Day 2189 – The Gospel of John – 41 – Reactions to the Resurrection – Daily Wisdom

Welcome to Day 2189 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 41 – Reactions to the Resurrection – Daily Wisdom
Putnam Church Message – 01/01/2023
The Gospel of John – Part 5: Vindication of the Word – Reactions to the Resurrected Lord
Today is a new year, a new beginning as we continue our series on the Good News according to John the Apostle. Before we started our Advent series, we celebrated resurrection day when the disciples found the tomb of Jesus empty.

January 1st is a perfect day to begin the final three messages from John. It was a new beginning for all the followers of Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Today, we will examine the Reactions to the Resurrected Lord. Our scripture for today is John 20:11-31. I will back up and include verse 10 in our last message. Follow along as I read, starting with verse 10.

 Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb  and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Welcome to Day 2189 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
The Gospel of John – 41 – Reactions to the Resurrection – Daily Wisdom
Putnam Church Message – 01/01/2023
The Gospel of John – Part 5: Vindication of the Word – Reactions to the Resurrected Lord
Today is a new year, a new beginning as we continue our series on the Good News according to John the Apostle. Before we started our Advent series, we celebrated resurrection day when the disciples found the tomb of Jesus empty.

January 1st is a perfect day to begin the final three messages from John. It was a new beginning for all the followers of Christ. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Today, we will examine the Reactions to the Resurrected Lord. Our scripture for today is John 20:11-31. I will back up and include verse 10 in our last message. Follow along as I read, starting with verse 10.

 Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb  and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John’s account of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection is written from a unique perspective, that of a man nearing the end of life. Younger people typically swaddle their fear of death and nothingness in convenient delusions or distract themselves with compelling diversions. But as we grow older and stand close enough to the threshold of death /to peer into the potential abyss of eternity, we may seriously question what we truly believe. So, as John approached this ultimate moment of truth, he cast an earnest look over his shoulder and called to all of us who inevitably follow him, “Believe!” His Good News’s sole concern is “that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).

As John nears the end of his narrative, he presents four encounters with the risen Christ, each highlighting a crisis in belief:

Peter and John (20:1–10)
Mary Magdalene (20:11–18)
Disciples (20:19–23)
Thomas (20:24–29)


We have already examined the first; three remain.

20:11–14

The combined Gospel accounts show the followers of Jesus in a state of chaos on the morning of His resurrection. They scrambled around, piecing together random bits of information, trying to make sense of what one had seen and another had heard. Peter and John probably returned to their respective homes, reasonably sure that Jesus had risen from the dead. At some point, Jesus appeared to Peter in Luke 24:34, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter,” but determining when is tricky. The angels had already sent the other women on their mission (Matt. 28:5–8; Mark 16:6–8; Luke 24:5–9). Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene returned to the empty tomb, perhaps after telling other disciples the same news, and then sat down, weeping. As she peered into the burial cave and studied the hollow cocoon of linen and resin, two angels asked, “Why are you crying?” They knew Mary had cause only for rejoicing, if she understood the truth. The question engaged her in a dialogue that would help her understand. She quite naturally thought someone had moved the body of Jesus. But, ironically, Jesus was standing right behind her in plain sight.

Mary turned from the tomb to notice someone standing nearby and addressed a man she assumed to be the gardener or caretaker with a short glance.

 

20:15–18

Jesus repeated the angels’ question—“Why are you crying?”—presumably for the same reason. But she failed to recognize Him, either by sight or sound. Some have suggested Jesus had altered His appearance or Mary’s eyes were prevented from recognizing Him (cf. Luke 24:16), but this is doubtful given the context. She immediately recognized Him when He called her name as if to seize her attention. More likely, a combination of factors prevented her from seeing the Lord. Jesus looked very different from His last moments on the cross, and He was the last person Mary expected to see alive. Moreover, the phrase “she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus” suggests she initially glanced toward who she logically thought was the “gardener” and then spoke to Him while turned away.

