“Setting Troubled Hearts at Rest: It’s All About Life”
John 20:19-31
So how can we be so sure? How do we know that Easter isn’t anything more than a tradition that keeps alive a great inspirational story? How do we know whether or not the story is true? Can we be sure that Jesus really is who He said He was? What do you think of Jesus?
As we attempt to answer these critical questions, I’d like you to imagine. For the next little while you are not in a sanctuary – you are in a courtroom. You are not a congregation – you are a jury. The client is Jesus – He’s in absentia. He’s been charged with blasphemy, claiming to be the Son of God. I am His defense attorney. Listen attentively as I present my summation of His defense.
You have been charged with the responsibility of determining whether or not Jesus committeed blasphemy. Thank you for paying such close attention throughout these days of testimony and evidence sharing. I indulge your patience for a few more moments as I review the evidence and let it speak for itself. I begin by summarizing THE SAYINGS AND SIGNS OF JESUS. Soon after He began His public ministry He was at a wedding with His mother and His disciples. The host ran out of wine – a cardinal and embarrassing offense. Jesus told the servants to fill the water jugs with water and take them to the master. When they got to the master the water had turned into wine. No one would have known what happened except the disciples were there – they witnessed it. It’s a matter of record.
One day He engaged in conversation with a woman at a well in Samaria (John 4). After He shared that He knew her current situation and needs she said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Jesus replied, “I who speak to you am He.” Jesus claimed that He was the promised Messiah, the chosen one of God to bring salvation to the world. The woman shared her testimony with other Samaritans from her town; they went to hear him teach and He taught them for two days – and “Because of his words many more became believers… (saying) We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” It’s a matter of record.
As soon as Jesus left that town He was approached by a royal official whose son was seriously ill. He begged Jesus to come to his home and heal his son. Jesus simply said, “You may go. Your son will live.” At that moment his son was healed. The official and his entire household believed in Jesus. It’s a matter of record.
Some days later Jesus entered Jerusalem by a famous healing pool, where many of the blind, lame, and paralyzed lay. They had hopes of getting into the waters at just the right time, in order to be healed. One such man had been an invalid there for 38 years. Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” The man never directly answered Jesus – he just offered all the reason he hadn’t yet been healed. Finally Jesus said, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Instantly the man got up and walked away. Even the Jewish leaders, much to their chagrin, knew a miracle had taken place. It’s a matter of record.
Sometime later a large crowd of over 5,000 people found Jesus and the disciples. After teaching for most of the day Jesus asked one of His disciples to get food for all the people. Meanwhile another disciple found a little boy with 5 small loaves and two small fish. He brought them to Jesus. Jesus blessed the bread and fish and fed everyone – until they were full! And there were 12 full baskets left over! Talk about witnesses – over 5,000 of them! The next day, (John 6) Jesus declared He was the source and sustenance of life. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and He who believes in me will never go thirsty.” Who could argue with Him? It’s a matter of record.
On another day Jesus and the disciples were traveling along a road and came upon a man blind from birth. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Then He spit on the ground, mixed up some mud with His hands and put it on the man’s eyes. He instructed the man to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash away the mud. And when the man did so, he could see! Even the Pharisees, the religious leaders, who weren’t very fond of Jesus had to admit it was a miracle. It’s a matter of record.
Then there was the time Jesus’ dear friend Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, was gravely ill. By the time Jesus got to Bethany Lazarus had been dead and buried in his tomb for four days. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though He dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus then went to the tomb and called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” And out walked Lazarus, grave clothes and all. No one could deny what happened – not even the religious leaders. Listen to the response (Jn. 11:45-48). “That was a turnaround for many of the Jews who were with Mary. They saw what Jesus did, and believed in him. But some went back to the Pharisees and told on Jesus. The high priests and Pharisees called a meeting of the Jewish ruling body. "What do we do now?" they asked. "This man keeps on doing things, creating God-signs. If we let him go on, pretty soon everyone will be believing in him and the Romans will come and remove what little power and privilege we still have."” It’s a matter of record.
Jesus did and said so many more things – In fact, His disciple John wrote that if every one of them was written down the whole world would not have room for the books. But I must move on - these are sufficient to support that He was no ordinary man, that He was the Son of God. He was God breaking into the world. As Jesus Himself said (14:11), “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” The facts speak for themselves. They are a matter of record.
