Jesus Appeared After
the Resurrection
Book of John Chapter
20:11-31
When all the
disciples were hiding in fear of the Jews, Mary was not. Mary was
bold in her devotion to the Lord. A lot of things have been said
about Mary Magdalene but she was a woman who was devoted to the Lord
Jesus Christ and was willing to the show the world that she was!
We know by the
Gospels that Peter and John had left and all the women but this Mary
who had stayed behind trying to find her Savior.
*****Joh 20:11 But
Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she
stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
Joh 20:12 And seeth
two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at
the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Mary had something
that many a church lack today:
1) Mary was devoted
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
2) Mary had courage,
she was not afraid to show the world her love for Christ Jesus.
3) Mary had
patience, she knew her Savior had rose from the dead and she waited
on Jesus to show Himself.
No doubt Mary
understood the first commandment of the Lord.
Mar_12:30 And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
Above all other
commandments we need to understand what Jesus is saying here!
We must understand
that those who love Jesus Christ the most are the same ones who
receive the greatest benefit from Him!
We must also
understand that those who are conscious of their own guilt and who
are convinced that without Christ Jesus they would sink into hell,
are the same ones who will cling to the Lord Jesus Christ and His
commands.
2Co 5:14 For the
love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one
died for all, then were all dead:
2Co 5:15 And that
he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Mary also saw
something the others had not seen, two Angels.
We must understand
that there exists a spiritual world around us all the time and many
times we may have had Angels around us and not recognized them.
Heb_13:2 Be not
forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.
If you do not
believe in Angels, you will never see one!
These two Angels
could see the misery of Mary and they reacted
*****Joh 20:13 And
they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them,
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him.
Mary had done two
things that none of the others had done.
1) Mary had lingered
at the tomb of Jesus taking it all in and what His death meant.
2) Mary was
contemplating what an empty tomb would mean to the world.
Why was this Mary
the first to see Jesus? It was because she had the greatest faith on
that day!
These two Angels
were not sitting around wondering at what was happening. Angels are
messengers of God and at this time they had a message for Mary
Magdalene.
They were also there
to show the enormous power of God!
The fact they were
dressed in white, signified the purity of God!
Here again we see
this word "woman". This word implies tenderness and
courtesy and not disrespect.
The woman may be the
weaker vessel in some ways, but a good woman will stand beside her
husband such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel did.
As far as Mary was
concerned these two Angels were nothing compared to her Savior and
she spoke to them as if they were only humans also realizing that
they may have some answers.
Notice she said "my"
Lord and the "I" meant all the other women had gone and she
was alone at the tomb.
All these things
being true, this Mary was the first to see the resurrected Jesus.
Mar 16:9 Now when
Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to
Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
Mar 16:10 And she
went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
Mar 16:11 And they,
when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her,
believed not.
*****Joh 20:14 And
when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus
standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Joh 20:15 Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She,
supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have
borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away.
Joh 20:16 Jesus
saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him,
Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Mary failed to see
Jesus even with Him so close, which is the story of the Church today.
We will never recognize Jesus until He has that permanent place in
our heart!
Mary could not
recognize Jesus because she was torn apart by His death.
Doubt will not let
us get close to the Lord. All the disciples and family and even Mary
had doubt that they would ever see Jesus again.
Doubt will cloud our
eyes to the truth. None of the disciples of Jesus were prepared for
His resurrection!
They could not
believe that He could die and gave no thought to His resurrection!
Mary was still
seeking a dead Savior as so many are today. Our God is alive!
While Mary was still
hopeless, the Lord Jesus was standing right next to her.
Mary may not have
recognized Jesus in His resurrected state, but she knew who He was
when He mentioned her name.
When Jesus calls our
name, we will definitely know it is He who is calling.
We can never miss
out on the Rapture of the Church because we will know it is time to
go home.
Many times we
Christians grieve when we should be rejoicing!
The Lord is always
near us when we are going through tough times in fact, He is with us
all the time!
We need to serve the
Lord while it is still time.
When the Lord
returns there will be millions who will want to serve Him, but it
will be too late for them.
Isa 43:1 But now
thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed
thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called
thee by thy name; thou art mine.
We must focus on the
work of the Lord and focus our eyes upon Him at all times.
Isa 25:8 He will
swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears
from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away
from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
*****Joh 20:17
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
No doubt that Mary
was so excited that she wanted to cling to Jesus but there was still
work, to do. Jesus sent Mary to do one thing while He did something
else.
Mary had not yet
understood the message of the resurrected Savior.
You will never find
a time that Jesus is not busy with His Father's business.
He will hold us
forever when we get to Heaven!
Mary would have held
on to Jesus for days had not Jesus told her that there are things
that had to be done.
Jesus would never
allow any of us to interfere with the plans of His Father!
Mary needed to be
obedient the Words of Her Master, now her God, in His glorified form.
