But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John now gives us the purpose of his gospel. He uses the perfect tense “have been written” which gives an air or permanency about it much like …
Category Archives: Chapter 20
John 20:30
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. John has made a selection from all the signs Jesus did and all the words He spoke, including all that met his purposes in writing this gospel and leaving out those that didn’t. Karl Heim thinks …
John 20:29
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus declares Thomas to be a believer even though he was slow in his acceptance of the truth. Jesus is no less gracious with us today! Thomas must have thought, “If only …
John 20:28
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Thomas proves to be much less skeptical than he thought. When he sees Jesus and hears His words to him, Thomas’ doubts all vanish and he believes without applying any of the tests he had previously demanded. (It seems certain that Thomas did not put his …
John 20:27
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.” Jesus turned directly to Thomas, singling him out from the others and thus giving the impression He had made this appearance just for Thomas’ sake. Note that the test …
John 20:26
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!” The eighth day (KJV) is inclusive of the previous Sunday when Jesus had first appeared to the disciples. This is the following Sunday …
John 20:25
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 it.” The disciples tell Thomas of the appearance of Christ to …
John 20:24
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. Didymus means “twin” or “double” which indicates that Thomas had a twin brother. The disciples are still called “the twelve” though Judas is now dead (Matt 27:1-5). Matthew 27:1-5 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the …
John 20:23
If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The authority to forgive sins belongs only to God. However, Jesus claimed to have this power (Mark 2:5-7) and He is now passing it along to his church. Notice however, that He gives this authority only …
John 20:22
And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Now that He has commissioned them, Jesus gives them what they will need to discharge their commission. The word “breathed” is the same word as in Septuagint of (Gen 2:7) where God breathed the breath of life into Adam, thus indicating a …
John 20:21
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus repeats His greeting of “Peace be unto you.” Why? For emphasis. Why did the disciples need for Him to emphasize this phrase? Perhaps to completely erase all of their fears and to settle them down from their …
John 20:20
After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Many people had seen Jesus die just 3 days ago and now here He was alive again. At least it looked like Jesus; but was this the same person who had died on the cross? …
John 20:19
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” A parallel passage to this account in John is found in (Luke 24:36-43). The differences between the two accounts …
John 20:18
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. Mary is faithful to report to the disciples just as Jesus instructed. The disciples however, believed neither Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11) nor the other women who had seen the …
John 20:17
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” “Touch me not” (KJV) seems a perplexing command by Jesus in light of the fact …
John 20:16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus only utters one word, her name, but it is enough for her to immediately recognize Him. When the Good Shepherd calls His sheep, they shall know His voice (John 10:3-4). Note the similarity to (Matt 14:25-27). …
John 20:15
“Woman,” he said, “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 inquires into why Mary is weeping and whom she is seeking. Note that Jesus …
John 20:14
At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. Something caused Mary to turn around and see Jesus standing there. It may have been a noise that Jesus made upon His appearing or it may have been a motion or a glance from the angels …
John 20:13
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.” Their question to her is a legitimate one: why is she weeping? Lenski comments “Indeed, why does she weep? – when we should all have had cause to weep to …
John 20:12
and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. The other women had earlier seen angels at the tomb and now Mary sees them. It is interesting that Peter and John, both of whom had just been in the tomb had not …
John 20:11
but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb “But” stands Mary in contrast to the two disciples who went home. Either she arrived after Peter and John left or before their departure. “wept” = klaio = the noisy wailing common to Easterners (John 11:31). This …
John 20:10
Then the disciples went back to their homes, The disciples went away to their own homes. Robertson has the insight that “John had taken the mother of Jesus to his home (John 19:27) and so he now hurried home to tell her the glorious news as he believed.” (RWP) John 19:27 and to the disciple, …
John 20:9
(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) The word “still” which is translated as “As yet” in (AV) indicates that eventually they would come to know. It is uncertain, however, exactly which scripture to which John is referring, much like Paul in (1 Cor 15:4). They could …
John 20:8
Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. The boldness of Peter encouraged John to enter the tomb and very probably the fast running of John had spurred Peter to even greater speed than he thought himself capable of. Again, it is the same with us …
John 20:7
as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. The cloth which had covered the face of Jesus was lying by itself some distance from the linen strips. Some take the meaning of this and the previous verse to indicate that …
John 20:6
Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, Although Peter came in last in the race to the tomb, he was first to go inside. Even though John outran him, he never slowed in his run to the tomb and was rewarded …
John 20:5
He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. John hesitates to go into the tomb, only going as far as Mary Magdalene. Henry notes that “many are swift to run religion’s race that are not stout to fight her battles.” John’s courage ended at the …
John 20:4
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. They ran “together”. If Peter or John had been alone, they may never have ventured forth to the tomb, but having someone with them helped them to do this good thing at the right time. What does this teach us? Ecclesiastes …
John 20:3
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Mary may have told her story to only Peter and John or she may have been the spokeswoman for the other women who told the eleven (Luke 24:9), in which case only Peter and John ventured to the tomb. Note that Peter is mentioned first …
John 20:2
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!” Mary Magdalene left the tomb at once before the rest and without seeing the angels as told in the Synoptics …
John 20:1
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. All four gospels go to great length to record and thereby prove the resurrection of Christ. The reasons for this are at least twofold. First, …