New Life Bible Fellowship Church
8/24/25

      • Psalm 34:8–10ESV

  • Moment By Moment
  • Wonderful Grace Of Jesus

      • Psalm 143ESV

  • Introduction:

    Last week, we came to the apex of all miracles, the miracle that sets Christianity apart from all other religions, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! We began with the arrival of the women to the grave sight after the Sabbath and now the first day of the week, very early in the morning. We saw how that all things have been made new, even former relationships have changed forever, and the natural outcome is to declare that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead!
    This morning, we will pick up with the context of Mary Magdalene having announced to the disciples that she, and the other women, had seen the Lord, and we will see that Jesus reveals himself to His disciples, dispelling their doughts and commissions them to continue the work of proclaiming the Good News of the risen and saving Christ after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit.

    Text: John 20:19-31

    John 20:19–31 ESV
    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.” 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.” 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.

    Main Idea: The resurrection of Jesus Christ instills hope and power in the lives of believers, reminding us that in Christ, we too are made alive and can face the world with confidence and joy.

    As we mentioned last week, one of the greatest arguments for the truth of the resurrection was the fearfulness and hopelessness of the disciples. They were not conniving and scheming and implementing a plan to fool the world into thinking Jesus was not dead, but they were cowering in fear, and it was only through the bodily appearance of their Lord could we see the…

    I. Disciples' Dread Dispelled (19-23)

    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.”
    the doors being locked. The risen Jesus somehow enters the room without the closed, locked doors being opened (cf. v. 26; see Acts 12:10). John does not explain how this takes place, but reveals that Jesus’ ability to enter a locked room as evidence of the transformation involved in the resurrection of the body (1 Cor. 15:44).
    1 Corinthians 15:44 ESV
    44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
    where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Probably includes more than the ten apostles (twelve minus Judas and Thomas). In Acts 1:14, the women, Jesus’ mother and brothers, and probably others (Acts 1:23) are together in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension.
    Peace be with you. Everyday words but a most welcome greeting, since they might have expected a rebuke for having abandoned Jesus at the time of His arrest. By His victory over death, Jesus will henceforth fulfill His promise to impart His own peace to His followers, calming their troubled hearts (14:27; 16:33; Phil. 4:6, 7). Is 9:6-7
    Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV
    6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
    20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
    his hands and his side. The marks of His wounds, the marks of atonement, identify Jesus and also prove that He was not a ghost (Luke 24:36–40).
    21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
    Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you - it’s as if Jesus is saying by repeating this greeting that what He is about to proclaim requires peace with God…
    As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. This is a brief statement of the ongoing commission Jesus gives His disciples (cf. 13:20). A fuller statement is found in Matt. 28:18–20 and in Luke 24:44–53. Jesus is the supreme example for evangelism and missions. The commissioning of the Father’s plan of redemption passed through Jesus at His completion of His atoning sacrifice, to His disciples who were to carry on through the proclamation of the Gospel, but not on their own, they would need what we see next…
    22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
    he breathed on them. This verb, appearing only here in the NT, describes God’s breathing into Adam after forming his body from the dust (Gen. 2:7 LXX). The life that is in Jesus (1:4; 5:26) is bringing about a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15).
    2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
    17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
    Receive the Holy Spirit. The gift is essential for the performance of the task given to the disciples (Luke 24:48, 49; Acts 1:8). This occasion is a foreshadowing, an enacted prophecy, of the fullness of the Spirit to be bestowed on the church at Pentecost (Acts 1:4, 5; 2:1–11).
    As a result of their commissioned work, there would be those who would respond favorably and unfavorably as we see next…
    23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
    The authority the apostles receive is not a sacramental authority (ability to grant or withhold salvation) such as the one that the Roman Catholic Church affirms…
    The expressions they are forgiven and it is withheld both represent perfect-tense verbs in Greek and could also be translated, “they have been forgiven” and “it has been withheld,” since the perfect tense gives the sense of completed past action with continuing results in the present. The idea is not that individual Christians or churches have authority on their own to forgive or not forgive people, but rather that as the church proclaims the gospel message of forgiveness of sins in the power of the Holy Spirit (see v. 22), it proclaims that those who believe in Jesus have their sins forgiven, and that those who do not believe in him do not have their sins forgiven—which simply reflects what God in heaven has already done (cf. note on Matt. 16:19).
    Matthew 16:19 ESV
    19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
    Matthew 18:18 ESV
    18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
    We will see next that even though most of Jesus’ disciples and followers were present during this encounter with Jesus, and that their doubts were dispelled, there was one who was not. But we will soon see…

