An Eye Witness to the Resurrection

Introduction

Today is the most important day for Christians. For without Easter Morning there would be no Salvation for the world.

But have you ever thought about how that first Easter effected the disciples? Can you imagine the emotion? Can you imagine the fear, the confusion, and the disappointment?

This morning I want to take you into the emotion of those events through the eyes of John—the disciple whom Jesus loved.

This morning I want to challenge you to listen as John tells the story of the first Easter.

[Pause]

John

Where do I begin? There is so much to tell. We had been in and out of Jerusalem every day, except for Wednesday.

Preparations for Passover

Then Early Thursday morning, Jesus told Peter and me, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

Luke 22:8 NIV

Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

Where were we supposed to do that? Surely, Jesus had seen Jerusalem. This was Passover! And during Passover, Jerusalem swelled in size. This late, there would be no way John and I could find a room big enough to handle a group our sized! So we asked Jesus,

Luke 22:9 NIV

“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

And Jesus told us:

Luke 22:10–12 NIV

He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

So Peter and I went into the city,

Luke 22:13 NIV

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Sure enough, we went into Jerusalem, and found things just as Jesus told us. So we found the room, and began to prepare the Passover.

Passover Celebration

It was finally, time for the celebration, Jesus and the other apostles came and reclined at the table. It was then that Jesus said,

Luke 22:15–16 NIV

And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

New Covenant

Jesus then began talking about the new covenant that He was about to establish, and in the middle of Passover, Jesus gave us what would be later called, “The Lord’s Supper.”

Betrayal

It was at that moment that Jesus told us the shocking fact that one of us would betray Him! He said,

Luke 22:21–22 NIV

But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”

We could believe that one us would betray Him. After all we had all been with him so long. So we began talking among ourselves, trying to figure out who would do such a thing.

Who’s the Greatest?

As we talked, our conversation about betrayal changed into arguing about which one of us was considered to be the greatest!

Jesus, got on to us by talking about being the greatest is really all about serving. It was all so confusing, then in the middle of the conversation, Jesus turned to Peter, and said:

Luke 22:31–32 NIV

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Peter Will Disown Jesus

And Simon Peter told Jesus,

Luke 22:33 NIV

But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

When Peter said this, the rest of us jumped in with him, and all said we were willing to follow Jesus no matter what the cost!

But Jesus shocked us again when he told Peter,

Luke 22:34 NIV

Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Off to the Garden of Gethsemane

This was both the craziest and the most special Passover celebration that I had ever experienced. I almost hated for it to end, but Jesus told us that we needed to leave. So all of us except for Judas, followed Jesus.

Luke 22:39 NIV

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

We went to Gethsemane—which means “winepress” a place where we had spent several nights throughout the years.

Watch & Pray

Jesus stopped and told most of us to sit and wait while he went further into the garden to pray. But Jesus,

Mark 14:33 NIV

He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.

Peter, James, and Me

Took Peter, James, and me deeper into the garden—there he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. And he told us:

Mark 14:34 NIV

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

Then he went farther into the garden and he prayed. While he prayed—and we were supposed to be praying too, but we fell asleep. Can you believe it, we fell asleep.

Jesus came back and saw all three of us sleeping, but reaching Peter first, he said,

Mark 14:37–38 NIV

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I vaguely remember Jesus coming back a second time, but he just let us sleep while he went back and prayed some more.

After a while, I really don’t know how long he prayed, Jesus came back and said:

Mark 14:41–42 NIV

Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

The Betrayal of Jesus

As he was talking,

Luke 22:47 NIV

While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,

But Jesus said to him:

Luke 22:48 NIV

but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Betrayed by a Kiss

A KISS! I could not believe that Judas would betray Jesus with a kiss. that was supposed to be reserved for close friends, and now Judas was going to kiss Jesus.

Luke 22:49–50 NIV

When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

Prepared for a Fight

I was asking Jesus if we should strike them with our swords, but it was too late. Peter, pulled his sword, and tried to split the servant of the high priest head in two, but missed and ended up cutting off his right ear. Like most of us, Peter was a fisherman, not a swordsman.

But Jesus put a stop to the craziness. He said:

Luke 22:51 NIV

But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

He went on to say,

Luke 22:52–53 NIV

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

The Arrest of Jesus

They seized Jesus and led him away, and took him to the house of the high priest. Peter and I followed them at a distance.

