Day 318 – Jesus’ Resurrection #2

• The focal point today is that of the doubting reaction of the disciples, and one who doubted more than the others! Consider what Jesus had said and done amongst the disciples in the weeks leading up to His death. Are you surprised that none of them expected Jesus to return to them, or indeed that they refused to believe until they had seen Him?
• Thomas, like Judas and Peter, has a reputation stuck to his name. Some people call him “Doubting Thomas”, which is a phrase that is still used from time to time. Why? What did Thomas need to see? Do you think you might have felt the same as Thomas?
• In John 20:29, we see Jesus’ compassionate, but encouraging, response to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. Do you think that includes us, reading now? Or do we have a better picture of the mission of Jesus than Thomas could ever see?
• What sort of things did Jesus do to prove that it was Him, and that He wasn’t a ghost?
• Matthew 28:11-15 adds an interesting nugget of information to help us with the historical story, regarding the concerns of the soldiers who were posted outside Jesus’ tomb. What were the concerns of the officials? How did the religious leaders try to pretend that Jesus had not risen? If this was true, do you think the Christian movement would have grown in the way that it did?
• What do you think it would have been like for the two men who walked with the risen Jesus, without realising who He was, and then having tea with Him? What do you think they felt as they went from sadness, to intrigue, to amazement, as they understood more and more about what had happened to Jesus?
• Luke 24:53 records the ascension of Jesus. We’ll look at this in more detail in a few days when we read Acts 1 which, incidentally, was also written by Luke.
• Matthew’s gospel ends with something called the Great Commission. Have you heard of this before? Focus in on Matthew 28:18-20, and look at the structure. Jesus showed them His authority, and told the disciples go into all nations, to baptise them, and to teach them, before reminding them that He would be with them forever, and wherever they go. Does the church still do this?
• Sharing the good news of Jesus is something Jesus commands us to do. When was the last time you did? What hinders you from this commission? We’ll read in Acts how the disciples, full of confidence, went and boldly made disciples of many, many nations.

Finish by re-reading the words of John 20:30-31. We’ve spent a long time in the gospels, haven’t we! These words sum up beautifully the reason we’ve focussed so heavily on them. The words of Scripture don’t tell us everything about the world, or even everything about Jesus’ life. They do, however, tell us what we need to know. Through them we may believe that Jesus is the Christ – God’s chosen King – and His precious Son, and that by believing in Him, we may have life eternal. Never have more awesome words been penned.