Faith Like Jesus

When we finished last week’s message, Jesus, along with Peter, James, and John, had made their way to the Jewish Leaders, Roman Soldiers, and Judas. When they met up, Jesus asks the mob who they are seeking, and they answer by telling Him that they are seeking Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus tells them that He is the one they are seeking. So the soldiers arrest Jesus and carry Him away to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest.

Once there, Jesus is questioned by the high priest, then sent to the Roman Governor Pilate for questioning. Pilate can’t find any reason to charge Jesus for doing anything against the Roman government, so He sends Him to Herod Antipas. Herod questions Jesus while the Jewish leaders continue to scream accusations at Him, but Jesus never said a word to defend Himself.

After mocking Him by dressing Him in what Luke describes as bright clothing, they take Him back to Pilate. Pilate brings together the chief priests, the Jewish leaders, and the Jewish people. This time Pilate announces that not only did he not find any reason to bring charges against Jesus, but neither could Herod. With that said, Pilate says that He will have Jesus whipped and then release Him. But, the people would have nothing of it. Instead, they convince Pilate to release the murderer Barabbas and place his death sentence on Jesus. After pleading with the people again that he had no reason to do anything to Jesus, except whip Him, Pilate finally gives into the people, charges Jesus and sentences Him to death.

SHOW VIDEO

John says that after Jesus’s death, a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate for Jesus’s body. Pilate grants him permission, so he and Nicodemus—a Jewish leader that Jesus conversed with back in John 3—prepare Jesus’s body for burial by wrapping Him in linen cloths along with fragrant spices and oil. Then they placed Jesus in the tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea and left.

PLEASE STAND IN HONOR OF THE READING OF GOD’S WORD

Read John 20:1-10

I. The Resurrection of Jesus Really Happened

John goes into great detail to inform the reader that three, maybe even more, people witnessed for themselves that the tomb of Jesus was empty.

(Vs.1) Very early on Sunday morning, most likely just before dawn, Mary Magdalene makes her way to the tomb. Luke tells us in Luke 8:2 that Mary Magdalene was one of the women who was traveling with Jesus and His disciples. Luke says that Jesus cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene, so it must’ve been at that point that she started following Him.

Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who record that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by Jesus’s mother Mary and maybe even some other women, John’s version of the story leads us to believe that Mary was alone at this point. We don’t really know why John doesn’t follow the same pattern as the synoptic gospels, but some do think the reason he focuses on Mary Magdalene is because she’s the one that comes and tells him and Peter that the stone had been moved. But we really do not know for sure.

(Vs. 2) Alone or not, John says that she made her way to the tomb and has she approached it, she saw that the stone had been removed from the opening of the tomb. John doesn’t clarify if she she went and checked inside the tomb to see if Jesus’s body was in there, but he does give us the sense that she didn’t because he says that after she saw the stone had been moved, she runs back to where the Peter and John were staying to tell them.

John says that she went to Simon Peter first and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and told them what she’d seen. At least five times in his account, John refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” This was a name that John assigned to himself not out of pride or egotism, but because he wanted to hide himself behind His Savior. He was convinced that Jesus loved Him, and he wanted to make sure that he was identified as one loved by Jesus. It was an homage to Christ, because without Christ’s love, John knew he was nothing special.

Mary tells them that “they” have removed Jesus’s body from the tomb, and hidden Him. This isn’t the only time Mary sites her belief that Jesus’s body was stolen and hidden. Look down in Vs. 11. There she tells the two angels who are inside the tomb the same thing.

(Vs. 3-5) After Mary tells them what she’d seen, Peter and John take off for the tomb. For some reason, John wants the reader to know that he outran Peter to the tomb. John makes it to the tomb first and unlike Mary, he looks inside. Now, this tells us that at this point the sun had risen and provided a way for John to see inside. John is quick to point out that he didn’t go inside the tomb, he just looked in it. And as he looked inside the tomb, he saw Jesus’s burial clothes.

(Vs. 6-7) Just a few moments later, Peter makes his way to the tomb, but he doesn’t stop with just looking inside it, he actually walks in. As Peter looks around, he sees the linen cloths, which would have covered Jesus’s body, and the face cloth, which covered His face, but just like Mary and John before him, he doesn’t see Jesus’s body.

Throughout History, several theories have been created to try and dispute whether or not Jesus rose from the grave. I want to give you two of the most popular theories now and then quickly explain why they don’t make any sense.

1. Theory: Jesus Was Not Dead

I don’t want to overwhelm you with a ton of details regarding this conspiracy theory about the non-death of Jesus on the cross, but over the years, three different hypothesis have emerged in an attempt to dispute that Jesus really died on the cross.

Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (1741-1792) : Bahrdt was a 20th century Swiss theologian who developed what is today known as the Swoon Theory. This theory, which is primarily cited by Muslims, says that Jesus used a mixture of drugs that was provided to Him by Luke, to give off the appearance that He died. He concludes that Joseph of Arimathea resuscitated Jesus and helped Him escape. The reason, according to Bahrdt, was to convince Israel to abandon their belief in Him as a political messiah and instead see Him as a spiritual messiah.

Karl Venturini (1768-1848): Venturini was a German Theologian who suggested that Jesus was a part of a secret society along with several other people. The secret society did not believe that Jesus had survived the crucifixion until they heard groaning from inside the tomb. According to Venturini’s theory, the cool, damp air, caused Jesus to regain consciousness. Once this happened, the members of the society scared off the roman guards and rescued Jesus.

Heinrich Paulus (1761-1851): Paulus was a German theologian and Biblical critic who believed that Jesus fell into a temporary coma and somehow was revived without any help in the tomb.

Let me give you some reasons as to why none of these theories make any sense.

A. Jesus was Brutally Beaten

Isaiah writes in a prophecy about the crucifixion of the Messiah, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting” (Is. 50:6).

Matthew records the fulfillment of this prophecy, “Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you’” (Matt. 26:67-68)?

John says that after Pilate released Barabbas and sentenced Jesus to death, that he “took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands” (John 19:1-3).

So, here is Jesus, no sleep, no food, and no water. He’s been beaten beyond recognition and He’s losing blood from the wounds on His head, back, and front from where He’s been beaten.

B. Jesus was Hung From The Tree

John says that despite all that’s been done to Him already, the soldiers force Jesus to bear the weight of His own cross. The road from where Jesus was to Golgotha, where He was crucified, was about a half-mile, but He was so weak that He couldn’t carry it all the way. So, according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke the soldiers grabbed Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross on Jesus’s behalf the rest of the way.

When they get there, Jesus is stretched out onto the cross. His hands and feet are nailed to it, and He’s hoisted up for all to see.

So, now He’s been mercilessly beaten, who knows how much blood He’s lost, and forced to carry a 100 lb. or more cross up a hill and He couldn’t even make it all the way. For the next six hours, He hangs on the cross until the Jews convinced Pilate to end their suffering by breaking their legs because the Sabbath was drawing near. After breaking the legs of the two criminals that were crucified with Him, the soldiers come to Jesus. John says, “But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (Jn. 19:31-34).

Folks, after all of this, there is absolutely no way Jesus wasn’t dead. Nobody, nobody could endure what He’d endured and not die.

2. Theory: The Disciples Stole Jesus’s Body

Robbing graves was not uncommon during this time period. It was just a few years after Jesus’s death that Emperor Claudius mandated capital punishment for anyone who was convicted of robbing graves, destroying tombs, or even moving the stones away from sealed graves.

So, it’s not surprising that Mary’s first thought was that someone had stolen Jesus’s body from the tomb. In fact, Matthew 28:13-15 says that when some guards found out that Jesus’s body was missing, they went into the city and told the chief priests. The chief priests gathered with other Jewish leaders and decided to give the soldiers a large sum of money to go out and tell people that Jesus’s disciples had taken the body.

This theory is the most popular theory of all. Matthew even says that this theory still exists to this day. Although he was talking about when he wrote his account of Jesus’s life, he was right, because it still exists today.

Like a lot of conspiracy theories, the details of how the disciples stole Jesus’s body has grown over time. The most common theory is that after Joseph placed Jesus’s body in the tomb, the disciples waited until after night fall, went to the tomb, over-powered the Roman guards, moved the rock, grabbed Jesus’s body, and hid it so well that nobody has ever been able to find the remains.

Let’s take a moment to debunk this theory.

The Disciples were so afraid after Jesus’s arrest that they went and hid from the Jewish leaders. John says in John 20:19, “On the evening of that day (Resurrection Day), the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews . . .” (Jn. 20:19).

Even Peter was so afraid of the Jewish leaders, that not only did he deny Jesus three times, but when Jesus was being crucified, he was no where to be found. All of the disciples knew that the Jewish leaders would want to not only take out Jesus, but them as well. So, they went into hiding and remained that way until the coming of the Holy Spirit.

There’s one more fact that proves the disciples didn’t steal Jesus’s body. After receiving the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples went out and began teaching about Jesus. Doing this eventually led to each of them being executed. Common sense tells me that had they stolen Jesus’s body, one or more of them would have cracked when faced with death. And each of the one of the original disciples, and many of the apostles eventually had to make this decision and they chose death.

Peter was crucified upside down by Nero.

Andrew was crucified for preaching the gospel in the nation of Greece.

Thomas was pierced with spears by four soldiers while preaching the gospel in Syria.

