Even as God breathed into that shell that He had formed out of the dust of the earth and man became a living spirit. Gathered round Christ, the disciples were called on by Christ to love one another. 1. (ii) Thomas' other great virtue was that when he was sure, he went the whole way. Indeed, He died for them when they were enemies; but this is out of sight here. Christ had said this before: Thomas should have remembered it, and not have forsaken the company of the disciples. The Jews did and do look for Him; but when He came, they would not have Him. A person who is to be sent out needs someone to send him; he needs a message to take; he needs a power and an authority to back his message; he needs someone to whom he may turn when he is in doubt and in difficulty. (Verses 18, 19) The Jews knew no such experience. Christ here seems to refer to the creation of man at first, by the breathing of the breath of life into him (Genesis 2:7), and to intimate that he himself was the author of that work, and that the spiritual life and strength of ministers and Christians are derived from him, and depend upon him, as much as the natural life of Adam and his seed. But when we speak of the persons in the Godhead distinctively, and with knowledge of what God has done and is doing, we do well to remind ourselves and one another, that the Spirit has come down and taken a special place among and in the disciples now; the consequence of which is, that He is pleased administratively (without renouncing His personal rights) to direct our hearts thus towards God the Father and the Lord Jesus. Number one: it reveals that that man has lost the consciousness of the power and the presence of God in his life. For against Thee and Thee only have I sinned and done this great iniquity in Thy sight. None would stand by baptism, or by any other ordinance, but by abiding in Christ. He takes the place of that which most put itself forward as being according to God here below. The qualifying of them for the discharge of the trust reposed in them by their commission (John 20:22; John 20:22): He breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. He knew them to be honest men; they all ten of them concurred in the testimony with great assurance; and yet he could not persuade himself to say that their record was true. Christian faith is essentially believing on Him that we have not seen: believing, "we walk by faith, not by sight." Now, First, The marks of the wounds, and very deep marks (though without any pain or soreness), remained in the body of the Lord Jesus even after his resurrection, that they might be demonstrations of the truth of it. (3) As a result, their condition is transformed (Mary, mission; the disciples, gladness; Thomas, faith)." I'm not letting go." What Christ gives we must receive, must submit ourselves and our whole souls to the quickening, sanctifying, influences of the blessed Spirit-receive his motions, and comply with them--receive his powers and make use of them: and those who thus obey this word as a precept shall have the benefit of it as a promise; they shall receive the Holy Ghost as the guide of their way and the earnest of their inheritance. This word indicates a new character of plea: "I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." Perhaps it was Thomas's unhappiness that he was absent--either he was not well, or had not notice; or perhaps it was his sin and folly--either he was diverted by business or company, which he preferred before this opportunity, or he durst not come for fear of the Jews; and he called that his prudence and caution which was his cowardice. There was an abandonment, not only for Himself, but for them, of all connection with nature, or the world, even in their religion. He convinces the world of the truth they do not know, by the very fact that He is outside the world, and has nothing to do with it. "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. The impression it made upon them, and the good it did them. Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for his failure, but instead compassionately offered him proof of His resurrection. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. Secondly, But how Christ sent them as the Father sent him is not so easily understood; certainly their commissions and powers were infinitely inferior to his; but, 1. in such a tone that she knew exactly who it was that she cried, "Rabboni! (Verse 8) "Disciples," be it noted; for we must carefully bear in mind that we have not the Church as such here, and, indeed, we have never the Church, strictly speaking, in John. He was the first man to understand and to believe. We all struggle at times with varying degrees of doubts, which cloud our faith in the risen Savior. And it's a very common teaching practice.In fact, I heard of a little kid who went home from kindergarten. Again, the great test now is Christ's words abiding in us. He dwells with the children of God. (26-29) Conclusion. So they were meeting in terror, listening fearfully for every step on the stair and for every knock at the door, lest the emissaries of the Sanhedrin should come to arrest them too. Now that word of Christ was fulfilled (John 16:22; John 16:22), I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice. As one coward makes many, so does one believer, one sceptic, making his brethren's heart to faint like his heart,Deuteronomy 20:8. John 20:24 In-Context. John 11:16; John 14:5). The account which the other disciples gave him of the visit their Master had made them, John 