Read John 20:25-31. About a week after the Lord appeared to the disciples without Thomas present, He appeared again; this time, Thomas was there. They were probably still in Jerusalem and had not yet gone back to Galilee.
1. What did Thomas reply when our Lord addressed him and offered His hands and feet for Thomas to touch? What is the significance of this statement?
a. Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”
b. This says clearly that Thomas recognized Him as alive, that he recognized Him as the Messiah and as divine.
2. What blessing did our Lord offer in reply to the confession of faith of Thomas?
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.” This first has reference to those in those days who believed the report of the witnesses that He had risen. It also applies to all those who would come to faith through the testimony of these disciples and others who believed through them.
3. Upon what would those base their faith who did not (and would not) see the resurrected person of Jesus Christ? (See verses 30 and 31.)
They would base their faith upon the witness of those who saw the resurrection as recorded for us in the Gospel of John and the rest of the Scripture. The word of God, that is, the Scriptures, the Bible, is the basis for our faith and the content of our faith.
Read Matthew 28:16-20, 1 Corinthians 15:6-7 and John 21:1-25. These passages refer to at least five maybe six appearances of our Lord. Paul records He appeared to more than five hundred followers at one time. Whether this took place in Jerusalem or Galilee is not stated. He appeared to James. This was probably James, the half-brother of our Lord, rather than James, the brother of John. Paul’s reference to His appearance to all the apostles might be the appearance to the disciples mentioned in John 20:25-31, or it might be another appearance such as the one on the mountain in Galilee. The appearance of Jesus to the disciples recorded in Matthew 28:16ff is most likely not the same as the one recorded by John in 21:1-25.
4. What did the disciples do when they met Jesus on the mountain? What does this indicate about their idea of who He was?
a. It states that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.
b. This indicates that they considered Him to be divine.
5. Matthew 28:16-20 is known as the Great Commission. Before our Lord commissions these disciples, He makes a statement. What was this statement? How do you think it relates to their commission?
a. He states, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
b. The first thing that the disciples would be thinking is, ‘He is the Messiah!’ for only the Messiah could be given this kind of authority by God. If He, therefore, has this authority, which supersedes the authority of their own religious leaders and that of any Roman rulers, then what He commands must be done. He is the Messiah, the King of kings, and if He tells us to do this, we must follow. The authority enforces and validates the Great Commission.
6. What is the central command in the Great Commission?
The central command is to make disciples. The Greek text could well be translated, “Going, therefore, disciple all nations (or make disciples of all nations) baptizing them...”
7. Is there a difference between being a disciple and being a believer? Does this have any bearing on the purpose and function of the local church?
a. There is indeed a difference between a disciple and a believer. While both have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a disciple is one who is consistently learning and growing in faith, in the knowledge of the Lord and in the application of that knowledge in daily life.
b. This has much to say about the purpose and function of a church. The task given to the local church is not to grow in number but to grow spiritually. If the church has as its main task the increase of its membership, it will almost certainly not meet the goal of spiritual growth. If, however, it has as its main task the spiritual growth of those that make up the local body, it will also certainly grow physically. This is not to say that large churches cannot be builders spiritually, but the difficulty of effective discipleship increases with the size of the church.
8. John records a meeting of our Lord with seven of the disciples. Peter states he is going to go fishing, and the others join him. What does this state about Peter’s mindset at this point?
We do not know precisely when this meeting took place. It is not to be equated with the meeting recorded in Matthew’s account., The first time Jesus met with the disciples on the day He resurrected, He did tell them that as the Father had sent Him, so He was sending them. If this appearance beside the Sea of Galilee took place after the one recorded in Matthew’s account, then He had told them to go and make disciples of all nations. In any account, Peter apparently was not doing much as far as the ministry was concerned. It seems he was back home and decided to go fishing. This was not just a recreational trip because they took the family boat out with nets. This was fishing for profit. While we do not know Peter’s attitudes at this point, it appears, to this student at least, that Peter was wavering, not sure what he should be doing. Even though His Lord was alive, He did not appear to be going to set up the Kingdom. Days were passing by, and waiting for God to do something was becoming more difficult with each day. What was going on? What should they be doing? Peter was not sure, but there was one thing he knew how to do, and that was fish! So instead of doing nothing, he decided why not make a little money by doing some fishing!
