First, let’s look at what happened first after Jesus’ resurrection and see that Peter and John did not know that Jesus would be resurrected from the dead. Second, we quoted our previous article regarding the details of Jesus’ resurrection to discuss the passages followed the first one, in which we discussed a possible method of inspiration for the Bible, emphasizing only that God already knew that the Bible could not be passed down in its original form without error, and that He must have considered this issue when He inspired it. Here we are only sharing a possible solution that men can think of, and that He will surely do a more thorough job. Third, we see that Jesus’ spirit body after His resurrection is not restricted by matter, and we also see that if we are in the Holy Spirit, anyone’s sins we forgive will be forgiven. Fourth, we mentioned Thomas’ unbelief and his character. Finally, according to Jesus’ words, we see that Thomas believed in the Lord Jesus without probing Him, and that the Gospel of John was written for the purpose of having life.
1. Jesus’ Resurrection
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.”(John 20:1-10)
It is clearly described here that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning of the first day of the week while it was still dark. She thought someone had taken the Lord away from the tomb, so she ran to tell Peter and John. They also ran to see the tomb and believed what she thought, “For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”(John 20:9) So they had to go back.
Please note that she and they ran as soon as they knew about this. This is an example for us, letting us know that once we realize that it is the Lord’s will, we should do it immediately and quickly. And we also see again that Peter’s personality at that time was different from John’s. He did it first and then thought about it regardless of the situation. Just like when Jesus was arrested, “Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.”(John 18:10) Finally, Jesus performed a miracle, “…He touched his ear and healed him.”(Luke 22:51) Only then the matter was settled.
2. Jesus’ appearances after His resurrection
“But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.”(John 20:11-18)
First of all, we can see once again that Jesus’ spirit body is very different from His early body after His resurrection. Unless He is willing to open people’s eyes and allow them to truly see, they can only turn a blind eye! You see, Mary “…saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.”(John 20:14) She knew Jesus very well before He died, and she didn’t recognize Him before her eyes were opened. Here we see how Jesus opened her eyes.
We have previously discussed these and related verses in detail in “3. Details of Jesus’ Resurrection” of “1085 Jesus’ death, burial, and the controversial issue in resurrection – Jesus(37).” Please go to “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.
In this article, we see the order of events after Jesus’ resurrection according to the original text of the Bible in the Strong’s Concordance. First we see, “Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.”(Matthew 28:1) So they knew about the Lord’s resurrection, but they did not say that they saw the appearance of Jesus. They did not enter the tomb the first time, for an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and sat on it. Then they split into two groups, Mary Magdalene went to meet Peter and John, and the other Mary went to meet the other women. We have discussed in detail why this is said, and we also saw that Peter would run to the tomb a second time at a later time, so I will not go into details here.
We just discussed that when Mary Magdalene went to see Peter and John, they believed her words about carrying Him away from the tomb. That is to say, the whole process took some time, and it was already daybreak when Jesus appeared to her. This can also be seen from what God tells us through the Bible is consistent. While living in Galilee, Jesus prophesied, “…The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day. …”(Matthew 17:22-23) The Jewish day is from dusk to the second dusk. Jesus died before dusk on the day of preparation (see John 19:31-33), so it was counted as the first day of His death. Then came the Sabbath on the second day. To count the Lord’s Day as a day, it must be after dawn. Therefore, Jesus’ prophecy was that He would be resurrected three days later, which means that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene already at daybreak.
Please note that in this article we have spoken and explained that except for the most parts agreed in the Gospel of Mark, the other three Gospels are completely consistent, thus coming to a possible approach to the inspiration of Scripture. Please note that we are not saying that the Bible is written in this way. We are just emphasizing that God already knew that the Bible could not be passed down in its original form without error. He must have considered this issue when He inspired it. Here we are just sharing a method that men can think of. He will definitely do a more thorough job.
This method is one of the possible solutions to this problem that we explain using the basic theory of coding theory. In coding theory, we use time to reduce errors by sending signals slowly, and have the function of automatically correcting some errors. The consistency of the Bible tells us that the same conclusion can be reached using different scriptures. Compared with writing only once, this writing method increases the length, but it will reduce errors and can correct some errors. That is to say, here we use a longer article to achieve the same effect.
3. Jesus’ spiritual body is not limited by matter and the Holy Spirit
“So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.””(John 20:19-23)
First we notice that Jesus’ spiritual body was not restricted by matter, because even though the door was closed, He could still come among them! In the high priestly prayer, the Lord said to the eleven apostles, “for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.”(John 17:8) This time He sent the disciples and asked them to receive the Holy Spirit, because the Lord would not do work in vain. They already had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, but it would not be manifested until the first Pentecost after the Lord’s resurrection when the Holy Spirit came. Don’t be surprised this is the case! As soon as we believe in the Lord, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, but it is impossible for us to be conformed to the image of Jesus immediately. (See Romans 8:29) Isn’t this the same situation?
They must first receive the Holy Spirit, and then “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”(John 20:23) So this can only be done in the Holy Spirit.
4. Thomas’s unbelief and his personality
“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.””(John 20:24-25)
Let’s look at Thomas’ personality. When “…Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.””(John 11:14), “…Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.””(John 11:16), he directly expressed his reaction. When Jesus said, “And you know the way where I am going.”(John 14:4) “Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?””(John 14:5) He also responded directly when he had a problem. This time, he also expressed his direct reaction immediately. Later we will see that the Bible clearly states that he believed when he saw Him in the end, and there was no need for him to probe into the nail scars of Jesus.
5. Thomas believed in Jesus without probing Him and the Gospel of John was written for having life
“After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”(John 20:26-31)
First, it was confirmed once again that Jesus’ spirit body was not restricted by matter because the doors were closed. Second, we may be very curious, did Thomas prob the scars of the Lord? The answer is no. The last time the Lord came, Thomas didn’t even see Him, but this time he saw Him and believed, saying, “My Lord and my God!” Because the Lord said that you would believe because you saw, and did not mention the need to probe. Jesus will not lie. Judging from his personality and faith, he did not need to probe the Lord Jesus, and this is consistent with the Lord’s words. It is indeed consistent with what God tells us through the Bible is consistent. The Bible is clear said here. Only those who do not believe in the Lord’s words or cannot see clearly will have such a problem. In short, they are people who force their interpretation of the Bible.
It is clearly stated here why John only recorded eight miracles, because he believed that these miracles were sufficient to convince people that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that they can repent and have life. This is just as Jesus said, the purpose of studying the Bible is to have life, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”(John 5:39-40) This is true for both Jews and Gentiles, especially Gentiles. The Bible records the incident of Cornelius more clearly (see Acts 10:1-48). Afterwards, Peter said to the Jews, “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.””(Acts 11:16-18)
This is what Paul is saying, “So then as through one (Adam) transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one (Jesus) act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”(Romans 5:18-19) Jesus took away sin by obeying God. This is why we spent a lot of time in “1096 Yu Hongjie’s Discipleship of Newcomers – Unbiblical Places (1)” to explain that the definition of sin is disobedience to God. Please go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click on “Understanding of Spiritual Life” to find this article.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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