That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

John 20:1-31 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

The Empty Tomb

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. ² So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” ³ So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; ⁵ and stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. ⁶ And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. ⁹ For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰ So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹ But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; ¹² and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Jesus among His Disciples

¹⁹ So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” ²⁸ Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Why This Gospel Was Written

³⁰ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”... these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 It's not enough that we know about Jesus, that we know who He is. It is essential that we believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God. That's why John wrote this gospel account that we would believe and that believing we would have life in His name. John wrote specifically that we would know the deity of Christ and that we would believe and accept who Jesus is to each of us. John included the I am statements of Jesus in his gospel message.

1. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
2. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).
3. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9).
4. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
5. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25).
6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
7. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). 

 Believing these things about Jesus is essential to our faith.

Jeus is the bread of life. We need to eat of the word and fill ourselves with who Jesus is daily. There is nothing this world can offer us that will satisfy, fill and sustain us like Jesus.

Jesus is the Light of the World. He says that if we follow Him we will not walk in darkness. The psalmist says: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me(Psalm 23:4)   Even death no longer holds anything to cause us to fear, it is reduced to a mere shadow in the Light of Christ. The Light of Christ dispels all darkness. We are called to both walk in that light and to: Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 5:16)

Jesus is the door. He is the entry point, our access to both the eternal life in the heavenly realm and the abundant life that He came to give us. Though He is the door, He also says: 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.(Revelation 3:20) We have fellowship with Jesus and the Father through the door that He is and calls us to open to Him.

Jesus is the good shepherd. He says He gives His life for the sheep. What is important for us to remember is that He tells us:  “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. (Matthew 18:12-14) Each one of us was that one. We need to know and understand, to believe  that even if it had been just for us, individually, Jesus would have laid down His life, dying on the cross for only you or only me.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He says this in regards to what He is about to do for Lazarus, raising him from death back to life in this realm. Jesus does indeed promise a future resurrection into etrenal life, but He also wants us to know and believe, to walk  in the power of the resurrection in our daily lives.

Jesus says:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” The world thinks that is a narrow way of thinking, that it is unfair to those who follow a different belief system or have not heard the message of who Jesus is. That is not ours to figure out and justify. We either believe Jesus is who  and what He says He is or we belive He is a lunatic and a liar. Each person needs a personal revelation of who Jesus is. I believe that He can and will reveal Himself as Christ to each one.

Jesus says He is the true vine. He says this to the disciples as He is preparing them for the time when He will no longer be with them. He says:  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.(John 15:4-5)    Even though He is no longer here in body, we can and need to live our lives abiding in Him. Just as when He came to earth, Jesus was called emmanuel, God with us, the Holy Spirit is Emmanuel, God with us now. Jesus says this of the Holy Spirit:  But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.(John 14:6 AMP) He does all that for us.

I pray that you would have a deep and new revelation of who Jesus is in your life and in the circumstances of your life. I pray that you would see Him.   “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”... these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

May all the blessings of Christ be yours. Amen