20:25; John 20:25. And he said unto them, "Oh, fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. The Bible says, "Prove all things and hold fast that which is good." To serve and to give yourself for others.I cannot abide that teaching that declares that it is God's will that all of us be prosperous and healthy and, you know, "If you're not driving a Mercedes, it's because you lack faith. Do it, Thomas." (iii) Jesus said to the disciples: "If you remit the sins of anyone, they are remitted; if you retain them, they are retained." This was not a word of course, though commonly used so at the meeting of friends, but a solemn, uncommon benediction, conferring upon them all the blessed fruits and effects of his death and resurrection. Here is part of the story which it tells. His clear and undeniable manifestation of himself to them, John 20:20; John 20:20. When the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said: "Peace be to you." Mary, after telling them that the sepulchre was empty, made her way back again to the sepulchre, this time alone. How blessed to know the Father thus hearkening to the children asking in the Son's name! (John 3:16-17) But here the ground is different. It is religious persecution. a man now in glory, at the right hand of God, above all angels, principalities, and powers. Did these men come to seize Jesus? 4. Now, what Jesus was actually seeking to train the disciples at this point was that He was present with them even as He said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Christ is our Peace; if he is with us, peace is to us. But the disciples were to have the hatred of the world, of the Jew as much or more than of the Gentile. But notice what she said when she brought the news. In this I see the strength of love. They had taken off for Emmaus. The rejected Christ is accepted and glorified in the highest seat above, which condemns the world and proves there is no righteousness in it or man; but more than this, the world shall see Him no more. "Abide in me, and I in you." They must expect special and increasing, and, worst of all, religious hatred. The king gave him money in plenty to buy materials and to hire workmen, but Thomas gave it all away to the poor. The phrase was common, but the sense was now peculiar. He had sent them the tidings of his resurrection by trusty and credible messengers; but to show his love to them, and confirm their faith in him, he came himself, and gave them all the assurances they could desire of the truth of it, that they might not have it by hearsay only, and at second hand, but might themselves be eye-witnesses of his being alive, because they must attest it to the world, and build the church upon that testimony. It was a word in Psalms 69:1-36. "Oh, yes." And they said unto Him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people." "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. He stooped down and he saw the linen clothes lying there, but he did not go in. Where habitual obedience is found, there is habitual enjoyment of Christ's love. But faith that depended on seeing Jesus actual body was not good enough, because soon he would return to his Father and people would no longer see him (John 20:26-29). The Lord intimates a new character of drawing near to the Father, which they had not yet known. John is the only evangelist who recorded this post-resurrection appearance. And it is interesting to me the very first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was a woman. 23 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." Jesus Appears to Thomas He saw the linen clothes lying there and he saw the napkin, which had been upon Jesus' head, not lying with the rest of the linen clothes, but lying apart from them, still in its folds, by itself. The apostles, in preaching remission, must begin at Jerusalem, though she had lately brought upon herself the guilt of Christ's blood: "Yet you may declare their sins remitted upon gospel terms." "When he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, [not when they begin to believe in me, but] because they believe not in me." And our Lord had the wisest reason for making known to the disciples what they had to expect. This indicated that when Thomas was expressing his doubts, Jesus was right there listening to his expressions. THE GREAT DISCOVERY ( John 20:1-10 continued). "When, then, shall we go and see it?" 9) It is all a question of the Father's government and the disciples' responsibility; not of a people having to do with a governor nationally, as Jehovah was to Israel, but of Christ's disciples in relation with the Father, according to the revelation of Himself in Christ. We're all familiar with the picture of the little guy carrying the boy in his arms, and he's looking up to the man and saying, "He ain't heavy, mister. John makes mention of Mary because she is the one that ran to his house and brought Peter and him the news of the empty tomb. When the found not His body, they came, saying that they also had seen a vision of angels which said He was alive. The part that love plays in this story is extraordinary. And beside all this, it's the third day since these things were done. It is irreverence to draw near and cry, Abba, Father! Jesus said to her: "Do not touch me! When the recognition scene is complete, at first sight, at all events, Jesus said to Mary: "Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to the Father." No such outward circumstance is here as in Matthew, no soldiers trembling, no walk with