Gospel of John [20:1-10]. Christ's Resurrection, part 3.

Title: Gospel of John [20:1-10]. Christ's Resurrection, part 3.

 

Announcements/opening prayer:

 

 

JOH 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple, and they were going to the tomb.

 

JOH 20:4 And the two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first;

 

JOH 20:5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.

 

Until Peter caught up with him, John contented himself with peeping into the tomb from the outside (which is what the verb parakypto means).

 

John could see the grave clothes lying unoccupied, which suggested that it was not just a simple removal of the body.

 

JOH 20:6 Simon Peter therefore also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there,

 

JOH 20:7 and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

 

With characteristic impetuosity Peter went right into the tomb. He noticed the grave clothes but also the napkin which had been around the Lord's head. The napkin was separated from the other wrappings probably from where the neck had been and likely indicates that the resurrected Lord passed through the winding sheets as He later did through doors.

 

However, being wrapped or rolled up indicates that the head napkin had been laid aside or folded tidily. All things in God's timing, no haste, and attention to detail.

 

God always gives us time to accomplish our work unto Him, both spiritual work and secular work.

 

JOH 20:8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed.

 

John first came to believe in the bodily resurrection by seeing the empty tomb containing the grave clothes.

 

Rather than emphasizing their differences, which is never found in Christian virtue, we should emphasize what they are together, i.e. in unity.

 

The emphasis here is of greatest importance to the church. Peter and John saw together as two important witnesses.

 

People want to draw on the differences and forget that they are there together, ran there together, looked in the tomb together, and witnessed the same empty tomb and both of whom witnessed of that fact to the world. John and Peter are shown together in the gospels more than any others. In fact they fished together for years on the Sea of Galilee before they followed Christ.

 

COL 3:14

And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

 

Php 2:2

make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

 

No one knows why John states that he got there first. Maybe it was because he was younger or in better shape. John and the Holy Spirit thought it should be included but give no explanation, yet for some people, that's not good enough, and that's unfortunate.

 

2CO 10:12

For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

 

Then the reason is given for their not understanding a bodily resurrection, they did not understand the scripture.

 

JOH 20:9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

 

The resurrected Christ revealed the same problem in the men walking to Emmaus.

 

LUK 24:24-26

"And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see." And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

 

It is vital that every believer understand the scripture as it has been preserved in the cannon of scripture.

 

There are and have been a lot of great pastors, theologians, commentators, etc. who have done a terrific job in communicating the proper translation and interpretation of the scriptures, but there have been a lot of unprepared communicators who teach in ignorance, and a lot of false teachers as well. Every believer has the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit and is able to discern truth. The pastor teacher is given to the church as a gift but the members of the body, through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit and the written word can discern if he is a false teacher or if a particular doctrine is false by not lining up with all scripture on the subject. It doesn't mean that good pastors get everything correct, but they do not teach major truths incorrectly. Many don't understand dispensations, the fulfillment of the Law in Christ, the danger of taking passages out of context, teaching doctrines based on one passage without comparing all scripture on the subject, etc. In other words there are some out there who have not been trained in hermeneutics which is the art or science of interpretation.

 

In His first appearance to the disciples as a group, without Thomas, He presented Himself in a material, spiritual body and re-taught them what He said previously and taught them the fulfillment of the OT concerning Himself.

 

LUK 24:36 And while they were telling these things [the two men on the road to Emmaus], He Himself stood in their midst.

 

LUK 24:37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.

 

LUK 24:38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

 

LUK 24:39 "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 

 

LUK 24:40 [And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.]

 

LUK 24:41 And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" 

 

LUK 24:42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;

 

LUK 24:43 and He took it and ate it before them [to prove He was flesh and bone].

 

LUK 24:44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 

 

He repeats what He had taught them about Himself and His work revealed in the Law and Prophets and Psalms.

 

This passage seems to indicate that He taught them about the OT passages concerning Himself already. It's hard to imagine that they wouldn't have understood,  but again, we have the privilege of being on this side of the cross where we look at His death, burial, and resurrection as a historical reality. Before it all occurred it was apparently, by their own behavior, much harder to understand.

 

The men headed to Emmaus were called foolish for having a heart slow to believe. These men are with the rest of them in the room.

 

LUK 24:25 And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

 

LUK 24:26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

 

LUK 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

 

The scriptures were much easier to understand now that the cross and the resurrection were a historic fact sitting right in front of them.

 

We must remember that these men and all who were with them, believers and unbelievers, lived at the most unique time in history. There were many Jews who believed in a Messiah, their own idea of Him, and then lived to actually see Him, hear Him, or hear about Him. This is why John the Baptist was sent to prepare them, for this would be the most unique time in the history of all Jews and those who believed in the Jewish doctrines (proselytes).  

 

For us, there is a learning that comes from experience. Some have taken this too far and have based the spiritual life on experience. What I mean by this is seeing life through the lens of the supernatural, through the supernatural word of God. There is an enormous difference in viewing the details of life through a spiritual eye. Doctrine reveals reality to us, as we once lived in a false reality, and with the eyes of our heart enlightened our everyday lives, though on the surface, not looking much different, in our souls they are night and day. For instance, acquaintances, friendships, romance, marriage [all relationships] are viewed differently through God’s agape love. I learn what God’s love is through my study of the subject from the word of God, but it is only when I put it into practice in my relationships that I truly learn it. The same is true of all doctrines… they are meant to be lived, applied, and walked in. They are not meant to remain academic.

 

For the disciples, the scriptures concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord only became alive to them after these miraculous things became real to them.

 

A resurrected Lord showing you His resurrection from the OT brings those words alive, pun intended.

 

LUK 24:46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day;

 

LUK 24:47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

 

LUK 24:48 "You are witnesses of these things.

 

Can you imagine how many "aha" moments there were in this Bible study, probably lasting for hours? GEN 3:15; the Levitical offerings, the Tabernacle, the items in the Tabernacle, the feasts, the exodus, the Promised Land, Isaiah 53, Psa 16, 22 just to name some.

 

You have seen Me and now you have seen Me in Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Now, go tell this to the world.

 

LUK 24:49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."

 

/It would be Peter at Pentecost who would preach the gospel based upon the resurrection of Christ. This was after Christ explained the scriptures to them.\

 

This is one of the passages He brought them to when with them in the room.

 

ACT 2:24 "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

 

ACT 2:25 "For David says of Him [PSA 16:8-11],

'I was always beholding the Lord in my presence;

For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

 

ACT 2:26 'Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;

Moreover my flesh also will abide in hope;

 

ACT 2:27 Because Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades,

Nor allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.

 

ACT 2:28 'Thou hast made known to me the ways of life;

Thou wilt make me full of gladness with Thy presence.'

 

ACT 2:29 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

 

ACT 2:30 "And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne,

 

ACT 2:31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.