Lesson 15 The Gospel of John, Chapters 20 and 21

Jesus: The Risen Lord

Imagine that you wanted to invent the story of Jesus' rising from the dead. Who would you "pencil in" as the first person to see Jesus alive again? How would you write up the reaction of the disciples to the news that Jesus had risen?

The final chapters of John's Gospel record a touching account of the way in which Jesus gently assured His followers of his ultimate victory. In their sorrow and confusion, they struggled with the whole idea of Jesus coming back to life again. Many were slow to accept the fact of the resurrection, despite Jesus' repeated appearances to them (see the chart below).

Today we read the wondrous story of the most amazing event in all of history. The founder of every other world religion is dead (Moses, Confucius, Mohammed, etc.). But our Lord is alive, and he lives to assure us of our own life after death.

The Eleven Resurrection Appearances

In chronological order

Early Sunday morning: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and other women (Matt 28:8-10 and Luke 2410)
Early Sunday morning: Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene alone (John 20:11-17)
Sometime on Sunday (afternoon?): Jesus appears to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)
Sometime on Sunday: Jesus appears to Peter (Luke 24:34, 1 Cor. 15:5)
Suppertime Easter day: Jesus appears to ten disciples in Jerusalem (John 20:19ff)
A week after Easter: Jesus appears to eleven disciples in Jerusalem (John 20:26ff)
Sometime later: Jesus appears to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14)
Sometime later: Jesus appears to eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20)
Sometime later: Jesus appears to James (1 Cor. 15:7)
Sometime later: Jesus appears to five hundred disciples at once (1 Cor. 15:6)
Forty days after Easter: Jesus appears to the disciples somewhere in Jerusalem, and leads them to the Mt of Olives, where he blesses them and ascends (Acts 1:3-12)

Read John 20:1-18 (Jesus is risen indeed)

According to this chapter, who was the first one to …

Go inside the empty tomb (verse 6)?
Believe that Jesus had risen (verse 8)?
See the risen Savior (verse 14)?

How do the disciples' findings at the tomb support our faith?

Verse 9 tells us: "They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead." What are those Old Testament Scriptures that had predicted the resurrection of Jesus? Let's look them up. Here are a few:

Psalm 16:10-11 – "You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life…"
Job 19:23-25 – "Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."
Isaiah 53:11-12 – "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

In addition to those Scriptures, Jesus had also told them on several occasions that he would rise on the third day. Consider what Jesus had said:

"He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31)
"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." (Matthew 16:21)
"When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men." (Matthew 17:22)
"And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."" (Luke 9:22)
"Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."" (John 2:19)
"He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:39–40)
"A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away." (Matthew 16:4)
"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."" (John 10:17–18)

How could nearly everyone have forgotten about Jesus' prophecies about his resurrection?
Mary knew Jesus very well. In verse 14 we read that she did not recognize Jesus at first. In fact, everyone seemed to have a hard time recognizing Jesus after his resurrection. (Mary, here; the two men on way to Emmaus in Luke 24:16; the eleven disciples in Luke 24:37). Why was this? Here are five possibilities. Which one do you prefer and why?
Jesus' face was partially obscured by a head covering.
They were crying so much, their vision was blurry.
Jesus' appearance was slightly changed.
They were so convinced that Jesus was dead, they refused to believe it was Him.
God kept people from recognizing him immediately (Luke 24:16).

Read John 20:19-31 (Jesus appears to his disciples)

Perhaps the disciples felt a bit like fools after the crucifixion of Jesus. They had believed that He was the long-awaited Messiah, the mighty Son of God who would rule the world. They had seen Him do many miracles, and they were believers.

They had heard others judge Jesus to be a deceiver or a lunatic, like someone possessed by demons. But not them. They were true believers. But now Jesus was dead. Truly dead. They knew where He was buried. Their hopes were shattered. The rug had been pulled out from under their faith.

But then the women came and said that they had seen the dead Jesus alive again on Easter morning. "We have seen the Lord!" they reported with great excitement. But the disciples would not be so easily convinced this time. Luke reports of them, "They did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense" (Luke 24:11).

And when Jesus appeared to them also on that first Easter, Luke says that they were "thinking they saw a ghost" (Luke 24:37). They were not fools. They were not gullible. Only after they watched Jesus eat some food in front of them did they accept that He was alive again, and that they were not seeing ghosts.

Why are you glad that the disciples doubted?
What important work did Jesus give his disciples as their ongoing mission (verse 23)?
Our Lord Jesus gave to his followers the authority to announce forgiveness of sins in his name. When are we to withhold this announcement of forgiveness? (see Luke 17:3-4)

But Thomas missed Easter. He wasn't with the others on Easter evening, and when they told him, "We have seen the Lord!" He refused to believe. He wanted to see for himself. But it's significant that Thomas didn't say, "Unless I see Jesus in person and watch him eat a piece of fish too, I won't believe." Instead, he wanted more. He wanted to see the place where the nails had pierced Jesus' hands and feet, and the hole left by the spear thrust into His side. He wanted to see the proof that Jesus had died for him. He wanted to see … the marks of love, God's love for him and for the sinners of this world.

I don't know about you, but I am so happy that Thomas asked to see that. He didn't ask to touch Jesus' hair or to hear Jesus speak. He wanted to see the nail holes, the proof of Jesus' suffering and death, the marks of God's grace and love for sinners.

Those marks are heavenly assurance. They teach us that Jesus has taken away our guilt forever; that He offers us a completed redemption, with nothing required for your salvation left undone or unpaid. The traces of these four wounds are God's guarantee to you of the full, free redemption which tells all sinners, "By grace you are saved, through faith."

You can have doubts about many things. You can be skeptical about offers that are too good to be true. But let there be no more doubts about one thing: God Himself has suffered for your sin, and it has been fully paid. The holes are there. The marks of love. And the One that sin killed is alive, and He has shown Thomas and every skeptic the proof of His grace and power.

In verse 30 what important insights does John give us into Jesus miracles?
According to verse 31 what is the great purpose of the Gospel of John?

Read John 21:1-14 (Jesus appears at the Sea of Galilee)

In Matthew 26:32 Jesus promised to meet his disciples in Galilee after he rose from the dead: "But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." On Easter morning, the angel reminded the disciples of this promise when he told the women: "Go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him." (Matthew 28:7)

Now, in keeping with his promise to them, Jesus appears to them by the Sea of Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee (see John 6:1). It was there that Jesus first met and called many of His disciples. Now they all meet again back at the first location, probably near the northern shore of the sea where Peter, James and John had once held a fishing business.

A total of seven of the remaining eleven are mentioned here. They were Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and two unnamed disciples. It's suggested the reason the Holy Spirit names only five of the seven fishermen in the boat is so you and I can take our seat as the unnamed two. Matthew does not record or mention this occasion, so it is possible that he was one of the missing disciples. The whereabouts of the other 4 is not mentioned. Judas Iscariot, of course, was dead. Why were these seven at the Sea of Galilee? They were told that they would see Jesus there. So they went to Galilee.

Why do you think the disciples didn't recognize Jesus when he first appeared to them?

The Stranger on the beach seemed to know them. "Friends," He called them. Actually, the Greek word is not exactly "friends." It is the Greek word for "children" (paideia). The Man on the beach called them His "children" or, we might also say, His "boys." Maybe the disciples wondered about what the Man on the beach called them. Maybe they even asked each other, "Isn't it a little weird for a stranger to call us His "children" and be concerned whether or not we've got anything to eat?"

But this word Jesus used was a subtle clue that He wasn't mad at them. He did not come to judge them. This was a sign to them that even though they may have failed Him, they had nothing to fear. And this is so important for us to hear. Though we understand how often we have failed Him, we have nothing to fear. He loves us in spite of our sin. If we are believers, He has already forgiven us. Though we may be prodigal sons and daughters, we are still His children, His lads, His boys and girls, His precious and loved sons and daughters.

Their lack of success would mean that they would have nothing to eat that day. All their efforts resulted in failure to provide their daily bread. Jesus asked His question in verse 5 not just to rub it in that they were failures at fishing, but to teach them where their food would come from.

In verse 6 Jesus gave the disciples what probably seemed like pointless instructions. Jesus told them, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." Why "right side"? Was this saying that they had been fishing on the "wrong side"?

This incident sounds very much like that catch of fish recorded in Luke 5. It was a little over three years earlier, after a long day of fishing and catching nothing that a Stranger on the beach told them to push back out into the deep and throw down their nets. When they did, they caught so many fish that they could not haul them in and the nets began to break.

The point in both cases: We will only be successful when we do what the Lord says. We may think we know better than Jesus. We may be pretty good and experienced at what we do, and we may think that the only good way is our own way. But if Jesus tells us to do something, even if it seems odd to us, then we must do it His way to be successful. Many times in life the commands of the Lord may seem foolish. But faithful obedience leads to carrying out His will and then we are astounded at what He accomplishes through us.