disciples, but as ever the person of God's Son, though disciples prove how little they entered into the truth. It is not said, as some think, that He shall not speak about Himself; for the Holy Ghost does speak, and tells us much concerning Himself and His operations; and never so much as under the Christian revelation. In the close ofJohn 16:25-33; John 16:25-33, the Lord puts, with perfect plainness, both their coming position in His name, and as immediate objects of the Father's affection, and His own place as coming from and going to the Father, above all promise and dispensation. Here, however, the Holy Ghost is not spoken of as dealing with individuals when He regenerates them and they believe, but as bringing conviction to the world of sin because of unbelief There is no real conviction of sin unless there be faith. How perfectly the truth shines here on Christian as well as on Jewish hatred of all full testimony to Christ! In that day they were to ask the Father in His name. And that is the worship of any object, is idolatry. He said: "I am an Hebrew man; how can I go amongst the Indians and preach the truth?" When he comes upon the Church she is recreated for her task. Hence, Christianity awaits not only Christ's coming, but the accomplishment of His work, and also the mission and personal presence of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, consequent on that work. Thus, as compared with the past, the standard is raised immensely. In Luke 24:5 it is said that they were "frightened." At the same time, when we say "God," of course we do mean not only the Father, but the Son, and the Holy Ghost too. which means, "Master!" Of course, this was a practice that began around the year 400. It is not a message individually, but they are assembled on the same first day at evening, and Jesus stands, spite of closed doors, in the midst of them, and showed them His hands and His side. He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. (2) The risen Christ appears to them in the midst of their condition. And they came to the sepulchre and found the stone rolled away. It was the same day that he rose, being the first day of the week, the day after the Jewish sabbath, at a private meeting of the disciples, ten of them, and some more of their friends with them, Luke 24:33. We can understand this: nothing is more natural; but, for that very reason, it was not all in the power of the Spirit of God, with Christ as the first object. Here the force of the comparison seems to lie. Christ had left them his peace for their legacy, John 14:27; John 14:27. She approaches Jesus' tomb on a Sunday morning with the intent of further anointing His body. At first he refused to go, saying that he was not strong enough for the long journey. Suffice it to say, that the one point which meets us here, as distinct from the other gospels, is His person. Now, when the Hebrew scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, which is known as the Septuagint, it's a translation of the Old Testament into Greek, done by seventy scholars some 200 years before Christ. She sees that the grave is open and empty, suggesting the posted Roman guard (Matthew 28:4, 11) has already left (John 20:1). "I will take him away." And there is no need to think a discrepancy, nor to think that Mary did not come with several women early to the sepulchre. That teacher is the most stupid person in the world." John 20:24. by-Verse Bible Commentary. 25 So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord.". They went at a run; and John, who must have been a younger man than Peter since he lived on until the end of the century, outstripped Peter in this breathless race. who are you looking for? He sent them authorized with a divine warrant, armed with a divine power,--sent them as ambassadors to treat of peace, and as heralds to proclaim it,--sent them as servants to bid to the marriage. In John 14:1-31 it is evidently the Father giving another Comforter to the disciples, and sending Him in Christ's name: Christ is looked at there as One who prays, and whose value acts for the disciples. You could not transplant from John 15:1-27 into John 14:1-31, nor the reverse, without dislocating the whole order of the truth. You see, you still hadn't believed, though the women came and said, "Hey, we saw the angels," they said, "He's alive." They give us, not an exhaustive account of everything that Jesus said or did, but a selection which shows what he was like and the kind of things he was always doing. Reader! Hence we have no notice of His agony in the garden, nor of God's forsaking Him on the tree. and he came first to the sepulchre. But, evidently, proper Christianity is after redemption was wrought, and Christ takes His place on high, and the Holy Ghost is sent down, when there is nothing but faith. That must always be John's great glory. We do not know for sure what happened to Thomas in the after days; but there is an apocryphal book called The Acts of Thomas which purports to give his history. His own personal glory on high is in full view, and so He speaks and acts, while the connection with the Father is always kept up. So she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them: "They have taken the Lord . Who are you looking for?" But the Holy Ghost has another work. Their aim was, not to give information, but to give life. The apostles communicated the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, those hands being first lifted up in prayer, for they could only beg this blessing, and carry it as messengers; but Christ conferred the Holy Ghost by breathing, for he is the author of the gift, and from him it comes originally. Eight days later would be the Sunday again, the first day of the week. In that way, therefore, every intelligent believer knows that he includes the Spirit and the Son with the Father, when he addresses God; because the name "God" does not belong to one person in the Trinity more than to another. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!". He lays a double ground before Him: one, the glory of His person; the other, the accomplishment of His work. It is most likely that the disciples continued to meet in the upper room where the Last Supper had been held. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb. In John 15:1-27 our Lord substitutes Himself for Israel, as the plant of God, responsible to bear fruit for Him on earth (not merely for man, as such, openly sinful and lost). 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. They now received more of the Holy Ghost than they had yet received. To what? It is what God the Father owed to Christ, who had so perfectly pleased and so morally glorified Him, even in respect of sin. 1. They are worse even than before. For years they sold splinters from the cross, and you could purchase little splinters from the cross. Now, you'd think that he would trust these guys. III. Benson Commentary John 20:24-25. Thomas confession is Johns climactic argument for belief in Jesus as the divine Messiah, the Christ. We cannot be weeping for one who has gone to be the guest of God; it is for ourselves we weep. What does it mean to have faith in Christ? It means that I am somehow longing for that which I lost. In every way possible Christ gives us now His own portion, from the world as well as from the Father. Now, there were many Mary's that followed Jesus. Hence, like Jews, or even heathen, they can pray to Almighty God to bless their leagues, or their arms, their crops, their herds, or what not. John gave his readers the Aramaic and Greek names of this member of the Twelve, now the Eleven: Thomas and Didymus respectively (cf. John 4:20-24 Experiencing God Through Personal Worship; John 4:20-30 The Synopsis Of Biblical Worship; John 4:23-30 A Glimpse Of Pure Faith; John 5:1-9 Jesus: The Great Physician; John 5:1-9 On The Porch With Jesus; John 5:25 Simply Saved; John 6:5-13 When A Little Becomes A Lot; John 6:22-35 Jesus: The Bread Of Life; John 6:37-40 The . Thus everywhere there is absolute opposition between the world and the Father, expressed morally when the Son was here, and proved now that the Spirit is come. 3. Thence flows a new sort of responsibility; and a very important thing it is to see this most strikingly kept up in him, who, of all the evangelists, most strongly brings in the absolute unconditional love of God. He repeated Thomas' own words, and invited him to make the test that he had demanded. At the same time, He is looked at in more distinct personality than in John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27. They went in, saw the grave clothes lying there, and went on back to John's house. As the breath of the Almighty gave life to man and began the old world, so the breath of the mighty Saviour gave life to his ministers, and began a new world, Job 33:4. 752.] Seven days had run their course before Thomas was with the disciples, when the Lord Jesus Christ meets his unbelief, pronouncing those more blessed who saw not, and yet believed. I. Jesus of course would speak in Aramaic, and not in Greek; and what John gives us is a translation into Greek of what Jesus said. Now, the Greek construction indicates that the linen clothes that were wrapped around Jesus were still lying in a circular form as though a body were in them. said he. The life of God within man, that God had breathed into man in the beginning now restored.Jesus had said to His disciples just four nights earlier, "I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and shall be in you." Soon there would be multitudes who would come out from Israel and be baptized unto Christ; but still they must be fully tested. Here is a twofold testimony that of the disciples who had seen Christ and heard His words. (11-18) He appears to the disciples. They shall look on Him whom they pierced, and own Jesus of Nazareth to be their Lord and their God. "If ye keep my commandments" what has that to do with life eternal in Christ? He had made known to them the Father's name, and would yet more, "that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them;" this last verse bringing into them, as it were, the Father's love, as the Son knew it, which was the secret source of all the blessing and glory, and Christ Himself in them, whose life by the Spirit was the sole nature capable of enjoying all. She doesn't know anything! I'm not yet ascended to my Father: but go and tell my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and to your Father; and to my God, and your God. Therefore, as long as Christ is not the One in and through whose light the Scriptures, whether old or new, are read, a man is but groping his way in the dark. In a mere man it would be sin; in Him it was perfection. It is no new thing for the assemblies of Christ's disciples to be driven into corners, and forced into the wilderness, Revelation 12:14; Proverbs 28:12. But that spirit, you remember, died when man sinned and man lost fellowship with God. Thus, to this day, the Jews are themselves the great witness of the truth of our Lord's warning. I say "professed," because it is to me evident that He does not contemplate in His view those exclusively who really had life everlasting. