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John 20
Evidence For Yeshua’s Resurrection And Its Implications

Yeshua’s resurrection is one of the greatest events in history. Is there evidence it

actually happened? Yes. We have testimony from someone who was there.

One of the reasons God created the nation of Israel was for us to be a witness to
the world of His reality, acts and words. God also raised up men and women from
that special witness nation to be witnesses of Yeshua’s resurrection. John, our
author, was one of them.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene (one of
the women who was there when Yeshua died) went to the tomb and saw that the
stone had been removed from the entrance.

John let us know that Mary Magdalene was the first to discover that the stone that
had been used to close the entrance to Yeshua’s tomb had been removed from the
entrance and that the tomb was empty.

Why did John let us know the day and time when Mary made that discovery? That
is was early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, during the week of Passover?

Answer: John wanted us to know that this was a real historical event. These things
really happened in time and history.

The removal of the stone and the empty tomb upset Mary. She knew where some
of the disciples were and so she came running to Simon Peter and the other
disciple, the one Yeshua loved and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the
tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Why did John let us know Mary was running? What does running indicate?

Answer: Running indicates that Mary knew she had important, urgent information
that needed to be told to the disciples.

Who was the unnamed disciple and why did he refer to himself as the one Yeshua
loved?
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Answer: It was John, our author, who out of humility, didn’t refer to himself by
name. He referred to himself as the one Yeshua loved because his relationship to
Yeshua was an essential part of his identity.

Mary told Peter and John that Yeshua’s body was not in the tomb. However, she
concluded, wrongly, that an unknown group of people had taken His body.

Peter and John ran to the tomb to investigate for themselves. So Peter and the
other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running (again indicating their
understanding of the urgency of the situation), but the other disciple outran Peter
and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying
there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went
straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth
that had been wrapped around Yeshua’s head. The cloth was still lying in its
place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the
tomb first, also went inside.

Notice the details John included in his description of going to the tomb and the
items found in it and how they were positioned. Peter and John were the ones who
Mary found and reported her information to. Peter and John ran, not walked, to the
tomb. John outran Peter and got there first. John bent over and looked in the tomb
but did not go into the tomb. John saw the strips of linen that were part of the
burial wrappings for Yeshua’s body. Then Peter arrived and went directly into the
tomb. Peter saw the strips of linen lying there, and also the cloth that had been
wrapped around Yeshua’s head. The cloth was lying in its place, separate from the
strips of linen. Finally John went inside.

Why did John include these details?

Answer: John wanted us to know that this was a firsthand account of someone
who was there. He witnessed these events. They really happened.

When John went in and saw the empty tomb, and the cloth and the linen strips, he
saw and believed. He realized the reason the stone had been removed and the tomb
was empty and the cloth and linen strips were there was not because Yeshua’s
body had been taken by others, but because Yeshua had come back to life.
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They still did not understand from Scripture that Yeshua had to rise from the
dead.

What are passages from Scripture that predicted Messiah’s resurrection?

Answer: Isaiah 53:12, Zechariah 12:10, Daniel 9:24-27, Psalm 16:10, Psalm 22,
Psalm 118:22-23.

Why did John want us to know that none of the disciples, including himself,
understood that Yeshua would be resurrected?

Answer: Their lack of understanding about Yeshua’s resurrection reinforced them

as credible witnesses. They couldn’t have been manipulating evidence to make it
seem like Yeshua was resurrected. They couldn’t have been involved in a
conspiracy to steal Yeshua’s body to make it look like Yeshua was resurrected.

Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Evidence for Yeshua’s resurrection continued to accumulate. The next evidence

involved Mary and two angels. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she
wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated
where Yeshua’s body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

Again, notice the details that John recorded for us. Mary was outside the tomb.
She was crying. She bent over to look in the tomb. She saw not one, not three, but
two angels. They were dressed in white clothes - no other color. They were seated
where Yeshua’s body had been laid, not standing or kneeling. The angels weren’t
seated next to each other in the center of where Yeshua’s body had been laid; one
was seated at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” The question was designed to
bring her to the understanding that she didn’t need to cry because the body of
Yeshua hadn’t been stolen. He had been resurrected.

Mary responded by repeating why she was upset. “They have taken my Lord
away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
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John gave us the evidence that the stone that had been removed; the cloth and
linen strips remained that had been used to bury Yeshua’s body; and the testimony
of two angels. Now John gave us the strongest evidence - an eyewitness account
of someone who saw, spoke to and touched the risen Messiah. At this, she turned
around and saw Yeshua standing there, but she did not realize that it was Yeshua.

Who could have known that at first, Mary didn’t realize the one who appeared to
her was Yeshua?

Answer: Only Mary could have known this.

What does this let us know?

Answer: This lets us know that this account is based on Mary’s eyewitness
account of what happened.

