John Bible Study - Lesson 50
Read the passage
below using the 2 different Bible translations:
John
19:38-42 New International Version (NIV)
The Burial of Jesus
38 Later, Joseph of
Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of
Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s
permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He
was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at
night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five
pounds.[a] 40 Taking
Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of
linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At
the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a
new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because
it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was
nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John
20:1-10 New International Version (NIV)
The Empty Tomb
20 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. 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!”
3 So Peter and the
other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were
running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.5 He
bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did
not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him
and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as
well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was
still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally
the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He
saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand
from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then
the disciples went back to where they were staying.
John
19:38-42 New Living Translation (NLT)
The Burial of Jesus
38 Afterward Joseph
of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the
Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When
Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With
him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about
seventy-five pounds[a] of
perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following
Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets
of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was
near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And
so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover[b] and since
the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
John
20:1-10 New Living Translation (NLT)
The Resurrection
20 Early on Sunday
morning,[a] while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from
the entrance. 2 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!”
3 Peter and the
other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They
were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb
first.5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen
wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then
Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying
there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’
head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then
the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and
believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t
understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then
they went home.
Note:
Here are the 3
questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the
questions to help you understand the passage. Answer the questions first
yourself before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask
God to help you understand what you are reading.
3
questions to answer:
1. Content: What
is this passage about?
2. Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
3. Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
Answers
to the questions above and some background:
Content: What is this passage about?
·
Joseph
of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for permission to take down the
body of Jesus off the cross.
·
After
Pilate granted Joseph permission, Joseph, along with Nicodemus, took Jesus’
body and prepared it for burial.
·
Joseph
and Nicodemus buried Jesus in an empty tomb.
·
Early
on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone sealing
the tomb had been rolled away.
·
Mary
tells Peter and John that Jesus’ body had been removed from the tomb.
·
Peter
and John run to the tomb and discover that the linens Jesus was buried in where
still there minus the body.
·
Both
and John and Peter left not understanding that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Lesson: What
do I learn from this passage?
·
Jesus
was buried in a rich man’s tomb fulfilling prophecy.
Prophecy:
Isaiah
53:9 New International Version (NIV)
He
was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Fulfillment of
Prophecy: (Adding the Matthew passage
for more detail)
Matthew
27:57-60 New International Version (NIV)
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening
approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself
become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he
asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph
took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and
placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a
big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
So, who is
Joseph of Arimathea?
Joseph of Arimathea mentioned in all four Gospels:
Called “Joseph of Arimathea” because “he came from the Judean
town of Arimathea” (Luke
23:51)
While there is not much information in the Bible about Joseph
of Arimathea, there are certain things we can glean from the text. In Luke 23:50,
we learn that Joseph was actually a part of the Council, or Sanhedrin—the group of Jewish
religious leaders who called for Jesus’ crucifixion.
Luke
23:50 New International Version (NIV)
The Burial of Jesus
50 Now there was a
man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man,
However,
as we read on to verse 51, we see that Joseph was opposed to the Council’s
decision about Jesus’ fate and was in fact a secret follower of Jesus:
Luke 23:51New International
Version (NIV)
51 who had not
consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of
Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.
Also in Mark:
Mark
15:43 New International Version (NIV)
43 Joseph of
Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for
the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
Joseph was a wealthy man (Matthew 27:57),
although the source of his wealth is unknown. In addition, the Bible refers to
Joseph as a “good and upright man” (Luke 23:50).
Joseph risked not only his position on
the Sanhedrin, but also excommunication from the synagogue due to making
himself unclean by touching Jesus’ dead body.
So, who is
Nicodemus?
John
3: 3-New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named
Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He
came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a
teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are
doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus
replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless
they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone
be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second
time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus
answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh
gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives
birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at
my saying, ‘You[c] must be
born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is
going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this
be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said
Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very
truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have
seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I
have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you
believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one
has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of
Man.[e] 14 Just as
Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up,[f] 15 that
everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because
they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This
is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness
instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that
their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives
by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what
they have done has been done in the sight of God.
