Reading John 20:1-31 NLT
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. – John 20:1-31 NLT
- Overview of John 20.
- Mary Magdalene and what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant to her personally.
- Jesus fully completes His mission and how this impacts our lives today and for eternity.
They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” – John 20:25 NLT
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said, Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe.” – John 20:26-27 NLT
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- Eight (new beginnings, inner room, inner parts of the heart)
- Jesus does a “divine do over” just for Thomas.
- Jesus wants to give Thomas a new beginning and heal the inner parts of his heart.
Who was Mary Magdalene?
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- A woman who was mentioned 12 times in Scripture which is more than most of the apostles.
- Jesus freed her from 7 demons.
- She was a faithful follower of Jesus and His teachings.
- She was one of the few followers of Christ who did not run away during the crucifixion.
- She saw Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus put Jesus’ body in Joseph’s unused tomb.
- She was among a small group of women who met at Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body with spices that they had prepared.
- She was the first person that Jesus appeared to after being resurrected from the dead.
“She saw two white-robed angels. One sitting at the head and the other sitting at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” The angels asked her. They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put Him.” – John 20:12-13 NLT
“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will go and get Him.” – John 20:15 NLT
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed. – Luke 4:17-18 NKJV
1. Brokenhearted (shabar) – to break, shatter, destroy, crushed, demolished, fractured, pieces, smashed
2. Brokenhearted (leb) – the heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, conscience, celebrating, imagination, inspiration, wisdom
3. Captives – prisoners of war
4. Liberty – flowing, release
“He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” – Zephaniah 3.17 NLT
“With His love He will calm all your fears.” in the Hebrew “charash” – to be silent, to be still, to plow, to engrave, to devise a plan/plot