Get Ready
Which holiday do you favor more – Christmas or Easter? What is it about the holidays that makes you feel the way you do – is it the anticipation, the celebration, the underlying meaning? If you had to skip one of these holidays, which would you miss the most?
The Word
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. Who is the first person to visit Jesus’ tomb? What does she notice about it? How does she respond?
2. Who are the next people at the tomb? Why do you suppose the first disciple didn’t enter the tomb? What do they see once inside the tomb? How do they interpret this?
3. Why do you think Mary stays at the tomb after the disciples leave? What happens to her as a result? How does she react to the others at the tomb?
4. Why do you think Mary doesn’t realize who she is talking with? What happens when Jesus speaks to her? Why does he tell her not to cling to him?
5. Who does Mary tell about her encounter with Jesus? How do you suppose they reacted to her story?
6. Who does Jesus appear to next? How do the disciples react? What does Jesus say to the disciples? What does he give them?
7. Why does Thomas not believe the other disciples? How does Jesus deal with this situation? What point does Jesus make about belief?
8. What point does John make about Jesus’s resurrection appearances
Get Personal
How do you react when your life suddenly goes in an unexpected direction? Are you aware of God’s presence during the turmoil? How do you recognize his presence and “Peace”?
Notes . . .
20:1. Mary Magdalene — had been a follower of Jesus from early in his ministry. She was also one of the women at the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. (The other Gospels include Mary the mother of James and Salome [Matt 28:1, Mark 16:1, Luke 24:10].)
20:6. Linen wrappings — the position of the wrappings and face cloth indicates someone was unusually neat in placing them, or that Jesus rose out of the wrappings without disturbing them.
20:8. Believed . . . — John acknowledges that, even though Jesus had discussed his resurrection with them, the disciples still did not understand the spiritual reality and significance. Luke describes one situation at 18:31-34.
20:10. Went home — John and Peter may believe that something extraordinary happened to Jesus, but they still don’t understand the full meaning of
the resurrection – after all, they saw Lazarus comeback to life [John 11:1-15].
20:19. Locked — the Greek word used here and verse 20 actually means “shut” without any inference of locking or barring entrance.
20:21. Sending — Jesus gives the disciples the Holy Spirit and commissions them all equally. They are to announce the work of the Holy Spirit in forgiving sins.
20:22. Breathed on them — an echo of Genesis 2:7, when God breathed life into Adam.
20:24. Didymus — means “twin.”
20:30-31. Miraculous signs — John clearly wants his readers to understand that Jesus did many other signs, but these are the ones he has chosen to write about so “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah.”
Memory Verse
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe, [John 20:29].
Next Lesson
Breakfast with Jesus – John 21.
