NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 54
John 20:24
1815
17“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I
aven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go
h
find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am as
cending to my Father and your Father, to my
God and your God.’ ”
18Mary Magdalene found the disciples
and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then
she gave them his message.
20:17
Matt 28:10
John 16:28
Rom 8:29
Col 1:18
Heb 2:11
20:19-23
//Matt 28:16-20
//Luke 24:36-49
20:20
John 16:20-22; 19:34
20:21
Matt 28:19
John 17:18
20:22
John 7:37-39; 14:1618, 26
20:24
John 11:16
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
John 20:19-23 // Luke 24:35-49
Jesus was standing there among them!
“Peace be with you,” he said. 20As he spoke, he
showed them the wounds in his hands and
his side. They were filled with joy when they
saw the Lord! 21Again he said, “Peace be with
you. As the Father has sent me, so I am send
ing you.” 22Then he breathed on them and
said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive
anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not
forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
19That
Sunday evening the disciples were Jesus Appears to Thomas
meeting behind locked doors because they 24One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nick
were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, named the Twin), was not with the others
Thomas (20:24-28)
Thomas, also known as “the twin,” was one of the twelve apostles (Matt 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke
6:15; Acts 1:13). He is remembered for his unbelieving response to Jesus’ resurrection.
Nothing is known of how Jesus first met and called Thomas to be his disciple. The only
personal accounts of Thomas are found in the Gospel of John. Thomas voiced his willingness
to follow Jesus, even if it meant death (11:16); he openly told Jesus that he didn’t understand
what he was saying (14:5); and he was one of the seven disciples who returned to fishing after
the resurrection, when Jesus appeared to them (21:2).
When Jesus first appeared to his disciples after his death, Thomas was not present. When
Thomas heard the report from the others, he did not believe it, insisting he would have to
see the evidence of the crucifixion in Jesus’ body with his own eyes and feel it with his own
hands (20:19-23). A week later, when Jesus once again appeared to the disciples, he especially
addressed Thomas, telling him to examine the marks of the nails and the spear in his body
and challenging him to believe and not be skeptical. Thomas’s response represents one of
the strongest statements of Jesus’ deity in the New Testament, and the culmination of the
Gospel of John’s portrayal of Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” (20:28).
Later tradition speaks of Thomas working as a missionary in the East: in Parthia (Eusebius),
Persia (Jerome), and India (Acts of Thomas). The Mar Thoma church on the west coast of India
traces its roots back to the early missionary work of Thomas. The historical reliability of these
accounts is uncertain.
Thomas’s name is unreliably linked to several later apocryphal writings: the Acts of Thomas, the
Infancy Gospel of Thomas, the Epistle to the Apostles, the Apocalypse of Thomas, the Book of Thomas
the Athlete, and especially the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, a Gnostic collection of Jesus’ sayings.
John 11:16; 14:5;
21:2
Matt 10:3
Mark 3:18
Luke 6:15
Acts 1:13
was underway. Before his final departure,
he would give the Holy Spirit (20:22; see
14:15-21, 26; 15:26-27; 16:5-15).
20:18 Mary was the first eyewitness to
see the Lord following his resurrection.
She not only saw him, she heard him
and touched him (see 1 Jn 1:1-4). This
great privilege was given to a woman
whose broken life had experienced
healing (Luke 8:2). In Jewish culture this
was astounding; a woman could not
even be a witness in court. No Jew in
this period would make up such a story.
20:19 That Sunday evening: Literally
In the evening of that day, the first day
of the week. meeting behind locked
doors: The disciples feared prosecution
for following Jesus. Peace be with you:
This was a standard Jewish greeting (see
also 3 Jn 1:15), but Jesus was doing more
than just greeting his disciples: he was
offering the Messiah’s peace (see Isa
9:6; 52:7) and delivering the gift of his
Kingdom (see 14:27; 16:33).
20:20 The reality of Jesus’ resurrection
was quite clear. Jesus showed them the
wounds from the nails and the spear.
He did not feign death, but conquered
it. He was no phantom, but a real man
with a real body. He had been dead, but
was now alive. Jesus was fully human
both in life (1:14) and in his resurrection.
20:21 I am sending you: God had sent
Jesus into the world to establish his
Kingdom, and now Jesus was sending
his disciples to carry on his mission.
Christ’s emissaries carry the truth of
Jesus’ words to the world (cp. 17:18).
20:22 Jesus commissioned the disciples
and then empowered them with the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not been
given previously because Jesus had not
yet been glorified (7:39). The glorified
Jesus, resplendent in his resurrected
body, poured the Spirit on his followers.
This gift fulfilled many promises that
the Spirit would be sent (14:16, 26;
15:26; 16:7, 13). It foreshadows the
arrival of the Spirit’s empowering presence at Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-47).
20:23 If you forgive anyone’s sins: The
ongoing work of Christ’s followers parallels the work of Christ. Christ’s followers
do not distribute and withdraw God’s
forgiveness on a whim, but they follow
Jesus’ prompting through the Spirit (15:5),
just as Jesus obeyed his Father (14:31).
20:24-25 Thomas (nicknamed the
Twin): Literally Thomas, who was called
Didymus (see also 11:16; 14:5). Thomas
was absent when Jesus revealed himself.
He remained skeptical despite the
testimony of his friends, who had seen
the Lord. Thomas demanded a concrete
experience identical to theirs.