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and she saw the stone was taken away from the sepulchre. So she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them: "They have taken the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Lastly, from verse 24 to the end, we have, if possible, deeper things than even these; and here the Lord expresses His heart's desire, for it is no longer, as before, in the form of a request ( ) but, "Father, I will," or desire ( ). Enduring Word Bible Commentary John Chapter 20 John 20 - An Empty Tomb and A Risen Jesus Videos for John 20: John 20:1-18 - Resurrection Glory John 20:19-31 - Glory Believed A. She had not even thought of these problems. It was the custom in Palestine to visit the tomb of a loved one for three days after the body had been laid to rest. They might and did ascend and descend on Him as Son of man; but He had only to speak, and it was done. 2. But you know, when your heart is longing for Jesus, even angels won't do! In measure, this was made good by our Lord's appearing after He rose from the dead; but the full force of it will only be known when He comes again. And thus, He said, "Mary, don't cling to Me.". So that when He would say "Mary" or "Ma-r-y," that they would recognize from His intonation which Mary He was talking to. He was not airing his doubts just for the sake of mental acrobatics; he doubted in order to become sure; and when he did, his surrender to certainty was complete. You really don't think Jesus didn't know what had happened in Jerusalem? This could not be in John. 'She knows it well, well, well,' sang the blackbird. But here we have God's ways and character as manifested in Christ, and nothing less than this would suit His disciples, or be agreeable to the Father. As the eternal Son of the Father, of course He was ever loved of the Father; as laying down His life (John 10:1-42), He was therefore loved of His Father; but, besides, in all His earthly path, He kept His Father's commandments, and abode in His love. They were but eleven, and one of them was missing: Christ's disciples will never be all together till the general assembly at the great day. (His words in John 8:1-59, His works in John 9:1-41); but the manifestation of His words and of His works only brought out man thoroughly hating the Father and the Son. Now, Thomas was a very practical sort. In every point of difference the fullest possible proof of divine glory and wisdom appears in these gospels. The first ground is, that the only righteousness now is in Christ gone to be with the Father. (i) He said that as God had sent him forth, so he sent them forth. Now, the other gospels tell us that Mary came with several of the women. But for a saint, true-hearted in the main, nothing is more certain than that Christ would deal with him, and that he would lose meanwhile all sense of the love of Christ as a present practical thing. Alas! She thought maybe He was the gardener standing there. Thomas answered: "Thou canst not see it now, but when thou departest this life, then thou shalt see it." And He appeared to her who loved ?Him so much. They met in a house, but they kept the door shut, that they might not be seen together, and that no one might come among them but such as they knew; for they feared the Jews, who would prosecute the disciples as criminals, that they might seem to believe the lie they would deceive the world with, that his disciples came by night, and stole him away. Jn 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see note on Jn 13:16). That is natural and inevitable. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene alone early, when it was yet dark See notes on Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; where the circumstance of John's mentioning only Mary Magdalene as visiting the sepulchre, is accounted for, and explained at large. Instead of proving that the Bible is not the Word of God, it definitely proves that the writers did not get together in collusion, and say, "Alright, let's keep our stories straight, fellows! Unless I see his hands in the print of the nails, and I put my finger into the print of the nails, and I thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe ( John 20:25 ). Believing the Scriptures, therefore, has another character altogether from a judgment formed on a matter of fact. There is a two-fold dealing with those who took the place of being branches of the true vine. The Lord necessarily gave them that which was suited to their then condition. The power of love, the strength of love. And as He could not but perfectly keep His Father's commandments, He abode in His love. John 11:16; John 14:5). To believe in and worship the risen Savior, analyze and overcome your doubts. Jesus Appears to Thomas. And Jesus said unto him, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." And this explains why, although the Holy Ghost is worthy of supreme worship, and of being, equally with the Father and the Son, personally addressed in prayer, yet, having come down for the purpose of animating, directing, and effectuating the work and worship of God's children here, He is never presented in the epistles as directly the object, but rather as the power, of Christian prayer. What Christ said to them he says to all true believers, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,Ephesians 1:13. The simple and the poignant fact is