John 21:15-19
English Standard Version

Jesus and Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus and the Beloved Apostle​
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
​
25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

Even though Simon Peter had seen the Lord and jumped out of the boat to go meet Him and they just shared a meal together, there was still the issue of the betrayal that needed dealt with.  Peter needed to understand that Jesus died for the forgiveness of his own sin and so that he could be reconciled with God the Father, God the Son, and with the other disciples.  Jesus still had big plans for Simon Peter as we'll see in the book of Acts when we get there (the first portion of the book of Acts is mostly dedicated to the early church in Jerusalem where Peter is one of the leaders).

After breakfast is over, Jesus takes Peter aside and asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these?"  It's unclear what "these" refers to.  Is Jesus asking Peter comparatively if his love for Jesus is greater than that of the other disciples?  Is Jesus asking Peter if Peter still loves Jesus more than his old life of being on the Sea and catching fish?  I'm not sure, but either way, Jesus is asking if Peter loves Jesus supremely where his love for anything and everything else pales in comparison.  Peter's answer seems bold where he replied, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you," however if we see the Greek here, Peter uses a different word for "love" to answer Jesus' question than the word that Jesus used to answer the question.  IT seems Peter has learned his lesson about over-committing like when he promised that even if everyone else would betray Jesus, he never would and would be willing to die for Him.  Peter now has a much more measured and reserved reply where he's not ready to fully commit to what Jesus is asking of him.

This is one of the places that we lose a bit in translation.  Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved Jesus with divine love, agope love.  Peter "friend-zoned" Jesus and said, "Yes, Jesus, you know that we're friends who love each other like brothers, phileo love--the word where we get words like fidelity and Philadelphia (the city of Brotherly Love).  Jesus doesn't argue with Peter's response here, but then gives the command to Peter "Feed my lambs."

Jesus then repeats the question exactly as He had asked it the first time using the word agope again.  Peter responds the same way again with the word phileo.  This time Jesus gives the command to Peter, "Tend my sheep."  This is a different level over care and oversight than just feeding the little lambs that Jesus had said the first time.  Jesus is asking Peter to shepherd His flock and not just feed them, but protect them and care for them as Jesus would.

In the last exchange, Jesus changes the word that He uses to ask the question and uses the same word that Peter has been using.  He asks Peter if he phileo loves Him.  This cuts to Peter's heart because know Jesus is saying, "Are we really friends, Peter?"  "Would you really have treated me like this if you loved me like a brother, Peter?"  Peter might also realize now that Jesus is asking him to profess his love three times because Peter denied Jesus three times, and that would also sting.  Peter and Jesus are finally on the same page as Peter once again replies, "You know everything; you know that I phileo you."  Peter speaks from humility here as Jesus had known everything ahead of His death--the timing and manner of His death, the betrayal by His closest friends including Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot, and that He would rise again on the third day.  Peter argued many of these points with Jesus in the past, but now Peter understands that he should never argue like this with Jesus because Jesus has complete knowledge of events and people and Peter can only hope that Jesus knows his heart and knows that Peter means it when he says he phileo loves Jesus.  Jesus then responds by commanding Peter to "Feed my sheep."  While similar to the first command, this one is a little different as these are full-grown sheep and no longer "lambs" that Jesus is talking about.

Peter has been given responsibility to feed those who are immature in their faith (the baby "lambs"), to watch over and "tend" the entire flock, and to continue to "feed" the mature sheep.  Jesus is telling Peter that there's a lifelong commitment here for those that Jesus is giving Peter the responsibility of shepherding.  No matter where they are in their spiritual maturity, it is Peter's responsibility to give them what they need for food and to give them protection--just like Jesus would do and had done for His disciples.

​Jesus then switches gears and goes back to the commitment that Peter made that he would be willing to die for Jesus.  Jesus promises Peter that there will be a day when that will definitely come to pass, but that he will be an old man when it happens.  The wording that is used by Jesus here is that which was used of describing someone that would be crucified.  Jesus tells Peter that he is going to follow after His Lord in the manner of his death.

