John 20:19-29
19 On the evening
of that same day, the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting
together. They had locked the doors of the room because they were afraid of the
Jewish leaders. Then Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to them,
‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he had
said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were very, very
happy when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said
again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, in the same way I am now
sending you.’ 22 When he had said
this, he breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive God's Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive a person's sins, God will
forgive them too. If you do not forgive them, God will not forgive them.’ 24 One of the 12
disciples was called Thomas. (He was also called ‘the Twin’.) He was not with
the other disciples when Jesus came to them. 25 So the other
disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But Thomas said to them, ‘I will
never believe that he is alive again unless I myself see him. I want to see the
marks of the nails in his hands. I want to touch where the nails were with my
finger. I want to put my hand into his side where the spear went in. If I
cannot do that, I will not believe.’ 26 Eight days after
that, the disciples were in the house again. This time Thomas was with them.
They had locked the door. But Jesus came and he stood among them. He said to
them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to
Thomas, ‘Put your finger in here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here, in my
side. Do not refuse to believe what is true. Now, believe.’ 28 Thomas answered
him, ‘My Lord, and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to
him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Other people have not seen me, but
they do believe in me. God is really happy with those people.’
1. (v19) Describe
the situation in which Jesus appeared to the disciples. How did the disciples
confirm Jesus' identity? What was their reaction?
2. (v21) What did Jesus commission them
to do? (v22) What is the significance of Jesus breathing on them? How is this
act related to Jesus' commissioning of the disciples?
3. (v23) Do the
disciples have the authority to forgive sins? Under what conditions does God
retain someone's sins? How is this related to the preaching of the gospel?
4. (v25) Why did Thomas initially not
believe? Is Thomas's doubt reasonable? (v26-27) When did he finally see the
resurrected Jesus? (v28) Did Jesus rebuke Thomas? What was Thomas's reaction
when he saw the resurrected Jesus? What does his statement mean?
5. (v29) Why did Jesus say that those who believe without
seeing are more blessed?
6. Have you ever
experienced spiritual doubt? How did you deal with it?
7.
7. When are you most inclined to share the
gospel with others?
(1) When you first believed in the Lord, or after experiencing
some of the Lord's grace;
(2) After hearing or reading some testimonies, teachings, or books
about evangelism; or,
(3) You have never thought about sharing the gospel with others.
Why?
