Return Ticket on a Runaway Train (John 20)

Right way on a one way track. Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.

The penultimate study in the "Just Looking" series on the Gospel of John.

John 20
Q: What event occurs in this chapter?
Jesus is raised from the dead.

Q: From last study, we know that Jesus really died. How do we know he really rose from the dead?
Tomb emptied under unusual circumstances - in itself sufficient for belief (John 20:8)
Appearances to eyewitnesses
Not a ghost but solid flesh still bearing marks of crucifixion. (And certainly not a metaphysical, metaphorical, "Jesus lives on in our hearts" resurrection.)

Q: Resurrection was not a cool party trick, nor a shock and awe tactic to gain friends and influence people. Why does Jesus have to rise again from the dead? (John 20:9)
Because Scripture had spoken hundreds and thousands of years ago about a promised king who would rule forever and also that God's suffering servant would rise from the dead. Therefore, if Jesus was these promised people rolled into one, he needed to do so.
[Because it was not possible for Jesus to be held by death since he was sinless and therefore did not deserve the judgement of death.]
Isaiah 9:6-7 as well as the numerous times God tells David that he will establish his throne forever.
Psalm 16 (cited Acts 2:25-31, Acts 13:35)
Isaiah 53:10ff.

Q: What message does Jesus tell Mary Magdalene to convey to the disciples?
'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' (John 20:17)

Q: Why is it important for them to know that Jesus is ascending to God?
Q: What has Jesus told them previously about his coming to earth and returning to the Father?
John 3:13-16 - "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 13:3 - "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God..."

John 16:28 - "I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

John 17:4-5 - "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."

Q: What does Jesus' ascension demonstrate about him?
What he says came true - he is not a false prophet. And so what he says about the condition of men, about himself being the only way to be saved, about how his death pays for sins, about his divinity (being equal to the Father) is all true. Jesus' work on earth was done and he would now be glorified.

Q: What does Jesus' ascension tell us about the Father?
That God really loved the world. Jesus' death was the accomplishment of his eternal plan to rescue his people.

Q: What does Jesus' ascension mean for his disciples and the world?
That all who believe in him will have eternal life.

What word does he use to describe his disciples?
brothers

Q:Why does Jesus call them "brothers"?
Q: If brothers, who is their Father?
"my God and your God, my Father and your Father". Not only is there merely salvation from judgement to eternal life, there is also intimate relationship with God! Mindblowing bonus! See John 14, John 16:25-27.

[Q: What is the significance of Jesus' greeting?]

Q: When Jesus appears, what does he give the disciples (John 20:21-23)?
Sending out - commission, Holy Spirit

Q: Jesus promised the Spirit several times while he was alive. Why would the disciples need the Spirit?
To be reborn, to not be condemned, to enter into the Kingdom of God (John 3).
John 14:26 - "the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

John 16:13-14 - "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Q: How will the disciples be able to carry out their commission?
Q: What exactly were they sent out to do?

Q: Why do we now, more than two millenia later, not need to see Jesus' physically resurrected body or his miracles to believe?
John 20:28-31

Q: How do we know that John the disciple's testimony is true?
Because it is Spirit-aided.

Q: Why do you not believe these words of eternal life?

Where else have we to go
We have come to see,
To know and understand
Things the very angels long to see.
God, who owed us nothing,
Has spoken to us all.
Christ the word of God himself has been.

Chorus
Where else have we to go,
When you alone have words of eternal life?
Where else have we to go,
When you alone have words of eternal life?

2. Words of truth passed down
To those entrusted few
Who witnessed and proclaimed him,
‘Christ the Lord’.
We are their descendants
On us the light has dawned,
Standing in the gospel we first heard.

3. Come all you who labour,
You who are weighed down,
You who thirst and hunger for the right
There is truth and meaning,
Mercy, rest and hope.
True salvation comes through Jesus Christ.

Words and Music: ©1998 Nicky Chiswell

Just Looking Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Matcha Pudding and the Promised Saviour Proved (John 19:16b - 42)

While working through the Gospel of John again, it gave us shivers to think what an incredible few years John must have had with Jesus (cf John 21:24-25) - following him from place to place, hearing him preach but not understanding his full meaning, believing yet not having complete faith, the horror of Jesus being taken away by his people the Jews, hoping perhaps that Jesus might save himself, then faced with the shocking, crushing reality of Jesus, whom he called his teacher and lord and even saviour in whatever sense he could have understood, hanging, dying on a Roman cross.