    II. Thomas' Doubt Dispelled (24-29)

    24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
    Thomas. John 11:16.
    John 11:16 ESV
    16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
    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.”
    Again, we see that the disciples were totally unprepared for Jesus’ resurrection even though Jesus plainly told them, which is apparently why Thomas thinks the disciples may have seen a ghost (cf. Matt. 14:26), and set up the conditions for assuming differently…
    Yet John is careful to affirm that Jesus is the incarnate Word (John 1:14; cf. 1 John 4:2–3; 2 John 7), which entails that his resurrection body is not a phantom or ghost but a real (albeit glorified) body.
    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.”
    Eight days later refers to the following Sunday, one week after Easter (cf. v. 19), because the starting day was also included in counting the number of days. Now that the festival of Unleavened Bread was over, the disciples would soon be returning to Galilee and the doors were locked.
    This time Thomas is present. It is probably correct to say that his presence at this occasion was the result of the work of witnessing in which the others had been engaged. Of course, this is not certain. It is also possible that Thomas rejoined the group for the simple reason that he had no other friends, no other place to go.
    The rest of verse 26 is almost a word-for-word repetition of verse 19. Again, though the doors are locked, Jesus suddenly appears. He comes. He stands in the midst of the group. He speaks peace to (and bestows peace upon) them.
    Then he addresses Thomas. In the spirit of gentle admonition to the conditions laid down by Thomas (v. 25), Jesus admonishes his erring disciple. Notice:
    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.”
    For each demand of Thomas there is a command of Christ,
    The manner in which Jesus dealt with Thomas certainly indicates that he is still the same Jesus. His love has not lessened. He might have rebuked Thomas sharply, but he deals very gently with him.
    28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
    My Lord and my God. This is probably the clearest and simplest confession of the deity of Christ to be found in the NT. The two highest words for deity that are found in Scripture, “Lord” (used in the Septuagint for the divine covenant name “Yahweh”) (cf. Phil. 2:10, 11 with Is. 45:23–25) and “God” (see 1:1, 14; Rom. 9:5), are used together and addressed to Jesus in recognition of His divine glory.
    Note that Jesus accepts this worship without hesitation. This is in sharp contrast to the angels who immediately refused when John mistakenly began to worship them in Rev. 19:10; 22:9.
    29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
    Blessed are those who have not seen. While commending Thomas’s faith, Jesus blesses those who will come to believe through the witness of the disciples (17:20; cf. 1 Pet. 1:8-9).
    1 Peter 1:8–9 ESV
    8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
    The faith of those who have believed without seeing can rest securely on the eyewitness testimony of those who have not only “seen with our eyes” but also “touched with our hands” and who bear their witness to draw others into fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1–3). The readers of John’s Gospel are at no disadvantage as compared to Jesus’ first followers.
    1 John 1:1–3 ESV
    1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
    With the Disciples’ Dread Dispelled, and Thomas’ Doubted Dispelled, with a resulting blessing, John now ends this passage with his purpose for the writing of the gospel which we shall see next in the…

    III. Purposeful Proclamation of Faith (30-31)

    30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
    many other signs. John has not used the word “sign” since 12:37 (as he moved from His public ministry to His private one with His disciples), when in reference to His public ministry he concluded with the statement that the crowds did not believe in Jesus despite the many miraculous signs He performed to confirm and to illustrate His saving mission.
    The implication of “other” here is that His resurrection is the climactic sign that demonstrates that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (see Acts 2:22–36) and thus warrants our believing in Him (v. 31).
    In none of the Gospels is there an attempt to give a complete or a strictly chronological record of Jesus’ words and works such as is found in a modern biography (cf. 21:25), but each with his own purpose, declares the truth of Jesus as moved by the Holy Spirit. John is about to reveal his purpose…
    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.
    Purpose Statement: that [you may believe] (pisteuo [aor, act, sub] - trust that results in action which has been made possible by indisputable facts) that:
    Jesus is the Christ. or the promised Messiah (John 1:41), fulfilling all the prophesies of the Old Testament, focusing on His humanity.
    John 1:41 ESV
    41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
    the Son of God - On Jesus’ unique status as “Son of God (John 1:14), focusing on His deity.
    John 1:14 ESV
    14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    you may have life in his name (onoma [noun] - all the characteristics that make up who one is) - Through believing, we find life in Him who is the source of life (John 3:16-18), focusing on His mission of atonement.
    John 3:16–18 ESV
    16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
    Therefore, the purpose of John’s writing was to reveal Jesus the God-Man, perfect God, perfect Man, whose mission was to be an atoning sacrifice for His people, providing life in His name. This purpose statement is very similar to the one in John’s first epistle:
    1 John 5:13 ESV
    13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

    So What?

    Do we understand that the resurrection of Jesus was not some hidden rumor that was not able to be substantiated, but an indisputable fact witnessed by His fearful, doubting followers?
    Do we understand that the sole purpose of the revelation of Jesus the God-Man was for our life altering, life giving, active ongoing trust in Him alone for time and eternity?
    Have you placed your trust in Jesus the God-Man and His atoning sacrifice, giving Him your life for the forgiveness of your sins? Remember:
    John 3:18 ESV
    18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

      • John 21:1–25ESV

      • John 21:1–6ESV

      • Luke 5:4–6ESV

      • John 21:7–9ESV

      • John 18:18ESV

      • John 21:10–14ESV

      • John 21:15ESV

      • 1 Peter 5:2ESV

      • John 21:16–17ESV

      • 1 Peter 5:4ESV

      • John 21:18–19ESV

      • John 21:20–25ESV

  • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
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