The Gospel of John
Sabbath School Study Week 14
Chapter 20
Chapter
20:1-18
Mary was headed to the tomb of Jesus as early as she could,
before the sun even arose on Sunday morning.
She was ready to anoint his body with oils, and hoping that there would
be someone or some way that she could roll the stone back from the tomb so that
she could enter. When she finds it open
she immediately assumes he has been taken or stolen away and runs to share the
bad news with the disciples.
1. Mary
lets her negative assumptions blind her twice in this passage. First when she sees the stone rolled away and
second when she returns and is so caught up in her grief that she doesn’t see
her Savior. Do we, do you ever let your
negative emotions, sadness, hurt, pain, anger, perfectionism, depression, keep
you from the good news of Christ? How or when? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. When
Jesus asks Mary the same question the angels did, she doesn’t recognize him. Perhaps she is blinded by her tears, but she
doesn’t even recognize his voice. Her
sadness is so great she doesn’t see what is right in front of her. When does she know it is him?
3. Do
you recognize it when he calls your name?
4. Mary,
unlikely Mary, is the one who has the privilege of being the first to spread
the good news to the disciples. Why do
you think she was the one? Was it
coincidence? Was it because she had waited around, sat at the place she knew he
had been instead of running for cover, back behind locked doors? Was it because she had gotten up early to go
and anoint his body? Was it because
Jesus wanted to make it perfectly clear that he didn’t see women as second
class or less important?
5. Her
good news was very personal, she shared her experience, “I have seen the Lord!” Have you seen the Lord?
Chapter
20: 19-23
1. Jesus
that very evening goes to the disciples.
He appears to them while their doors are locked for fear of the Jewish
leaders. These men still feared for
their lives, when Jesus appears. What
does he first say?
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2. He
then repeats himself. And then gives
them a calling, a joy, a purpose. Write
that below.
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3. Then
perhaps the most confusing verse:
23 at first blush it seems to
give permission for the disciples to forgive sins. There are several recourses I have
attached.
First from the SDA bible
commentary:
*Christ
gave no ecclesiastical right to forgive sin, nor to sell indulgences, that men
may sin without incurring the displeasure of God, nor did He give His servants
liberty to accept a gift or bribe for cloaking sin, that it may escape merited
censure. Jesus charged His disciples to preach the remission of sin in His
name among all nations; but they themselves were not empowered to remove
one stain of sin from the children of Adam.... Whoever would attract the people
to himself as one in whom is invested power to forgive sins, incurs the wrath
of God, for he turns souls away from the heavenly Pardoner to a weak and erring
mortal (The Spirit of Prophecy
3:245, 246). {5BC 1151.2}
Second from
an online recourse:
In John 20:23
the words "have been forgiven" is the single Greek word aphiami.
It is the perfect passive. The perfect tense is "I have
been." The pluperfect is "I had been." The perfect
tense designates an action that occurs in the past and continues into the
present, i.e., "I have been eating." The disciples were not
doing the forgiving, but pronouncing the sins that "have been"
forgiven by God.
So Jesus is calling the disciples to spread the good news
that He has risen, that their sins have already been forgiven because of what
Christ has done. The importance here is
that he is asking them to continue His work, to spread the good news to the
world.
·
What are you doing?
·
What are we doing?
·
What should we be doing?
·
Are we all called to evangelism?
·
What does that mean?
Chapter
20: 24-29
4. Jesus
wait a while but then he also goes to Thomas who was not present when Jesus
revealed himself to the disciples.
Thomas doubted their good news.
So Jesus goes to him personally, and lets him touch his hands and his
side. He gives Thomas what he desires
and then in verse 29 he explains how those who will believe without seeing are
even more blessed!
Perhaps
this is a gift to all of us who were born way after the fact, without the
opportunity of seeing. Perhaps it is a
challenge for each of us today. We keep wanting
and needing Jesus to show us how he is working in our lives. We need him to show up and make things
clear. We need feel him, to touch him,
to experience him. Or do we? How can I this New Year, let believing be
enough? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter
20:30
John’s
conclusion: All of this is written so
that you will know that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Do you know? Do you believe?
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