Peter then turns to John, probably knowing how much Jesus loved John and the special relationship they had with each other and that John had been the one that stayed by Jesus' side through the trial and crucifixion, and asked, "What about him?"  It's hard to tell if Peter is asking this out of genuine concern for John or out of some sort of feeling that John was going to get some sort of special treatment.  Either way, Jesus' answer tells Peter that it's none of his concern what happens to John.  If Jesus wants John to live until Jesus' return, what is that to Peter?

John then finally identifies himself as the one giving the testimony here (though not by name--simply by saying that "the disciple that Jesus loved" is the one writing this book).  John also says that his testimony is true and trustworthy--it is his own eyewitness testimony that he is swearing to.

The book then ends with one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture that leads to some of the lyrics of one of my favorite hymns (The Love of God).  There was so much more that John could have written about, but there's not enough time, scribes, paper or ink to write it all down nor could the world contain all the books that would need to be written to tell of all the words and works of Jesus.  However, John has made sure to give us everything that we need to accomplish the purpose that he had in writing the book--to know with certainly that Jesus is the Son of God and that by believing in Him we might have eternal life.

John 21:1-14
English Standard Version

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

​9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

We might have expected John 20:30-31 to be the end of the Gospel of John, because it sounds very much like a "summation" or "conclusion" statement (you state your argument at the end of a persuasive paper to reinforce what you want people to take away).  However, chapter 21 provided a few other stories that John wanted to make sure were included, even though all the evidence needed to persuade people had been presented.  Not a lot is said in any of the gospels about the days between the Resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus, and John is going to focus in on this final days as Jesus prepared His disciples (and probably Himself) for the fact that He is going away--returning to the right hand of the Father.

Many of the disciples seem to have returned to their old lives of being fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, that is the Sea of Tiberius.  Jesus had told the women at the tomb to tell His disciples to go to Galilee and wait for Him there on the mountain where He often met with them--I would assume the Mount of Transfiguration would be the mountain that would stand out in the memories of at least Peter, James and John.  Even the others who remained at the base of the mountain and did not go up with Him would remember that location.  Other gospels tell us that they received instructions to remain in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit which most people assume meant they needed to stay there until Pentecost, but John just told us in chapter 20 that Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit when He appeared to them after His resurrection.  So, everything is consistent so far with the disciples waiting there in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and then going ahead of Jesus to Galilee to wait for Him as they were commanded, though they will again make the pilgrimage back to Jerusalem for Pentecost (as every Jew would since it is a pilgrimage holiday) and that will be why we see them there again.  The gospels are in harmony.

So, again, the disciples are waiting in Galilee doing what they know how to do--fishing.  The majority of them were fishermen before Jesus called them, and those who were not fishermen by trade probably learned a lot about it by being around those who were.  Specifically, this passage tells us that a group of seven disciples were out fishing, though only five are named--Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the Sons of Zebedee (that is James the Greater and John), and two others.  Since there are no other cross-references for this story, we have no idea who the two unnamed disciples are, and they are unnamed because they will not have important roles in this particular part of the story.  It seems that going fishing was Simon Peter's idea and that the others either had no better ideas and wanted to join Peter or perhaps they were concerned about him wishing to isolate himself from the group and they just wanted to be with him--fishing is a good opportunity for that.  There's a lot of just sitting and waiting and quiet.  There's not an expectation even to talk to each other, but you're out where no one else is and there is ample opportunity to talk of you want to, but mostly it's about someone just investing the time to sit there with you for hours and hours on end and be there for you in case you want to say anything.  Either way, they were being good friends to Simon Peter at a time that he needed them.

