Study Guides

Practicing the Resurrection | What It's All About

April 20, 2025
John 20:1-18

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes.

¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹²And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus 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.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

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Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, you have conquered death through your dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant us by your grace to set our mind on things above, so that by your continual help our whole life may be transformed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit in everlasting glory. Amen.

Responsive Prayer — 1 Corinthians 15

Christ has been raised from the dead,

The first fruits of those who have died.

For since death came through a man,

The resurrection of the dead has also come through a man.

For as all die in Adam,

So all will be made alive in Christ.

Summary and Connection

This week, we’re looking at one of the most familiar and yet pivotal stories in Scripture: Jesus’ resurrection. This passage illustrates how Jesus’ followers react to the empty tomb. Within John’s narrative, it is the culmination of all the miraculous signs of Jesus that John recorded so that future generations would “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

Observation: Read the passage privately. What does the text say? What is the theme of this passage? Do you notice any keywords?

What are some similarities or differences between John* and Mary in their encounter with Jesus? Does the text indicate anything about their belief and/or mission? (*Note: John uses “the one whom Jesus loved” to refer to himself within his own gospel.)

2. Looking at Jesus

At Central we believe that all of Scripture points to Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the theological center of the Bible. Every passage not only points to Jesus, but the grand narrative of the Bible also finds its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus.

Thinking back on what you remember from John’s account (or from the other Gospels), what does Jesus’ resurrection reveal about his character and ministry?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

Which faith feels more relatable to your experience: John’s observation of the empty tomb and trust in Jesus, or Mary’s encounter with the risen Christ and calling? Share a bit of your testimony regarding faith in Jesus.

4. Looking at Our World

How should we, like Mary, share the message of the resurrection with our world?

Sending

God’s word is a lamp to our feet. Christ’s teachings are a light to our path. May God’s word take root in our lives. May Christ’s love nourish and sustain us. Amen.

View Study Guide Notes
Question 1:

Key Points:
- Themes: seeing/looking (verses 5, 6 ,8, 11, 14, 18), belief (verse 8), seeing but not understanding (verses 8, 14)
- Observations:
- Keywords: tomb, weeping, seeing
In verses 8-9, we see that John believes even though he does not have full understanding. John’s Gospel highlights that he could have known that Jesus would be raised from the dead. Earlier, John records Jesus saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” and clarifies that Jesus was referring to his body (John 2:19). He even includes a parenthetical comment, saying that only after Jesus’ resurrection did they remember that event and believe “the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:22). But in our passage, John saw the empty tomb and the empty grave clothes, and he concluded that Jesus must have been raised from the dead. As Newman and Nida note in their commentary, “This [initial] belief was based on [John’s] own observation of the empty tomb, rather than on the testimony of the scripture, which was another witness to the resurrection.”

On the other hand, in verses 11-16, we see Mary weeping and bewildered about what has happened to Jesus’ body. It is not necessarily unbelief, but rather confusion. Her disorientation is so great that when the risen Jesus approaches her, she does not recognize him (verses 14-15). But when Jesus calls her name, she immediately recognizes him. As Don Carson writes, “Anguish and despair are instantly swallowed up by astonishment and delight.” Mary addresses him as she always has: “Rabboni!” In an echo of John 10, the resurrected Jesus calls Mary by name, and she follows him. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, had told his followers earlier that, “The sheep hear [the shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name … the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (John 10:3-4). Jesus then charges her to “go to my brothers” to tell them that he is ascending to their Father (John 20:17). Through her encounter with Christ, Mary believes and is sent on a mission.

Question 2: Jesus’ resurrection shows that he has power over death and that he correctly foretold his own sufferings and resurrection. Jesus was not raised by another person empowered by the Spirit of God (like Elijah in 1 Kings 17) but by God himself (Romans 8:11). His resurrection proves that he had the power to “lay down my life that I may take it up again” (John 10:17). Jesus tells John later that he “died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). This also means that Jesus correctly claimed in John 2 that he could raise his body in three days (John 2:19-22).

Likewise, Jesus’ resurrection is a visible sign that reveals the one who sent him: God, his Father. Earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus cried out in the temple, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me” (John 12:44-5). Jesus’ resurrection proves that he was sent by God and that he warrants people’s trust. In his study guide, Barnabas Lincdars writes, “[The resurrection] is the earthly act in which Jesus’ glory as the Son of God is revealed and made accessible through the response of faith.”

Question 3: Many of us wish that we could meet the risen Christ, like John, Mary, and Thomas. We long to see the empty tomb (verse 5), hear Jesus call us by name (verse 16), and see the scars on his hands and side (verse 27). But as people living thousands of years after these events, we have the testimony of the Gospels and the ongoing revelatory work of the Spirit. While this may feel insufficient or lacking, Jesus promises that his departure is actually “to your advantage … for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you” (John 16:7). This Helper, the Holy Spirit, will “bear witness about [Jesus],” just as Jesus’ disciples did, because they “have been with [him] from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).

All believers — both ancient and modern — are united with Christ to God the Father. Jesus made this clear when he told Mary that he is ascending to “my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (John 20:17). Jesus prays for “those who will believe in me through [the disciples’] word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:20-21). This unity between Christ, his followers, and his Father is to demonstrate to those who do not yet believe that Jesus was sent by God and loved his disciples even as God the Father loved him (John 17:23).

Question 4: Later in the chapter, Jesus will tell his disciples that, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). But our passage highlights that Mary was the first witness of the risen Christ and was given the initial task of spreading the good news. Near the book’s conclusion, John clearly points out that Jesus’ signs have been recorded in his Gospel account so that future readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). John’s account and Mary’s mission both stand as examples of how the resurrection is an event that demands sharing. As N.T. Wright said in “For All God’s Worth”:

If Jesus Christ is truly risen from the dead, Christianity becomes good news for the whole world—news which warms our hearts precisely because it isn’t just about warming hearts. Easter means that in a world where injustice, violence and degradation are endemic, God is not prepared to tolerate such things—and that we will work and plan, with all the energy of God, to implement the victory of Jesus over them all.