that she could not see him through her tears. Thomas said. But He does not permit her to touch Him. The infallible proof of Christ's resurrection was his showing himself alive,Acts 1:3. Thus there is this double conviction of righteousness: the first is Christ gone to be with the Father on high; the second is Christ seen no more consequently. The answer lies in what is now before us. There is that which never can make up for Christ on the earth; and certainly there is that revealed of Christ in heaven which no manifestation on the earth can supply. John 20:20. It is vain, for instance, to fall back now on the principles put forward and acted on two or three hundred years ago. Then Jesus said unto them again, [Shalom] Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you ( John 20:20-21 ). So they agreed on a price and Thomas was sold, and the agreement ran: "I, Jesus, the son of Joseph the carpenter, acknowledge that I have sold my slave, Thomas by name, unto thee Abbanes, a merchant of Gundaphorus, king of the Indians." The sending out of the Church by Jesus is parallel to the sending out of Jesus by God. So had He been known. "To serve, to give my life for others, so send I you." It was not only a sin, but a scandal. Then come the soldiers, breaking the legs of the others crucified with Him; but finding Jesus dead already, one pierces His side, land forthwith came thereout blood and water. Now, I heard a fellow the other night say that Jesus did not know everything while He was in this body on the earth, therefore He asked questions. His speaking peace makes peace, creates the fruit of the lips, peace; peace with God, peace in your own consciences, peace with one another; all this peace be with you; not peace with the world, but peace in Christ. It was true. But, besides, we have His direct immediate action among the disciples. Thus, in effect, he blessed and sanctified that day, because in it the Redeemer rested. What he had expected had happened, and when it came, for all that he had expected it, he was broken-hearted, so broken-hearted that he could not meet the eyes of men, but must be alone with his grief. That would make excellent sense, and that in fact is what Mary did. Thomas said: "Indeed he is." Jesus had come with a message for all men and now he was going back to his Father. This sentence does not mean that the power to forgive sins was ever entrusted to any man or men; it means that the power to proclaim that forgiveness was so entrusted; along with the power to warn that forgiveness is not open to the impenitent. Brethren, it is the spirit of the world which, when sanctioned, invariably tends to destroy the knowledge of the Father, and of our proper relationship, even among His real children, because it necessarily slips more or less into Judaism. For Christianity is the revelation, not of a dogma, but of a person who has wrought redemption; doubtless, also, of a person in whom is life, and who gives it. There was that other Mary mentioned at the cross. Secondly, That the Spirit is the gift of Christ. (Ver. It was not what he had read in scripture which convinced him that Jesus had risen; it was what he saw with his own eyes. It said, "For their eyes were holden that they could not see." Without Jesus, the Church has no message; without him she has no power; without him she has no one to turn to when up against it; without him she has nothing to enlighten her mind, to strengthen her arm, and to encourage her heart. It could have taken place anytime between Easter evening and the following Sunday. When the deed was drawn up Jesus found Thomas and took him to Abbanes. But in Luke it is the sign of absolute trust in His Father, and not God's abandonment. Mark, too, the confession of Thomas; not a word about "My Father and your Father," but, "My Lord, and my God." He had done something for her that no one else could ever do, and she could never forget. I do not deny His power in the testimony of the gospel to souls. Observe. . This appears again in the sixth verse, and remarkably too: "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch." As the Father sent him to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, so he sent them into all the world. He only abides in Christ's love who walks in His will faithfully. It is life from the dead to them. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. This is enough for the world, which hates them as Him, because they are not of it, but are loved and chosen of Christ. At the same time, we must never allow our tears to blind us to the glory of heaven. A man gives up himself to confide in God. The next time they saw him they said unto him, with joy enough, We have seen the Lord; and no doubt they related to him all that had passed, particularly the satisfaction he had given them by showing them his hands and his side. Had they only failed to meet the requirements of God, as man had done under the law, there was ample provision to meet him in mercy and power; but now, under this revelation of grace, man, and Israel most of all, the world (for in this they are all merged now) stood out in open hostility to, and implacable hatred of, the fullest display of divine goodness here below. Our minds are lazy oftentimes, and if someone asks a question, they think, "Well, what is that?" "You're still guilty before God. The objections Thomas raised against the evidence, to justify himself in his unwillingness to admit it. They were a distinct company from Israel, though not yet baptized into one body; but they were