Like many other situations like this one, we see these seasoned fishermen out all night, the time that would have been prefect for catching fish in the Sea of Galilee, coming back with empty nets and empty boats.  They might have even been dejected wondering what they were going to do now if they weren't even any good at fishing anymore.  They had spent nearly three years taking direction from Jesus.  They know He's risen from the dead, but He hasn't been around a whole since His resurrection and He's been telling them that He's going away for good now.  As they are returning to shore early in the morning, there is a man on the beach who calls to them to ask them if they have caught anything (it is Jesus, but they do not recognize Him).  They say "No" and the man tells them to try casting their nets on the other side and they would find some--a ridiculous statement to anyone who was a seasoned fishermen and knew the Sea and the fish that lived in it for they had patters that were predictable, and there's no guarantee that the fish will bite (but who needs to worry about the fish biting when Jesus can make them jump into the net).  Either something about this exchange sounded familiar to them or they were so hopeless at this point that they were willing to try anything--even that which didn't make any logical sense.  They listened and obeyed and they caught a miraculous catch--so large they could not haul it in!  (We'll see just how many fish there were shortly).

John immediately recognizes that it is Jesus and responds by saying to Simon Peter, "It is the Lord."  In true "Simon Peter" fashion he puts on his outer garment (because he had stripped down to his undergarments to fish) and jumps out of the boat into the water and swims about 100-yards to shore, abandoning the other fishermen and the miraculous catch so that he can be the first to reach Jesus.  The others follow shortly thereafter with the boat and the catch of fish.  They had to drag the net onto shore because they could not even get the net into the boat, it was so full--again, not very far for them because they were only about 100-yards off of the land.

They find something surprising when they get to shore--Jesus already had fish and was cooking them for them so that they could have breakfast.  I'm sure everyone wondered where He got His fish from, but no one bothered to ask Him.  He's also cooking bread for them (this is probably just regular bread as the Feast of Unleavened Bread is over).  He tells them to bring some of the fish that they caught and put them on the fire as well.  Simon Peter goes aboard and hauls the net ashore and they begin to count the fish--153 in total! What's so amazing about this is that this normally would have torn and broken their nets they were catching with, but the nets were not broken.

Jesus invites them come and sit down and have breakfast with Him--a sign of fellowship in just about any culture, but especially for the Jews.  At this point, everyone recognized Him and no one needed to ask, "Who are you,?"  They all knew.  Jesus took the bread and the fish and gave it to them to eat and John makes sure to point out that this was the third time that He had revealed Himself to the disciples (meaning the Eleven) either with all or just some of the present--the first time was when Thomas was not present when He breathed on them to give them the Holy Spirit, then again eight days later after the Feast of Unleavened Bread had ended and Thomas was present, then again now at the Sea of Galilee with these seven for the miraculous catch.

I'd be in error if I did not point out why I think John included this story for us.  Yes, part of it is because it is additional eyewitness testimony with a group of people.  Yes, it is because Jesus ate something and we can tell He has a physical resurrected body (we'll see that part of the conversation coming up in the next passages we talk about), but this should draw our minds back to the original calling of these disciples when Jesus gave them a mission and a purpose telling them that they would be "fishers of men."  Everything was looking bleak and coming up dry and empty for them right now and Jesus gives them instructions on how to catch fish that don't make any sense at all--no one fishes in the daytime close to shore on that side of the boat, but for some reason they listened to Jesus and the fish swam into the nets and the disciples caught the biggest catch of their lives.  Application?  This probably teaches the disciples something about how they are going to catch men, as Jesus is about ready to give them The Great Commission.  They will be given instructions that don't make much sense to anyone else, and the "catch" that they make will not be because of their own knowledge or skill, but because God caused those they were trying to catch to swim and jump into the net--all they had to do was let their nets down where they were told when they were told and God took care of the rest.  They will catch men in a way that would normally break the "nets" of anyone that was trying to do this on their own, yet their nets will be unbroken and ready to catch even more men, and all of this will be done by the power and the will and at the direction of Jesus so that He gets all the glory.  This story is not so much about fish, but about the disciples needing to remember the calling and seeing that God was still going to do the miraculous in making them fishers of men.  Now they are ready to receive some of their final instructions from Jesus--but there are a couple other pieces of unfinished business, especailly between Jesus and Simon Peter.  We'll get to those next time.