What did Paul write?
2Co 5:16 Wherefore
henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.
Notice also the
Church had begun. The disciples were no more called disciples, but
all believers are in the brotherhood and sisterhood of Christ!
*****Joh 20:18 Mary
Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and
that he had spoken these things unto her.
Mary Magdalene was
the first eyewitness to our resurrected Savior!
Mary was seeking the
same relationship she had before the crucified Christ, but this was
impossible.
By the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ requires a knew, relationship. A
relationship that could not be established until Pentecost, when the
Holy Spirit would descend to begin the Church of the Living God and
this could not take place until after Jesus ascended back to Heaven.
Heb 10:19 Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood
of Jesus,
Heb 10:20 By a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh;
Heb 10:21 And
having an high priest over the house of God;
Heb 10:22 Let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.
We still need to
study the other Gospels to get the complete story of the things that
happened that day.
Another thing we
should mention is when Mary the mother of our Lord was given over to
the care of the Apostle John, then being the mother of the Lord was
not as important as being a believer in her resurrected Son, and the
salvation that was offered to be just as it is to "whosoever"
will believe in the work of Christ.
Mary the mother of
the Lord could not be saved just because she was the Mother, she had
to be saved because of her faith. She certainly is not to be
worshiped.
It was Mary
Magdalene who became the first witness because she had the greatest
faith!
*****Joh 20:19 Then
the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the
doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace
be unto you.
Joh 20:20 And when
he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were
the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
As we see the
disciples of the Lord were sealed behind locked doors because they
were afraid the show themselves in public.
But no amount of
security could stop the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. He just
appeared inside the room where these disciples were hiding.
The Lord's
appearance first brought fear, but His words brought peace.
You see we must
first have that reverent fear of the Lord before we can be at peace
with God! After all our God is the sovereign God of everything we can
see and of all things we cannot see!
For those who think
the Lord only appeared as a spirit should be able to see that even in
His glorified state the Lord did have a material body.
There was no blood
left in His body. No blood was required in His glorified body. There
was no food required but the Lord Jesus could still eat if He so
desired. All this being was because He was Jehovah God.
Luk 24:41 And while
they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have
ye here any meat?
Luk 24:42 And they
gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
Luk 24:43 And he
took it, and did eat before them.
Luk 24:44 And he
said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I
was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were
written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me.
Luk 24:45 Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures,
Luk 24:46 And said
unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day:
Notice the Lord did
all He could to assure these unbelievers that He was certainly the
resurrected Christ!
These disciples
became believers this day, but they would still not understand all
things until they received the Holy Spirit.
They could not
receive the Holy Spirit until their faith was solid and real and from
the heart!
*****Joh 20:21 Then
said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent
me, even so send I you.
Joh 20:22 And when
he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive
ye the Holy Ghost:
Joh 20:23 Whose
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever
sins ye retain, they are retained.
We should also
understand that once Jesus returned to Heaven, it was the job of
these Apostles to carry the "Good News", the "Gospel"
to all the world.
Some of them had not
first believed even when they saw the Lord.
They had not
believed the words of the women who had seen the Lord.
They had not
believed Mary Magdalene who was the first witness of our risen
Savior.
The disciples had
remained in Jerusalem as they were told to do, and they now believed
the truth of the Lord.
Even doubting Thomas
was now a believer.
These disciples
began to go through a great change. They began to understand that all
life can come only by the Lord!
The truth of our
Lord began to sink in. The Lord Jesus does exactly what He says He
will do!
Jesus had said He
would give His life so we could be saved, and He did.
Jesus had said He
would resurrect from that death to prove He was God, and He did.
Sin and death are
now conquered
Jesus Christ is the
"Good Shepherd" who gave His life for His sheep!
Jesus Christ did
defeat the works of the Devil!
Jesus Christ was
lifted up for all the world to see!
Jesus Christ did say
that greater love has no man but a man who would lay down His life
for His friends!
Jesus Christ did say
if I depart, I will send the Comforter to you, who will never leave
you!
Jesus Christ did say
"my record is true" and it has proven to be true!
Jesus Christ did
say, "as the Father has sent Me, I will now send you!
The truth is that
until we know the peace of God and reconciled to Him by the works of
Jesus Christ, we cannot represent God in this world!
We have a specific
mission but many a church has forgotten how specific is the mission
that the Lord has given to us, and have taken up many things, many of
them being good things but have veered from the mission given to us
by the Lord.
Jesus Christ
breathed upon this whole group, just as He did to bring the life of
Adam into existence symbolizing that the Holy Spirit must dwell in
the entire church body for the church to be the "Bride of
Christ".
1Co 3:16 Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of
God is holy, which temple ye are.
We should understand
that verse 23 does not suggest that any man can forgive the sins of
another.
If one has accepted
Jesus Christ as their Savior, we can say their sins are forgiven and
if not then we can say that their sins are not forgiven.