The High Priest’s House

Because my family was well known, I was allowed to go to where the proceedings were taking place. From the back of the room I watched and they tried to convict Jesus. It was almost more than I could watch.

Peter Disowns Jesus

But it wasn’t so easy on Peter. He was back down in the courtyard, where he ended up denying Jesus three times

Jesus Before Pilate

Luke 23:1–2 NIV

Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

Pilate Questions Jesus

Luke 23:3 NIV

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

But Pilate tells the religious leaders,

Luke 23:4 NIV

Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

But they kept insisting

Luke 23:5–7 NIV

But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Off to Herod

Luke 23:8–11 NIV

When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.

Back to Pilate

Pilate called for the religious leaders to come before him. He told them:

Luke 23:14–16 NIV

and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

But the religious leaders had stirred up the people.

Luke 23:18–19 NIV

But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

Luke 23:20–21 NIV

Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Off to Golgotha

So Pilate gave the order to release Barabbas, and crucify Jesus. So before 9 in the morning we were following the crowd toward Golgotha— “the place of the skull”

Jesus was nailed to the cross, and hung there between heaven and earth with two criminals one each side.

The Charge

There was the charge against Jesus written on top of the cross:

Luke 23:38 NIV

There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

Mary & John

Jesus looked down from the cross, and looked my way. Mary his mother was standing beside me, when Jesus said:

John 19:26–27 NIV

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

From then on, I treated Mary like she was my mother!

Jesus’ Death

At 12 noon, the sky grew dark, and remained dark for three hours. Then around 3 in the afternoon,

Luke 23:46 NIV

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

I stood there in disbelief! We all stood there in disbelief—Jesus was really dead.

Jesus Buried in a Borrowed Tomb

Joseph of Arimathea—a member of the Council went and asked Pilate for the body. Then he and Nicodemus came and took Jesus’ body down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.

There was nothing left for us to do but to go back to the room where, the night before, we had celebrated the Passover.

We locked the doors, and waited. The Sabbath had begun and there was nothing we could do but wait!

Jesus was buried late Friday. We sat around in disbelief all Friday night, all Saturday and Saturday night, and were still sitting there early Sunday morning.

Resurrection

I was dozing, trying to sleep when I heard the ladies slip out. They were headed to the tomb. They had been talking for the past three days about going and properly preparing Jesus body for burial. I faded off.

But it wasn’t very long, before I heard the women coming back—I was surprised that they were back so soon.

They said they found the tomb open. It had been sealed shut with guards round it on Friday.

Then they said, Jesus was gone. And there was a angels that told them “He is not here he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”

When the women told us this, we remembered what he had said, but couldn’t believe what were were hearing. Well, Peter and I looked at each other, and took off running toward the tomb. I reached it first, and stooped down to look inside, but you know Peter—he didn’t stop he just ran right in. There was the linen that Jesus had been wrapped in, and the face cloth was folded sitting off to the side. Other than that the tomb was empty!

Jesus had risen from the dead, just like he said he would. Jesus, the man that told us:

John 14:6 NIV

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Today, we celebrate that first Easter more than 2,000 years ago, and I have one question for you. Have you come to know that Jesus is the one and only way, the only truth, and the only life?

My Jesus was with God before the beginning of time and he was God, and still is God today—Part of the Trinity made up of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit—three parts one God.

John 3:16-17 tells us:

John 3:16–17 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

In Romans 10:13 we read:

Romans 10:13 NIV

for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Have you called on the name of Jesus? Trusting Him as your Savior?

Jesus wants to be more than just your Savior, for if you have called on His name He wants to be your Lord—Master, Ruler!

Communion

Jesus, the night he was betrayed, gave us something by which to remember him. Today we call it “The Lord’s Supper.” This morning we want to end our service with communion.

If you are visiting with us, and have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, and are seeking to make Him your Lord, then we invite you to partake of the elements. But if you have never place your faith and trust in Jesus alone, to place you in a right relationship with God—then we ask that you let the elements pass. For 1 Corinthians 11:29 tells us:

1 Corinthians 11:29 NIV

For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

And we wish that for no one. Likewise, if you have unconfessed sin in your life—I urge you to confess it now for verse 28 tells us:

1 Corinthians 11:28 NIV

Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:31:

1 Corinthians 11:31 NIV

But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.

So as our Deacons and some of the men come to uncover the table, I want to challenge each of us to take a moment and examine ourselves and discern if there is anything to be confessed to the Lord this morning.