John 20:24-29
English Standard Version

Jesus and Thomas
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, 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; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, 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 believed.”

The Purpose of This Book​
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

We just saw in the last section how Jesus appeared to the disciples to give them peace and comfort and to give them the Holy Spirit after His resurrection, but John now tells us that Thomas was not there with the others when Jesus appeared to them on Sunday evening.  No matter how much the disciples told Thomas that they had seen the risen Christ, he would not believe them.  He said that He needed to see the and examine the evidence for himself--the nailprints in His hands and the spear wound in His side.

Jesus shows up eight days later (Monday evening the week following the Resurrection) and He specifically shows Thomas the evidence that he has asked for.  He gives Thomas the same greeting of "Peace be with you," and He challenges Thomas with His Thomas's own words telling him to put his finger into the nailprints and to thrust his hand into His side.  There is no indication that Thomas took Jesus up on His offer, but He instead simply replies with, "My Lord and my God."

Jesus blesses Thomas for believing because he has seen, but says that those, like us, who believe without seeing will be more blessed.  For many, "Seeing is believing," but we are told in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." and we are told in Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."  We all must come to God through Jesus by faith now because we do not see these things and cannot evaluate them empirically.  That is not to say that our faith is blind faith, for we have the eyewitness testimony of those that wrote the gospels and other books of the New Testament.  John says that he wrote these things so that we may know just some of what Jesus did in the presence of His disciples and can know by these signs that Jesus is who He says He is--the very Son of God, and that by believing on Him we may know that we have eternal life.  What a powerful statement!

We're not done yet though as Jesus still has some unfinished business with Peter and the others before He ascends to heaven.  We'll talk about that over the next few days as we finish up the Gospel of John.

John 20:19-23
English Standard Version

Jesus Appears to the Disciples​
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

We now jump ahead to the evening of the Sunday we know as Resurrection Day.  While John doesn't give the account, the disciples on the Road to Emmaus have just returned to the Eleven and told them about their experience, then Jesus appears among them and says, "Peace be with you."  He showed them His hands and His side (probably in reference to Thomas saying that he would not believe unless he could put his fingers in the nailprints and his hand in the side where the spear had been thrust).  Jesus had appeared to the others without Thomas there one time before this, The disciples were comforted and reassured and were glad to see Him.

Jesus again says, "Peace be with you" and then repeats to them some things that He said in the Garden on the evening of His arrest.  As the Father has sent the Son, so the Son is sending them, the Church, into the world.  John then says that Jesus breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit.  We usually don't think of the Holy Spirit being given to the disciples until Pentecost, but apparently He gave them a temporary gifting of the Spirit at this point to help them be able to see and understand everything that had happened and to remember all that He said.  Then Jesus sends them out with power and authority telling them that, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."  There is much debate if these words apply only to the Eleven that were there that day, only to those who were called to be apostles (this authority passed to other apostles such as Matthias and Paul), or if it also would include everyone today who has received the Holy Spirit as a member of the Church.  It's hard to build a doctrine about such things on only one verse like this without also looking at the rest of Scripture, but we know that Jesus had much to say about forgiveness and forgiving those who were our "brothers" and even extending forgiveness to those who were our enemies and didn't deserve it because we were enemies with God when He forgave us.

