Thursday Class Notes

John 20 Jesus calls the disciples now His brothers. We are being invited to a supernatural family. Mary is weeping. It was customary to go back to the tomb. She's coming to mourn her master. There's confusion because the stone has been rolled away. There are two guys in the tomb and that makes it less ordinary. The two men identify themselves as angels. Mary is trying to figure things out in her head. She thought maybe he was a gardener. Mary is in pain here. We know people in pain but if we let their pain speak to Jesus, we might hear Jesus response, because He is a God of suffering. C. S. Lewis says pain is a megaphone. If a person is lost we can imagine Jesus calling their name and pray for them and leave that person in God's hands. 

Jesus said to her,  “Don’t hold on to me, because I have not yet gone up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going back to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” (John 20:17 NCV) 

What this verse means is that He wanted to let her know that He wasn't going to hang around. God is always calling us onward. We have mountaintop moments and we like Peter on the mount of transfiguration we want to build tents and stay with God but we must move on. Mary understood Jesus saying this. Jesus affirms her and tells her to go tell the disciples what is going on. 

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. His followers were thrilled when they saw the Lord. Then Jesus said again,  “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, I now send you.”    After he said this, he breathed on them and said,  “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven. If you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:20-23 NCV)

Now this family extends to the disciples. Jesus appears and it shows that His body is not like the old body. That's why He says  peace be with you twice. Context is everything in these verses. We are not to speak forgiveness to people but to tell them about the forgiveness that is available to them.