John 20

John 20:1

Mary Magdalenethe woman who was last at the Cross because she loved the Lord deeplyhad been possessed by seven demons previously. But the Lord freed her, and from that time on, she followed Him with all of her heart. “I love them that love Me, and they that seek Me early shall find Me,” declares the Lord (see Pro_8:17). How are your morning devotions? Mary Magdalene is going to be the first one to see the Resurrected Jesus simply because she was at the tomb early in the morning. Peter the Activist, John the Mystic; Peter Impulsive, John Contemplative travel together in the Book of Acts. Others, no doubt hearing of Peter’s denial, looked down on Peter and distanced themselves from him. Not John. The “apostle of love” takes Peter into his home and into his heartnot knowing exactly how events would unfold. Praise the Lord for people like John, who, when folks flounder and falter, will take them in even before they know how the story’s going to conclude.

John 20:4

Nicknamed “The Giant” in church history, Peter was obviously a big manand perhaps that’s why John outran him. John was also younger. Called by Jesus when he was perhaps only seventeen years old, at this point, John was possibly only twenty.

John 20:5

John looks into the tomb but doesn’t rush in. Contemplators don’t.

John 20:6

This proves to me conclusively the Shroud of Turin is not authentic. Think of the pictures you’ve seen of the shroud. They always show the imprint of the crucified victim from head to toe. Here, the Scripture record says there was a napkina separate piece of cloth around the head. Thus, the shroud does not meet this particular criterion. As is His customnever in a hurry, never frustrated, but always moving at the right pacethe Prince of Peace folds the napkin carefully.

John 20:8

In verses Joh_20:5-6, and Joh_20:8, the word “saw” or “see” is used. First, John came to the tomb and saw the linen clothes lying. The word translated “saw” is blepo, meaning, “to look at, to see visibly.” In verse Joh_20:6, Peter saw the linen clothes lie, and the word used is theoreo, meaning, “to study more carefully,” and from which we get our word “theory.” Finally, in verse Joh_20:8, the word translated “saw” is eido, from which we get the word “idea"or “I get it.” I find it interesting that most of the time our faith progresses according to this pattern. First you’re exposed to some piece of information. You hear what the teacher is saying. Then you give it some more thought down the road. And finally comes that moment when you really get it. It’s not just a concept theologicallybut it becomes part of your life personally. But if you never hear the information, you’ll never be able to embrace it. And that is why you’ll never see the process unfold if you don’t come to the place where you can investigate the claims of Christ. So keep in the Word, gang. “But I’m not getting much out of it,” you say. You wait. Eventually, it will begin to stir something in your thinking, and finally it will become part of your being. Read your Bible. Stay in the Scriptures and see the process unfold for you even as it did for Peter and John.

John 20:9

They went their way wondering. Oh, they were believersbut their belief is not yet full-blossomed or fully comprehended.

John 20:11

The two angels, the blood-spattered mercy seat, the linen garmentsof course the picture is of the ark of the covenant.

John 20:13

Mary didn’t write a book entitled I Saw Angelsbecause when your passion is for the Person of Jesus Christ, you’re not caught up in other things, no matter how spectacular or supernatural. I have the word “my” circled. “He’s my Lord,” Mary said. “He is all that matters to me.”

John 20:14

Mary turned away from the angels. You and I would have stared at the angels, taken pictures of them, been all caught up in dialoguing with them. Not Mary. She was more concerned about what she thought was the dead corpse of Christ than the living presence of angels. Jesus comes through the unexpected person at the unexpected time in the unexpected place. The Lord will come to you through a brother or sister, through a family member or friend. But so often, like Mary’s, our eyes are so filled with tears that we don’t even recognize it’s the Lord speaking to us. “I will carry Him back,” said Mary because love bears all things (see 1Co_13:7).

John 20:16

Something in the way Jesus said her name caused Mary to recognize His voice (Joh_10:4). “Don’t cling to Me in the way you knew Me previously as a Teacher, a Rabbi, or a miracle Worker. I came to restore you to the Father eternally. And I am working on that restoration presently.” Earlier, Jesus said to His disciples, “I call you not servants, but friends” (Joh_15:15). Here, He takes it a step further. He calls them brothers. The Book of Hebrews says He is not ashamed to call us brothers as well (Heb_2:11). Amazing. “It is better that the words of the law be burned than to be entrusted to a woman,” taught the Rabbis. So what does Jesus do? He gives the gospel to a woman. Mary’s love for the Lord qualified her to be the first missionary with the full story. Finding Fulfillment in the Father A Topical Study of Joh_20:17 No doubt her eyes would often flame like firenot unlike the look in the eyes of Charles Manson when he was apprehended. Other times, her eyes must have been dark, dull, and dead. You see, according to Dr. Luke, Mary Magdalene had previously been possessed by seven devils (Luk_8:2). But when she encountered Jesus, she was freed from the demons that had dominated her. No wonder that from that point on, she loved Him deeply and followed Him radically.

Tradition says Mary is the woman spoken of not only in Luke 8, but also in Luke 7. You know the story. A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to his house for dinner. And as he sat at the head of the table with the other Pharisees listening to Jesus, skeptical about Jesus, a woman burst into the room and wept. The tears streaming down her face hit Jesus’ feet. And with her hair previously used to entice men, she wiped the feet of the Son of Man.

Observing the scene, Simon thought, If this man were truly a prophet, He would have known what kind of woman this is. Knowing Simon’s thoughts, Jesus said, “Simon, there were two men in debt to a creditor. One man owed five thousand dollars, the other owed five hundred dollars. But out of the goodness of his heart, the creditor said to both men, “Your debt is forgiven.” Which of these two debtors would love the creditor more?” “The one who was forgiven the larger amount,” answered Simon. “You have said well, Simon,” was Jesus’ gracious reply, “for the one who is forgiven much loves much. Notice, Simon,” He continued, “I came into your house, and you didn’t greet Me with a kiss; you didn’t anoint My feet with oil; you didn’t welcome Me lovingly. But this woman has not stopped kissing My feet, washing them with her tears, and wiping them with her hair.” You see, Jesus knew what kind of woman Mary was all along. Love is not blindit just sees more. And because love sees more, it chooses to see less.Maybe you feel like a terrible sinner today. The good news is that you have the potential, the possibility of loving God greatly. If you don’t feel like you’re a sinner today, you can join Simon the Pharisee and love a little bit. But if you are aware of your sin, your failures, and your shortcomings, you have the potential to be a lover of God and a lover of people in the biggest sense of the word.

The one who is forgiven littlethe one who is unaware of his sinsloves little. That’s why many church people are not lovers of God. They fail to see their need for forgiveness. But people like you and me know God’s great grace and mercy because we experience it daily. And now Mary is at the tomb. The last one at the Cross was the first one at the tomb. That’s what love does. It stays the longest. It bears all things and believes all things. It endures all things and hopes all things. It’s the last one at the Cross and the first one at the tomb. And when she gets there, her eyes swollen from crying, she stoops down to look inside. But when she sees the body is gone, her tears begin again. “Woman, why are you weeping?” asked the angels in attendance. “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” Mary answered. And turning away from the angels, she saw Jesus. But she didn’t know it was Him. Why? I suspect it was because her eyes were full of tears. Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said, “If you’ve moved the body for some reason, let me know where you’ve moved Him, and I will return Him to the tomb.” Think about this. As a woman, Mary would have been significantly smaller than Jesus. Yet Mary doesn’t say, “You bring Him back,” nor even, “Help me carry Him back.” She just says, “I’ll carry Him"because love doesn’t take into account the heaviness of its object. It pays the price. It expends the energy. It finds a way. At that point, Jesus uttered her name, and recognizing His voice, Mary fell at His feet. The picture is wonderful, for if she was indeed the same woman of Luke 7, even as she fell at His feet previouslywashing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hairshe falls at His feet again as she clings to Him. “Don’t cling to Me, Mary,” was Jesus’ response, “because I have not yet ascended.” At first reading, this sounds harsh. Yet there’s an important lesson here, for Jesus is saying, “Mary, My mission was to come to earth to die for your sins. The purpose of My coming was to provide reconciliation so that you and all who believe could be reconciled to the Father and have relationship with Him. Don’t cling to Me.” Ours is a generation of “cling-ons.” Books, seminars, retreats about this subject abound. A wife will cling to her husband, hoping she might find fulfillment in him. And the tighter she clings to him, the more he backs away. So she clings harderand he backs away further. Or the husband clings to his wife, hoping to find satisfaction in her. But feeling used and smothered, she backs away.