Yet what shivers it must have given John later on when, recalling the details of Jesus' crucifixion and death, he realised how perfectly events beyond the control of any human comported with Scripture written by disparate authors over thousands of years, and so how, in a mind-blowing way that could not have been conceived by pea-brained humans, God had planned his Son's death before the beginning of the world.

Intro question: What do you/your friends/relatives think of Jesus' death on the cross some 2,000 years ago?

John 19:16b - 42
Q: What happens in John 19:16b - 42?
........

We remember the purpose of John's Gospel. It is not an ad nauseum of everything that he saw and heard while he was with Jesus, he chose only some to put in his book, so that his readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing we might have life in his name (John 20:30-31).

Q: Name the people at Jesus' trial, crucifixion, death and burial.
Trial - Pilate, soldiers, chief priests, Jews
Crucifixion and death - soldiers, chief priests, Jews, mother, mother's sister Mary wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, John
Burial - Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus

John 19:16b - 30
Q: With all these people present, how can we be sure it was really Jesus who was crucified, who died and was buried?
Pilate, soldiers - Romans were professionals. They were not easily hoodwinked.
Chief priests, Jews - They really wanted Jesus dead and would have made sure that it was really Jesus on the cross. Their only protest was the signage on Jesus' cross (19:20-21).
Relatives and followers - They would have known if it were not Jesus. And an imposter would not have taken care to ensure that Jesus' mother was taken care of, not while he was suffering on a cross (19:26-27).

John 19:31 - 42
Q: How do we know that Jesus really died and didn't just faint away?
- the soldiers who probably had seen many crucifixions saw that he was already dead (19:33)
- blood and water poured from his side (19:34) - when a person has been dead for some time, blood serum and platelets separate.
- he was wrapped with 75 pounds (about 28 kg) of spices and left for a few days. If he wasn't already dead, he would have died from blood loss and dehydration.

John 19:35 - 42
Q: How do we know this whole account is true?
- John was an eyewitness
- John names prominent people - it would have been easy to check if this was true

Why is it important to know that it was really Jesus on the cross and that he really died?
Jesus' claims.

While it is important to establish that it was really Jesus on the cross and that he really died, why does John give us all these details?
To show that this was not a tragic failure. but that all this was in fulfilment of Scripture (19:24, 28, 36), God's eternal plan for rescuing his people from the just consequences of sin. God is in control, having planned and communicated his plan (albeit piecemeal) thousands of years before.

John 19:28-30
The words "finished" and "fulfilled" are translations of the same Greek verb "to accomplish". What has Jesus accomplished?
cf John 17:4. Same word used by Jesus in prayer. Jesus' death is not the sizzle of a damp squib that once held so much potential; rather, it is the climax and fulfilment of all Scripture. Jesus' cry is a cry of victory!

Look at Psalm 22. It is a psalm written before 400 B.C. about God's servant suffering at the hands of his enemies. But he is ultimately vindicated.
Q: What does the fulfilment of Psalm 22:18 in John 19:24 tell us about Jesus' death?

[Q: Look at Psalm 69:21.]

Look at Exodus 12:46 which was written between 1446 - 1406 B.C. and Numbers 9:12. God instructs Israel on keeping the Passover.
Q: What was the Passover supposed to commemorate?

Q: What do these verses say about the passover lamb?

Q: So what is the significance of Jesus' death on the cross?
Jesus is the true passover lamb - without blemish and broken bones. Just as God gave the Israelites a means of being spared the judgement on Egypt by the blood of passover lambs, so through Jesus' death on the cross, God gives all humankind a way of escape from his coming judgement.

Q: Look at Zechariah 12:10 - 13:1 written in 6 B.C.. For whom are the people mourning?
The one whom they have pierced = me (God) = him!

Q: Yet, what will happen on that same day?
Fountain for God's people to cleanse themselves from sin and uncleanness opened (Zechariah 13:1).

Q: What is the significance of Jesus being pierced in the side? (John 19:34,37)
He is God. His death will allow God's people be free from the boggy mire of sin and uncleanness!

Q: How much more does this add to your understanding of Jesus' cry of victory in John 19:30?!

Jesus' death is neither a tragic end to a young life so full of potential or promise, nor is it such an orgy of gore and pain (a la Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ) that we are emotionally arm-twisted into believing in Jesus "since he has gone through so much for us". Rather, John tells us of God's sovereign control throughout history. Every detail in the death of the King of the Jews occurred in accordance with God's will, not least the robustness in the execution of God's mercy mission to provide a way out from the coming judgement of our sins and a means by which we can be cleansed from our sins.

Q: John wrote all of this so that we may also believe (19:35). How does this account enable you to believe and go on believing in Jesus and his good news?


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Wake me up when September ends. John 18:28 - 19:16a.

Green day.

A thin but meaty section in this particular "Just Looking" series.

John 18:28 - 19:16a

Jesus' innocence
Q: By whom was Jesus arrested? Why?
John 18:14, 11:45-57, 18:35

Q: What accusation did the chief priest and officers of the Jews bring against Jesus?
18:30 - nothing specific at first

Q: What was Pilate's verdict? How was this emphasised?
Jesus was innocent (18:38, 19:4, 19:6, 19:12).

Guilt of the Jews
Q: What do the accusers know about Jesus' claims?
All too aware that he claims to be king and to be the Son of God (18:33, 19:7).

Q: Yet how do the chief priests and officers respond each time Pilate pronounces Jesus to be innocent?

Q: How can we tell from this passage that the chief priests and officers were not looking for a fair trial?
They just wanted Jesus killed by the Romans (18:31, 19:6, 19:15).

Q: What occasion were the Jews celebrating?
Passover (18:28).

Q: In what way were their scruples about cleanliness (18:28) ironic?
Concerned about ritual uncleanness but are getting their hands/hearts very filthy indeed.
Passover itself is about to be made redundant by slaughter of true Passover Lamb which they are in process of engineering.

Guilt of Pilate
Q: How does Pilate react to Jesus' claims?
Nonchalance, then some fear (but not enough to overcome his fear of Caesar) (18:38, 19:8-13).

Guilty parties
Q: Even though Jesus seems to be on trial, it is actually his accusers and Pilate that are on trial. How so?
18:37 presents all with a choice.

Q: In this scene, who are the guilty parties?
Pilate, accusers, who put to death an innocent man. Perversion of justice.
Pilate, accusers, who reject their real king.

[Q: When will they be judged?
Not in this world (but one assumes in the next where Jesus is king).]

Q: Even though Jesus' kingdom is in the next world, how do we know that he/God is in control even in this world?
18:32, 12:32-33

Q: The choice presented to us then is stark. We are either on the side of the false accusers and perverters of truth (of which the postmodern passiveness of Pilate is complicit) or we can choose to acknowledge Jesus as king. Just as the chief priests, the officers and the rest of those who were meant to be God's people could not see that Jesus was king in their time, because his servants did not fight for him in the present, so it is not explicitly obvious to us that Jesus rules. How do we know that he is king? How do we choose to listen to Jesus' voice now?

Q: History tends to depict the leaders of the Jews as the baddies. Yet, perhaps one could argue as one says of many of one's compatriots in church that "they had a good heart". After all, they were trying to protect their nation. What was the tragedy? How can we avoid the same fate for ourselves and our friends?


"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

Hopes and Expectations. Black Holes and Revelations. John 5:1-29.

As we work through the Gospel of John, we are in awe of the persistence and insistence of God in calling people to himself, and so simultaneously, the great tragedy that the Jews, to whom were given the promises of blessing and the symbols of future rescue would be the ones who would kill the promised Christ.

But perhaps even now, anywhere in the world and at any point of time, people can gather united in the name of God, yet the great tragedy might be that even a premier bible-teaching church may reject the very Saviour they claim to proclaim.

Read John 5:1-29
Q: It's a remarkable thing to heal a man who has been lame for 38 years with just a word. But what was the special significance of the healing of the lame man to a Jew?
Read Isaiah 35:3-7. Isaiah prophesised that when God came to rescue his people, inter alia, the lame man would leap like a deer. This was a sign that God's Saviour had come.

Q: What was significant about the day on which the healing took place?
Read Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Sabbath was a day of rest instituted by God when God's people were meant to remember God's rescue of them from slavery in Egypt (and a future rest/rescue). It should have been doubly significant for them that the sign of the Messiah should occur on the day set apart by God to point to his past (and future) rescue.

