Sermon (07-Apr): "Risen Indeed!" John 20:19-31

Bible Passage:

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Objective: (SLIDE)

The objective of this message is to recognize that Jesus rising from the dead is for our benefit

Introduction: “Beyond Any Doubt” (SLIDE)

- So the stage has been set, the Apostle John reveals what happened leading up to the cross and what happened on the cross

- Now, we’re about to dive into what happened post-crucifixion

- The disciples were all but scattered and we find Jesus’ ministry is in disarray;

- Judas has hung himself and the only disciple left at the foot of the cross is John

- But he wasn’t alone—Jesus’ mother and aunt was there, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the wife of Clopas

- John receives the directive from Jesus to take care of his mother

- Who can forget one of Christ’s last words on the cross (John 19:25-27),

“Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.”

- Jesus would eventually go on to die, be taken down and buried in a tomb

- If the story were to end right then, we would—along with the disciples—be hopeless

- Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there

- The gospel just doesn’t talk about the life, death and burial of Jesus

- That’s an incomplete story

- Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells the gospel story like this (1 Cor 15:3-4)

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

- The resurrection story begins there but it doesn’t end there

- What makes Jesus’ resurrection so intriguing and so powerful is that He wasn’t just seen in a corner by one or two people

- It wasn’t just a few of His buddies that saw Him

- Paul went on to say that more than 500 saw Him after the cross

- I believe that there had to be indisputable evidence that Jesus had risen

- Lt. Edmonson mentioned it last week (1 Cor 15:16-17),

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

- I don’t know about you…but I need the resurrection

- If it weren’t for the full gospel, I’d be forever lost without any chance at redemption and connection to God the Father

- I’d be hopeless but thankfully I’m hopeful—that the risen Christ has paid the price for me eternally

TRANSITION: So, I believe that as the Apostle John is wrapping up His gospel, there’s something that we can gain from this passage:

Peace Be With You!

Blessed Are Those Who…Have Believed

Jesus Unleashed!

“Peace Be With You!” (SLIDE)

- As I looked over this passage a few times, Christ risen stands out—definitely

- Imagine seeing Him in His resurrected body

- He just pops in the room cause the whole passage shows that the doors were locked due to fear that the Jewish leaders would show up

- And, He just doesn’t do it once…He does it twice

- Locked doors, shaken disciples and the risen Lord…

- And, what does Jesus say, “Peace be with you!”

- He utters that same saying not once or twice; He says it three times

- Which led me to question, “Why the three times?”

- I can say that He said for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

- But, go with me on this…

- The first time Jesus says it; He’s showing up for the first time in the midst of the disciples

- He comfortsthem…

- They are frightened, saddened, and distraught and Christ appears and says, “Peace” or eirene (e ray-nay)

- Shocked as they were; Christ had to speak peace to them and comforts them

- Have you ever been in a situation (frightened, saddened, perhaps confused) and needed Jesus to show up and speak peace to you?

- More times than I can count that I needed Him to speak peace to me in my situation and needed His comfort

- When I lost my car…when I lost my father…when I almost ran off the side of the road—and that’s only to name a few

- The disciples had lost hope once Christ died

- The past three plus years of their lives were now confusing to them

- Did they make the right choices? Was it all for naught?

- Jesus shows up saying, “Peace be with you!” and showing them the scars in His hands and side

- It stood for something

- Their journey was not in vain; Christ meant what He said over the years

- I said it earlier but I need the resurrection to show me that Christ means what He says more than what my feelings say right now

- I can’t always trust my feelings but I can always trust Christ

- Secondly, He says, “Peace be with you!” to enable and empower them—to commissionthem—through the Holy Spirit

- Scripture says,

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

- Notice that Jesus is not forcing anyone to receive the Holy Spirit’s help—

- Jesus is prepping the disciples of Who is to come—the Helper, the Holy Spirit

- The Holy Spirit’s leading and direction in our life is needed but we must choose to receive it

- We can live life five, ten, or many more years and not know or seek out the Helper’s presence in our lives as Christian

- His presence is supernatural but also practical

- He’s always going to advocate for the will of God in our lives

- He’s not going to lead us astray nor will he lead us to our outrageous wants—billionaire status or 50 cars, three jets

- Not to say that it can’t happen but more so souls need to be reached and told about the gospel of Jesus Christ

- We need His power to do the will of God for our lives

- Lastly, He says, “Peace be with you!” to confront Thomas and us

- Thomas, juxtaposed by what he’s hearing and what he last saw, needed Christ to challenge Him