Husbands and wives say, “If you’re not going to fulfill me, I’ll find someone who will; if you’re not going to satisfy me, I’ll find someone who can.” It happens over and over again. We clingbut never find what we want. Inevitably, the results are divorce, depression, and destruction. Not even children are exempt. “If you don’t meet the needs of your daughter,” say the best-selling books, “she’ll try to fill them in someone else.” And so we think we’ve got to make sure our kids cling to us and receive from usotherwise who knows what will happen to them. But Jesus comes in an entirely different manner to this sister of His, saying, “Don’t cling to Me. You’ve got to see the big picture. It’s called reconciliation between you and the Father. That’s why I cameto die for your sins, to pay the price for your iniquity, so that you won’t have to cling to your husband or wife, your pastor or the church.” Who clings to the pastor, the boss, or a so-called lover on the side? People who are insecure. And the reason they are insecure is because they don’t understand that what they really need is, like Adam and Eve, to walk with God in the cool of the day. You see, any of you who say, “This afternoon I’m going to put down the paper. I’m going to turn off the TV. I’m not going to cling to my husband or wife. I’m going to go for a walk. I’m going to talk to my Father; I’m going to tell Him the things that are troubling me, laugh with Him about a sight we might see, look at the sky in its beauty"will come back with a sparkle in your eye, and a peace in your heart. You won’t cling to the first person you see, suffocate those around you, or be disappointed in those you love. The most secure Being in the entire universe is God. God doesn’t need you. He loves you, but He doesn’t need you. He likes you, but He doesn’t need you. God got by for billions and trillions and zillions of years without ustotally content because the Father, Son, and Spirit fulfilled one another and loved one another. But part of God’s plan was to show another side of His charactergrace and mercyto the entire universe. To do that required sinners like you and me. There are those who teach God needs you. No, He doesn’t. I’ll find in God strength, joy, and lovebut He doesn’t smother me. And He won’t smother you. The real issue, gang, is a lack of spending time with the Father, because a person who spends time with the Father will not have dependent characteristics and fifteen steps to work through to begin recovery. When you get rid of the clinging, relationships take on maturity, depth, and solidity. But it doesn’t happen by psychology or twelve-stepping your way out. It comes by doing one thing: walking with the Father. That’s where you find security. We need to care and to share. We need to interact with one another. But we mustn’t cling because the sad thing about clinging is that it drives people away. And the more they back away, the more we want to cling. It’s a cycle that can only be broken by spending time with the Father. But you can’t talk to the Father, walk with the Father, or receive security from the Father until you realize what Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ…2Co_5:18 (a) God is holy and beautiful. But because of our sin, we couldn’t relate to Him or be one with Him. So Jesus Christ came to bridge the gap, to die for our sin that we might be forgiven and fellowship with the Father anytime we want. . . . and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.2Co_5:18 (b) Not only can we come freely to the Father because we have been reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ, but we are to reconcile others to the Father as well. Mom and Dad, your ministry is not to reconcile your kids to youto get them to depend on you or to look to you. Your ministry ultimately is to reconcile your kids to the Father. If you say, “I’m going to meet their needs. I’m always going to be there for them,” they’ll rebel because you’ll eventually let them down. But if you are a minister of reconciliation, you’ll say, “I want my kids to grow up knowing God. I know I have failings and shortcomings as a dad, but the heavenly Father will never let them down. Never. Therefore, I don’t care what they think about me as much as I care about them being one with God.” When my daughter says, “Dad, I need thirty bucks,” sometimes I give it to her. But other times I say, “Would you pray about it? Would you see what doors God opens for you?” It is far easier for me to open my checkbook. But it’s infinitely more important for my kids to learn not to cling to me because I won’t always be there for them. Therefore, I want them to learn to pray, to walk with God, to know the Lord. I have been given the ministry of reconciliationand so have you. “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus lovingly says to Mary. “I go to the Father.” May God give us this understanding as well.