Mary’s request for the body of Jesus was probably made in the same spirit as Joseph and Nicodemus's (John 19:38). She wanted nothing more than to bury her Master with dignity and then put the pieces of her life back together. When Jesus called her name, Mary turned to look at Jesus—really look at Him—and accepted the fact of His resurrection.

The meaning of Jesus’ gentle reproof is not immediately obvious, mainly because older translations have created undue confusion. The old King James Version, “Touch Me not,” was not helpful. The NIV more accurately renders the command, “Do not hold on to me.” Mary was so overwhelmed with relief, supposing she had her Lord back in the same manner as before, that she embraced Him and held on as though letting go would cause her to lose Him again.

Jesus reassured Mary that she would see Him again, as He had not yet ascended to the Father. He instructed her to give the same message to His other followers. However, His message confirmed two truths. First, His physical presence on earth was temporary; before long, He would ascend to take His place in glory. Second, His relationship with His followers would then change. Mary’s physical clinging would have to give way to another kind of bond, a relationship of faith.

Reduced to its bare essence, Jesus’ admonition consists of three imperative verbs and commands. “Do not hold…go…tell…” (20:17). Her immediate response to His command is obedience. She did exactly as she was told.

20:19–20

Before the day of Jesus’ resurrection had ended, His followers began congregating in what was probably a familiar meeting place, as described in Luke 24:33, “They said to each other, ‘Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’ And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them.” The doors were closed and locked in anticipation of persecution from the temple leaders.

 

Despite the locked doors, Jesus suddenly appeared among the congregation of followers. Luke tells us that His appearance was so mysterious by conventional means that the disciples thought Him a ghost; nevertheless, He possessed flesh and bones that could be sensed by touch (Luke 24:37–39). He greeted the frightened followers by reminding them of the “peace” He had promised earlier (John 14:27).

John includes this detail to illustrate for the first time in his narrative the different nature of Christ’s resurrected body. Lazarus had been revived from death and restored to good health, but he lived with the same limitations, suffered illness and injury, and eventually died again. The resurrection of Jesus was fundamentally and profoundly different. It was, in fact, superior. His resurrection body, while still completely human, possessed supernatural qualities. He was raised to a new kind of life, never to die again. We will be cloaked in this same type of resurrected body at the end of the age.

Apparently, the disciples were slow to accept what they saw as the authentic presence of their risen Master. John’s description applies to the whole group, which included a broad spectrum of responses. Peter and John were likely present and had already accepted the reality of Christ’s resurrection; nevertheless, the group was slow to believe. Unlike Mary, who embraced Christ almost immediately, the followers needed more evidence.

Luke 24:35-43 

Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.  And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?  Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.  Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish,  and he ate it as they watched.

This increased need for objective proof, by the way, is a pattern in this segment of John’s narrative.

20:21–22

Once the disciples’ joy replaced their fear—which fulfilled the Lord’s promise in the upper room (14:27)—He recommissioned them to fulfill God’s great plan of redemption (17:18). Jesus then reaffirmed His earlier promise of the Holy Spirit (14:26; 15:26; 16:13; see also Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 37:14; Joel 2:28–32). He illustrated His promise of the coming Holy Spirit by breathing on the disciples, recalling the act of creation (Gen. 2:7) and Old Testament image of dry skeletons becoming live people again (Ezek. 37). This was either a brief foretaste of Pentecost (Acts 2) or merely a symbolic gesture.

20:23

Entire books have been written on this verse, and its parallels, Matthew 16:19 and 18:18. Some expositors claim these verses grant apostolic authority to be Christ’s proxy on earth. Moreover, these same expositors claim this apostolic authority has been passed on to succeeding generations to this very day (Catholic tradition) men from whom the forgiveness of heaven may be sought, usually in return for acts of penance.