9. What was the Lord asking Peter when He asks him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”
While the Lord might have been asking Peter if he loved Him more than these (the other disciples), it seems much more likely that He was asking Peter, “Do you love me more than these (these fish you have caught)?” Although Peter may not have made the decision to go back to fishing, it would have been a great temptation at this time, especially since the Lord did not seem to be doing anything that resembled setting up the promised Kingdom. Peter had given up fishing to follow our Lord once; what Jesus was asking him at this juncture was if he loved Him enough to continue the ministry by feeding our Lord’s flock.
Read Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:4-12, 9:1-6 and 1 Corinthians 15:8. The last appearance of our Lord to His disciples prior to His ascension was in Jerusalem right before His ascension into heaven. He appears once after that in a vision to Saul of Tarsus.
10. Luke states, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” What was this, and why was it necessary?
This may either be speaking about a supernatural ability to understand the Scriptures or another way of saying that He taught and explained to them how the Scriptures (Old Testament) said that the Messiah would suffer, rise again and that the message of forgiveness would be proclaimed to the nations. It seems best to understand the former. The Spirit had not yet been given which would guide and teach them (John 16:13). From 1 Corinthians 2:14, we know that the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. They were having problems understanding how the Scriptures taught about His death because they did not yet have the Holy Spirit. Therefore He enables them (spiritually) to understand these things of Scripture.
11. Why did Jesus tell His disciples not to leave the city? Could the Spirit have just as easily come upon them in Galilee or anywhere else?
While the Spirit was not limited to indwelling them while they were in Jerusalem, their witness was to begin there and then spread out. Because their witness would truly only start after the coming of the Spirit, they needed to be there when it took place. If they were in Galilee, as an example, then the witness would not first be to Jerusalem, but Galilee and Samaria, then Jerusalem and so forth.
12. Jesus tells His disciples that it was not for them to know the times or epochs which the Father had by His authority fixed. What does this mean for us today?
The Lord tells His disciples it was not for them to know “times or epochs” (χρονους η καιρους). The first of these words usually refers to an indefinite time period, long or short; the second usually refers to a specific segment of time or date within a time frame. What our Lord is telling them is they are not to know the length of time before the Kingdom will be instituted, how long it might be, or the date it will be established. While the church was still hidden at this point, it would soon be revealed. There would indeed be some time before God would again turn His attention to Israel, complete the last seven years of her judgment and set up the everlasting kingdom. These apostles were not allowed to know this, nor are we today. Anyone who claims to know the length of time of this period which God the Father has fixed by His own authority or date at which the kingdom will be established denies this portion of Scripture. The age of the church could end today, tomorrow or the day, week, or year after that. It might be many years away. While we can know it is close, we do not know exactly when that day will come. But it will come because it has been established; that day has been set by the Father.
13. That Paul was an apostle chosen by our Lord is not to be doubted. But why do you think He waited so long to select Paul? Did the eleven apostles selected by our Lord err when they selected Matthias by lot to fill the spot vacated by Judas? Should they have waited for our Lord to choose Paul?
These questions have been debated throughout the church age. The answer hinges on what it means to be an apostle and how many there might be. If there are only to be twelve, the number chosen by our Lord at the beginning of His ministry, then since Paul was chosen by our Lord, the disciples probably should not have quickly appointed another to take Judas’ place. Instead, they should have waited for our Lord to make His own choice.
