Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:19-21

As we continue to look at the events of the Resurrection, we see when Jesus visited his disciples. As stated in the previous post, Jesus remained on Earth for 40 days until he ascended back to Heaven. As the Apostle Paul testified, Jesus was seen by over 500 people during this time period (1 Corinthians 15)

Notice Jesus showed the disciples the marks on his hands and his side, to verify it was him. Its very interesting even though Jesus has a Resurrected Body, he still bears the mark of his crucifixion, a reminder for all of us the love and sacrifice Christ demonstrated towards us 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:22-24

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, the Breath of God. Notice the disciples were currently hiding in the upper room out of fear of the Romans, however now that they have the Holy Spirit, they will go out and preach the gospel and change the world. What a difference the Holy Spirit makes!

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. John 20:25-26

Thomas, who was better known as “Doubting Thomas” wasnt there when Jesus visited the first time, so he had doubts that Christ really was resurrected. Can you relate with Thomas? Notice Jesus came back again, this time to personally visit Thomas

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:27-29

Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he seen the marks on Jesus, Christ then instructed Thomas to touch the marks on his body. It was indeed the Risen Lord, the same Jesus that was crucified on the cross for our sins, is the same physical Jesus that rose from the tomb after 3 days!

Thomas declares Jesus is not only his Lord but also his God! Thomas understood Jesus is God in the flesh! If Jesus wasn’t God, he would have rebuked Thomas but he didn’t, if Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead, then he would have the marks from the crucifixion.  The Lord your God has Risen indeed Amen!

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. John 20:1-3

Today we take a look at the greatest event in human history, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is this the greatest event in human history? Because Jesus has forever defeated sin and death, Jesus is Risen and reigns forever! Anyone who wants to reject Christ, point them to the Empty Tomb. It’s empty, He is Risen, process this as you will, but The Lord has Risen just as he said he would

First note, all the gospels tell us , Jesus rose on the first day of the week, Sunday. You’ll hear many conspiracy theories about why Christians worship on Sunday, but the Bible is clear The Lord’s Day is Sunday. The first day of the week Jesus is Risen! This has nothing to do with Catholicism or Paganism, its about understanding the significance and importance of The Resurrection of Christ!

So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. John 20:4-7

Now another thing to point out, is the first people to discover the Tomb is Empty was the woman not the Apostles. Why is this significant? Well in the first Century if we were going to make us a “Resurrection Story” you would not have the woman as the first witnesses, as their testimony was not valid back in that day. Also Mary Magdalene was a former prostitute filled with demons, probably not the ideal witness the Apostles would have wanted

But the fact remains, the women discovered the Tomb because they loved The Lord more than they loved their own lives, as going to the Tomb could have meant death or imprisonment by the Romans. It we know Jesus make us all new, Mary Magdalene was a Born Again disciple of Christ

Another fact to look at is  it states “The napkin at Jesus head was wrapped together in place” meaning the napkin was folded. It was a Jewish custom to fold your napkin when leaving the dinner table, signifying you were coming back! The Lord was giving us a message , He is coming back!

Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. John 20:8-10

Why did Christiniaty begin? Because of The Empty Tomb, because Jesus is Risen! Jesus didn’t come here to start a new religion, everything changed when Christ rose from the dead! The disciples were still trying to piece everything together, they didn’t understand that the Christ must die for our sins and will rise again yet

As the Apostle Paul said “Without the resurrection our faith would be worthless” (1 Corinthians 15) Jesus is Risen, and this changes everything Amen!