So then the question becomes one of, "Is there even anyone that forgiveness should be withheld from?" and "Why would we want forgiveness to be withheld and for people to perish in hell?"  Certainly if we withhold the gospel from people and don't permit them the opportunity if their sins to be forgiven, then they will not be forgiven, and surly if they repent and believe the gospel and pray for the forgiveness of their sins believing Jesus to be both Savior and Lord, then their sins will be forgiven.  Is that the meaning of this verse?  Honestly, I do not know and I try not to focus too much on any one verse and make a doctrinal position on it unless that verse is extremely clear in what it means.  My assumption is that this was a message that was being given to these men who were in that room at that time as this message does not seem to be repeated by the other New Testament writers or given to any of the churches that they wrote letters to, nor is it repeated by Jesus to the churches that He gave letters to in the book of Revelation as something they should be doing (either to commend them for doing it or correcting them for not doing it).  Let's make sure that in this passage we are making much about Jesus and much of the Holy Spirit where all this authority and power are derived from and let the Holy Spirit direct us in how to exercise the gifts that He has given to us.  Should there be a time when the Spirit wishes us to exercise the gift of prophecy in a way where we speak condemnation on those who refuse to repent because they have hardened their hearts and have made their choice, let those words be His words coming out of our mouths, and if the Spirit gives us the gift of evangelism, teaching, preaching, exhortation, or any of the other gifts that are used to help bring people to repentance, and even to the point of sending us to them like He did with Philip being sent to the Ethiopian eunuch or Peter being sent to Cornelius, then He will certainly save those whom the Father has chosen and given to the Son.  This has everything to do with the power and the work and will of the Spirit and has nothing to do with us imposing our will on God and forcing God to save some people and condemn others.

John 20:11-18
English Standard Version

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene​
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one 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 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 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 Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for 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 that he had said these things to her.

While John doesn't say "Mary Magdalene" specifically, it is clear by comparing this passages with the parallel passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that John is indeed speaking to Mary Magdalene.  From the best that I can tell, and entire group of women went to the tomb that morning with Mary Magdalene being one of them.  By putting all the accounts together, it seems like the account goes something like this.  The women woke up early in the morning before sunrise to take more spices and oils to the tomb to again anoint the body.  Among the women going to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and Joses (called "the other Mary" or "the wife of Cleopas" in some passages), Joanna the mother of James (assuming this is James the Greater) and Salome.  There were other women here too, but there is no mention in any of the accounts of Mary, the mother of Jesus and it would seem that she would have been mentioned by name if she was there.

The women realize on the way to the tomb that the stone that had been rolled in front of the grave would be in their way and that they would not be able to move it, and it seems they had no idea about the Roman guard that had been posted or the seal that had been put on the tomb because all that happened after they left the tomb following the crucifixion (it seems all these women were there at the foot of the cross and assisted Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea with the burial) God provided an answer to all of this as He sent an angel to roll away the stone.  The appearance of the angel as well as the display of its power made these seasoned Roman soldiers fall over like dead men.  The angel that rolled away the stone then sat on the tombstone waiting for the women and the disciples so that he could deliver the message that God had for each of them.

While only one angel was mentioned as rolling back the stone, sitting on it and speaking to the women, it is clear from other accounts that there were two angels present.  This is not an error or even conflict--just a difference in focus.  Some accounts only focus on the angel that was speaking and doing most of the action while other accounts tell us that there was another angel present who it appears did not say or do much.  The message from the angelic messenger(s) went something like, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples and Peter that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise..  See, I have told you.”

At some point during all this, Mary Magdalene turns around, looking away from the angels--it appears that the others who were with her did not see or hear what she was going to because they were looking at and listening to the angels.  Mary Magdalene is weeping and a man appears in front of her who she does not recognize.  He askes, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"  The question makes sense given the good news that was just told tot he women by the angels, but Mary seems to have not heard or not listened to it.  Mary assumes this person to be the gardener, that is the caretaker of the tomb and the property around it, and through her tears, she says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”  All that Jesus needs to do to cause her to listen and to reveal His identity to her is to say her name.  With simply one word, "Mary," He turns her grieving into joy.  She responds by saying, "Rabboni," which means "Teacher" or "Rabbi".

