Jn 20:19-31
The Resuurectiuon of Jesus Christ is the watershed of the Chrsitain faith
Story: It was the late Professor Charlie Moule who said that
"the birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church ... remains an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the church itself - the Resurrection."
Story: A few years ago Maddy and I went to Pfarrwangen in Switzerland to visit a good friend who is the Swiss Reform pastor there - Philipp Nanz and his wife Suzy. And while Maddy and Suzy went horse riding, Philip and I went for a walk. And we started discussing Islam, and then got onto the subject of what makes Christianity distinctive? How does Christianity differ from other religions?
And we came to the conclusion that the answer lies in the Easter story.
No other religion has ever claimed that its leader rose from the dead. No one has claimed that Jesus rose from the dead
Yet millions of Christians down the centuries not only have claimed that but that they have a relationship with Him
St. Paul - who was nobody’s fool - had this to say about the centrality of the Resurrection:
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance :
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Cor. 15:3-8).
When you add that up you get at least 514 men.
And that doesn’t include the women like Mary Magdalene who also saw the risen Jesus.
So if the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a CENTRAL PILLAR of our faith
- after all it is central to our three main CREEDS-
have you ever wondered WHY St John ONLY mentions FOUR post Resurrection appearances of the Risen Jesus.?
In John 20 we read of three of these.
Here John records how Jesus appeared to
i) to Mary Magdalene
ii) to all the disciples except Thomas and finally
iii) to Thomas
And in the following Chapter, John 21 we read of Jesus appearing to seven disciples including Peter, James and John, Thomas, Nathanael and two unnamed disciples. And it was there that Jesus recommissions Peter to lead his Church
Surely - one might argue - if the resurrection is such a big deal, why didn’t John add many more of the stories of these encounters?
At the very least – why didn’t he simply catalogue when, where and who had seen the risen Christ. Surely that would make interesting reading.
For example
1. Have you ever wondered what the reaction of James -Jesus’ brother - was when Jesus appeared to him.
2. Have you ever wondered if Jesus appeared to Nicodemus - the Jewish rabbi who had sought him out at night in Jn 3 and who had helped Joseph of Ari-math-ea to bury Jesus.
I think that the reason that St John doesn’t record more post Resurrection encounters with the Risen Lord - can be found in the last verse of John 20: Here St John wrote:
"Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name."
In other words, the three stories of John 20 have been recorded to awake faith in us.
If that is the case - what is so special about these three stories?
I would like to suggest to you this morning that each story is special because it shows a barrier to faith – a barrier which can be overcome by the presence of Jesus.
And they are all barriers that we as Christians will experience at some time in our lives.
1. The first of these barriers to faith was GRIEF, Mary’s grief
And this was overcome by hearing the voice of Jesus
Mary Magdalene couldn’t see Jesus for her grief.
It was only when she heard him call her name that she realised that He was risen.
Jesus spoke to her – and by speaking released her from her grief.
2. The second of these barriers to faith was FEAR
And this was overcome by experiencing the presence of Jesus
The disciples in today’s Gospel reading were gathered behind closed doors in fear.
There was a real fear that as Jesus had been crucified –were they next on the list?
And so Jesus comes to them and speaks words of peace. He showed them his crucified hands and St. John records:
“The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (Jn 20:20)
Fear can cripple us at times. It can make us irrational.
And at those times, we need to seek Jesus’ presence in our lives – and it is His Presence that will bring us peace.
3. The third barrier to faith was DOUBT
And this was overcome by the touch of Jesus.
Thomas seems rather unfairly to have had a bad press for the last 2000 years.
His name has even entered into the English language as “Doubting Thomas”.
But you have to remember that Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples when they saw Jesus.
He didn’t have the benefit of what they had seen.
He couldn’t believe that Jesus was risen – because it was something outside his experience.
Our faith is not an unreasonable faith. It is based on evidence.
St Peter tells us for example
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Pet 3:15)
God has given us minds and wants us to use them.
Thomas, when told by the other disciples that Jesus had risen SAID in rather flowery language says:
“I’m not going to believe until I can stuff my hand actually into his side.”
That’s the force of what he is saying.
Our faith has to be based on a firm foundation – and Jesus realised that Thomas needed that confirmation.
Once Thomas got the evidence he needed he simply said: “My Lord and my God”
We are called to be his disciples – to live as he taught – and to have a relationship 24/7.
A simple intellectual belief in the Resurrection is not enough.
When the Bible uses the term belief, it means more than our modern day meaning.
It would be better translated BELIEF that results in action.
When Thomas believed it drove him to his knees to confess “My Lord and my God”
But Thomas’ wasn’t simply - an intellectual assent - to the proposition that Jesus rose from the dead.
Church history tells us that Thomas died for his faith – as a missionary to India.
In our Gospel reading today - what Thomas asked for was very reasonable and so Jesus gave him what he needed for his faith.
There are times when we need a special touch from God.
It is not a sin to be sceptical. What is sin is to go on disbelieving when you are given the evidence.
4 And the final barrier to faith is FAILURE, letting Jesus down
In the final record in John’s Gospel of the appearance of the Risen Lord, Jesus appears to Peter and forgives Peter’s failure
Peter had denied Jesus three times – and now Jesus gives Peter the chance to renounce those three failures but affirming his love for Jesus.
Jesus reinstates his friend Peter, much in the same way that God reinstates Elijah in 1 Kings 1911-18
Conclusion
In conclusion - Jesus deals with each person’s needs differently. He treats us as individuals
Mary simply needed to hear Jesus’ voice and her grief was healed.
The disciples needed to experience the presence of Jesus – and receive His peace to release them from their fear.
Thomas needed to touch the Risen Christ. He felt he needed to put his hand in Jesus’ side before he would believe. Actually there is no evidence that he actually did so.
Peter had to hear the voice of Jesus forgiving Peter’s failure, asking him if he (Peter) loves him and reaffirming him again by calling Peter to come and follow him
Three times Peter denied Jesus and now Jesus gives Peter three opportunities to reaffirm his love for Jesus
Each of us has different needs – we all ask different questions - but there is only one solution – a touch from the risen Lord.
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus death of the Cross for our sins.
We thank you that WHEN he rose from the dead – he showed himself to the disciples and so strengthened their and our faith
Father this morning –
if we are grieving may we hear your voice speaking to us
if we are in fear may we seek the presence and peace of Jesus in our lives
if we have doubt, may we experience a touch from you
if we have let you down, may we hear you forgiving and reaffirming us
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen
