Responses to the Resurrection (2)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Welcome! Easter has come, and there could not be a better day to be in church.

I normally do not wear a suit and unless I am preaching a funeral or a wedding. And then there is Easter which is both a funeral and a resurrection so it also calls for a suit.

Opening Prayer

INTRODUCTION:

This is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of the most important Christian holidays we have (the other is Christmas).

The resurrection is absolutely necessary for our faith because without it, our faith would be worthless.

1 Corinthians 15:16–17 “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

Without the virgin birth, there is no sinless Savior.

With the resurrection of the crucified sinless Savior there is no sacrifice for sins.

This morning we are going to read the Easter story from the gospel of John. But instead of reading about Easter morning, we are going to read about what happened on Easter Evening when Jesus appeared to His disciples and their responses to the resurrected Jesus.

Turn to John chapter 20 and we will begin in verse 19 and work our way down to verse 29.

1) Those who respond with great joy

John 20:19–20 NASB95

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Explanation:

John chapter 19 is the resurrection chapter. At the beginning of John 19 we read the historical account of the empty tomb written by a first hand witness the apostle John himself. That morning the women went to the tomb to anoint the lifeless body of the Lord Jesus Christ, not expecting to find an empty grave and a living, breathing, talking Jesus standing in the garden. They ran and told Peter and John and then the other disciples.

The second half of John chapter 19 picks up on that Easter afternoon. The disciples were in a room hidden away because they feared the Jews who had killed Jesus and thought they would be after them next.

And here is this little group who had just seen their leader killed huddled in fear behind a locked door. And then Jesus appears to them and says, “peace be to you”

Then He showed them His hands where the nails went through them and His side where the spear had pierced Him. And they realize what they are seeing is the same Jesus, the same One they called Lord, the same One whom they followed for three years, the same One who was hung on the cross standing before them in bodily form.

And what did they do? They rejoiced.

What does it mean to rejoice?

It means that happiness filled their hearts and overflowed to the outside! I can just see them celebrating and laughing and praising God for what they were witnessing in front of them.

They were overjoyed at the evidence that what they had witnessed and believed to be the worst possible news was now the best possible news, even better than if Jesus had never been crucified at all.

But it wasn’t just the presence of Jesus that made them so happy, but the nail scarred hands, the pierced side, the physical body of the same Jesus they saw only days before hung on a cross, wrapped in burial clothes, anointed with spices, laid in a tomb was now alive

It was not just about the fact that Jesus was with them, but that Jesus had conquered sin and death, conquered the cross, and now stands before them completely new in a glorified body.

The resurrection meant EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED and everything they had taught and heard Jesus say was true.

Jesus is no longer Teacher or Rabbi, but clearly Lord, and Thomas will declare that by saying, “My Lord and My God”

Then Jesus says to them, “peace be to you”

There are two kinds of peace

The first we spoke about last week, it is a peace between man and God. Only Jesus Christ can give that peace.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

The second kind of peace is an inner tranquility that Jesus gives to His followers. It is a calmness, a freedom from worry, a sense of contentment with all things in life no matter how difficult or upsetting they may seem.

It is a peace that cannot be found in this world, but a peace that belongs to God and is given to man.

When Jesus appeared to these disciples in that upper room, they were terrified. They were expecting the Jews to come in at any time, knock the door down and haul them off to the cross. Here they are paralyzed in fear waiting for the unknown.

Jesus appears and His first words are, “Peace be to you”

There is a deep sense of peace that accompanies the great news of Jesus’ resurrection and is given to ALL people who embrace the resurrection!

The Bible says, Phil 4:7

Philippians 4:7 NASB95

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

There is nothing in this world that can give us to bring this kind of peace outside of a real living relationship with Jesus Christ.

When we stop trusting in ourselves, and when we stop trusting in others, and when we stop trusting in our own control over events, and money, and things, and start placing our full trust in Jesus, this peace becomes our peace.

The worry of death becomes meaningless, the worries of this world that seem to overtake us are now shadowed by this great truth that Jesus Christ has defeated the greatest enemy and nothing matters more.

