Bible Study plan and outline centered on John 20 19 30

John 20:19-30: Bible Study plan and outline
John 20:19-30 may be analyzed in two parts, based on the two distinct occurrences of Jesus Christ’s appearance the passage describes. One occurs in Thomas’s absence, when he appears before his disciples on Easter evening (20:19-25), whereas in the other instance, he appears after seven days and this time, Thomas is in attendance (20:26-31). The two events may initially be considered individually, followed by an interpretation of them together. In the first (20:19-25), the disciples are described assembled on Easter evening at a dwelling, somewhere within Jerusalem or in the holy city’s vicinity. Fear causes them to hold a secret meeting. However, the impact on readers is: they expect the occurrence of a miracle, and they aren’t left disappointed. A miraculous appearance of the resurrected Christ is witnessed (Hultgren, 2008).
Why the disciples have convened together has not been mentioned. However, the preceding verse (20:18) reveals the evangelist claiming Mary Magdalene informed the disciples of the resurrection of their Master. The Beloved Disciple as well as Peter had visited the tomb during the morning hours; however, only the former held real faith in the resurrection of Jesus (20:8). This could not be said of Peter or the others. The sequel (i.e., 20:11-18) shows the resurrected Jesus appearing before Mary Magdalene, who recognizes him and informs his disciples of what she saw (Hultgren, 2008).
Four events make up the scene which is showcased in the verses 20:19b-23. Firstly, Jesus emerges amongst his disciples, greeting them with Shalom (meaning: Peace), which is the common greeting in Jewish. He is identified by his side and hands. His disciples are jubilant. Next, a commissioning ensues (20:21) with Jesus stating the Father sent him. This has been extensively affirmed (no less than forty-one times) within John. God sent Jesus to mankind so that He Himself may be revealed and so that Jesus would preach and make disciples. Moreover, Jesus pronounced that following his going back to God, his ministry would be continued by the disciples (17:18), a statement that is now seen being fulfilled. Still further is the "Johannine Pentecost" (20:22). In the view of the 4th Evangelist, the Spirit’s gift was granted on Easter evening, rather than on Pentecost day (which occurs after about 7 weeks), which is Luke’s view. Jesus instantly commissions his disciples, according them the Spirit which is a power empowering their witnessing of Jesus. Finally, the authority to pardon mankind of its sins forms the completion of the series of Easter events (20:23). The reading has been included in Mathew 18:18 and 16:19 as well (Hultgren, 2008).
Regardless of the significance of the above part of the story, preachers as well as listeners tend to be more interested in the second part (20:26-29). Here, the disciples once again convene at the very same house precisely a week later; the only difference this time around is the presence of Thomas, who is invited for believing and touching his wounds. Whether or not the latter occurs is unknown; however, the declaration "My Lord and my God!" is a clear pronouncement of belief. However, in declaring this, Thomas isn’t likely to be giving voice to any full-scale ontological Christology, the way the 4th-5th century Christological doctrines and principles state. Essentially, Thomas implies he has witnessed God’s presence in Jesus’s resurrection (Hultgren, 2008).
The punch-line lies in the passage’s last verse (20:29), which may be deemed to be somewhat hard to construe. It may be regarded as a reprimand of Thomas as his belief was contingent on witnessing Christ, contrary to the others who believed without proof. This is not, however, the only possible interpretation. One cannot discredit his belief only after seeing. Indeed, he is alike all others in this respect in that they also believe only after Christ appears. At this juncture, identifying a second element of difference - between the two means of believing – is also prudent. The two means are: 1) actually witnessing and 2) listening to and having faith in the Bible as declared by the witnesses (i.e., disciples) of Christ, which is distinct from actually witnessing (Hultgren, 2008).
The beatitude of Christ ("Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe") ensures all of Christianity, irrespective of which era they are born and where they reside, are on equal footing with the aforementioned witnessing disciples, who saw Christ’s resurrection within Jerusalem in the 1st century, in the eyes of God. The remainder of Christianity who were not lucky enough to experience what the disciples did have believed as well. John’s audience is referred to in this beatitude. Christians who have believed are pronounced as blessed as they listen to or read the gospel (Hultgren, 2008).
Clearly, this reading is salient as Thomas’s tale chronologically occurs a week following Easter. A second justification for its application as a preaching base is underscoring the two means of believing. Firstly, how did ancient man believe? One may presume Christ’s disciples found believing easy. However, the above passage points to the contrary. Jesus had to actually appear before them after being resurrected for them to believe. Akin to others, Thomas calls for more concrete proof and doesn’t trust unconfirmed reports. His careful and judicious nature makes him a sound example for Christians (Hultgren, 2008).
The next question is: what makes mankind believe now, in the present day? One cannot prove the resurrection in a way that satisfies everybody. Just like the creation of the universe by God cannot be explained using the conventional principles of evidence, one cannot explain Jesus’s resurrection. However, clearly, both assertions are in harmony with each other as they involve creating from nothing; they are in line with the understanding of God included within the Bible. Belief may not be taken as conviction that is grounded in material perception; rather, it is trust whose basis is an understanding of God’s reality, what He can do, and Christ’s role in the bigger picture. While it is not wise to believe every religious claim one is confronted with in life, Jesus’s story will constantly engage a Christian and reinforce one’s faith in Jesus as the resurrected Lord. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (Hultgren, 2008).
