Read John 19:38-39
38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away.
39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.
*Who is Nicodemus? A Pharisee that came to Jesus at night
Read John 19:40-42
40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.
41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before.
42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
*What did the Pharisees request for Pilate to do to the tomb? Have Roman guards seal it and watch it
*What did they do? Ran away – big strong guards
Read John 20:1
1 Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
*Could Jesus have gotten out of the tomb if the stone was still there?
*Why was it rolled away? So we could see in
Read John 20:2
2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”
*Who is the other disciple whom Jesus loved? John the writer – I wonder why he did not say me or I?
Read John 20:3
3 Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see.
4 The other disciple outran Peter and got there first.
Don’t you love how John added that he beat Peter to the tomb?
Read John 20:5-10
5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in.
6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there,
7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side.
8 Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed —
9 for until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead.
10 Then they went home.
*What is the significance of the cloth being folded up? It was rolled around Jesus’ head when he rose from the dead. Nothing was disturbed. If someone stole the body it would not have been folded, it would have been all messed up or gone.
*Why did Jesus have to rise from the dead?
Jesus gives us eternal life. If Jesus did not rise we also could not rise, we also could not rise after death.
*Is Buddha dead? Muhammad? Jesus? Jesus is alive!
*Where do you think Jesus went for those 3 days? The Bible does not say directly. Before Jesus died, the righteous people who died did not get to go to heaven. Only after Jesus was crucified could they too enter heaven. Jesus, they Bible scholars speculate, went to that place to let the saints into heaven. Jesus not only died for us, but for the people during the time he lived and before he lived.
Read John 20:11-16
11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in.
12 She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying.
13 “Why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.
15 “Why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
16 “Mary!” Jesus said.She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”
*Why do you think Mary did not recognize Jesus at first? She was too sad to think and she was not expecting Jesus to rise from the dead.
Read John 20:17
17 “Don’t cling to me, “Jesus said, “For I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”
Now God is our Father. Jesus death and resurrection broke the barrier between God and Man.
*What happened to the temple curtain when Jesus died? It tore from to top to bottom – God tore it.
Read John 20:18-19
18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
19 That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
*If Jesus could just appear in any room, where can Jesus go? Everywhere
Read John 20:20-21
20 As he spoke, he held out his hands for them to see, and he showed them his side. They were filled with joy when they saw their Lord!
21 He spoke to them again and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
*Where is Jesus sending us? To do what? Spread the Gospel
Read John 20:22-23
22 Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you refuse to forgive them, they are unforgiven.”
Later the Holy Spirit comes to all believers, but for now just the disciples.
*Who is the Holy Spirit? The part of God who carries out what God desires.
*Why do we need to receive him? He fills us with power. Power to do and believe.
*What did he mean “If you forgive anyone’s sins they are forgiven”? This does not mean we have power to forgive sins, only God can do that. But we have the ability, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance to preach the Gospel for others to receive forgiveness, or to choose not to.
Read John 20:24-25
24 One of the disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.
25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
*Why do you think Thomas did not believe him? This is where he gets his name doubting Thomas. Thomas was not there to receive the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals the truth to us.
Read John 20:26-29
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”
27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”
*Do you believe without seeing?
Read John 20:30-31
30 Jesus’ disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life.
*We have life by the power of his name. How does that make you feel?
We have power as believers to reveal the truth to others. Use it. Rely on the Holy Spirit within you to guide you and show you the truth. Many Christians do not do this and do not grow. To grow as a Christian, we need to be sensitive to the power that is within us and use it. Use it or lose it.