The Strand Study Bible

JOHN 20:17

JOHN 20:30

1765

23 Whose soever sins ye remit , they are remitted unto them ; and whose soever sins ye retain , they are retained . 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. CHRIST appears to Thomas in Jerusalem Date - Sun, Apr, AD 32 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you . 27 Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger , and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand , and thrust it into my side : and be not faithless , but believing . 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas , because thou hast seen me , thou hast believed : 6 blessed are they that have not seen , and yet have believed . 30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

The promise of CHRIST’S ascension to the FATHER (Fulfilled - Lk 23:46 - AD 32)

1. that is, “Stop clinging to me; restrain me not from ascending to the Father” 2. Psa 22:22 & Heb 2:12 3. Fulfilled - Jn 20:17 (Christ’s Ascension to the Father) Note - Christ ascended to the Father immediately after saying this – Jn 20:17a . 4. Isa 48:16 5. See - Jn 4:23 & 7:39 & 14:16-18,26 & 15:26 & 16:7-8, 13-14 6. Heb 11:13

17 Jesus saith unto her, 1 Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended to my Father : but go to my 2 brethren , and say unto them , 3 I ascend unto my FATHER , and your FATHER ; and to my GOD , and your GOD . P PF 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. CHRIST appears to His disciples (S/A - Lk 24:36-43 & Mk 16:14) Date - Sun, Apr, AD 32 19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you . 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you : as my FATHER hath sent 4 ME , even so send I you . 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the 5 HOLY GHOST : PF

20:17 a There are two “ascensions” that CHRIST made after His resurrection: One was physical (which took place forty days later – Psa 68:18, Jn 6:62, Eph 4:8 / Mk 16:19-20, Lk 24:50-53, Acts 1:9) and the other was spiritual (which took place here – Jn 20:17). Whereas the physical ascension led to power and authority being given to believers, the spiritual ascension led to personal assurances God wanted believers to have. For example: *The day Jesus ascended to the Father (Jn 20:17) God gave believers: - the assurance of a new relationship ( Jesus saith unto her, Mary – Jn 20:16/Heb 2:11-12) - the assurance of a never-ending relationship; eternal security ( and your FATHER … and your GOD – Jn 20:17/Jn 10:27-29) *The day Jesus arose from the dead (Jn 20:22) God gave believers: - the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37-39/Jn 20:18-22) - spiritual gifts (I Cor 12:1-11) *The day Jesus ascended into the heavens (Acts 1:8) God gave believers: - power for witnessing (Lk 24:44-49/Acts 1:4-8) - leadership gifts (Eph 4:7-12: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teaching pastors). NOTE – The reason Jesus told Mary to stop clinging to Him here was because He had yet to fulfill His obligation to give up certain aspects of His eternal authority in order to save mankind. If you recall, Jesus had promised both the FATHER and the SPIRIT that He would give up certain aspects of His eternal authority in order to save mankind while He was on the cross three days earlier ( Mt 27:46 and Mk 15:34a ), yet was unable to complete the obligation because He did not yet have a resurrected body to present. Now He did! And He wasn’t about to be delayed. Ivor Powell in John’s Wonderful Gospel notes:

When an ambassador has been appointed to a foreign court, his first duty is that of presenting his credentials to the reigning sovereign. Until these have been accepted, he has no authority to represent his people in that land. The same thought is expressed in the Old Testament teaching concerning the high priesthood of Israel. Before the priest could represent the people, he himself had to be accepted by God. Then the blood of the offering would be sprinkled on the mercy seat and the appointed man could act on behalf of his nation. The epistle to the Hebrews clearly reveals that Christ is now our accepted High Priest. His death at Calvary fulfilled every type concerning the blood of the lamb, and the only thing that remained to be accomplished was the presentation of His credentials before the throne of God. Therefore on that Easter day the scene in heaven beggared description, for all the angelic host watched the eternal Son presenting before His Father the evidence of His sufferings. 1