🙏 Heavenly Father – Thank You for Your Word. As we read Your concluding thoughts of John’s Gospel, join us in showing us Your Will, showing us ourselves, and showing us Our Savior. Amen.
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Points to Ponder: Ah, the importance of community! What Mary, Peter and John are experiencing in the natural world is truly incomprehensible. But we know, that at this point, they are saved. Jesus said, ‘It is Finished.’ Here we see His disciples, saved, but not understanding what it means to be saved. Mary… starting in the dark, comes to the wrong conclusion, and offers the elusive ‘they’! The running of Peter and John is odd… Was it race, so John won? Was it perseverance, the all-in commitment, so Peter won? (We can ask later!) The details about the death wrappings are clearly in contrast to those of Lazarus. John and Peter go back together – regardless of their state of confusion or any competition! (It is recommended that we do this new life together for a reason!)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 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.’”
18 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.
Points to Ponder: Mary stays – weeping at this significant loss in her life… not focusing on herself, but on this empty tomb! And this is where the angels speak to her. What a lesson we can learn here, that even in our distress, to keep our eyes on God’s redemptive story for us… go back to that empty tomb, we know what it means. The Holy Spirit goes with us and there we meet Jesus, who knows us by name! He asks Mary, as He asks us, ‘Who are you looking for?’ This is the same question, Jesus asked His enemies on the night He was arrested… BRILLIANT!!! Right there in the garden, Mary mistakes Him for a gardener! Like Peter swinging a sword earlier, Mary declares that she will get him… for what, I don’t know. We love so much that sometimes we just don’t know how to express it! Jesus does – our hearts cry out with relief when like Mary, Jesus call us, so compassionately, by name. 💞 Her obedience begins!
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
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.”
Points to Ponder: The ‘1st day of the week’ – Jesus has risen and appeared to His disciples and the world will never be the same again. All of history changes from this point… many will struggle with life between Jesus’ resurrection and Jesus’ return. Those who reject Jesus will attack with different strategies, but they’re always the same attacks, just repackaged to reflect shifts in culture. Here we see His disciples, locked in a room afraid of the Jewish leaders. Notice – not the Roman leadership, interesting! Are they afraid that what happened to Jesus will happen to them? Hm, apparently, Jesus is telling them YES and they should have peace about that!
We are reminded that being with Jesus, who’s purpose was to remove OUR sin by HIS death, means we are to do the same. I’m not sure I fully understand ‘my’ role of ‘not forgiving’ others, seems like one those passages that could easily be taken out of context. I am sure that is why the preceding verse is the command to ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’… because without Him, we can do nothing!!!
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 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.”
26 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!” 27 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.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Points to Ponder: Again, the power of community! Thomas’ doubts are rooted in self-focus… both insecurity and pride are evidenced in Thomas. I can’t imagine what that week was like in that room, but the doors are still locked, so Thomas’ doubts may have affected the others. Seeing Jesus, Thomas believes. But blessed are we who have not seen and yet still believe!!!
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 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.
Points to Ponder: John’s Gospel, so full of evidence to the truth of Who Jesus is, gives us more than enough to move forward in the new life that faith provides. Incredibly, it is right after John records the disciples’ struggles with their own belief, he tells us that they had even more signs! We don’t need more miraculous signs, when we struggle, we too need to wrestle with the truth that is contained in Scripture. Invite God into your struggles and ask Him to reveal Himself – expect His light to reveal where we may be too stubborn to accept His truth. Like the disciples here, Jesus will meet us where we are at!
Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Points to Ponder: Time elapses between the upper room appearances of Jesus to Thomas and the other disciples, when it appears the disciples don’t know what to do next. What is their ‘next right thing’ to do? They return to what they used to do – they fish. They’re unsuccessful that night and the next morning, they don’t recognize Jesus… even when He calls them, friends! (Flashback to John 15:15) V6 is one of those ‘Jesus’ moments that provide one-on-one experiential knowledge that outsiders don’t believe.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Points to Ponder: Again, community and who we walk with is important. John’s words seem to jolt Peter out of whatever thoughts he was lost in that drove him back to fishing! A fire of burning coals and no one saw it the night before even though they were close enough for Peter to swim ashore. All through the gospels, disciples asked, ‘What kind of man is this?’ Not anymore, they knew, and they share a meal.
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
Points to Ponder: A necessary part of redemption is coming face to face with your sins. ‘More than these’ – a reference to loving Jesus as the #1 priority, even over the accusations of a servant girl!
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Points to Ponder: Peter denied three times, Jesus made him face that denial three times. This is painful for those of us with more than 3 thoughts, words, or actions, in which we expressed our denial or rejection of the God who created us, the God who loves us, the God who died for us, the only God that offers eternal life without having to experience this pain again.
How easy it is to just repeat Peter’s last statement in our prayers and want to avoid naming specific transgressions. But the lesson we learn here, is that part of the reconciliation process is to trust Jesus with each and every transgression. Only in bringing them to Jesus, can we release them to Jesus, and find the freedom needed to receive the abundant life He offers.
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
Points to Ponder: Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He has many sheep that will not be taken from Him. We are called to do our part, whatever it is, to take care of His sheep. I am saddened that like doubting Thomas, it took the facts of these disciples’ deaths that helped convince me to become a follower.
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”
22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
Points to Ponder: It is part of the natural world to compare and make judgments. Jesus politely tells Peter to stay in his lane! Looking to others FOR guidance is a distraction… believers strive to follow Him.
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.
25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Points to Ponder: John says, like Pilate before him, ‘What I have written, I have written.’ John’s gospel, crafted by The Spirit, is more than enough for faith in Jesus. It is not for the lack of information that people do not believe.
Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the message, right after he confirms that not all of them welcomed the message. We remember in this section, not to judge others, but to do what we are called to do as we put Jesus first and follow Him.
Summary: The tomb is empty – now what? These final chapters show the incredible struggling that Jesus’ disciples had in that transition from walking with a physical Jesus to living in the Spirit. The physical sightings on earth of a resurrected Jesus happened in this unique time between His resurrection and His ascension – His disciples and many other followers were blessed by these appearances. (Paul’s Damascus road conversion is different.)
We take solace in learning that becoming a Christian wasn’t a one-and-done event in the lives of the disciples. If it was not simple in their lives, why would we be disappointed when we encounter struggles? And if we look around at others, then like Peter looking at John, we are being distracted!
John’s Gospel gives us a tremendous amount of God’s Word so that we too can settle the key question in a sinful world, ‘What is truth?’ The dialogue, the characters, the events – they are all meant to be familiar to us… words written on our hearts. They are meant to guide and comfort us when we are distracted and led astray. It is when we see just how much God loves us, that the worldly distractions fade to nothing.
🙏 Heavenly Father – we are so thankful for Your Word. Our own words are inadequate to express the love we feel when we truly begin to understand the love You have for us. Keep us close to You and always in Your love. We thank You for Your hand in our lives and for Your Son, Jesus, who shows us how to live in that love. In His name we pray and give our thanks. Amen.