clm home groups study guides 2015

Study number:

Week beginning:

11 January

Text:

John 20

Title:

As the father has sent me,

so I am sending you

The gospel of John:

written so that you may continue to

believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, and that by believing in him you
will have life by the power of his name.

Setting the
scene

John 19 finishes with Jesus burial after the crucifixion. Jesus's body is wrapped in long
sheets of linen cloth layered with over 30kg of spices and placed in the nearby tomb
belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. The last thing that Mary Magdalene expected to find
when coming to the tomb early on the Sunday morning was an empty tomb much less
to meet with the resurrected Lord. The chapter records the reactions of Mary, the
disciples and finally Thomas as they meet with Jesus.

Finding our
feet

What has struck you most in this passage? Is there anything you don't understand or
find unusual? Anything that particularly catches your attention?
Imagine you came to the tomb that first morning and found it empty. How would you
feel? Jesus had spoken of his death and resurrection on many occasions, but do you
think you would have expected to meet Jesus alive again?

Examine the
passage

vv.1-10. How do you think Mary, Peter or John felt when finding the empty tomb?
Why do you think John notes that the cloth that covered Jesus's head was folded up
and lying apart? (Remember the weight of the spices and the linen wrapping would have
meant that Jesus's body was a little like a mummy.)
vv.11-18. Why do you think that Mary did not recognize Jesus? Have you ever been in a
situation where Jesus was present but you were unable to recognize him?
Mary recognizes Jesus when he speaks her name does that strike you in any way?
What do you think is the purpose of the message Jesus asks Mary to give his disciples?
vv.19-23. The disciples were meeting behind closed doors they clearly were still afraid.
What do you think they had made of Mary's experience and message at this point?
Jesus then appears amongst them and shows them it is really him what do you think
was going on in their hearts and heads at that moment?
What do you think it means when Jesus says that if the disciples forgive people's sins,
they are forgiven, and if not, they are not forgiven? What does that say to you about our
role in speaking to others about the gospel?
vv.24-29. Thomas was not with the other disciples and did not believe their story. Would
you have believed them?
Jesus meets Thomas despite this what does that reveal about God's heart for people?
What does it mean for a Jew to call Jesus my Lord and my God?
vv.30-31. Note the purpose that John gives here for writing his gospel.

From Sunday John emphasizes that our commission is the same as Jesus's whilst he was on earth.
What aspects of Jesus' mission do you think John has in mind?
What will it mean for us to be sent here today as Jesus was there and then?
In what ways has our church / the church in the UK has lost its missional identity?
What needs to change for mission to be our identity, not just something we do?
In what ways can we expect the Holy Spirit to be with us in living out Jesus's mission?
What most spoke to you from the message given on Sunday?
What encouragement was there for you? Did anything in particular challenge you?
In what way do you see you can apply what was said?

For further
thought

This passage is sometimes seen as the Great Commission in John. Compare it with the
other gospels, noting differences and similarities (Mt.28:16-20; Mk.16:15-20; Lk.24:35-52.