Mary Magdalene and Thomas

GOLDEN TEXT: “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” —John 20:29

JOHN 20:11-18

THE fact of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is one of the great fundamentals of the divine plan of salvation. In his sermon on Mars’ hill, Paul said that God had given assurance of the resurrection unto all men by raising Jesus from the dead. (Acts 17:31) But to start with, those disciples who had been so close to the Master did not have this assurance, for they did not know that he had been resurrected.

Mary Magdalene was among the first at the tomb early in the morning of that memorable first day of the week. She entered the tomb and found it empty, with two angels on guard. Turning, she left the tomb weeping. Just outside she saw someone she supposed to be the gardener, and asked where he had put the body of her beloved Master.

Then Jesus addressed her in his old familiar manner, saying, “Mary.” She recognized his voice, and at once sought to embrace him. We are to remember that Jesus’ garments had been divided among the Roman soldiers at the time of his crucifixion. The linen with which he was wrapped for burial remained in the tomb. Therefore the gardener’s clothes had been provided miraculously, and just as miraculously a human body was assumed in which to appear to Mary. To Mary he looked like a gardener. She did not see a body which resembled the man Christ Jesus. He had given his flesh, his humanity, for the life of the world.—John 6:51

When through his voice she recognized her Master and sought to embrace him, Jesus said, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (vs. 17) Prior to his crucifixion Jesus had explained that he would return to his Father, and that when he did he would send the Holy Spirit to comfort his disciples. (John 14:26-29) Now he was reminding Mary that the chief blessing he had for her would come as a result of the fulfillment of this promise, and not to expect special comfort from him otherwise.

JOHN 20:24-29

MARY obeyed Jesus’ command to inform the other disciples of his resurrection, and to tell them that he would be ascending to the Father. Jesus also appeared that same evening to the apostles, but Thomas was not with them. When they told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, he replied, “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.”—vss. 19-25

Eight days after this, when the apostles were again gathered, and Thomas with them, Jesus appeared again. This time, also, the doors were shut, and he suddenly appeared in their midst, seemingly without the need of opening the doors. He demonstrated that he had been present, and had heard Thomas’ remark concerning his hands, feet, and side. Jesus invited Thomas to reach forth his finger and his hand and touch the wounds in his own hand and side, which he had said he required in order to believe that his Master had been raised from the dead.

Thomas was convinced, and said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Then follow Jesus’ words quoted in our Golden Text, explaining to Thomas that those who are able to believe without seeing have the greater blessing. Mary was one of these. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus to whom the resurrected Christ conversed were others. These had been convinced, not by what they saw, but by what they heard.

The verse following our lesson assignment reads, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” Luke wrote that Jesus showed himself alive by “many infallible proofs.” (Acts 1:3) Had Jesus been raised from the dead as a human, possessing the same body with which his disciples were familiar, no further proofs of his resurrection would have been necessary. But he was not raised as a human. He was “put to death in the flesh,” but made alive in the Spirit, highly exalted above angels, principalities and powers.—I Pet. 3:18; Eph. 1:20-23; Phil. 2:8-11

This being so, he needed to produce “signs,” as John calls them. One of these “signs” was his appearance in a body of the sort that Thomas demanded to see. But this was only a sign. This was not Jesus’ glorified, divine body, which is forever invisible to human eyes. We are promised that if faithful we will be made like him, and see him “as he is,” not as he was.—I John 3:1-3

QUESTIONS

What is the importance of Jesus’ resurrection to the Christian?

How was Mary convinced that the “gardener” was in reality Jesus?

What word did John use to describe Jesus’ appearance to Thomas?

How do we know that Jesus was not raised from the dead as a human being?

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