John 20

John 20:1:
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”

Frank Morison was the pseudonym of Albert Henry Ross who lived from 1881 to 1950. Ross was an English advertising agent and freelance writer. He was skeptical of the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus and set out to analyze the biblical sources and to write a short paper entitled Jesus—the Last Phase. He wanted to demonstrate that the resurrection of Jesus was simply a myth. In compiling his notes, however, Ross came to believe in the truth of the resurrection. He later set out his reasoning in a book entitled Who Moved the Stone? Many people have come to personal faith in Jesus Christ because of reading Ross’ book. Ross called the stone at Jesus’ tomb “the one silent and infallible witness in the whole episode.” -Will Vaus

John 20:7:
and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, 'I'm done'. But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........

The folded napkin meant, 'I'm coming back!'

He is Coming Back!

John 20:21:
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

The word for what the Father did with the Son is from the verb, “apostéllo”. Apostles are “sent ones”. The verb the Lord used here to send is “pémpo”, a synonym. They become “sent ones” just as Christ Himself is the “Sent One”, sent by the Father. Christ, the Apostle of the Father, who became incarnate of the Virgin by the inbreathing of the Holy Spirit, who identified Himself with the Father so closely that His claims were of divinity, associated His own sent ones so closely to Himself that next He breathed the Holy Spirit on them also, and said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” They then had Christ’s own Power to forgive sins. This is consistent with what the Lord said elsewhere, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me.” (John 13.20, and Luke 10:16, Matthew 10.40). -John Zuhlsdorf

John 20: 24-31:
Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. Through a debate forum, I am often confronted with someones challenge to “prove God exists.” When asked what they want, they, of course, do not know. I suspect that anything offered would be rejected. Thomas, who was one of the 12 apostles, did not even believe Jesus was resurrected in spite of the evidence that he was talking to him face to face… Read More. My personal spin on that story is that I note that Thomas did not believe til he touched and experienced the blood….and I think it is that experience which separates the skeptics from the believers.
Jesus’ words to Thomas were about believing. Thomas could not believe in the resurrected Jesus, without seeing for himself. This was before pentecost, so there was not yet any outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:27:
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Do not doubt but believe. The Greek phrase used is quite difficult to translate into English. Greek has two forms of imperative. In other words, you can tell somebody to do something in two different ways. What is known as an aorist imperative means "do this action once." If I asked someone to open a window, I would use this form. A second form, however, is the present imperative. This means "Keep on doing this! Don't just do it once!" The Greek verb in John 20:27 is a present imperative. It doesn't mean "on this occasion, don't doubt--instead believe!" Rather, it means "stop doubting now, once and for all. And keep on believing."

John 20:31:
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of god: and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The key to Johns gospel….the goal and intent of the writer.