Q: Remember that John wrote his Gospel so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ and by believing have life in his name (John 20). How does this convince us that Jesus is the Christ?
.....

Q: But how did the Jews respond instead?
They wanted to kill him (John 5:18).

Q: What did the Jews find so offensive?
Healing on the Sabbath and making himself equal to God (John 5:18).

Q: What was so tragically ironic about what they found offensive?
They were offended by the very thing they claimed to be waiting for, the person whom all this pointed to.

Q: Jesus explained why they should not be offended. Why did Jesus do what he did?
The Father commissioned him to do this work. He is acting in imitation of and obedience to the Father. (John 5:19-23)

Q: We have seen in past studies that Jesus was with God in the beginning and that he is the only one to have seen God. What else do we know about his relationship with the Father from this passage?
Close, open (to each other) relationship. Obedience from Jesus. Love from Father.

Q: The miracle that it was, the healing of the lame was nothing compared to two greater works that God has given Jesus to do. What are they?
To give life and to judge the world.

Why did God give Jesus this work to do?
So that they would honour him like they honoured the Father (John 5:23). Because he is the Son of Man (John 5:27) - not a new commission but because of who Jesus already is.

How should people honour God?
Believe him. (John 5:24)

How should people honour Jesus?
Hear his words (John 5:24-25) - believe him.

[Q: Who has the right to give life and to judge the world?
Only God since he created life and since he is the one sinned against.]

Who is Jesus that all people should respond in this way?
.....

Was this good news or bad news for the Jews?
Supposed to be good news but their response makes it very bad news indeed.

What are the consequences of not believing God/Jesus?
Judgement, death. (John 5:24-28)

What was going to happen to those Jews who were so zealous in defending God's rest day and God's name?
Judgement, death.

Even as people who call ourselves Christian, our response to Jesus is very important. We can be enthusiastic about church, serve in many ways, lead ministries, give to the poor etc but without a saving relationship with Christ, we will still face judgement and eternal death.
Q: Think through a typical day in your life. How have you believed God/Jesus from the time you got out of bed until you climbed back in at night?
Q: How have you believed God/Jesus in participating in abjectly Christian activities?

Breakfast - Dinner

"Just Looking" Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)

MoominValley under the Pink Cloud of Rainbow Sprinkles and "Just Looking" Study 3 (John 4:1-30)

Even this cheerful scene is far too banal to accompany the loveliness of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, a work of such (probably very subjective) intricate beauty that one might weep on first listen. Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrakh have a nice saw-through of it here, here and here.

In John 4:1-30, God does a far greater and infinitely more wondrous thing (that can be appreciated by a much wider audience).

Quick notes for study with someone brought up in a Christian family.

Intro Questions
Q: What sort of people do you think God saves?
Q: What is the proper worship of God and what is the wrong worship of God?

Read John 4:1-30.

1. What we can tell about the woman at the well?
- from her heritage

Samaritan - Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9). Later in John 8:48, the Jews intended to insult and discredit Jesus by calling him "a Samaritan".

From 1 Kings 16:24, we know that King Omri named the new capital of the northern kingdom "Samaria". From 2 Kings 17:24 – 31, we know that the king of Assyria brought foreign people to settle in Samaria in 722 B.C.. Over time they intermarried with some Jews who remained in the area.The Samaritans, of partly Jewish and partly Gentile ancestry, were disdained by the Jews. The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch, their own temple on Mount Gerizim (see John 4:20), and their own rendering of Israelite history. Tensions often ran high between Jews and Samaritans - Josephus recounts fighting between Jews and Samaritans during Claudius's reign in the first century A.D. being so intense that Roman soldiers were called in to pacify (and to crucify) many of the rebels (Jewish War 2.232–246).

Woman had somewhat suspect heritage.

- from her actions
Sixth hour refers to noon, when it would have been hot and time to rest. Normally, women would draw water in the morning or evening when it was cooler (Gen. 24:11; cf. 29:7–8). That the woman was drawing water at noon when there was one else around suggests that she was trying to avoid being seen and/or interacting with other people. Her marital status tells us why.

- from her marital status
The woman had had five husbands who had either died or divorced her. When Jesus says the one you now have is not your husband, he implies that they were merely living together immorally.

So this woman is not only of a despised race, but even other members of that race considered her despicable. Lowest of the low, scummiest of the scummy.

