ible Study - Signs (8) - The Ultimate Sign - John 20 - April 20, 2025

Bible Study – Signs (8) – The Ultimate Sign – John 20 – April 20, 2025

JESUS’S resurrection makes eternal life possible.

Our scripture is John 20.

Let’s take a step back in time.

When GOD created earth, HE made earth to sustain life then and life as we know it.

GOD placed earth exactly in the Universe and orbit to sustain the life GOD planned for earth.

After GOD created earth, it was suitable to sustain plant, animal, and human life, we read in Genesis 20:1-31.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man^[e] in^[f] our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl^[g] on the earth.”

So, God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” ²⁹ God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you, ³⁰ for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth—everything having the breath of life in it—I have given^[h] every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

Before GOD made woman, HE gave these instructions to Adam:

Genesis 2: ¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

This Adam was GOD’S first Adam. WHO was GOD’S second Adam?

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.” ¹⁹ The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal; but for the man^[k] no helper was found corresponding to him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man, and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. ²² Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³ And the man said:

"This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman' for she was taken from man."

“WOW!!!” Love at first sight!

²⁴ This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh. ²⁵ Both the man and his wife were naked yet felt no shame.

So, why go back to Genesis? First, GOD put Adam in-charge of the Garden of Eden. As we see in Genesis 2:15-17.

Why is that important?

Let’s fast-forward to Genesis 3:1-3:

 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He (Satan) said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. ³ But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

GOD never told Adam that he could not touch it, but GOD did tell him not to eat it. When we add to what GOD tells us it often leads us to wrong actions.

In the next statement we read Satan’s spin and how he leads us into disobeying GOD.

⁴ “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “In fact, God knows that when^[a] you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Whoa!!! Adam was near Eve when she held the forbidden fruit in her hands, and he said nothing! Plus, she gave some to Adam and he ate it!

⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

They took matters into their own hands. The great coverup. But GOD knows the truth.

GOD had placed Adam in-charge of the Garden, and he was responsible for what went on in the Garden according to GOD’S instructions. But he said nothing to Eve when she was going to disobey GOD’S instructions.

Sin always has consequences. GOD’S first Adam failed which set into motion GOD’S redemptive plan, which would require the sacrifice of GOD’S Only SON, JESUS, to pay in full, the price for sin by HIS sinless human life and HIS shed blood.

JESUS was 100% human, yet GOD. If JESUS cut HIS finger it bled. HE got hungry and needed to rest.

1 Corinthians 15:45

So, it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam (JESUS) became a life-giving spirit.

Adam and Eve used fig leaves to cover themselves when they sinned, which in GOD’S sight were inadequate. We still attempt to cover or justify our sin.

In Genesis 3 ¹⁰ And he (Adam) said, “I heard you^[c] (GOD) in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹ Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Notice: Transferal of guilt onto the woman Adam considered “WOW!!!”

¹² The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”

This is true but Adam knew the truth. He did not have to eat the forbidden fruit.

¹³ So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

It wasn’t my fault; it was the serpent’s fault. Transferal of guilt.

It other words, “The Devil made me do it!”

This transferal had to stop. But where?

Genesis 3: ²¹ The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

GOD made clothing for Adam and Eve by sacrificing an animal or animals to make them suitable clothing. Thus, the shedding of animal blood was a place holder until GOD’S perfect acceptable sacrifice, JESUS, willingly came to earth through GOD’S chosen mother, Virgin Mary, to birth HIS only SON.

Life continued outside the Garden of Eden. GOD saw in Abraham a foundation to build upon, thus GOD told Abraham in:

Genesis 26:4

I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring,

GOD established the foundation which scripture reveals in:

Isaiah 28:16:Therefore, the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.

Ephesians 2: 19-20:

¹⁹ So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

Now to this Sunday’s study. The firm foundation of JESUS THE CHRIST:

JESUS, GOD’S only begotten SON, willingly came to earth for the specific purpose to live a sinless life and be the perfect acceptable sacrifice for all sin. JESUS paid the price for sin but we, as humans, must acknowledge that JESUS is and was the perfect acceptable sacrifice for sin.

Sin alienates all humans from GOD. There are exceptions based upon age of accountability – fetus, children, and mental acuity.

How do we know that JESUS was the perfect acceptable sacrifice to GOD for all sin?

John 20 The Empty Tomb: GOD reveals to the world that JESUS conquered death for all who will place their faith in HIM as the promised Messiah and seals a person’s faith in JESUS with the indwelling Holy Spirit. Plus, gives the person receiving JESUS as his/her Savior Spiritual Gift(s).

20 On the first day of the week (Our Sunday) Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”

³ At that, Peter, and the other disciple (John) went out, heading for the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple (John) outran Peter and got to the tomb first. ⁵ Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. ⁸ The other disciple (John), who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. ⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord: Mary Magdalene was the lady that JESUS cast out seven (7) demons. She was a devout follower of JESUS.

¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stopped to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

Oh, to me this statement wreaks with compassion and tenderness. Her heart was broken out of love for JESUS.

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. ¹⁵ “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?”

Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.”

This is so precious: It took two men to bury JESUS, but she alone was going to find JESUS and “take HIM away.”  What love and devotion!

These next words are priceless ----

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic,^[a] “Rabboni!”—which means “Teacher.”

When GOD/JESUS/THE HOLY SPIRIT utters our name, it is an unimaginable moment. I often think of the moment GOD spoke to the Prophet Elijah “in a still small voice.”  GOD still speaks in a still small voice.

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what^[b] he had said to her.

Now this is huge, a woman announced to the disciples that she was the first to witness the resurrected JESUS!!!

The Disciples Commissioned

¹⁹ When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

²⁰ Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So, the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” ²² After saying this, he breathed on them and said,^[c] “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

JESUS commissioned HIS disciples right then to go. They received the Holy Spirit and were fully equipped with the indwelling Holy Spirit when JESUS ascended to Heaven. At Pentecost GOD send the HOLY SPIRIT to indwell all believers to evangelize the world..

Thomas Sees and Believes

²⁴ But Thomas (called “Twin”^[d]), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even 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 and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless but believe.”

²⁸ Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed.^[e] Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Seek JESUS and HE will reveal HIMSELF to you. Be honest with HIM. If you do not believe, tell HIM. Tell HIM that you are seeking to be in the right relationship with HIM and ask HIM to help you discover truth as you seek. But seek by praying and studying GOD’S Word, The Holy Bible.

Just keep in your mind, you have an adversary, Satan, who will try to deceive you and block you from finding. Be honest with GOD as you seek. Being in right relationship with GOD and JESUS is so rewarding through faith in JESUS is step one. But as GOD’S Son or Daughter, JESUS will NEVER leave you or forsake you. Trust JESUS by asking HIM to come into your heart and forgive you for ALL your sins and fill you with HIS HOLY SPIRIT.

HE will equip you with what you need to serve HIM and HIS Kingdom.

The Purpose of This Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,^[f] and that by believing you may have life in his name.

GOD sent HIS only SON, JESUS, The Second Adam, to finish what the first Adam failed to do. Thank YOU, JESUS, for YOUR obedience to GOD, YOUR

HAPPY EASTER!!! JESUS DIED JUST FOR YOU TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE!!!

You have a choice to either accept JESUS as your Savior or reject HIM.

Please choose to accept JESUS as your Savior. Why? Because HE gave HIS sinless life just for you to have eternal life!

1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

¹⁶ Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.

Blessings!!!