Joh 5:22 For the
Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
1Ti 2:3 For this is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave
himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Only a believer can
tell another believer that their sins have been forgiven a
non-believer cannot know the truth!
The day Jesus first
came unto the disciples Thomas was not with them.
*****Joh 20:24 But
Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when
Jesus came.
Joh 20:25 The other
disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said
unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand
into his side, I will not believe.
Joh 20:26 And after
eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them:
then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, Peace be unto you.
Thomas refused to
accept the Lord Jesus Christ had arisen from the grave unless he
could see Him with his own eyes.
Today many are just
like Thomas who refuse to believe that Jesus the Messiah died and
then arose from the grave.
Thomas would not
believe these ten men who he had been with for as much as 2 years.
By forsaking the
Lord Thomas became frustrated.
Thomas had missed
the proof of Jesus because he was not gathered with them.
Heb 10:25 Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some
is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the
day approaching.
It is the same
today. We do not know what we miss when we do not gather with the
Church.
Another thing we see
is, when we speak out against the Lord we may have to eat our own
words. Everything we say is heard by the Lord and this is true today
also!
Thomas acted
foolishly but the Lord Jesus acted with mercy and grace!
Eight days later
would have been the next Lord's Day, the next Sunday and this time
they were all gathered together.
Again Jesus came
right in through locked doors and stood in the midst of the 11
disciples.
Again saying "Peace
unto you".
We can only wonder
what Thomas thought as Jesus recited back to him his exact words!
The world fails to
understand that Jesus is much more than some great prophet.
Jesus is much more
than some great teacher.
Jesus is much more
than some great man.
Jesus is much more
than the founder of Christianity.
Jesus is even more
than the greatest man that ever lived!
Those that see Jesus
as only these things, see only some man who lived and then died.
The non-believing
sinner sees Jesus as only some man, because it brings our Savior down
to their level.
If Jesus was truly
some man, then He could not be perfect and could not be worthy to
sacrifice Himself for anyone sins.
Rom 1:21 Because
that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
This was the
feelings of most of the world then and we see that most of the world
today has gotten worse!
2Ti_3:13 But evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being
deceived.
Jesus said to Thomas
come, I will show you the proof you seek after.
*****Joh 20:27 Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not
faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28 And
Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
When the Lord
returns, He will also show the world the proof they seek.
Jesus knew that
Thomas had a momentary loss of faith because Jesus can look into the
heart and it was necessary for Thomas to be a true believer in order
for all the Apostles to do the work that lay ahead of them.
Today Jesus knows
not only our heart, but our doubts, our fears, our despair, our hope,
our love and every other thing about us.
God sees everything
we do every day, and records them in His books, and these are the
things the non-believer will be "judged" by on the "Day
of the Lord"!
And the believer on
the day of the Rapture, at the judgment seat of Christ.
1Sa 2:3 Talk no
more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth:
for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
The Lord Jesus
Christ is our Lord and our God whether we believe it or not!!!!!!!
Joh 3:17 For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God.
If we have no faith,
then we are not a Temple of God!
Jesus Christ is
truly our risen Savior!
Jesus Christ is
certainly the Sovereign majesty of the universe!
Jesus Christ is the
One who came to reveal our God to us!
Jesus Christ is the
One who we are to worship!
Jesus Christ expects
an open and public confession.
Jesus Christ expects
the same from us as He did from Thomas even though we have not seen
Him in person.
By the Holy Spirit
we have all His words of truth!
*****Joh 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
We are to believe
even when we do not see the evidence and proof!
We are to believe
because of God's love!
Eph 2:4 But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the
ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Rom 5:9 Much more
then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
Rom 5:10 For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Through the
Scriptures we see the need for us to be Christian because we know the
"character" of God!
We are to believe
because of the billions of witnesses have gone on before us or how
can we believe that our loved ones who knew the Lord are in Heaven.
We are to believe
because when the Lord moves in our heart tells us so!
Thomas had chosen
his own path until he saw the proof of our Savior and then these
things were settled within him, just as they should be in us!
Jesus made sure they
all understood the truth!
*****Joh 20:30 And
many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these
are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Immediately we see
that there are many things that these disciples saw that were not
written down for us.
So even after He
arose Jesus was ministering to the needs of the believers.
The signs that Jesus
chose to use brought great results because we can see the evidence of
that by the results of the lives of these Apostles afterwards.
His character, His
behavior, His preaching, His teaching, His miracles, His control of
the environment, and His power proved that the Lord Jesus Christ is
truly the Messiah.
We should know that
in the life of our Savior upon this earth He did not have a secret He
could not openly show!
What we have in the
Book of John are the things selected by the Holy Spirit to keep in
our remembrance on our Savior!
We will end our
study in the Book of John next week knowing that we could not cover
everything in this series of lessons!
Amen
Let's pray!