2. What is so surprising about Jesus' interaction with Samaritan woman
- Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Samaritans would have been considered unclean. Drinking water from this woman's water jar would have been Jesus ceremonially unclean. Horrors.

- a single man speaking to a single woman at the well (cf John 4:27)

3. What amazing gift does Jesus offer her?
...

4. What do we know about this "living water"?
- Jesus in John 7:37–39 identifies this “living water” as the Holy Spirit dwelling within a believer. He will never be thirsty again because person's deepest spiritual longing to know God personally will, amazingly, be satisfied forever (cf Ezekiel 47:1-12, 43:1-12).
- "will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" is reminiscent of Isaiah 12:3 (see also Isaiah 44:3; 55:1–3).
- eternal life and the pouring out of God's Spirit in the day of God's salvation (Isaiah 44:3, 55:1-3)

5. What did Jesus say Nicodemus needed? What is similar about the Samaritan woman's needs?

Yet, what a contrast to the very respectable Nico! Nico male, learned, powerful, respected, training, a Pharisee, member of ruling council. Night and day! (geddit?)

By placing one episode after another, John is showing that offer open to both.

6. John 4:26 - Who does Jesus say he is?
Messiah, the Christ.

7. How did Jesus demonstrate this to the Samaritan woman?
Inside goss on her deepest darkest (John 2:27).

8. So in what way is "salvation from the Jews"?
God promised salvation through Abraham's offspring. Very specific promise. And so the whole world is taught about salvation through the Old Testament, which was from the Jewish people. The Messiah himself came from the Jews and not from the Samaritans or from the Gentiles.

9. Read Ezekiel 37:15-28. On what authority is he offering the gift of God, the living water?
He is the Messiah, the Christ. The king promised by God - one king to rule them all, one king to find them; one king to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

(Joseph, as father of Ephraim (see Genesis 48:5, 8–20), here represents the northern kingdom of Israel (where Samaria was). Judah represents the southern kingdom (cf. Psalm 78:67–68).)

10. John 4:4 - Why Jesus as Messiah have to pass this way?
- geographically shortest route (see Josephus).

- “had to” translates Gk. dei, “to be necessary,” which always indicates divine necessity or requirement elsewhere in John: 3:7, 14, 30; 9:4; 10:16; 12:34; 20:9. Because he is the Messiah and his work is to unite and save his people from backsliding and cleanse them, and enable them to obey God.

11. Whom does God seek?
True worshippers, whatever their race or background, who worship in spirit and in truth.

12. What does worshipping "in spirit and in truth" mean?
Not separate characteristics.

truth:
- worship centered not in a place but in a person - Jesus, in all places and at all times
- worship not based on something they thought up ignorantly but based on what has been finally and ultimately disclosed by God through Jesus (cf first two studies on John 1 and 3 - no one has seen God...)

and so spirit: anywhere, since God is spirit

13. How would the "living water" offered by Jesus fulfil God's purposes?
Living water = Spirit -> enabled to worship in spirit and truth

Jesus is the Christ - Spirit given through him to enable true worship
Jesus is the Christ - God seeks true worship focused in him

Jesus also = God, Word of God, life, light, Son of the Father, rabbi, Son of Man.

(Q: How does unity of all God's people come about from true worship?
...
NB: it's not unity that makes community. Rather, when people were gathered and enabled by the Spirit to worship God truly, unity was a natural consequence.)

So...
Q: What sort of people is God's offer of salvation open to?

Q: If we say we have the Spirit, how can we go about truly worshipping God in spirit and truth?
- what are the implications for church life, church buildings, services?
Worship without necessary ties to particular holy places

- what are the implications for time at home, in office, at school?

Not being the dreaded "Sunday Christian" isn't merely about not being hypocritical. If we have had such a drastic thing to have happened to us as having been born again, if we have been cleansed and given living water - the Spirit to enable us to not to sin (John 3:6) and to truly worship God in spirit and in truth as God intended long ago, then why aren't we?


Just Looking Studies
Just Looking Study 1 (John 20:30-31, John 1:1-18)
Just Looking Study 2 (John 3:1-21)
Just Looking Study 3 (John 4:1-30) - from-a-Christian-family version
Just Looking Study 4 (John 5:1-29)
Just Looking Study 5 (John 11:1-57)
Just Looking Study 6 (John 18:28-19:16a)
Just Looking Study 7 (John 19:16b-42)
Just Looking Study 8 (John 20)