Segregating learners into little groups or two or three is a valuable study practice as it ensures they can collectively engage in any debate or educational activity. Usually, a small group task will enable more pupils to take part, offering a safe atmosphere to them to communicate their testaments, views, ideas and beliefs with one another. Additionally, such tasks may offer them a chance at attempting to teach peers the Bible, helping them in their preparation to give actual sermons to congregations in the long run. Small group discourse may be successful in garnering the involvement of pupils showing a lack of attention or interest, besides allowing pupils to make their spiritual and social relationships stronger and cultivate communication skills. Further, these practices may make shy pupils more confident through increased meaningful participation in the learning process (Teaching, 2012).
The opening of the sermon has much greater significance in the present day than ever before. The mere presence of an open scriptural book, a title, letters following one’s name, or standing on a pulpit will not guarantee that individuals will pay heed to the preacher’s words. Earlier, churchgoer could not do much when putting up with a reading they weren’t interested in. The most they could do was go over the book of hymns, pass notes, analyse the peculiarities in the oration of the preacher, or count the church ceiling’s tiles. But in the contemporary digital age, the wealth of portable devices (tablets, smartphones, etc.) at man’s disposal ensure uninterested churchgoers can easily browse the internet, catch up with friends on chat, go through their Facebook and Twitter accounts, play games online, or read more interesting books, while preachers are painstakingly delivering a meaningful sermon (Magruder, 2016)
A preacher must take care to raise questions that the audience can actually relate to and are interested in. A good way to commence one’s sermon would be by asking, “If God was so good, what is the reason behind the bad things that take place across the globe?”, which would make the cogwheels of audience’s brains turn, rather than asking “Which theodicy offers the ideal explanation for God’s continued allowing of natural and ethical evils worldwide?” which nobody really worries about. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1) and other such attention-grabbing passages do exist in the Bible, which may be taken advantage of by preachers. As, in general, simply standing at the pulpit reading out a passage may cause most of the congregation to eventually stop listening, an attention-grabbing phrase at the beginning is recommended (Magruder, 2016).
A truth spoken fails to intrinsically cause transformations to people’s lives; it can only do so if the listener pays attention and absorbs its meaning. A message whose introduction fails to hold the audience entranced is unlikely to influence lives. The first half-minute is most crucial. The sole means of ensuring pupils are attentive is by making them feel a part of the preaching process (Moyer, 2012).
Irrespective of what pastors ultimately choose, congregational transition proceeds towards preaching. According to the modern homiletic approach, one may not reduce preaching to any manuscript or text of a sermon; rather, it is a process entailing a number of actively involved individuals who, typically, are: God, the Bible, the pastor, the occasion and the churchgoers. In the course of the lecture, the pastor may rely on a little skit for emphasizing the theme and illustrating the events John has reported in the chapter (Nasser, 2012).
The pastor, being group leader, must urge pupils to go over the verses read out in the learning session. For a clearer understanding of the passage, learners ought to be offered further relevant Biblical, and other, text. Mentioning to pupils the Biblical passages which will be taken up in the subsequent lesson has been recommended. All sessions ought to be culminated with prayer (Schott, n.d.). 
To guarantee study group efficacy, the preacher must incorporate required pertinent material resources (e.g., scriptural text, works penned for enlightening readers of the Gospel, journals, magazines, etc.) into the study plan. Furthermore, if a skit has been planned for the session, it would be useful to carry relevant materials to aid its delivery as well. While the internet and traditional libraries carry an abundance of resources, selecting the content best suited to one’s subject would be a prudent step. Lastly, one must not overlook the very salient but precious resource of time, which is in short supply. One should address every necessary detail within the timeframe one is allowed. Injudicious allocation of these precious resources will very likely cause the preacher to be faced with innumerable challenges in the course of the study session.






References
Hultgren, A. J. (2008, March 26). Commentary on John 20:19-23 by Matt Skinner. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=887
Magruder, J., Dr. . (2016, June 28). How to Win Your Audience's Attention for Your Sermon. Retrieved September 25, 2017, from https://www.sagu.edu/thoughthub/6-attention-getting-sermon-introduction-techniques
Moyer, R. L. (2012, January 4). Preaching: 4 Ways to Gain Attention - 3 Ways to Keep It • ChurchLeaders.com. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from https://churchleaders.com/pastors/preaching-teaching/138197-how-get-audience-attention-30-seconds.html
Nasser, R. (2012, October 4). Alban at Duke Divinity School » Preaching the Transition. Retrieved September 24, 2017, from https://alban.org/archive/preaching-the-transition/
Schott, L. A. (n.d.). Immersion bible studies: Job. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Teaching, G. (2012). Learning: A Handbook for Teachers and Leaders in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion.