John 20:11-31

Three Appearances of the Risen Lord

Scripture Reading Acts 17:30-31 Text: John 20:11-31

Introduction:

Let’s set the scene for this week, if you remember last week we looked at Jesus’ death, burial, and the empty tomb. As the writer, John records they believed, but did not yet understand that Jesus would rise from the dead. John 20:8 Both John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) and Peter both return to their homes uncertain of what to do with the empty tomb.

To help explain the events that lead us to this morning’s text, I want to read to you a quote from Richard Phillips Commentary on John.

Around dawn, Jesus was raised from the dead, accompanied by an earthquake and the coming of angels, so that Pilate’s guards fled in terror (Matt. 28:2–4). Later, a group of faithful women set out for the tomb. Seeing the stone rolled away, Mary Magdalene fled for the male disciples while the other women entered the tomb and heard the angels’ news of the resurrection (John 20:1–2; Mark 16:2–5; Matt. 28:5–6). Summoned by Mary Magdalene, John and Peter raced to the open tomb. Entering in, they saw the graveclothes left behind and returned to their houses (John 20:3–10). Mary Magdalene returned to the grave after the men had departed. There, “Mary stood weeping outside the tomb” (20:11).

Phillips, R. D. (2014). John. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (1st ed., Vol. 2, p. 636). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

First Witness of the Resurrection

John 20:11–18 (ESV)

Mary obviously may have spent some time trying to discuss with the disciples the meaning of the tombstone being rolled away, finally returns back to the tomb only to find Peter and John gone.

Mary is distraught because she does not know where Jesus might be, remember that she as the others are not sure what to expect, but anticipate as we would that dead bodies do not move on their own and that someone must have moved Jesus’ body. After all, this tomb was not His specifically and the two men who placed Him here did work fast, it is possible He had to be moved.

Looking into the tomb Mary sees two strangers as the other gospels record these “men” (who we know to be angels) were wearing blazing white robes.

When the angels ask why she is weeping it cannot be taken otherwise than a gentle rebuke. The signs are all around Mary that Jesus is not here, but is risen as He had said. Instead, she continues to seek a normative reason for the empty tomb. Hence why she insists that “they” have taken Jesus away. Mary still sees Jesus as her Lord in her response, His death did not affect her, nor the Disciple's belief that Jesus was who He said He was, but they certainly as John said above did not understand the scripture.

She must have sensed that someone was behind her and turned around to see Jesus, but did not know it was Him. Either because He was veiled to her eyes (Luke 24:16- Disciples on Emmaus Road) or she was so in grief and not expecting a risen Jesus, she did not recognize Him. Jesus likewise doubles down on the gentle rebuke “why are you weeping”. Mary continues with her narrative to this supposed “gardener”, until He speaks her name. What is beautiful in Jesus just saying Mary’s name is a recollection of an earlier verse in John.

John 10:3-4 “To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

Mary knew the voice of her master.

When we get to verse 17, it would be important for me to note that there is a lot of debate among modern times about what this means. In much of my reading of commentaries this week, one understanding keeps coming back. Mary hears Jesus’ voice and she then grabs Him and holds on to him. Don’t miss the fact that in Jesus asking her not cling to Him, means that she was doing that very thing. Jesus was being touched by Mary Magdalene and as it appears from the text in Matthew also by the other women as it appears that they had fallen at His feet to worship Him. Jesus made a point, as many commentators have pointed out , that once they clung to Him as if to ensure that He would not leave, He reminded them that He had to return to the Father. When Mary and the other women clung to Jesus they thinking in a human way, Jesus still waiting to complete what He had come to do by witnessing His resurrection to the disciples and others would return and rule His church by the power of the Spirit of God.

Calvin in His commentary on John writing in the 1600s said it this way,

We ought to attend to this reason which he adds; for by these words he enjoins the women to restrain their feelings, until he be received into the heavenly glory. In short, he pointed out the design of his resurrection; not such as they had imagined it to be, that, after having returned to life, he should triumph in the world, but rather that, by his ascension to heaven, he should enter into the possession of the kingdom which had been promised to him, and, seated at the right hand of the Father, should govern the Church by the power of his Spirit.

Calvin, J., & Pringle, W. (2010). Commentary on the Gospel according to John (Vol. 2, p. 259). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Jesus says something that should arrest you for a moment in His words to Mary. Jesus says go to my brothers. Jesus calls the disciples His brothers. He then says I am ascending to my Father, to your Father. Jesus here shows that Mary and the Disciples are now part of a very unique family, where Jesus is our brother and God our Father.

Hebrews 2:11 ESV

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

And unlike an earthly family, this Divine family cannot and will not fail you.

Instead of clinging to Jesus, Jesus tells Mary she has a mission. Jesus tells her to go and share the news of the gospel. Do you see it? Vs.17 and what does Mary do? She goes and does it.

What is so beautiful about this text is that Mary Magdalene, a woman with a very sordid past, now ends up in the Bible as the first witness of the Resurrection. A woman who was scorned by society, but now is a role model to us all. She also according to John was the first to share the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ resurrection.

Second Witnesses of the Resurrection

John 20:19–23 (ESV)

On the same day, Resurrection Sunday, the Disciples (even after hearing the news from the women) sit together probably discussing everything that went on prior to and with the news of the women. They were afraid of the Jews according to John and locked the doors so they could be together without being seen.

Jesus immediately appears in their midst. Stop and think about that for a second. You are together in a room with a bunch of other people and have secured the door in a way to make sure no one else can enter this room and someone who was not there a few minutes before appears. And not only that but a person who just recently died. in Luke 24:36-42 it says that when the disciples saw Him at first they were frightened and thought they saw a spirit. Which, again is more logical than seeing a dead person that came back to life appear in your midst. Jesus in Luke asks them if they have anything to eat to help them understand more and they give him a boiled fish that He eats.

Jesus says “Peace be with you”, this statement which is echoed twice by Jesus in this encounter is what the Angels said all that time ago to those lowly shepherds in Bethlehem.

Luke 2:14 ESV

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Vs. 20 is very important to me. See if you remember a few weeks back Jesus had told the disciples that their sorrow would turn to joy. This moment in time was the beginning of that fulfillment.

John 16:20–22 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 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.

John here makes the comment we will address shortly, but it says that Jesus shows His hands and His side.

Jesus then after demonstrating His resurrection to the disciples then sets them on the mission. This is something that we will be discussing more at a later time, but for today note that Jesus comments that in the same manner that Jesus was sent by the Father, that is how Jesus sends the disciples.

Vs. 22-23 I do not want to spend too much time on this verse this morning as this is something that warrants a longer conversation and study than I am at this morning to convey to you while surveying the text. Jesus, I believe here is symbolizing that which is yet to come on Pentecost and John is recording it as another promise of what is yet to come at the time of Pentecost. It is important to note unlike what most English translations have Jesus doesn’t walk around and breathe “on them”. This in the Greek, gives us the idea of restorative creation power. Just like God breathed man and gave him life in the Garden, Jesus breathes the disciples and gives them new life in Him. John is trying to show a reconciliation of creation. From there he commands them to receive the Holy Spirit which was coming in 50 days from now.

Next, we see that Jesus bestows upon the disciples the ministry of reconciliation, which is the ministry that the Father sent the Son upon. Jesus says that the ministry that He started and finished, should be declared to all. Then goes on to describe the mission He is setting them to. The mission is described here is the mission of the proclamation of the gospel. As Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:18 describes the ministry He describes it as reconciling the world to God, letting them know

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ESV. (2 Co 5:18–21).

This of course is not the teaching of Rome (Roman Catholics), which argues the sacrament of reconciliation, that is that you must go to private confession with a priest who as God’s representative absolves the penitent person. Catholicism uses this verse to mandate confession to a priest at least once a year, and it gives the priests sacramental power to be conduits of divine grace to forgive sin. This is an area when the Scribes and the Priests of the New Testament were right, their objection to Jesus was that only God could forgive sins. Jesus is not saying here that now you as disciples have the right to declare what God will forgive and what He will not forgive, but that God has provided a way of forgiveness through His Son Jesus.

1 John 1:8–9 ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Third Witness of the Resurrection

John 20:24–29 (ESV)

For some reason, Thomas wasn’t with the other 10 disciples when Jesus appeared. We are not told why. The other disciples report seeing Jesus and Thomas is resistant to believing it. You now have the three women who have seen Jesus and the 10 disciples who have seen Jesus, who were originally resistant. That should have been enough for Thomas to rejoice, but being a man of his “senses” he says that until he sees and feels, he will not ever believe.

His Side and His Hands- Important to note that Jesus’ glorified body had the markings of his Crucifixion. This resurrection of Jesus and the one that soon awaits us will be a remaking of our existing body, not an act of new creation, but recreation. In John 5:28-29, Jesus speaks of the resurrection as a coming forth from the tombs, not a spiritual essence meeting a totally new body.

John 5:28–29 ESV

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

John Piper in discussing this very topic in the book Future Grace says the following;

Paul says, “We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52). When he says “the dead will be raised” he means we—the dead—will be raised. If God meant to start all over with no continuity between the body I have now and the one I will have, why would Paul say, “the dead will be raised”? Why would he not say, “The dead will not be raised (since they are decomposed and their molecules are scattered into plants and animals for a thousand miles) and so God will start from scratch”? He did not say that, because it is not true. He said two things: the dead will be raised (that teaches continuity); and the dead will be changed (they will be made imperishable and immortal). The old body will become a new body. But it will still be your body. There will be continuity. God is able to do what we cannot imagine. The resurrection is not described in terms of a totally new creation but in terms of a change of the old creation. “We shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”

 Piper, J. (1995). Future grace (p. 372). Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers.

What I cannot get over is that Jesus’s hands and feet continue to show and demonstrate the work that he completed. And that by that work of His we are made righteous.

Next, we see Thomas’ response of “my Lord and my God”. Thomas recognizes not only that Jesus is his Master, but also that Jesus is God Himself. Here the Jehovah witnesses and even some oneness groups say that Thomas just went too far, he was just excited you see. This is exactly like when every other instance in Scripture when someone mistakes an angel or creature for the creator they are corrected. Jesus of course recognizes Thomas’ error and points out to him that He is really God and He should worship the father alone. Oh wait, not true, Jesus confirms Thomas’ statement and says that blessed be the people who come to that conclusion without the opportunity to place their hand in His side or in hands.

Purpose of John’s Writing

John 20:30–31 (ESV)

The section of scripture that we have been quoting for some time now comes upon us. John tells us that it wasn’t his aim to write everything that happened. In fact, the things that he has written is that so you this morning might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you might have life in His name.

I cannot think of a better statement to leave you with this morning so with one more reading we are finished and the worship team can come up.

John 20:31

John 20:31 ESV

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.