy Spirit. They will experience Christ as we experience Him today. It is an interesting thought to reflect how they experienced a face-to-face relationship that turned spiritual, while our hope and faith is that our spiritual relationship will one day turn face-to-face.
We experience the Risen Lord in spirit, but one day in sight.
She is charged with telling the others that He is alive. Again, the significance of this detail should not be overlooked. The least reliable witness by the popular standards is the first to see Jesus. She is a woman, and at one time she was possessed by demons. It is reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.” Most would think giving Mary the most important announcement in human history would be foolish, and yet God does just that to shame those who think more highly of themselves than they ought.
We must take the signs we are given rather than expect to dictate terms to God.
The Appearance to the Ten
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.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 20:19-23
There are two counters to the Resurrection story that can be addressed together:
1) Couldn’t Jesus just have been a ghost? 2) What if He didn’t actually die?
Now, the second question was answered last week. Jesus did, in fact, die on the cross. The most significant evidence being the fact that Roman soldiers were carrying out the sentence. They were professional executioners, so no, they are not going to slack on their job. They had no motivation to, and had they, they could just as easily been executed themselves.
However, here we read that Jesus offered His hands and side to demonstrate where the wounds were. The wounds were fatal wounds, so He was certainly dead, and as far as being a ghost, simply look at what He does in their midst.
To better see the scenario, it helps to compare the story with Luke. Turn with me to Luke 24:36-43:
We see two things John left out:
Jesus ate with the disciples. Ghosts don’t eat…unless you’re playing Pac-Man, but even then not really.
Notice the disciples are afraid at first, because they do think they are seeing a ghost. The door is locked and Jesus appears suddenly. He greets them with “Peace to you” which is the typical greeting—“Shalom”. Shalom means ‘peace’. So, in essence, Jesus pops in and says ‘hi’. Seeing that they piddled their tunics, He offers them His hands and side to prove that He is risen, just as they were told by Mary and the others.
Jesus rose physically, not merely spiritually.
The Question of the Holy Spirit
Before we return back to John, look down at verse 49. In Luke Jesus promises the Holy Spirit who is given at Pentecost in Luke’s follow-up book of Acts. Returning to John we see in verse 22 that Jesus breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The question is, “Which is correct?" The answer is ‘both’.
We have a few options to attempt to harmonize the accounts. The first is to say Luke is right, or the second to say John is right. The third is to take into account first century storytelling techniques. For Luke, he is concerned with the order of events and “making an orderly account” as he states. He is the doctor of the group, and thus, has the more scientific/analytical mind. Most modern minds are very comfortable reading Luke, because he has this style. For John, he is concerned with the theology behind the story and uses his creative mind to construct the order of events to make his point.
John wants us to know two things about Jesus:
He is King of All
He had to be lifted up so that we can receive the Holy Spirt and eternal life
The overarching point John has been driving at for his entire Gospel is that Jesus is King, and He has been lifted up through His death and Resurrection. Second, we must be born again by receiving the Holy Spirit which can only occur, because Jesus has been glorified by the Father through His accomplished mission of Atonement. Now, with these points in mind, let’s turn back to John 3.
Verse 3 states how to enter the Kingdom of God, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Verse 5 explains how to be born again, “Unless one is born of water and Spirit”—and we know that ‘Spirit’ refers to the Holy Spirit.
Verse 13 states the problem for humanity, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.” All are lost because no one has been born again—at least at the time of Christ’s ministry.
Verse 14-16 states what the Mission of Christ is—“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” The Son of Man must be lifted up.
Now, with all that in mind, I ask you this question—“When was Jesus lifted up?”
Was it on the cross?
Was it coming out of the tomb?
Was it at the Ascension?
I would argue the answer is all of these. Jesus was lifted on the cross in fulfillment of the Atonement. He was lifted out of the tomb in fulfillment of prophecy. He was lifted up to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father to be our intercessor. There was a process of ‘lifted up’ which all glorified Him.