​Jesus then gives Mary a slightly different message than has been given by the angels to the other women, "“Do not cling to me, for 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.’”  What does this mean?  I don't think this is any kind of statement about the kind of body that Jesus had at that time, but instead the fact that Jesus had more work to do before He returned to heaven and while He loved Mary and understood her desire to cling to Him and keep Him with her so that she could worship Him and sit at His feet to enjoy His teaching, He had to go so that He could take care of everything that needed to be done while He was still here.  He also made clear to her that He was going away again, this time to return to the Father in heaven, and that it was important for her to remind the disciples of this.  This was one of the main messages He was trying to relay to His disciples on the evening of His arrest and they did not understand at that time, and Jesus wants them to be reminded that He is going to return to where He came from and that if He goes that He is going to prepare a place for them that where He is, there they may be also, and that if He goes, He will send the Comforter, that is the Holy Spirit, to them.  The Spirit of Truth, another name for the Holy Spirit, that is to come would lead them in all truth and cause them to remember the things that Jesus had said.  

The women fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  They eventually returned to the disciples and told them all they had seen and heard and the message that had been given to them, but Mary said, "“I have seen the Lord. " The disciples appear to not believe Mary Magdalene's message because it differed from that of the other women, so Peter and John go to see for themselves.  John seems to have written these appearances out of order in his gospel, but remember that his goal was not necessarily to tell a chronological story, but to make the argument that Jesus was who He said He was and that in Him we have eternal life (we'll see his purpose statement for the book in a few verses).  My best assumption is that John but his own eyewitness testimony first because this was the best and most compelling testimony that he had to offer, however, he did not want to leave out that Jesus actually appeared to Mary Magdalene.  The fact that Jesus appears to a woman, particularly this woman, first is an amazing fact that should help us see that the disciples did not make up this story.  For no Jew would have believed that angels from heaven and the Son of God would have first spoken to women, let alone a woman who had been possessed by seven demons only a short time before.  Mary Magdalene was a woman who probably had a reputation and a past that would have made it easy for the religious leaders to ignore, deny, and reject her testimony.  So, everything she said was also validated by the testimony of two men--Peter and John as this is the standard by which all facts must be established in a Jewish court of law (see Deuteronomy 17:6, Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Timothy 5:19, and Hebrews 10:28).  God took care of all the details, but He did so in a way that would make us know that it was His plan and His work and not the invention of a story of man.

We'll pick up here next time as Jesus continues to appear to other disciples to open their eyes and explain the gospel to them from the Scriptures that we today call the Old Testament as well as from His own words that He had spoken to them in what we call the Gospels.

John 20:1-10
English Standard Version

The Resurrection
20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away 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 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had 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 went back to their homes.

We have been anticipating this Day since almost the beginning of the book of John as Jesus and John have both been clear that Jesus came to die so that the nation of Israel and the whole world might be saved from the power of sin and have eternal life.  As we read the compressed version of Jesus' life and we have it all in writing where we can look back and forth and compare things, we might wonder how everyone missed it, but we also miss the obvious things.

Let's return to the scene where the women who saw where the body was taken and buried were going back early on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath had ended but while it was still dark, to have a proper time to grieve and mourn (remember the crowd we saw gathered around the tomb of Lazarus in John 11?).  The woman did not know that the tomb had been sealed by Pilate or that the guard had been posted, but they did know that there was a large rock in front of the tomb that they were going to have to find some way to deal with when they got there.

The only woman that John mentions is Mary Magdalene, though we know she was not the only woman to see Jesus that morning.  If we want to piece everything together from the other gospels, we could do that, but let's focus on this account today as John is trying to keep a narrow focus here to support his main point that Jesus is the Son of God.  Mary Magdalene sees the tomb open and empty and runs to tell Simon Peter and John what she has seen--assuming that the body has been moved or stolen.

