John 20:1-30
This chapter begins with a grieving and confused group of disciples and ends with these same people being amazed and having purpose. What could bring about such radical transformation? The resurrection. As we go through each step of the process there are some important lessons to learn.
INVESTIGATION: The chapter starts with the women and latter Peter and John going to investigate the now empty tomb. The women had gone to grieve and to anoint His body, but found no body to anoint. Peter and John go to try to confirm what the women were claiming. So now they find themselves without Jesus and they cannot even find His body so the grieving process is complicated even more.
FRUSTRATION: The reality in which they find themselves causes great frustration and multiplies their sadness. They begin to make assumptions that someone has stolen the body of Christ and Mary ends up accusing Christ (the gardener) of stealing Himself. This frustration was totally unnecessary because Christ had clearly and repeatedly revealed to His disciples that He would both die and rise again. The reality we can learn from this situation is that when we forget or choose to ignore what God has told us we will usually end up sad, confused and frustrated.
REVELATION: Christ begins by revealing Himself to Mary who goes and tells the others. She is thrilled but the others still do not believe. Christ appears in a locked room and reveals Himself to all of them accept Thomas who refuses to believe until he sees for himself. Christ reappears to all of them with Thomas present and finally the believe. Keep in mind that Christ had told them what would happen before hand and still had to repeatedly reveal Himself to the disciples. I am so glad that God is so patient with us too. How many times has He had to teach me the same lessons about trusting and obeying Him over and over again. My failures certainly extend my suffering, but I am so glad that God continues to reveal Himself to me through His Word and Spirit.
REALIZATION: Finally, everybody "gets it" they have seen Jesus and now realize the amazing truth of the resurrection has come to pass. Imagine the joy and relief of their hearts. When the Word of God and the will of God become obvious in our lives, it will always bring about that profound relief. No matter what circumstances we face, we would be wise to, in the midst of those circumstances, search the Scriptures and seek to gain a divine perspective on whatever we face. Once we realize that He is in control and working things out for His glory and our eternal good, a tremendous burden will fall from our shoulders.
MOTIVATION: Once Christ reveals Himself to the disciples and they realize what is going on, Jesus tells them what He wants them to do. He sends them out to spread the message of His death and resurrection to the world. The disciples are now given the purpose of their lives. Now that they finally understand and truly believe, their job is to spread the word of who Christ is and what He has done so that others might believe and be blessed as well. That purpose in life must continue to be the motivating factor in the lives of every true believer.
INVESTIGATION: The chapter starts with the women and latter Peter and John going to investigate the now empty tomb. The women had gone to grieve and to anoint His body, but found no body to anoint. Peter and John go to try to confirm what the women were claiming. So now they find themselves without Jesus and they cannot even find His body so the grieving process is complicated even more.
FRUSTRATION: The reality in which they find themselves causes great frustration and multiplies their sadness. They begin to make assumptions that someone has stolen the body of Christ and Mary ends up accusing Christ (the gardener) of stealing Himself. This frustration was totally unnecessary because Christ had clearly and repeatedly revealed to His disciples that He would both die and rise again. The reality we can learn from this situation is that when we forget or choose to ignore what God has told us we will usually end up sad, confused and frustrated.
REVELATION: Christ begins by revealing Himself to Mary who goes and tells the others. She is thrilled but the others still do not believe. Christ appears in a locked room and reveals Himself to all of them accept Thomas who refuses to believe until he sees for himself. Christ reappears to all of them with Thomas present and finally the believe. Keep in mind that Christ had told them what would happen before hand and still had to repeatedly reveal Himself to the disciples. I am so glad that God is so patient with us too. How many times has He had to teach me the same lessons about trusting and obeying Him over and over again. My failures certainly extend my suffering, but I am so glad that God continues to reveal Himself to me through His Word and Spirit.
REALIZATION: Finally, everybody "gets it" they have seen Jesus and now realize the amazing truth of the resurrection has come to pass. Imagine the joy and relief of their hearts. When the Word of God and the will of God become obvious in our lives, it will always bring about that profound relief. No matter what circumstances we face, we would be wise to, in the midst of those circumstances, search the Scriptures and seek to gain a divine perspective on whatever we face. Once we realize that He is in control and working things out for His glory and our eternal good, a tremendous burden will fall from our shoulders.
MOTIVATION: Once Christ reveals Himself to the disciples and they realize what is going on, Jesus tells them what He wants them to do. He sends them out to spread the message of His death and resurrection to the world. The disciples are now given the purpose of their lives. Now that they finally understand and truly believe, their job is to spread the word of who Christ is and what He has done so that others might believe and be blessed as well. That purpose in life must continue to be the motivating factor in the lives of every true believer.
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