God now acts! The greatest power ever known is now shown. The Lord Jesus is raised from the dead. All now changes from darkness to light.
V.1 In the first creation, God worked for six days, then rested on the 7th day. But through Adam’s sin, death has been brought to everyone. But the Lord Jesus (the last Adam, 1 Cor. 15:47) has come down to earth and has made a new and perfect creation. Now God can rest forever on the day after the 7th, the 8th day. The day after the old Sabbath (7th day, Saturday) is the 8th day (Sunday) and that’s the Lord’s (Acts 20:7). When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are born again into the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
There are 3 new things: (1) a new day (v. 1), the first day of the week, (2) a new name, for the first time the Lord Jesus calls His followers “brethren,” (v. 7), (3) a new relationship (v. 17), God becomes their “Father.”
V.1-10 An empty tomb is what we now know. Death could not hold our Savior. He lives and lives forever (Rev. 1:18).
V.11-18 All the disciples lack the devotion of Mary. Turn to Luke 8:2 to see who she was. She wishes to touch Him, supposing He would be as He had been before His death. But He was going to be known in a new way. Christ has been raised into a new place. The way in which He was known when He was seen by the people, is gone forever. That is what 2 Corinthians 5:16 means. We know Him no more after the flesh, in other words, our old life is in the flesh.
Our new life is a spiritual life.
V.19-23 These verses are a picture of what God wants us to be enjoying. The Spirit of God wants to gather each believer around the Lord Jesus — separated from all things which are contrary to the Scriptures.
V.24-29 Thomas, one of the apostles, won’t believe unless he can see! But later exclaims “My Lord and my God.” Notice the 29th verse.
V.31 A summary of the whole gospel of John.