There is an old Irish saying that goes like this:

There are only two things in life to worry about: if you are well or if you are sick. If you are well, there is nothing to worry about.

If you are sick, there are only two things to worry about: if you will get better or if you will die. If you get better, there is nothing to worry about.

If you die, there are only two things to worry about: if you will go to Heaven or if you will go to Hell.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ replaces all worry with perfect peace which is why it should cause us to respond with the great joy!

Those that receive this great news with joy, share it

John 20:21–23 NASB95

So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

Explanation:

Now we have all heard of the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20, “therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit …” and in Luke, and in Mark and here is John’s Great Commission.

Look what Jesus says, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send You”. Now that’s it. That’s all of it. There are no more details…everything these men are told to do is summed up in the way that Jesus lived His life on mission.

How he went from place to place preaching the gospel. How he spent day after day with His disciples teachings them, equipping them, correcting them, comforting them, preparing them for the Christian life.

And then He says this mission that I began has now become your mission. Now that you have seen and believed and rejoiced, you too have a part to play in reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Listen closely church:

We must not forget that we too have been called to this mission. We must not become lazy, we must not become too comfortable, we must not neglect the duty assigned to us, the sacred calling that has been handed down to us from the Lord Himself.

Those words given to those men that day are our words given to this church. It is our calling as a whole! Notice Jesus did not single out Peter who was the spokesman for the group or John who was the beloved disciple. Jesus spoke to them all and said to all of them, this is now your calling! This is now your work.

If we are not on mission for God, we are not right with God. We cannot be a in a healthy relationship with God if we fail to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. This church has no future if it does not take this mission seriously. Our faith will dry up if we do not take this mission personally.

But Jesus does not send them out on their own. Look what happens in the next verse: “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

What Jesus does here is a symbolic of the giving of the Spirit which will occur in Acts 2 which empowers them to witnesses.

Jesus will remind them again before He ascends:

Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.””

The Holy Spirit is God’s source of power that is given to us so that we would witness effectively.

He doesn’t just empower us, but He changes our DNA to make us want to witness.

When we receive the Holy Spirit of God, it is God Himself who dwells in us. And this verse reminds us that the very nature of God is to be on mission. “As the Father has sent Me, so I send You”.

Just as God is holy, God is just, God is love, so God is also missional!!

And the church’s worship of God must match the full nature of God. The church strives to be holy, it strives to be just, it strives to show mercy, it strives to love others, and if it wants to demonstrate the heart of God to the world it must strives to win the world to Jesus Christ!

You do not have to worry about how you will witness when you come to Jesus. You do not have to fret over that, God will transform your very heart and create in you a heart and mind that greatly desires to tell others about the Christ!

God does not simply ask us to be on mission with Him, He creates people with a missional mind and heart.

How do you see this calling?

Many people see it as a burden. It’s another duty God has given us to do.

But I would ask you to consider the fact that whoever led you to Jesus did not see it that way.

That the very witness that pointed you to the cross, saw it as a duty, a burden, something not worth their time and never put forth the effort to point you to Christ?

I think about the people God put in my life, when He saved me, and I am very grateful for them. Some didn’t really say much, others encouraged and walked with me. But it was the witness of others that first began to open my eyes to the truth.

2) Those who demand evidence to believe

John 20:24–27 (NASB95)

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”

Explanation:

Thomas is an oddball in this group. For an unknown reason he is not even with the disciples that Easter afternoon.

He is only mentioned twice in this gospel

John 11:16 “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.””

Here we see he was a very loyal person to Jesus, even willing to go to Jerusalem and die with Jesus

John 14:5 “Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?””

Here he is presented as a man who lacks understanding

And that’s all we read about Thomas over the last 19 chapters until we come to chapter 20

And this appearance made him famous for being doubting Thomas.

Now the women have already seen Jesus and told the disciples Jesus had risen

John and Peter had been to the tomb to see the empty grave

And now the disciples on Easter Evening have seen and talked to the Risen Jesus and told Thomas about Him.

