NIV Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 74
J ohn 2 0 : 2 6
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page 1850
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.
hough the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace q be
T
ands. Reach out
with you!” r 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my h
your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” s
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; t blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed.” u
30 Jesus performed many other signs v in the presence of his disciples, which are not
recorded in this book. w 31But these are written that you may believe a x that Jesus is the
Messiah, the Son of God, y and that by believing you may have life in his name. z
20:26
qJn 14:27
rver 21
20:27
25; Lk 24:40
sver
20:29
3:15
1:8
tJn
u1Pe
20:30
2:11
21:25
vJn
wJn
20:31
3:15; 19:35
4:3
zMt 25:46
xJn
Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples (246 )
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, a by the Sea of Galilee. b b It hap
pened this way: 2Simon Peter, Thomas c (also known as Didymus c ), Nathanael d
from Cana in Galilee, e the sons of Zebedee, f and two other disciples were together. 3“I’m
going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they
went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. g
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the s
hore, but the disciples did not realize that
it was Jesus. h
5 He called out to them, “Friends, h
aven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When
they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. i
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved j said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon
Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he
had taken it off) and j umped into the water. 8The other disciples followed in the boat, tow
ing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. d 9When
they landed, they saw a fire k of burning coals there with fish on it, l and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter
climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but
even with so many the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”
None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus
came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. m 14This was
now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples n after he was raised from the dead.
21:6
iLk 5:47
Jesus Challenges Peter (247 )
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do
you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” o
21:15
oMt 26:33,35;
Jn 13:37
21
yMt
21:1
20:19,26
6:1
aJn
bJn
21:2
cJn 11:16
dJn 1:45
eJn 2:1
fMt 4:21
21:3
gLk 5:5
21:4
24:16; Jn 20:14
hLk
21:7
13:23
jJn
21:9
18:18
10,13
kJn
lver
21:13
9
mver
21:14
nJn 20:19,26
a
31 Or may continue to believe b 1 Greek Tiberias c 2 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean
twin. d 8 Or about 90 meters
of the Holy Spirit. You can talk to him, and you can find his words to you
in the pages of the Bible. He can be as real to you as he was to Thomas.
20:25-28 Jesus wasn’t hard on Thomas for his doubts. Despite his
skepticism, Thomas was still loyal to the believers and to Jesus himself.
Some people need to voice their doubts before they believe. If doubt
leads to questions, and questions lead to answers, and if the answers are
accepted, then doubt has done good work. It is when doubt becomes
stubbornness and stubbornness becomes a prideful lifestyle that doubt
harms faith. When you doubt, don’t stop there. Let your doubt deepen
your faith as you continue to search for the answers.
20:27 Jesus’ resurrected body was unique. It was not the same kind
of flesh and blood Lazarus had when he came back to life. Jesus’ body
was no longer subject to the same laws of nature as before his death. He
could appear in a locked room, yet he was not a ghost or an apparition
because he could eat and be touched. Jesus’ resurrection was literal and
physical—he was not a disembodied spirit.
20:29 Some people think they would believe in Jesus if they could
see a definite sign or miracle. But Jesus says we are blessed if we can
believe without seeing (also see 1 Peter 1:8-9). We have all the proof we
need in the words of the Bible and the testimony of believers. A physical
appearance would not make Jesus any more real to us than he is now.
20:30-31 To understand the life and mission of Jesus more fully, all we
need to do is study the Gospels. John tells us that his Gospel records only
a few of the many events in Jesus’ life on earth. But the gospel includes
everything we need to know to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, through whom we receive eternal life.
21:1-25 This chapter tells how Jesus commissioned Peter. Perhaps
Peter needed special encouragement after his denial—he may have felt
completely worthless. John 21:1-14 sets the scene for Jesus’ conversation with Peter.
21:7 Only John (“the disciple whom Jesus loved”) recognized Jesus
in the dim morning light, undoubtedly because Jesus had performed a
similar miracle earlier (Luke 5:1-11).
21:15-17 In this beach scene, Jesus led Peter through an experience
that would remove the cloud of his denial. Peter had disowned Jesus
three times. Three times Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. When Peter
answered yes, Jesus told him to feed his sheep. It is one thing to say
you love Jesus, but the real test is your willingness to serve him. Peter
had repented, and here Jesus was asking him to commit his life to him.
Peter’s life changed when he finally realized who Jesus was. His occupation changed from fisherman to evangelist; his identity changed from
impetuous to “rock” (see the note on 1:42); and his relationship to Jesus