Like the angels, Yeshua also spoke to Mary and asked her a question designed to
bring her to the understanding that He had been resurrected. He asked her,
“Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Even though Yeshua was speaking to her, Mary still did not understand. She
thought He was the gardener and may have been responsible for moving Yeshua’s
body from the tomb. Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if You have
carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Again, this
is very specific dialogue; and it reveals Mary’s thoughts, which were mistaken,
about the identity of the one speaking to her. This information had to come from
Mary herself.

Her risen Rabbi opened her understanding with one word - her name. Yeshua said
to her, “Mary.” As soon as Mary heard Him speak her name, she knew the
identity of the one speaking to her.

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic (better translated as Hebrew),
“Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Mary knew Yeshua had been her Rabbi
and was still her Rabbi.
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Yeshua said, “Do not hold on to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go
instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God.’”

Why did Yeshua tell Mary not to hold on to Him?

Answer: Mary needed to understand that although He was the same Yeshua she
had known before, He was different. He would soon ascend to His Father in
Heaven. She could still have a relationship with Him but she couldn’t relate to
Him in the same way.

Yeshua gave her an important task. She was to inform the disciples that Yeshua
had been raised from the dead and would be raised even higher - into the presence
of the God and Father that Yeshua shared with them.

What does it mean that Yeshua called His Father “His God?” Can Yeshua, who is
God, have a God - a being who is greater than He is?

Answer: Yes. The Father and the Son are equal in nature. Both are equally “God.”
However, God the Father is the God of Yeshua the Son because the Father is
greater than the Son in position and in authority.

Yeshua called His disciples “brothers” and told them they shared the same Father
and God He did. Why was this a gracious and comforting message from Yeshua to
them?

Answer: It revealed that He had forgiven them and considered them to be His
brothers and fellow sons of God - even though almost all of them abandoned Him
and Peter denied Him three times.

The first person who witnessed Yeshua risen from the dead was a woman. Why is
this significant?

Answer: In first century Israel, women had a lower social status than men. If this
was a made up story, the inventor of the story would not have chosen to make a
woman the first witness of Yeshua’s resurrection. Conclusion: This is not a made
up story.
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Mary completed the task Yeshua gave her. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples
with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these
things to her.

The evidence for Yeshua’s resurrection continued to accumulate and get stronger.
Now it wasn’t just one woman who saw Yeshua - it was also a group of men. On
the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the
doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Yeshua came and stood among them
and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and
side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again, notice the details John provided: It was the end of that same day. It was
evening. The disciples were afraid that the Jewish leaders might be planning to
harm them. They were gathered in a room with doors that were locked. Yeshua
came and stood (not sat) among them. He spoke to them. He showed them his
hands and sides which had been wounded by the nails and spear used to crucify
Him. Their response was great joy.

Why did John include these details?

Answer: He wanted us to know that his account is based on the testimony of

eyewitnesses. These things really happened.

The first words of the risen Lord to His disciples were a traditional Jewish
greeting: shalom alechem - peace be with you.

Why is this significant?

Answer: It reveals Yeshua’s character. He is full of grace, mercy and forgiveness.

He didn’t scold them or communicate how disappointed He was with them. He
wasn’t angry with them for failing Him. Instead He let them know that all was
well between He and them.

When we are resurrected, our bodies will be perfect. Only Yeshua’s body won’t
be. Why?
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Answer: His body, which carries the wounds of His crucifixion, will forever
remind us how much He loves us and how much He suffered for us to have our
perfect bodies.

Again Yeshua said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending
you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are
not forgiven.”

What’s the significance of Yeshua repeating “peace be with you?”

Answer: Every word in the Bible is important. If something is repeated, more

emphasis is given. By repeating “peace be with you” Yeshua communicated to His
disciples that truly, all was well between them. Their damaged relationship had
been made whole.

Then He gave them their task. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

What was their task?

Answer: Their task was to continue Yeshua’s mission of world redemption. They
were to continue His ministry of proclaiming the Good News of salvation that
comes through faith in Yeshua and building His community of the redeemed.

Was this task limited to those disciples who were there that day?

Answer: No. All Yeshua-followers as individuals, and each Yeshua-community,

has been given that same task.

As the Father sent Yeshua, so He sends us. How did Yeshua respond to His Father
sending Him? And what does that mean for us?

Answer: Yeshua responded to the sending of His Father wholeheartedly; with

focus; with priority; with determination to see the task completed. That’s how we
are to respond to Yeshua sending us to proclaim the Good News and build His
Community.
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Along with the task, Yeshua promised them help from the Divine Helper. And with
that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit will
give us the desire and power to continue Messiah’s mission. We need to be filled
with the Spirit.

Why did Yeshua breathe on them? What’s the connection between breath and the
Holy Spirit?

Answer: In Hebrew, spirit, wind and breathe are related. He breathed on them to
let them know that He would give them the Holy Spirit.

When was this promise that He would give them the Holy Spirit fulfilled?

Answer: 50 days later on the next Jewish holiday, Shavuot/Pentecost. See Acts 2.

