Three Encounters with the Risen Jesus

Introduction

Have you ever had a moment that changed everything?

In the 2006 movie *The Pursuit of Happyness*, there's a powerful scene where Chris Gardner—played by Will Smith—finally hears the words he's been waiting for: "Chris, you’re hired." After months of homelessness, rejection, and struggle, that encounter transforms his future. He walks out of the office stunned, overwhelmed, and changed. One moment—one conversation—altered the course of his entire life.

We all long for moments like that. And in John 20, we meet people who had *those kinds of moments*—but not with a job or a breakthrough or even a miracle. They encounter the risen Jesus.

Main Point An encounter with the risen Jesus changes everything.

The first thing I want you to see this morning is that encountering the risen Jesus changes everything for…

The Brokenhearted (vs. 11-18)

John 20:11–18 ESV

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Who was Mary Magdalene?

In Luke chapter 8, we find out that Mary Magdalene was one of several women who traveled around with Jesus and his disciples and took care of their everyday needs—food, traveling issues, clothing, etc.

But, Luke—and Mark—both tell us in their respective Gospels that Mary Magdalene first met Jesus when He cast seven demons out of her. Jesus had rescued her and saved her and she devoted her life to Him (following Him). She was present with Jesus during His death on the cross, she was there in the garden tomb during His burial, and, now, Mary Magdalene has come early on that Sunday morning to finish preparing Jesus’s body for burial.

It’s safe to say that Mary Magdalene had a deep love for and devotion to Jesus Christ her Savior and Redeemer.

And, here she is, that first Easter morning, already grieving, already devastated—her friend and her Savior is dead—and to add insult onto injury, His body is gone. In verse 13, she’s dealing with her worst nightmare coming true…someone has stolen his body. It’s probably the Jewish leaders who want to make sure His followers can’t get to it first and start a rumor that He’s been resurrected.

The Mary Magdalene we meet at the garden tomb in John 20 is BROKENHEARTED. In fact, Mark very intentionally tells us FOUR TIMES that she is weeping. The angels sitting inside the tomb—who she obviously doesn’t recognize as angels—ask her why she is weeping and then the mysterious gardener—who actually turns out to be the resurrected—back to life from the dead—Jesus asks her why she is weeping.

GRIEF IS EVERYWHERE—FSU Shooting // Montgomery Violence

And, in the midst of overwhelming grief and brokenheartedness, Jesus calls her name. She recognizes who He is. He’s alive! It’s really Him!

And, in this moment, in this encounter with the resurrected Jesus, we see GRIEF turned to JOY. We see HOPELESSNESS turned to HOPE. We see MOURNING turned to DANCING…TEARS OF SORROW to TEARS OF JOY.

Death does not win. Jesus has the final word…not death.

Power over death

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

APPLICATION

The resurrection of Jesus turns funerals into celebrations.

Maybe you’ve come this morning heavy with grief—missing someone you love or grieving what you’ve lost. Jesus meets you there. He sees you. And in Him, grief doesn’t get the final say.

Second, an encounter with the risen Jesus changes everything for…

The Fearful (vs. 19-21a)

John 20:19–21 “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.”

The disciples are now fugitives. They are marked men by the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. Think about it like this…they have cut off the head—the Leader—and now they’ve got to round up His followers. And, now, they are hiding behind locked doors out of fear.

They didn’t know if they would still be alive by the end of the day. They had no idea what the future held for them. As far as they knew, all of their hopes and their dreams…everything they had left their careers and lifestyles for…was now gone. It was over. They had seen Jesus—the one they had devoted everything to—take his last breath and get buried in a tomb. As far as they knew, they were buried, too. Dead men.

But, see what Jesus says when he appears to them in the room…in fact, it’s something he says twice—back-to-back—“Peace be with you.”

That word peace—eirēnē in Greek—means more than calm. It’s the opposite of fear. The opposite of chaos. It’s freedom from worry. It’s confidence in the face of uncertainty.

Jesus shows them His scars—proof of the cross, but also proof of His victory. The resurrection doesn’t just calm our fears—it conquers them.

If you're battling fear—about your future, your health, your family—hear Jesus say, “Peace be with you.” He is alive. He is with you. And He is in control.

Watching LOTR with the kids

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” Keller — If Jesus is alive, everything is going to be ok.

The resurrection of Jesus brings us peace.

Third, an encounter with the risen Jesus changes everything for…

The Doubting (vs. 24-29)

John 20:24–29 ESV

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now, I want to come to Thomas’s defense, here. This poor guy has become synonymous with doubters. He has ONE moment of weakness and that’s what we label the guy. I mean…people who have never even read the Bible know what you mean when you say “Doubting Thomas.” Look, in John 11, Thomas tells all of the disciples that they should all be willing to die with Jesus…and that he’s leading the way!

Side Note: Maybe you can relate with Thomas. Maybe you’ve got a past. Maybe you’ve been labeled.

Here’s the point, though. Yes, Thomas is skeptical. I mean…wouldn’t you be? People don’t just rise from the dead. Sure, Thomas had been with Jesus for 3 years. Sure, he had heard Jesus say that He would die and rise again, but, let’s be honest—would YOU believe that it actually happened?!?!

The reality is, I believe a couple of things are true this morning. First, I believe it is entirely possible that there is someone here today and you would consider yourself a skeptic or even an unbeliever. Maybe you’re here this morning just to appease your husband/wife/mom or you’re watching online and you don’t believe any of this. You might be right there with Thomas—“I can’t see God, I can’t touch God, all of this is just myth and fairy tale…I just can’t believe this stuff.”

Let me respond, first, by saying that the evidence of Jesus’s resurrection is overwhelming.

Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 15, that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to over 500 eyewitnesses—many of whom were still alive when he wrote the letter. That’s Paul’s way of saying, “You don’t believe the story? Go ask them yourself.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, the disciples are the greatest con men in history and all of them died—along with countless martyrs through the centuries—a pointless death.

The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.

“Blessed are those who don’t see and still believe.”

Now, all that being said…The second thing that I believe this morning is that, at some point, every Christian struggles in this area. See, the foundational issue here is FAITH. I mean, it’s what Jesus REPEATEDLY calls his disciples out on. He chastises them for being “of little faith.”

If the opposite of fear is peace, then the opposite of doubt is faith. Do you TRUST in God? Do you believe in the promises and the Word of God? Listen…God kept His Word in raising Jesus from the dead. That, alone, is proof that He is faithful to His Word.

Conclusion

Salvation

Listen…this gospel is good news for the sinner. This morning, we’ve seen that an encounter with the risen Jesus changes everything for the brokenhearted, for the fearful, and for the doubting…but the good news of Easter, first and foremost, is that the resurrection of Jesus is good news for the sinner. Jesus’s resurrection is God’s satisfaction with the death of Jesus for our sins.

If you came this morning, again, maybe just because it is Easter or because someone invited you, or you have been coming to this church for YEARS, you’re not here by accident or by chance. You’re here because the God of the universe—who loves you so much that He sent His Son to live and die in your place—wants you to encounter Him today.

Believers

This morning, you may find yourself in a season of grief. You’re grieving the loss of a loved one and you’re struggling. The resurrection is our hope and assurance that death does not win.

Maybe you are struggling with fear this morning. The resurrected Jesus sits on the throne and is the Lord over all. In fact, after his resurrection, he said this—“ALL authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That should give you peace.

There are some of you who are struggling in your faith. If God raised His Son from the dead—something He promised long ago that He would do—what promise can He not keep today?