What Old Testament scriptures connect to the disciples' understanding in John 20:9? John 20:9 in focus “For they still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” Old Testament voices the disciples would eventually recognize • Psalm 16:10 — “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.” • Psalm 22:24 — “He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted… He has listened to his cry for help.” (A suffering Servant who is then heard and delivered.) • Psalm 118:17 — “I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.” • Isaiah 53:10-11 — “…When His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” • Hosea 6:2 — “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.” • Jonah 1:17 — “Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” (Jesus called this “the sign of Jonah,” foreshadowing His own third-day emergence.) • Daniel 12:2 — “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake—some to everlasting life…” • Job 19:25-27 — “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth… yet in my flesh I will see God.” Psalms: worship songs pregnant with resurrection hope – David’s words in Psalm 16 gave Israel a clear promise that God’s “Holy One” would not remain in the grave. – The shift from agony to praise in Psalm 22 pictures the Suffering One alive in the congregation. – Psalm 118’s triumphant “I will not die” became a Messianic anthem for victory over death. Prophets: third-day rhythms and future awakening – Hosea links revival and the “third day,” a pattern Jesus fulfills. – Isaiah presents the Servant crushed yet living on, securing many. – Daniel foresees bodies raised from dust; Jonah acts out the timetable. Typology the disciples missed at first • Isaac rescued on the third day (Genesis 22:4). • Joseph delivered from a pit to rule. • Israel passing through the Red Sea—death to life. These stories hinted at resurrection but were treated as history lessons, not previews of Messiah. Why the disciples struggled initially – First-century Jews expected a general resurrection at the end, not one man rising ahead of time. – Seeing Jesus crucified seemed to cancel Messianic hopes, so the familiar texts felt disconnected. – Only after the empty tomb and Christ’s explanations did the puzzle pieces lock together. When understanding finally dawned “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Jesus Himself walked them back through Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, showing that the Scriptures above had always pointed to a suffering, risen Messiah. |
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