So here is what
we learn about Nicodemus:
·
He
was a Pharisee: Nicodemus was part of a group of
Jews who were fastidious in keeping the letter of the Law and often opposed
Jesus throughout His ministry.
·
A
Leader of the Jews
·
Member
of the Jewish Ruling Council
·
Member
of the Sanhedrin
·
Came
to speak to Jesus about the kingdom of God
·
Jesus
teaches Nicodemus about what it means to be born again
·
Jesus
tells Nicodemus that He Jesus came to save God’s people and will be crucified
to fulfill God’s plan of salvation.
(Parts of the above info from
Gotquestions.org)
·
In
accordance with Jewish burial customs, Joseph and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body
and wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
·
Jesus’
body was anointed in life as well as in His death.
Understanding
Anointing:
·
Anointing oil, mentioned 20 times in Scripture, was used in
the Old Testament for pouring on the head of the high priest and his
descendants and sprinkling the tabernacle and its furnishings to mark them as holy and set apart to the
Lord
·
The New Testament Greek words for “anoint” are chrio, which means “to
smear or rub with oil” and, by implication, “to consecrate for office or religious service”; and aleipho, which means “to
anoint.” In Bible times, people were
anointed with oil to signify God’s blessing or call on that person’s life
·
Another meaning for the word anointed is "chosen
one." The Bible says that Jesus
Christ was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News and
free those who have been held captive by sin (Luke
4:18-19; Acts
10:38). After Christ left the earth,
He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (John
14:16). Now all Christians are anointed, chosen for a specific purpose in
furthering God's Kingdom (1 John
2:20). "Now He who establishes
us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and
given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee" (2
Corinthians 1:21-22).
The Magi presented frankincense
and myrrh to the child Jesus as a gift:
Matthew
2:7-12New International Version (NIV)
7 Then Herod
called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had
appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go
and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so
that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had
heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose
went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When
they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On
coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed
down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him
with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And
having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned
to their country by another route.
Mary anointed the
feet of Jesus: John 12:1-8
Six days before the Passover,
Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from
the dead. So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus
was one of those reclining with him at the table.
Mary
therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and
anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was
filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
But
Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him),
said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and
given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but
because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help
himself to what was put into it.
Jesus
said, “Leave her alone so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the
poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
A
woman anointed Jesus with expensive ointment: Mark 14:1-9
It was now two days before the
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the
scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, for they
said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar from the people.”
And
while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was
reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure
nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.
But
Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a
beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever
you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She
has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for
burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the
whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
The significance
of the anointing and the presentation of oil as a gift to Jesus are symbolic of
Jesus’ worthiness to be worshiped and praised.
Below are
reasons why Jesus is worthy of Worship:
1:
Jesus is worthy of our worship because He is the Lamb of God who takes away our
sin. John 1:29 says, “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus died the
death we all should have died because the wages of death is sin. He suffered in
our place and took the full wrath of God against our sin and secured our
complete forgiveness.
2: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the bread of life. In John 6:35 Jesus says these
words: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and
whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Jesus promises to satisfy our souls
and that we will never go hungry or thirsty spiritually. He is the only true
source of nourishment and life for sinners who need salvation.
3: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the Light of the World. John 8:12 reads, “I am the
light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have
the light of life.” We live in a world of darkness and sin where people do evil
deeds of wickedness. Jesus shines brightly into that darkness and provides hope
for the hopeless and direction for the aimless.
4: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the Good Shepherd. John 10:11: “I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” He voluntarily
went to the cross on behalf of rebellious sinners because the only way we can
be reconciled to a holy God is through the penalty of death. We are lost,
helpless, hopeless and hell-bound sheep without a shepherd going our own way
into sin and destruction, and Jesus reaches down into our depravity and chaos
and brokenness and doesn’t wait for us to get our act together or somehow earn
His favor. No, instead, He takes the initiative as the good shepherd and lays
down His life for the sheep.
5: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the resurrection and the life. In John 11:25–26 Jesus
says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he
die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never
die.” Through Him, we can have eternal life and not have to suffer eternally
for our sins. Because of Christ, we will not have to endure eternal conscious
torment in hell, but will live forever with Him in heaven as our glorious home.