Yet, several facts seem to point in another direction. First, our Lord does not reprimand the disciples for their choice. It seems likely He would have done this had they erred. Second, it is never stated by our Lord that there was a limit on the number of apostles. While He indeed only chose twelve at the beginning of His ministry, there is a limited number of one person can effectively train and teach. That is why in the best pedagogy practices, one limits the number of students in a classroom. His beginning ministry was first to His chosen people, the nation of Israel. These twelve seem to have as their focus their nation. In the Kingdom, we are told each of these twelve will be responsible for one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Following His ascension, the church would expand and include not just Jews but all peoples of the world. The message was to go to them, and God chose one (probably more!) to be an apostle to the Gentiles. It is also very interesting to note that there are twenty-four elders seated on thrones in Revelation. If these elders are the same as apostles, then the number is twice the original number. Did our Lord choose twelve more for the Gentiles nations? The Spirit of God does not tell us, but that certainly could be the case.
While it seems more likely that the disciples did not err and correctly appointed another with our Lord appointing more as His Kingdom widened to include all peoples, to be sure, we do not know with certainty the answer to these questions.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. The enemy has often attacked the Word of God, the Bible, in various ways. He has attempted to keep it from the people of God by keeping it written in a language not understood by most readers, by trying to destroy all who would translate it into the common language of the people, by casting doubt on its veracity and historicity, and even by the outright banning and destroying printed copies. But it has survived all these attacks and more. The reason Satan wishes to destroy this book is that it is the basis and framework for our faith.
Can it be trusted? Certainly! Has it been proven wrong historically? Never! While modern man might claim science proves it in error, especially regarding the origins of life and our world, this claim is not based on verifiable historical evidence but ultimately on an unprovable assumption that there is no God and that all there is must be explained without recourse to God. Evolution is the only alternative for those who start with this postulate, and therefore all evidence, tests, explanations must conform to this and necessarily include extended periods of time. Yet all historical data indicate that the events recorded in the pages of the Word of God are indeed accurate. Time and time again, the pages of Scripture have been shown to be historically accurate. Again, to restate this, the Bible has not been proven wrong historically!
Upon what do you base your faith? Why do you believe what you believe? Do you take the word of some charismatic teacher who moves masses by effective speaking techniques? Do you accept the word of some religious authority because of his high position? Do you take the word of this writer? None of these are trustworthy foundations for faith. Go to the Word of God. It alone is trustworthy. Filter all you hear and all you are taught by this standard.
2. The local church must be careful in establishing its goals, both immediate and long-term. The Great Commission is to make disciples. Our efforts and work should be in accordance with this. Churches tend to think they have met this commission by supporting foreign missions. But the Great Commission covers not just foreign missions but the ministry of the church at home as well. The task of the church is to glorify its God by making disciples first where it is located, then spreading out to the farthest parts of the world. The question every church must ask: In practice, what seem to be our major goals? Are we seeking to increase attendance, bump up the offerings, complete a building project, provide a place for family recreation, feed the poor, promote this social issue, whatever it may be, etc.? If that goal is not the disciplining of the members of the local body, then the Great Commission is not being met. The other goals indeed might be worthy and good, but it is not the commission given to the church by its Savior.
3. It is very easy to become discouraged and lose sight of our calling, as Peter seemed to have done following our Lord’s resurrection and before His ascension. There was a period of forty days between these events. Yes, the resurrected Lord did appear to Peter on more than one occasion, but what Peter was expecting and looking for did not seem to be happening. Even at that time, these Jewish disciples still looked for and expected our Lord to set up the Kingdom promised. But that was not happening, and it did not seem to be any closer than the beginning of our Lord’s ministry. It might have seemed even more distant now. What was God doing? They had little idea. So Peter decided to go fishing. It was not bad work at all. It was something he knew how to do, and he probably was very good at what he did. But it was not what His Lord had called him to do. So our Lord met Peter and asked him, “Do you love Me more than fishing?” You were willing to walk away from your nets to follow me once. Are you willing to keep it up and do what I have called you to do? The sheep need tending. Do you love me more than fishing to do this?
So too, we become discouraged when we do not see God doing what we expected Him to do. The danger is that we, too, will give up our labor of love for the Lord and go back to what we were doing before we were called by Him. It might be a worthy work, an honorable one, but is it what He has called us to do? The question He asks us is, “Do you love Me more than ______ (You supply the noun!)? If so, tend My sheep.”