BUT Thomas refuses to believe unless he has absolute proof for himself unless he has physical evidence that he can touch and see for himself

And there may be some in here today just like Thomas

Though we would never admit it, especially in a church that we have doubts about the resurrection

But in all reality, I think all of us come to times in our lives when we have doubts.

And we think, if Jesus would just appear to me then I would have no problem beleivimg, and if I could see His hands and His feet, and His side where they pierced Him then I would have no problem believing

Maybe the claims of Jesus are unrealistic, like a fairy tale

Maybe the entire gospel, or the whole Bible doesn’t make sense and you cant believe in something that doesn’t make sense. Maybe that was part of Thomas’ problem

I want to make a couple observations about Thomas’ encounter with Jesus

Jesus responded to Thomas’ exact concerns without ever being there to hear them

Notice the disciples come and tell Thomas that they have seen the Lord. They proclaim the resurrection. Thomas said to the disciples, (NOT IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS) “I will not believe unless I see His hands and touch His wounds.”

That very next Sunday, Jesus appears before them again. And Jesus asks no questions and neither does Thomas, but Jesus answers the very concerns Thomas had. He related to Him in a Very personal way

And do you know that this is often how God does with us. He meets us where we are in life, comes down to our level whether it be in our circumstances, or with our questions or doubts, or with worries and begins to reveal Himself to us.

Jesus is a very personal God. We often see Him as too far above to be involved in our lives in such a personal way but here we see Him reveal Himself to Thomas in Avery personal way and He will for us too.

The Bible says, draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”

Even with doubts, even with intellectual problems if we will sincerely draw near to God, He will reveal Himself to us.

Thomas would go out from here and preach the gospel to the entire world based ONLY upon his testimony

When Thomas joined the to other disciples, what did he hear? Their testimony of Jesus and he didn’t believe it until he saw the risen Lord Himself. And He confessed, “My Lord and My God”.

Do you know what happened to Thomas?

Church history says that he went on to become one of the great evangelists and a church planter. Thomas eventually made his way all the way to India around 49 AD, and ended up losing his life there for preaching the gospel. The Church Tradition says he was speared in the same place in his side where Jesus invited him to touch His wounds.

Today in India, there are monuments and even a Bible college honoring doubting Thomas. Many Christians there even date their heritage to this one apostle who refused to believe in the resurrection.

And do you know what evidence Thomas presented to all those he preached to in India? His personal testimony of Jesus Christ who revealed Himself to Thomas the doubter.

The evidence of his testimony alone.

He didn’t have the scars of Jesus, or the miracles, or the empty tomb, he only had his testimony

The only thing people need today to believe is the testimony of the resurrection that has been passed down from generation to generation

John 20:28–29 NASB95

Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

Explanation:

I love Jesus’ response here. He says, Thomas, you really needed to see Me to believe? The really needed to see with your own eyes…wasn’t the testimony of these men enough? They saw Me, they had a real living encounter with Me, and their testimony was true. Blessed are those who do not see, yet believe.

In other words, millions upon millions of people will one day come to saving faith without the evidence that Thomas had that day.

Millions of people will believe because of the testimonies of eye witnesses that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Principle Point: Belief is not a matter of the mind, but of the heart

There is no intellectual requirement to believe, it is a heart issue. It is an issue of trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that requires us to no longer be in control of our lives and allow God to take control of us.

Maybe you are here today and your like Thomas. You doubt, or you do not really believe.

If you’re looking for evidence, I cannot think of a greater testimony than the church itself. The church which has been standing for 2,000 years and continues to stand upon the same declaration, that Jesus was crucified, and then resurrected from the dead on the third day.

And if the church is not convincing to you, then look at the lives of those Jesus has personally transformed. Seriously look at the life of someone close to you who truly follows Jesus, and hear their testimony. And listen as they tell of a personal Savior who met them on a real personal level and transformed their lives. The church was built upon the testimonies of eye witnesses and you too can Believe.

~PRAYER~

CONCLUSION:

Homiletic Thesis/Big Idea restated

The "Big Ask" - tell the congregation that you expect a response to the truth of the text.