6: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the ONLY way of salvation. Listen to what Jesus says
about Himself in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is not just one of many good or
desirable ways to be accepted by God. He emphatically claims that He alone is
the sole doorway or entrance into a relationship with God.
7: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the giver of indestructible joy. In John 15:11, Jesus
desires that our joy be full and in John 16:22 tells us that no one can take
away this joy. The joy Jesus’ gives is that deeply rooted and settled
confidence and peace in His sovereignty where we trust in His promises no
matter what our circumstances.
8: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit. John 14:16:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you
forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will
be in you.” We have the promise from Jesus that the Holy Spirit will live in us
forever and will never leave us nor forsake us.
9: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the resurrected Lord. Act 2:23-24 states, “This
Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up,
loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by
it.”
10: Jesus is worthy of
our worship because He is the Coming King. We find the Second Coming of Christ
in Revelation 1:7-8: “ Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will
see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on
account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord
God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
(The Above points
are from Sean Cole, lead pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church)
·
3 days after Jesus died on the cross, Mary Magdalene returns
to the tomb only to find the stone had been rolled away.
·
Mary tells Peter and John that someone had removed Jesus’
body from the tomb.
At
this point, let’s get more detail from the other Gospels:
Matthew
28:1-10 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Has Risen
28 After the
Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a
violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.3 His
appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.4 The
guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said
to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has
risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then
go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going
ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women
hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his
disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he
said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then
Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go
to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Mark
16:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Has Risen
16 When the Sabbath
was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very
early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way
to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will
roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they
looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled
away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young
man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were
alarmed.
6 “Don’t be
alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But
go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There
you will see him, just as he told you.’”
8 Trembling and
bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to
anyone, because they were afraid.[a]
Luke
24:1-12 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Has Risen
24 On the first day
of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had
prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found
the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when
they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While
they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like
lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright
the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He
is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with
you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be
delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be
raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his
words.
9 When they came
back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the
others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the
apostles. 11 But they did not believe the
women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter,
however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen
lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had
happened.
You also may be wondering about the
differences in the Gospel writer’s details about the empty tomb and resurrection
of Jesus.
So
the question remains, can the various resurrection accounts from the four
Gospels be harmonized?
By any reasonable evaluation, the
resurrection accounts from the four Gospels are superbly consistent eyewitness
testimonies. The central truths - that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and
that the resurrected Jesus appeared to many people - are clearly taught in each
of the four Gospels. The apparent inconsistencies are in "side
issues." How many angels did they see in the tomb, one or two? (Perhaps
one person only saw one angel, while the other person saw two angels.) To how
many women did Jesus appear, and to whom did He appear first? (While each
Gospel has a slightly different sequence to the appearances, none of them
claims to be giving the precise chronological order.) So, while the
resurrection accounts may seem to be inconsistent, it cannot be proven that the
accounts are contradictory.
Here is a possible harmony of the narratives of the resurrection of Christ and His post-resurrection appearances, in chronological order:
Here is a possible harmony of the narratives of the resurrection of Christ and His post-resurrection appearances, in chronological order:
Jesus
is buried, as several women watch
(Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42).
The tomb is sealed and a guard is set (Matthew 27:62-66).
At least 3 women, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, prepare spices to go to the tomb (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1).
An angel descends from heaven, rolls the stone away, and sits on it. There is an earthquake, and the guards faint (Matthew 28:2-4).
The women arrive at the tomb and find it empty. Mary Magdalene leaves the other women there and runs to tell the disciples (John 20:1-2).
The women still at the tomb see two angels who tell them that Jesus is risen and who instruct them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee
The tomb is sealed and a guard is set (Matthew 27:62-66).
At least 3 women, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, prepare spices to go to the tomb (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1).
An angel descends from heaven, rolls the stone away, and sits on it. There is an earthquake, and the guards faint (Matthew 28:2-4).
The women arrive at the tomb and find it empty. Mary Magdalene leaves the other women there and runs to tell the disciples (John 20:1-2).
