Word of Jesus Part 66

Joy and hope returns. All is not lost. They were probably in the valley of despair when Jesus was crucified but what He said surely would come to pass. Now they can rejoice for the Son of God lives.

John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

"They have taken away the Lord". She assumed the authorities took away the body of Jesus. They forgot that Jesus told them that He would be resurrected on the third day.

John 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.
John 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
John 20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
John 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

Brave Peter would be quick to act on occasion showing no fear at times.

John 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
John 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.
John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
John 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

Perhaps the disciples left too soon. Mary remained and was spoken to by the angels and the Lord Himself.

John 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.
John 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.
John 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

Jesus cared enough to stay around and comfort the one who weeped at His missing body.

John 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.
John 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Her eyes were opened and she recognized the savior at the sound of her name being spoken.

John 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.

Jesus told her not to bother with Him at this point because He was not yet going to leave. He wanted her to make haste and go tell about His resurrection to the others before He had to leave and be with the Father. There are many interpretations as to why Jesus didn't want Mary to touch Him but it is probably a simply one that He wanted her to go quickly to tell the others that He was alive.  He wanted to end their sorrow of His death and get on with the job of preaching the gospel. 

John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
John 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.
John 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.

What a joy that must have been to have seen the Lord and to have known the reality of what He had been saying to them was indeed true. If they had any doubts as to who this man was, it was erased when they saw Him. Surely there was no mistake. They know He was crucified, they know He was laid in a tomb. They know that He is at this time alive.

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

He was telling them to go forth and preach the gospel after receiving the Holy Ghost. Jesus was returning them to the main task that they were to do next.  The days of mourning and sorrow were over.  Now they were to preach the message of the gospel to the entire world that all who would believer would be saved.  If they would have returned to their occupations and ignored this commission, none of us would be saved from sin but would have remained in sin and entered eternity in hell. 

John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.

This was not giving Peter the power to forgive sins but it was telling all of them that they had the same authority to preach the gospel and whoever repents will be saved and whoever does not repent and accept the gospel will not be saved. No power was given to them to forgive sins but preach the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

This was not just given to Peter but to all who are called to preach the gospel throughout the centuries.

John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 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.
John 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 was a doubter and wanted to be sure. Jesus cared enough for this one man to make sure that His faith was not hurt.

John 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.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 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.

Most us of living today have not seen the Lord by our physical eyes. Some may have seen Him in visions and dreams but most of us have never seen anything outward. We see Him only by faith. There is a special blessing on those that have not seen but yet have believed. This will apply to most of us who believe without actually seeing. His spirit that is given to us when we believe, will bear witness that what He says is true.

John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 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.

Truly this was the Son of God who came to save the world from sin. I doubt that the disciples would have died horrible deaths for the cause of a lie. They suffered persecution and some of them were killed for preaching the gospel. Many of the early believers were killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Would they have been killed for a lie? The disciples would have known the truth. They would have known if Jesus had not raised from the dead. Why would they leave family, risk beatings, imprisonment and death for a lie? Truly Jesus is the only way of salvation and every word in the New Testament that speaks of Him is true. He is the way to eternal life. God sent Him to us and all who believe will be saved from the wrath that is coming and the judgment that is coming upon the whole world.

Words of Jesus 67