Indeed, the apostles were granted authority—the same authority given to all believers, all redeemed men and women who carry the Holy Spirit within them. The Lord commissioned and empowered believers to proclaim His message of forgiveness. The phrase rendered “their sins are forgiven” in the NIV is in the passive voice and perfect tense, describing an action already taken by God (known to scholars as the “divine passive”) that has lasting results. God has already forgiven the sins of believers. If “any” responds with belief to the disciples’ proclamation of the gospel, the disciples have the authority to pronounce them forgiven.

This is consistent with how Jesus saw His ministry. While He both healed and forgave specific individuals, He said it was their faith that saved them, healed them, or made them whole (John 5:24, also Matt. 9:29; 15:28; Mark 5:34; 10:52; Luke 7:50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42). And while His presence became a moment of moral crisis for some, it was their unbelief that condemned them (John 3:18–19; 5:22; 9:39–41).

20:24–25

Thomas was absent when Jesus visited His followers huddled in their secret room. Sometime after Jesus’ crucifixion, he may have returned to his home in Galilee. Upon his return to Jerusalem, he heard stories of Jesus’ resurrection from the other followers; however, he refused to believe their testimony—including that of Peter and John! This has earned Thomas the nickname “doubting,” but it’s more accurate to call him pessimistic or melancholy—or better still, reflective. The only recorded statements of Thomas reveal a gloomy, pitiful outlook:

“Let us also go, so that we may die with Him” (11:16).

“Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” (14:5).

Thomas wanted concrete proof, not to satisfy his doubt, but to overcome his hopelessness. So he said, in effect, “Risen? This is too good to be true. I will not allow myself to hope until I can be sure my hope will not be dashed.”

20:26–29

Eight days after the Lord’s first visit to the disciples’ hideout, Jesus appeared as He had before and offered the same greeting, “Peace be with you.” He immediately gave attention to the neediest man in the room. I am comforted by the Lord’s gentle approach. While belief was the issue to be addressed with Thomas, Jesus knew the disciple’s trouble to be hopelessness—or perhaps tough-minded pragmatism—not obstinate unwillingness to believe. Even though Thomas’s statement was obvious hyperbole, the Lord offered Thomas the reassurance he wanted. His gentle rebuke said, “It’s okay to place complete confidence in Me; I won’t let you down. I am here, I am real, and I won’t abandon you.”

Thomas didn’t need to touch the Lord’s wounds. And his confession is a pinnacle moment in John’s narrative: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus affirmed the disciple’s confession of faith and then responded with a blessing on all those who had accepted the truth of His resurrection because of faith in God’s promises rather than physical evidence. This blessing on the faith of past believers suggests a similar blessing on the generations of future believers.

20:30–31

John has illustrated four different faith responses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In each encounter, the subjects considered the evidence and then chose whether or not to believe. With each passing episode, the tension between tangible evidence and belief increased as each subject required more proof than the last. Finally, Jesus blessed all those who believe without concrete proof. And with that, John turns to us, the reader.

Jesus performed “signs,” (miracles) that convinced reasonable men and women that Jesus is the Christ, the hope of eternal life for all people. “These” things were written so that we might believe and enter that eternal life. Dying people aren’t interested in opinions. So matters of belief become critically important, for death renders all truth undeniable, yet without second chances.

Application: John 20:11–31

Responding to the Risen Lord

In chapter 20, John describes people's responses to evidence of Jesus’ resurrection. They generally reacted in one of four ways:

Some believed with indirect evidence. They responded to the initial report with curiosity, and when they viewed the empty tomb and saw the hollow grave wrappings, they knew He had risen (20:1–10). (Peter & John)
Some believed with direct evidence. They were either confused or doubtful until they saw the risen Lord with their eyes (20:11–18). (Mary Magdalene)
Some were slow to believe with direct evidence. They initially responded to the Lord’s presence with fear and slowly accepted His resurrection’s reality (20:19–23, 26–28). (some disciples, including Thomas)
Some believed without...