The women still at the tomb see two angels who tell them that Jesus is risen and who instruct them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee
(Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:2-8; Luke 24:1-8).
The women leave to bring the news to the disciples (Matthew 28:8).
The guards, having roused themselves, report the empty tomb to the authorities, who bribe the guards to say the body was stolen
The women leave to bring the news to the disciples (Matthew 28:8).
The guards, having roused themselves, report the empty tomb to the authorities, who bribe the guards to say the body was stolen
(Matthew 28:11-15).
Mary the mother of James and the other women, on their way to find the disciples, see Jesus (Matthew 28:9-10).
The women relate what they have seen and heard to the disciples
Mary the mother of James and the other women, on their way to find the disciples, see Jesus (Matthew 28:9-10).
The women relate what they have seen and heard to the disciples
(Luke 24:9-11).
Peter and John run to the tomb, see that it is empty, and find the grave clothes (Luke 24:12; John 20:2-10).
Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb. She sees the angels, and then she sees Jesus (John 20:11-18).
Later the same day, Jesus appears to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
Peter and John run to the tomb, see that it is empty, and find the grave clothes (Luke 24:12; John 20:2-10).
Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb. She sees the angels, and then she sees Jesus (John 20:11-18).
Later the same day, Jesus appears to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
………………………………………………………………..
The below events will be dealt with in
upcoming lessons
Still on the same day, Jesus appears to Cleopas and another disciple on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).
That evening, the two disciples report the event to the Eleven in Jerusalem (Luke 24:32-35).
Jesus appears to ten disciples—Thomas is missing (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25).
Jesus appears to all eleven disciples—Thomas included (John 20:26-31).
Jesus appears to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).
Jesus appears to about 500 disciples in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Jesus appears to His half-brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
Jesus commissions His disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
Jesus teaches His disciples the Scriptures and promises to send the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:4-5).
Jesus ascends into heaven (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-12).
Still on the same day, Jesus appears to Cleopas and another disciple on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).
That evening, the two disciples report the event to the Eleven in Jerusalem (Luke 24:32-35).
Jesus appears to ten disciples—Thomas is missing (Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25).
Jesus appears to all eleven disciples—Thomas included (John 20:26-31).
Jesus appears to seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).
Jesus appears to about 500 disciples in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6).
Jesus appears to His half-brother James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
Jesus commissions His disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
Jesus teaches His disciples the Scriptures and promises to send the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:4-5).
Jesus ascends into heaven (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:6-12).
(The above details from
Gotquestions.org)
The
most important thing we can learn from the empty tomb eyewitness accounts is
that Jesus truly is God’s Messiah who rose from the dead to demonstrate God’s love,
grace and power over sin and death. With Jesus’ resurrection, we can be
confident in God’s plan to save His people and the inheritance of eternal life
given all those who follow Jesus.
God’s display of
His great love:
Romans
5:7-9 New Living Translation (NLT)
7 Now, most people
would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps
be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But
God showed his great love for us by
sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been
made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us
from God’s condemnation.
John
3:16 New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
Belief in Jesus and
confession of faith are needed for salvation:
Romans
10:9 New International Version (NIV)
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.
Faith is a gift
from God that comes from God’s grace:
Ephesians
2:8-9 New International Version (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can
boast
Next time we
will visit the disciple’s as they realize that Jesus had truly risen from the
dead fulfilling prophecy and God’s plan of salvation.
Application: How
can I apply what I have learned to my life?
·
Spend
time in God’s Word each day for eternal perspective.
·
Understand
that you can have different points of view of an eyewitness account that add up
to the truth.
·
Trust
God’s Word to lead you to an abundant life.
·
Live
out your faith with action.
·
Understand
that Jesus is worthy of our worship and praise.
Don’t forget:
John’s main
purpose in writing this Gospel:
·
To
tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles
·
The
events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life
John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in
the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his
name.
Questions
to ponder:
·
How
do you honor God?
·
Is
Jesus the pinnacle of your worship and praise?
·
Do
you believe that the resurrection account can be harmonized?
·
Are
you a secret disciple or do people know you as a follower of Jesus?
Have a great
week…………….Dave
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