- And, Jesus shows up once again

- The difference between what we hear, what we see, and what we believe can confuse us

- Christ challenges Thomas because after everything He experienced Jesus He still needed proof and at times so do we

- Then enters Christ’s words of “Peace be with you!” Challenging us to trust Him beyond natural sight

Transition: Knowing that Christ’s presence isn’t limited to any one place and any one time can assure us of the peace that surpasses all understanding—a peace that comforts, commissions and challenges

“Blessed are those who…have believed” (SLIDE)

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

- Jesus uses this encounter with Thomas as a teachable moment for the disciples but also us

- Many of us have looked back over the years as we read and study Scripture

- And, if you’re like me, you can sometimes wish that you had a courtside seat to Jesus’ miracles and ministry

- I imagine being there when He turned water to wine, or raising the young girl from the dead

- But then Jesus throws us for a loop

- He calls those who have not seen but believed, “blessed”

- But what does it mean to be blessed or what did Jesus mean?

- Jesus says that you and I are “fortunate, well off;” He says that we are “supremely blest”

- You can say bless-ed but “blest” stands out even more

- It’s the same Greek term that He used in the Sermon on the Mount in the Beatitudes

- Blessed are the poor in spirit, they that mourn, the meek, and those that hunger and thirst after righteousness

- Some have translated it “happy are the…” and that’s true but I don’t want to just limit it to that

- I believe Jesus is going a step further here

- Think about the faith that the disciples must have had with Jesus right by their side

- Now, think of the faith that you and I must have to believe who Jesus was then and all He means to us today

- The disciples didn’t know all that Jesus would do when He was in their midst but they believed in Him—that’s faith

- Yet and still, you and I believe having never seen Jesus in the flesh or His definitive miracles and works

- Some of us have seen “miracles” in our lives or others but not to the magnitude/extent that the disciples did

- I look at us—the ones that do believe—as well off and fortunate as we made the conscious decision to do so

- Everyone hasn’t chosen to do that

- Wolfhart Pannenberg (German Theologian) put it this way,

“The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.”

- There’s a good number of people that don’t want to change the way they live

- I’ve been there…have you?

- Some just don’t want to be challenged to change their lives

- But, what challenged me perhaps the most? The challenge to live my life the same way that I had been living it

- It’s easy to look back on it now and see it; yet, not so easy when you’re in the thick of it

- Jesus’ wonder working power knows no limits when it comes to changing lives

Transition: Look at this last point

Jesus Unleashed!(SLIDE)

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

- Among many other verses, I think of this verse

- We have not even scratched the surface of ALL that Jesus did

- Have your mind imagine the “many other signs” that John is referring to

- How many people were actually healed by Jesus?

- How many blind eyes were open? How many lame bodies were restored?

- I’m thankful for what was given to us but allow your mind to go there

- John tells us that the disciples could attest to it—the signs that He performed—confirmed in their minds that He was the Messiah

- And, the Bibles we have on our phones, in our cars, on our coffee table point us to this…

- That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God

- What was written was for our benefit “that by believing we may have life in His name”

- This life that John writes about unleashes all that Jesus can do if we open the door for Him

- It’s the zoe-life,

“the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God”

- I believe that’s the type of life that in the deepest parts of us that many are searching after

- We may try to fill it with cars, things, hobbies or other pursuits

- But there’ll always be that empty feeling—that Godspot that we’re looking to fill

- God wants to fill whatever void we have in our life with His presence—His life

- That zoe-life is what Jesus’ death secured for us

- We depend on that resurrection

- When Jesus said, “It is finished!” We have to believe that He meant it

- Not only was our redemption complete with His death but our atonement came with His resurrection

- What that means is that His suffering was payment for the penalty of our sins—it allowed you and me to be reconciled to God

CLOSING: As I begin to close, we need the resurrection—He is risen indeed

- Beyond any doubt, Jesus’ resurrection brought peace to the disciples and brings peace to us

- He shows up to bring us comfort in the midst of whatever we are facing—to show us that we can depend on Him

- You and I have this advantage of believing without even seeing

- And Jesus recognizes us for it—that we are “supremely blest”

- John wraps up this passage reminding us that He hasn’t even touched on all Jesus performed

- His gospel is to remind us that by “believing we may have life in His name”

- Do you believe that? Have you believed?

- Because the Son of God is Risen Indeed

- Will you pray with me?