Philip was killed in Asia Minor after converting the wife of a Roman proconsul.

Matthew was stabbed to death in Ethiopia.

Bartholomew was killed while sharing the gospel.

James the son of Alpheus was stoned and clubbed to death while sharing the gospel in Syria.

Simon the Zealot was sharing the gospel in Persia when he was killed for refusing to make a sacrifice to their sun god.

Matthais, the apostle chosen to replace Judas, was burned to death while sharing the gospel in Syria.

John is the only one of the original disciples who died of natural causes from old age. But, during Domitian’s Christian persecution he was sentenced to be boiled in hot water. After he somehow survived being boiled alive, he was sentenced to the Isle of Patmos. He remained there until he went to Ephesus, which is where he eventually died.

Who in their right minds would willingly die for something that they know is not true. It doesn’t make any sense to believe that they would.

One more thing about this and any other theory. No one has ever been able to produce the bones of Jesus Christ. Nobody doubts that a man named Jesus lived on this earth. But no one can point you to a grave where His body lies today. Oh, there’s a tomb you can visit, but it’s empty.

II. Faith Doesn’t Require All the Answers

(Vs. 8-10) In verses 8-10 we read that John went inside the tomb, saw what Peter saw, and believed.

It must be understood here, that up until this very moment, none of the three main people in John’s account, Mary, Peter, or John himself fully understood what had happened and why it had to happen.

That’s why John says in verse 9, “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” It didn’t make sense to any of them, yet! It would eventually. I mean, by the time John wrote this account of Jesus’s life, he fully understood it, but in that moment, he didn’t have all the answers. Yet, in verse 8 he says “Then the other disciple, who had reached to tomb first, also went in, and saw and believed.” When translated, the Aramaic word that John uses to describe his belief is used 241 times in the New Testament. Most of time, it indicates belief in the truth of a person. So, his lack of understanding didn’t keep him from believing. His eyes told him all he needed to know. He saw burial shrouds, but he didn’t see a body and that was enough to convince him that Jesus had risen from the grave.

One of the most popular idioms in our day comes from the 17th century clergyman Thomas Fuller who once said, “Seeing is believing . . .” The idea behind the idiom is that it is easier to believe in something or someone, if you can see it.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man, it sure would be easier to believe in Jesus, if I could just see Him?” I wonder if we sometimes think that seeing Jesus means we’d then have all the answers we need to fully place our trust in Him.

Well, let me let you in on a little secret. Jesus was on this earth for 33 years and He spent 3 and 1/2 of those years in public ministry. People saw Him perform miracles that could not be explained. I’m talking thousands of people! But I’ve got news for you, it was some those same people who filled Pilate’s court yard shouting “Crucify Him!” “Crucify Him!” So, no, when it comes to Jesus, seeing is not always believing.

Faith on the other hand, is first believing, then seeing. The Hebrews writer says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” Heb. 11:1).

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Faith is placing our trust in Jesus Christ, not because we can physically see Him, but because we read His Word and we hear His Word, and that leads us to the knowledge that He was and is everything He ever claimed to be! That everything we will ever truly need learn and know is His gospel and how to become more like Him once we accept Him as our Lord and Jesus. No, faith doesn’t require all the answers. It only requires your belief in Jesus Christ.

Tom Habib is an Anglican Minister who also serves as part of the faculty at the School of Divinity at Cambridge University. He wrote an article called How can I believe in God, if I cannot see Him? In the article he makes this statement, “The gospel is what God has given us to believe. This is so liberating, because you have the gospel. You don’t need to look anywhere else. You don’t need anything more. You can believe in God without seeing him.” —Tom Habib

John tells us that he and Peter left Jesus’s tomb and went home. Later that same day, the disciples were together behind locked doors and Jesus appeared to them. I wonder if in that moment, John didn’t say to himself or maybe even verbally, “I knew it!” Anyway, John tells us that when He appeared to them, He showed them the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. In verse 24, he says that one of the disciples, Thomas, was missing from the room when Jesus appeared. After the disciples told Thomas what had happened, John records that he responded by saying, “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.”

Well, eight days later Jesus returns and this time Thomas is there. I want to show a piece of artwork called The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio. Caravaggio painted this between 1601-1602. Today it is housed in the Sanssouci Picture Gallery in Potsdam, Germany.

In the painting you see Peter, John, Thomas, and Jesus. Notice how Thomas’s face reflects a look of surprise as Jesus hold his hand and guides it into the wound.

In John 20:27-29 John records this remarkable moment. Jesus tells 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” (Jn. 20:27-29).

Are you waiting to find all the answers before you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Because if you are, you’re never going to find them. The reward for those who place their faith in Christ right now, is far greater than anything you’ll ever find on this earth.

St. Augustine once said, “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of faith is to see what you believe.” —St. Augustine