Peter and John run to the tomb with John beating Peter there and John standing outside looking in and taking everything in and Peter running past John to get inside and experience everything up-close.  It is Peter that saw the grave clothes laying there and the face cloth laying separate from the grave clothes and neatly folded by itself.  John also sees the same evidence and we are told that he saw and believed.  Remember our main purpose of the book--that we might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that in Him we might have eternal life.

John is clear that they did not yet understand the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead.  That's no surprise because you and I would be hard-pressed to find any verses from the Old Testament that prophecy that Jesus is going to rise from the dead.  It's there in the midst of other accounts that God gave us representing the work of Christ in figures like Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah and Jonah in the belly of the fish, but they would have to recall the words of Jesus Himself that "the sign of Jonah" was that just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man would be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights.

It says that all the disciples returned back to their homes, though it seems like "home" here refers to the Upper Room where they had been staying while in Jerusalem that time, for we find them gathered there together in other gospel accounts in the passages that we will be talking about in another couple of days.  Mary Magdalene is going to be the first to have Jesus appear to her after His resurrection when we come back to John 20 next time.

John 19:38-42
English Standard Version
​
Jesus Is Buried
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

There was still a little time before the Sabbath, but not much, so Joseph of Arimathea, who was secretly a disciple of Jesus and Nicodemus who we met earlier in John 3 and John 7, made arrangements to secure the body of Jesus and prepare Him for burial.  Joseph asked Pilate for the body and gave Jesus his own grave to fulfill prophecy that Jesus would be laid in a borrowed tomb, and Nicodemus being a Pharisee who was rich was able to gather the necessary ointments and spices to anoint the body for burial, because the Jews do not embalm bodied, but at this time would bury them right away and would use strong oils and spices to help mask the smell of death and decay.  Nicodemus brought quite the offering of seventy-five pounds of these expensive spices.

So they took Jesus and bound Him in linen cloths (much like He was wrapped in at the time of His birth and the same kind of "grave clothes" that we saw in the resurrection of Lazarus) according to the custom of the Jews like I mentioned above.  He was buried in what is known as the Garden Tomb where no one had been laid--the gospel of Matthew tells us this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea as I mentioned before.  Matthew also tells us that Joseph was also a member of "the Council," that is the Sanhedrin, like Nicodemus.  Joseph is also the one who put the stone in front of the tomb.

As long as they could finish burying Jesus before the end of the Day of Preparation, they would be "clean" to be able to celebrate the Passover.  "The women" who came with Jesus from Galilee (we'll see them in the next chapter) followed and saw the location of the tomb.  Something we're not going to see here in the book of John is that after Joseph got permission to bury Jesus, the Sanhedrin fears that Jesus' disciples might steal the body, because they remember He said that He would rise from the dead, so the ask Pilate for a guard to be posted and for the tomb to be sealed.  This will be somewhat important in what we are going to talk about over the next several passages.  The Sanhedrin knew and remember the words of Christ and yet did not believe in Him, but those who believed in Him were unable to recall His words until the right time.  For now it was a time of grief for all of them.  We know the end of the story that Jesus would turn their mourning into joy, but for the time being Jesus would rest on the Sabbath Day (Luke makes this very clear in his account).  As the Jews would celebrate the Passover that day (on Saturday) and would be remember the LORD their Redeemer and the salvation that He brought them as He led them out of slavery from Egypt, Jesus would be redeeming the Elect from their slavery to sin by offering His own blood in the Temple of heaven as our Great High Priest to make atonement once and for all for us sins--not to cover them up, but to take them away as far as the east is from the west.

There is much grief on the part of the disciples, but also much fear on the part of the Sanhedrin that perhaps Jesus was exactly who He said He was and that He would do exactly what He said He would do (or at least that someone would try to make it seem that way).  The Sanhedrin remembers that He said He would rise again on the third day (the sign of Jonah that Jesus says would be the only remaining sign for them), so they make preparations to try to keep the gospel from moving forward--it didn't work for them in the Garden of Gethsemane, and and won't work here at the Garden Tomb.