I AM: The Anatomy of Belief
Speaker: Pastor Neil Lindwall
Additional Resources: Extra readings can be found on this page and appear indented like this. Additional readings and study material is available here.
NIV John 20:1-2 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
NIV John 20:3-8 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked (blepõ) in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw (theōréō) the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw (horáō) and believed.
Some Will See & Believe
• 20:5, John Blepõ. That Is, He Saw Physically & Understood or Discerned Spiritually. John Knew Something Supernatural Had Occurred.
• 20:6, Peter Theōréō. He Stared, Studied, Concentrated, & Analyzed to Acquire Knowledge & Comprehension. Peter Investigated.
• 20:8, John horáō. He Saw Naturally, Perceived Mentally, & Understood Spiritually. He Saw the Linen Which Had Wrapped the Body of Jesus Lying Still Shaped as When Originally Wrapped, as a Cocoon but Now Empty!
NIV John 20:9-10 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
NIV John 2:22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
“What Scriptures did Paul and John have in mind? Paul saw the resurrection in Psalm 2:7 (Acts 13:33). Peter saw it in Psalm 16:8-11 (Acts 2:23-36, and note 13:35). Peter also referred to Psalm 110:1 (Acts 2:34-35). The statement "he shall prolong his days" in Isaiah 53:10 is also interpreted as a prediction of Christ's resurrection. Jesus Himself used the prophet Jonah to illustrate His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 12:38-40), and this would include the "three days" part of the message. Paul saw in the Feast of Firstfruits a picture of the resurrection (Lev. 23:9-14; 1 Cor. 15:20-23), and again, this would include "the third day." Some students see the resurrection and "the third day" in Hosea 6:2.” The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament, Volume 1. Pg 388. Warren W. Wiersbe.
NIV John 20:11-15 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Some Will Hear & Believe.
NIV John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
NIV John 20:17-18 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
NIV John 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
NIV John 20:24-25 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Some Will Encounter & Believe
NIV John 20:26-29 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (“Stop Doubting” is a Negated Present Imperative, Stop Becoming an Unbeliever. ) 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
NIV John 20:30-31 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
See, Hear, Encounter & Believe In Jesus.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
That By Believing, You May Have Life In His Name.