gathered by Christ, and round Himself, severed from the rest of the Jews so far. (4.) And Jesus said unto her, Touch me not ( John 20:17 ); Now, here again the Bible critics have a field day, because in the other gospels it tells us that the women came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him. Such might allow stumbling-blocks, disappointments, etc., to hinder their following Christ, and so practically abandon what they know, the result of which would be the surest and most disastrous ruin. It was not only the great manifestation at the end, but the truth from the beginning, grace and truth always in Him. And even God Himself acknowledged Him as God, for in Hebrews we read that God declared Him, actually, to be God. In verse 4 it is not, "Except I abide in you," but, "Except ye abide in me.". Now, the Jehovah Witnesses do not want to acknowledge Him as God. The Greek imperative is a present imperative, and strictly speaking ought to mean: "Stop touching me." Things can happen to us within the fellowship of Christ's Church which will not happen when we are alone. They had, no doubt, been using the Lord's prayer for some time; nevertheless they had asked nothing in His name. To Peter, the Lord, thoroughly restoring his soul after proving him to the core, commits His sheep and lambs (His Jewish flock, as we know from elsewhere). Now, I know that I did some pretty bad stuff, but I've made up for it for all the good deeds that I've done." (Rabbouni ( G4462) is simply an Aramaic form of Rabbi ( G4461) ; there is no difference between the words). Your sins are forgiven." Now, sometimes the eyes of the scribes who copied the manuscripts made mistakes, for the manuscripts were not easy to read. There are three secondary ordinances (as I may call them) instituted by our Lord Jesus, to continue in his church, for the support of it, and for the due administration of the principal ordinances--the word, sacraments, and prayer; these are, the Lord's day, solemn assemblies, and standing ministry. "But be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." There the Holy Ghost is both a teacher and helper. Henry Kingsley has a lovely poem about her. Against Thee, Oh God, have I sinned." And as we prayed that God would forgive our sins, and as we pray that the Holy Spirit would come and begin to indwell our lives, and that we might now have this new relationship with God as we just invite Him to come in and take over, in Jesus' name; when they say their "Amen," it's always a joy to me to be able to look them square in the eye and say unto them, "God has nothing against your account; you're completely forgiven, every sin you've ever committed." And the Pharisees among themselves said, "Oh, that's blasphemy! The visit Christ made to his disciples was on the first day of the week. Whatever might be the responsibility of Israel, whatever their boasted privileges (and they really were much every way), whatever the associations and hopes of the chosen people, all outside Christ had fallen under the power of the adversary. "Lord, you know all things." John shows us, in Mary Magdalene contrasted with the woman of Galilee, the difference between the Christian and the Jew. The Lord, then, has in view those who then surrounded Him, already branches in the vine, and, of course, in principle, all that should follow, including those that would nominally, and at first to all appearance really, abandon Israel and all things for Him. (ii) It is also clear that the gospels were not meant to be biographies of Jesus, but appeals to take him as Saviour, Master and Lord. In these verses, we have an account of his first appearance to the college of the disciples, on the day on which he rose. There was no halfway house about Thomas. There is nothing more calamitous for a soul than to be going on badly, and withal keeping up a vain, exaggerated semblance of feeling, where there is a scanty answer to it within. But go to my brethren, and say to them that I am going to ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." The Incredulity of Thomas. He showed us His hands, His side. The Holy Ghost, sent thus from above, would bear witness of the Son in heaven; but the disciples also would bear witness of what they knew when He was upon the earth, because they had been with Him from the beginning ( i.e. or that Mark and Luke never heard of it? They were not sent to be priests and kings, like him, but only prophets. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. But he speaks of suffering according to the will of God. He might cramp my style," I can't say to them, "That's alright, your sins are forgiven anyhow. Christ is ever the test, and this the close declares, as much as the beginning sets Him forth as the only power of preparing for, and producing fruit. our business is to submit; our duty is to seek to understand them; our wisdom is to correct and challenge ourselves, if peradventure we find insubjection within us to anything that concerns Him and our own souls. There may not be faith so as to have peace with God, but assuredly enough to judge of one's own ways and condition before God; and this is precisely the way in which He does ordinarily work. We all know that Israel of old is called the vine the vine that the Lord had brought out of Egypt. The atonement would not have been what it is unless God had thus forsaken Him. Of course He knew why she was weeping! Our words are uttered by our breath, so the word of Christ is spirit and life.
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