Consider this illustration: When do you become ‘married’? Is a couple married when they exchange vows? What about when they exchange rings? Is it when the pastor pronounces them married? Or perhaps it is at the wedding night? If it is just one of these moments, then what does that say about the rest? No, the wedding is a series of events, and ‘marriage’ is a process. A couple is ‘married’ when all these factors occur together. Similarly, Jesus was ‘lifted up’ through the series of events.
With that said, we can now return to the question of “When did the disciples receive the Holy Spirit?” I would argue it is much like today. It was a process. John includes the moment Jesus breathed on the disciples in order to demonstrate that we receive the Holy Spirit through Christ. Notice, John does not include the Ascension Luke describes in Acts and only summarizes in his Gospel. They are both literary decisions that serve a theological purpose. However, if we want to harmonize the events, we can simply include Jesus breathing on the disciples to teach and demonstrate, as well as actually making available, the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind, John has already included Jesus teaching that He must go in order for the Spirit to come (John 16:7). Later, as Luke writes, Jesus ascends to heaven after telling them to wait in Jerusalem. Then, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes in power sparking the birth of the Church.
For Christians today, the process is somewhat similar. Now, at the moment you are saved, you receive the Holy Spirit. He creates a new heart and you become a new creation. However, salvation is a process. You are saved from hell, but in time, you are saved from sin. The more we listen to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him to transform us from dead sinners to living saints, we are ‘being saved’. Finally, at the moment we enter heaven, whether in death or at Jesus’ return, we are saved from sin’s influence altogether. For the disciples, they received the Holy Spirit and new life from Christ, but they received power to begin the Church at Pentecost after Jesus had left them and been fully glorified.
The Holy Spirit first gives us life, then He gives us power.
Once again, eternal life is available to those who believe in the Son of Man. John 20:22 demonstrates the Holy Spirit and eternal life comes from the Son of Man. It is a physical act to demonstrate a spiritual truth. Consider two more verses that would be in the minds of John’s Jewish readers:
Gen 2:7, “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.”
Life comes from God. As it was in the beginning, so it is now, eternal life comes from God.
Ezekiel 37:9-10, “Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, form the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
(Translation note: ruach is the Hebrew word used for ‘breath’, which can also be ‘spirit’ or ‘wind’, so depending on how the context is depends on which is used.)
Ezekiel breathes life into the dead army, but only because the Sovereign LORD makes it happen. Jesus is breathing life into the disciples, though it will be at Pentecost they receive power from on high, as He tells them in Luke’s account.
John 20:22 demonstrates the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son and Father.
The Appearance to Thomas
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 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.”
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.” 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.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.
John 20:24-31
The final section of this chapter is perhaps one of the best known stories from the Gospels. Thomas has missed the preceding events, and when told about the events, he gives what really is a reasonable answer: “Unless I see it for myself, I will never believe.” How many people have uttered these words? How many of us know family and friends who refuse to believe in the Risen Lord, because they want more proof? Eight days pass, and then Jesus enters the room, again it is a mystery how, because the door is locked. Without any prompting, Jesus goes directly to Thomas and tells him to place his finger in His hands and side.
“Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
What powerful words and powerful demonstration of Truth! To which, Thomas can only reply, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus counts those who do not get to see His hands and feet but still believe as blessed.
Thomas’ transformation illustrates our final piece of evidence for why you, too, can believe in the Resurrection of Christ.
The transformation of the disciples from scared, scattered weaklings to bold, united Apostles demonstrates the reality of the Resurrection.
Had the disciples not seen the Risen Lord, they would have no reason to begin the Christian religion. They were Jews to begin with, and Judaism was still the prevailing religion of the area. It would remain a force in the region until the fall of the Temple in 70 AD. Even after they began what became the Christian Church, they would all go to their deaths as martyrs except for John who would be exiled to Patmos. At no point in their lives was there any political, economic, or social reason to proclaim the Resurrected Christ. Their only motivation was the Truth and the salvation of their fellow Man.
John completes this chapter simply stating that Jesus did many other things in front of His disciples, but John writes these things so you also may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in His name.
The evidence has been placed before you. I cannot make you believe, but I pray you do. I pray you have life in the name of Christ, because you believe!