Jesus Appears to His Disciples

Yesterday right here at “The Message” we encountered a difficult question— why did Jesus disallowed Mary Magdalene to touch him when he appeared to her after resurrecting from the dead?

I told you that when you come to situations like this, do not rush to conclude, you can write down your question in your spiritual journal, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to led you to the answer, and study further.... if you cannot come up with a confident conclusion, do not conclude!

The original word used in the original manuscript of the Bible was “me mou haptou” which in english was translated “to touch me not” [KJV], “don’t cling to me” [NLT & Amplified], “don’t touch me” [TLB], “do not hold on to me” [NIV] and “huwag mo akong hawakan [RPT]— the good thing in using several translations, you get wider insight— write this down, it’s ok to use multiple translations of the Bible [except NWT of Jehovah’s Witness]

Another tool that you can use to help you understand the Bible better is “concordance”— alphabetically arranged list of words in the Bible— using a concordance can quickly take you to other places where the same words was used— giving you comparison how the word was used, hence giving you a broader view of what was originally meant by the author— write this down, I will buy a concordance on my next payday

Another tool that I will suggest for you to invest on is a reliable “commentary”— comments from trusted Bible scholars or teachers — getting other believer’s insights could greatly help you in your study of the God’s Word

Now, going back to the question— here are the possible answers:

Jesus wounds are still sore

It was against ritual to touch a dead body

She should not need physical proof

Jesus must remain pure before until He ascend to the Father [if this is the case, then Jesus went to the Father before the third appearance to Thomas]

or, the most like correct translation of “me mou haptou” is “do not cling” to me— not a hug or simple touch, but cling according to Merriam-Webster means “to remain or linger”

Now write this down, “In essential beliefs we have UNITY”

“In non-essential beliefs we have LIBERTY” — freedom to have your own beliefs or opinion

“In all our beliefs we show CHARITY”— generosity, benevolent, goodwill, love— I will teach you more of these when you sign up to undergo CLASS 101

From the accounts of the Lord’s very first appearance to Mary Magdalene we concluded that:

ANGELS ARE FOR REAL

Now let’s see what happened after this first appearance to Mary Magdalene on the first day of the week— Open your Bible to JOHN 20:19-23— once you get to the right page in your Bible— type “let’s go and read!”

CHARACTER OF GOD, SIN TO CONFESS, PROMISES TO CLAIM, ATTITUDE TO CHANGE, COMMANDS TO KEEP, EXAMPLES TO FOLLOW, PRAYERS TO PRAY, ERRORS TO AVOID, TRUTH TO BELIEVE, SOMETHING TO THANK GOD FOR

Read JOHN 20:19-23

BOOK

John 20:19–23 NIV

19 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!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

WHAT: The second appearance of the resurrected Jesus

WHEN: Evening of the first day of the week

WHERE: In a house where doors are locked

WHO: The Resurrected Jesus and the Disciples

WHY: To bring them peace, joy. For the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. And to send them.

LOOK

THE DOORS LOCKED FOR FEAR OF THE JEWISH LEADERS

That’s the human side of them and us— fear is a legitimate feeling/emotion— tendency is to make us hide— it paralyzes us

PEACE BE WITH YOU

Jesus knows how they feel— his very first words to them was “peace be with you”— Jesus is our prince of Peace

HE SHOWED THEM HIS HANDS AND SIDE. THE DISCIPLES WERE OVERJOYED

The mere presence of the Lord gave them not just peace, but joy

Look at the sequence of their state of “emotions”— from fear to overjoyed, and in between those emotions or feelings is the peace that only the Lord could bring

AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, I AM SENDING YOU

After bringing them to the right state of emotion which is joy in his presence— the very next thing Jesus said was— “as the Father has sent me, I am sending you”— sending them to do what?— Matthew 28:18-21

HE BREATHED ON THEM AND SAID, RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

Keep in mind that these are already believers— don’t they have the Holy Spirit in them since they believed Jesus?

Jesus has promised this prior to his death— JOHN 14:16, 26

There is a very important doctrinal facts here— the “baptism in the Holy Spirit”— our time tofay will not be sufficient to cover this very important study— so we will have this for next time on Monday

But for now what I’d like you to do is write it down, “Baptism in the Holy Spirit”— meditate and do your own research about it, and we will talk about this on Monday the 24th

Meanwhile, to complete the passage that we are studying— let me go to our final point for today

IF YOU FORGIVE ANYONE’S SIN, THEIR SINS ARE FORGIVEN

If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven

Wow, that’s an awesome authority given to them— does that mean that when any of the disciple did not forgive someone’s sin then he is not forgiven?— NO!

After carefully looking at this verse, the Lord was referring to the work of the Holy Spirit within the believers— the Holy Spirit is the one who forgives and uses believers to deliver His words and message, carrying out God’s will

This fits the role of the Holy Spirit that we just read from JOHN 14:26

TOOK

MY FEAR IS TURNED TO JOY BECAUSE OF THE LORD’S PEACE

I AM SENT BY JESUS TO MAKE DISCIPLES THAT MAKES DISCIPLES

SING

GOD OF MIRACLES by Chris McClarney

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