Yeshua would soon ascend to His Father. These men would continue His mission
of world evangelism and lead His Community. Along with the promise of the
Spirit, Yeshua gave them authority to lead His Community. If you forgive
anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven.

Spiritual leadership includes having the authority to discipline people and expel
them from the community. Yeshua chose these men to lead His people. They had
been with Him. They knew what He taught better than anyone else. They knew
when a person’s sin could be forgiven and the offender could be restored to
Messiah’s Community; and they knew when their sanctions needed to remain in
place. Yeshua promised to stand behind their decisions. And today’s God-ordained
spiritual leaders still have this authority.

The evidence for Yeshua’s resurrection continued to accumulate and get even
stronger. The risen Lord appeared again to His disciples and to the one who hadn’t
been with them when He appeared to them the first time. Now Thomas (also
known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Yeshua
came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
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In order to believe that Yeshua was resurrected, Thomas wanted more than the
testimony of the others. But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his
hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will
not believe.”

The risen Lord was aware of Thomas’ doubt and was willing to accommodate His
doubting disciple. A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas
was with them. Though the doors were locked, Yeshua came and stood among
them and said, “Peace be with you!”

That was the third time Yeshua greeted them with the traditional Jewish greeting
of “shalom alechem - peace be with you.” This was designed to reassure all of
them that all was with them and between Him and them.

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.” Thomas said to Him,
“My Lord and my God!”

Was this a mere expression of astonishment, or was Thomas expressing something

more? If so, what?

Answer: Something more. Thomas expressed his new understanding of who the
risen Messiah is. Yeshua was his divine Lord, his Lord and His God - not God the
Father, but Yeshua is God in the sense of being fully divine, eternal, uncreated,
sharing all the essential attributes of God.

Then Yeshua told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Yeshua accommodated Thomas’ request to appear so he could see and touch Him.
Will He do that for everyone?

Answer: Yeshua has appeared to others. He appeared to Paul. He appeared to more

than 500 others at one time. However, those appearances are rare. And they are not
necessary for faith in Yeshua to be produced. The Holy Spirit is able to create faith
in people in other ways - primarily through the proclamation of the Gospel and a
person’s interaction with the Bible. Yeshua wants us to know that we are blessed
when we have faith in Him, never having seen Him.
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Because of his doubt, Thomas became known as “Doubting Thomas.” What most
Christians don’t know is that according to the tradition of the Church in India,
Thomas was the disciple who brought the message about Yeshua the farthest - all
the way to India. The Church of India credits Thomas with starting it. That’s why
many Indian Christians have Thomas as their first or last name.

John wanted us to know that Yeshua performed many other signs in the presence
of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

In this book, John recorded seven signs (miracles that point us to something
important) that happened before Yeshua’s resurrection.

What are those seven signs?

Answer: Changing water into wine (chapter 2); healing the royal official's son
(chapter 4); healing the paralyzed man (chapter 5); feeding the 5,000 (chapter 6);
walking on water (chapter 6); healing the blind man (chapter 9); bring Lazarus
back to life (chapter 11).

Yeshua’s resurrection is the eighth sign and the greatest sign.

John wanted us to know that he selected these sign for a special purpose. But these
are written that you may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing you may have life in his name.

What does it mean that Yeshua is the Messiah?

Answer: It means that He is the ultimate prophet who speaks for God; the ultimate
priest who brings us closer to God and brings God closer to us; and the ultimate
king who will rule over Israel and the nations, and reign over the redeemed
forever.

What does it mean that Yeshua is the Son of God?

Answer: It means that Yeshua shares the same nature as God, just as a human son
shares the human nature of his human father. Yeshua is deity, divine, eternal,
uncreated, with life within Himself, sharing all the essential attributes of God.
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What is the result of believing (and believing is more than mere intellectual
understanding. Real believing means serious commitment to following Yeshua)
that Yeshua is the risen Messiah and the Son of God?

Answer: Life - eternal life. We will live forever in glorified, resurrected bodies
like His.

Other Implications of Yeshua’s Resurrection

Since God would not allow a liar, a sinner, a false prophet or false Messiah to be
resurrected, Yeshua’s resurrection is God’s declaration to the world that Messiah
is sinless, blameless, perfect.

Yeshua’s resurrection is God's seal of approval on Yeshua’s life and ministry.

Yeshua’s resurrection validates everything He did and everything He said.

Yeshua’s resurrection let’s us know that Yeshua is the Messiah, and the Son of
God, and the Lord and Savior of Israel and the nations, and the coming King.

Yeshua’s resurrection makes Him unique, since no one else has been raised from
the dead like He has - not Buddha, not Confucius, not Moses or Mohammed, Marx
or Freud, or anyone else.

Yeshua’s resurrection lets us know that He is greater than any of the prophets of
Israel or the leaders of any other religion or ideology.

When Yeshua rose from the dead, He defeated Satan and the fallen angels. He
conquered sin. He defeated death - for Himself and for us - if we believe in Him.

Yeshua’s resurrection guarantees our resurrection - if we become loyal to Him.