When the large fish were taken out of the net and counted, there were 153. What was the significance of the number 153? Here are four choices. Which one do you prefer?
It shows that this was such a large and impressive catch, that even years later they could still remember the exact number off fish.
It simply is saying that the number of fish caught was very large and impressive. It wasn't just a few fish.
The number represents a record number of fish for a single catch. It was so many fish that they even took the time to count the exact number.
The exact number is recorded by John as a way of saying that this was not something they were making up. Even this little detail was recorded to show that the story was real.
The disciples had caught nothing and had nothing for breakfast. How did Jesus show his concern for his disciple's earthly needs?
What does this account tell us about Jesus' concern for the earthly needs of all his followers?

In verse 14 we read: "This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead." Though this was now the seventh appearance of Jesus to someone after His resurrection (see the list of appearances at the beginning of this lesson), when John says that it was "the third time" (20:14), he was only counting the other two appearances at which he himself saw Jesus along with a group of disciples. The first time was on Easter evening in the locked room, without Thomas (John 20:19ff); the second time was a week later with Thomas (John 20:24ff).

Why all these appearances? There were many reasons. First of all, He wanted them to be sure that He was risen so that they would never doubt it, even when faced with threats and strong opposition. Secondly, He wanted to teach them. He wanted them to know that they were forgiven, even after they had denied and deserted Him. He wanted them to know that He still loved them and that He still wanted them to be His witnesses to all the earth.

This was the first miracle that Jesus did after the resurrection. By doing so, He convinced the disciples one more time that He was alive and well, and that He could do anything that He could do before. The disciples knew it was the Lord by the miracles, and the marks of the nails in His hands and feet. All the signs were right before them. He was still true God and true man. He was their friend, and they were His children. He who died for them, was alive for them. They didn't have to ask. They knew.

Read John 21:15-25 (Jesus restores Peter)

After breakfast on the beach, Jesus singled out Peter, and began to question Peter's love for him. And why not? Just a couple of weeks earlier Peter had sworn complete allegiance to his Lord, only to publicly deny a short time later with curses and swearing that he had ever heard of Jesus.

Simon, do you truly love me more than these?" Peter surely must have recalled how he had told Jesus that he loved him more than the other disciples, and that even if the other disciples would forsake him, he never would. There in the courtyard of the high priest, Peter failed to admit his love for Jesus. Maybe he was too embarrassed. Certainly, he was afraid. But Jesus was giving him another chance. "Say it now, Peter. Say it in front of these men. Say that you truly love me."

How many times hasn't the Lord given us a new chance to declare our love for Him? How many times haven't we been influenced or even intimidated by the unbelieving world around us into acting like we didn't know Jesus? How many times haven't we tried to talk and act like we were just like everyone else? How many times haven't we sworn and cursed, and walked around like we aren't disciples of Jesus? Then, ashamed of how we behaved, and repenting of it, haven't we thought, "Lord, if you only give me another chance, I won't behave like that again. Lord, if you only give me another chance, I will do better and show my love for you."

What did Jesus mean when He told Peter: "Feed my lambs … feed my sheep?" (verses 15-16)
Jesus reinstated Peter. But what did Jesus make clear would one day happen to Peter?

The Lord appeared to those disciples and gave them convincing proofs that He is truly Divine, that He rose again on the third day, just as He said, and that He has conquered death and the grave for us. Now those eyewitnesses, the skeptics who had to be convinced themselves, the ones who were so slow to believe, but who saw the marks of love and touched the risen Savior, have recorded what happened so that all of us who were not there may know and believe.

In the verses immediately following our text, John, who was there, says: "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).

Peter, who also was there, wrote: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).

Finally, John wrote: "That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" (1 John 1:1).

Luke notes: "After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive" (Acts 1:3).

For forty days, appearing to hundreds of people, Jesus removed all doubts. Those men and women, so slow to believe, so hard to be convinced, had no more doubts. No threats or persecution could stop or change their testimony. Jesus is Lord and God. He has died for the sin of the world. He has risen on the third day as He said, and one day He will come again to raise us and take us to Himself in heavenly glory.

So, no more doubts. It is a fact. Believe, and in believing you will be blessed with eternal life.

The resurrection of a human body is a hard thing to accept. And we don't want to be fools. We don't want to be gullible. We can have doubts about many things, and we may be fooled by people and their claims. But we know two things for sure:

God's Son died and paid for our sins
God's Son rose and defeated death for us.

CONCLUSION

Now we have read the testimony of John, an eyewitness of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. He has written these things so that we may believe in Jesus as our promised Savior, and the redeemer of our souls. May God grant you this faith and keep you in it all the days of your life.

A final exam will be available for those who would like to review this gospel and for those who wish to receive credit for this course. Ask your instructor if you would like to take this exam.

God bless you.

Pastor Robert O. Balza

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