John 20:18

Here are the disciples, with questions mounting and confusion rising like waves on the seawhen suddenly, just as before, Jesus comes to them and stills their storm with one word: Shalom. His first word is, “Peace.” He doesn’t say, “You guys are busted. Where have you been? I’m on the Cross and you’re running around, pretending like you don’t even know Me. What’s the big idea?” No, that’s not what Jesus does. He comes to them and says, “Peace.” And that’s what He says to you (Rom_5:1).

John 20:20

No wonder the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. If someone died, Jesus could bring him back to life with a simple word. Hungry? A few loaves could feed thousands. His provision was abundant; His presence, a delight.

John 20:21

At this point, the disciples are born again. Although they were already following Jesus, they were not yet regenerated because He had not yet died for their sins. But here Jesus breathes on themreminiscent of Gen_2:7, when God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils and he became a living soul.

John 20:23

In Mark 2, when Jesus pronounced forgiveness to a paralyzed man, the Pharisees were aghast. “Only God has the right to forgive sin,” they said (see verse Mar_2:7). And they were right. What, then, does this verse mean? It means we as His ambassadors don’t provide forgiveness, but we do proclaim it. Therefore, to the one who says, “I don’t feel forgiven,” it is our responsibility to say, “According to the Word of God, if you open your heart to Jesus Christ and believe in His work on the Cross, your sin is gone.” Conversely, to the one who says, “I don’t need Jesus Christ. I’m into meditation,“it is our responsibility to say, “Your sin remains because only the blood of Jesus can wash it away.”

John 20:24

I suppose one of the saddest things I see as a pastor are disciples who miss the meeting. They’re out there struggling, while at a Sunday evening service, for example, at some point Jesus begins to appear through the Word or in worship, through prophecy or the washing of feet. “I can worship at home,” they say. But Jesus didn’t go to Thomas’s house. He went where the saints were meeting together. “Don’t forsake assembling together,” Paul would say (see Heb_10:25)because Jesus shows up in the midst of the congregation. Thomas missed the meeting. Why? He’s been called Doubting Thomas throughout historybut keep in mind the kind of guy he was. When Jesus announced He was going to Jerusalem, Thomas said, “Let’s go and die with Him” (see Joh_11:16). Thomas was a guy who went for it. And so now, while the other disciples huddled together behind closed doors, where was Thomas? I suggest he was out on the street saying, “I’m not hiding. I’m out here in public. Anybody want to take me on?” After catching a cargo ship to India to preach Jesus Christ, Thomas was warned to be quiet. When he kept preaching, his opponents ran a spear through his back. But the church he started in India still flourishes today.

John 20:25

Gal_6:1 tells those who are spiritual to restore those who are overtaken in faults. That’s what’s happening here. These guys are reaching out to their brother Thomas. Thomas was loyal but he lacked imagination. That is, he didn’t know that Jesus specializes in taking that which was dead and bringing it to life. Maybe you’ve had shattered expectations in marriage, business, or family, and, like Thomas, you’re not going to dream anymore. Don’t give up, for Jesus “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or even think” (see Eph_3:20).

John 20:26

I suggest the disciples said, “Thomas, we’re meeting again next week, and you’d better be there. In fact, we’re bringing you with us.” Here Jesus is teaching a lesson of great import, for in repeating Thomas’s ultimatum, it’s as if He’s saying, “Boys, even though you don’t see Me, I’m with you always.”

John 20:28

When Peter went into the house of Cornelius, Cornelius fell at his feet. “Stand up,” said Peter. “I’m a man also” (see Act_10:26). When the people of Lystra started worshiping Paul and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas ripped their clothes and said, “Stop. We are men of like passions” (see Act_14:15). When John fell down before an angel, the angel said, “Don’t do that” (see Rev_22:9). Paul, Peter, and the angel all refused to be worshiped. Regardless of what the cults say, Jesus accepted this proclamation of deity for one reason: He is God.

John 20:29

“Thomas, you believe because you’ve seen,” said Jesus. “But blessed, happy are those with an imagination, with vision, with faith to see what is not physically visible.” Faith sees what the man who lacks faith never does. It’s a whole different dimension and an entirely different perspective.

John 20:30

Other signs were done, but they were done to help people rather than to produce belief. What we have before us are the stories, the miracles, the work Jesus did, recorded for you and me that we might truly believe and go on believing in Him.