I move beyond His sayings and signs to the SACRIFICE OF JESUS. I submit to you that Jesus’ death was no ordinary death. He predicted it. He said that He had the power to lay down His life – and He did so. As the opposition increased following the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus said (Jn. 12:24) “…unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds…I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself.” From that moment on He went willingly to the cross. He allowed Himself to be arrested, falsely accused, whipped, mocked, and spat upon. He was judged guilty through an illegal trial. But He let it happen. He let them nail Him to a cross. While on the cross He forgave His accusers, placed His mother into the care of a beloved friend, offered salvation to a thief, and committed His spirit to His Heavenly Father. Then He died. And there is no doubt that He died. It’s stated clearly in the record (Jn. 19:31-37 MSG) “Then the Jews, since it was the day of Sabbath preparation, and so the bodies wouldn’t stay on the crosses over the Sabbath (it was a high holy day that year), petitioned Pilate that their legs be broken to speed death, and the bodies taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man crucified with Jesus, and then the other. When they got to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers stabbed him in the side with his spear. Blood and water gushed out. The eyewitness to these things has presented an accurate report. He saw it himself and is telling the truth so that you, also, will believe. These things that happened confirmed the Scripture, "Not a bone in his body was broken," and the other Scripture that reads, "They will stare at the one they pierced."” Even a Roman Centurion who stood at the foot of Jesus’ cross admitted, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” Certainly the facts speak for themselves. It’s a matter of record.
Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb and the tomb was sealed shut – the government officials, strangely afraid that something might happen, ordered guards to keep watch by the tomb. Well, you’ve heard the rest of the story. Jesus walked out of the tomb, fully alive! He appeared to so many witnesses – Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and to more than 500 hundred at the same time (1 Cor. 15:6). It’s a matter of record.
Now as to the question “Why does it matter what I think or believe about Jesus anyway?” let’s consider the SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION. It’s all about life. For example, because Jesus rose from the dead, you can have A LIFE OF PERPETUITY. You may have heard it called eternal life, but we legal types think in terms of perpetuity – forever, ongoing. Through His resurrection Jesus conquered death. Death can no longer sting you; the grave cannot hold you. In fact, did not Jesus say “You have sorrow now…but I will see you again…I go to prepare a place for you…and will come back to take you to be with me…Because I live, you also will live?” Let’s see – I have another statement of his as well. (Jn. 6:39-40) “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” One day you’ll cross that river and fight life’s final war with pain; and then as death gives way to victory, you’ll see the lights of glory and you’ll know Jesus lives.
Yet Jesus also said that eternal life was to believe in Him now. It is not exclusively future. Jesus shares His life even now with those who believe. It is written that to whoever believes in Jesus He gave the right to become children of God. As children you inherit all the power and riches of God; they are yours! Now! A life of perpetuity – now and forever.
It’s also all about A LIFE OF PEACE. He appeared to the disciples after His resurrection Jesus greeted them by saying “Peace.” All that He had said was true! He had gone to the cross for them – and He went for you. You are loved! You are accepted! You can be forgiven! The price for your sin has been paid. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or are doing; it doesn’t matter how guilty you feel or how unworthy; Jesus is ready to forgive you. Even while dying on the cross He was forgiving. What the Psalm writer said is now true (103:10): “(God) does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” “Calvary covers it all – your past with its sin and stain; your guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there.”
It’s also about A LIFE OF PURPOSE. Jesus said “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus came to do the His Father’s will – which was to come into the world to reconcile people to God. So Jesus left a life of glory and came down to earth to go to the hungry, the lonely, the homeless, the imprisoned, the sick, the sinners of society and offer them grace and mercy. You don’t need to spend time wondering, “What is God’s will for my life?” Jesus has told you – and sent you. Give up your search for status and power; wherever you are, teach about and share Jesus. Wherever someone does not believe in Jesus, teach about and share Jesus. Go to the hungry, the lonely, the homeless, the imprisoned, the sick, the sinners of society and offer them grace and mercy. Jesus has entrusted His work to you.
And you can do it, because your life will be A LIFE OF POWER. Jesus, the record states, breathed His Spirit – His life – into the disciples. And He has promised the Holy Spirit to all who believe. He not only sends you out with purpose, He sends you out with His very life and power. He even said that if you wind up in trouble, or are put in trial in the courts you are not to worry what to say. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say.
Then, too, it’s all about A LIFE OF PRESENCE. On the Sunday morning after Jesus was laid in the tomb, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, only to find it empty. While walking, confused, in the garden, Jesus appeared to her. After Jesus died His followers locked themselves in a room to ponder, pray, and hide. Yet all of a sudden, Jesus stood in their midst. One of the disciples, Thomas, wasn’t present then, and He refused to believe unless He could see and touch Jesus. The record shows that Jesus appeared to Him so he could believe. Jesus was only fulfilling what the Psalmist wrote many years before – that God lets Himself be found (46:1). God is always coming to you in Jesus – He comes especially in your time of need and at your point of need. He will come to you at your point of doubt, or pain, or loneliness, or weakness. Whatever your need, whatever overwhelms or threatens you right now, Jesus is here to deal with it, to take it from you. Yes, even now, He is here in our midst; He is present among us. The significance is that every moment of every day, every moment of life is therefore sacred because Jesus is with you in it. You live with a divine companionship.
So as to the question “Why does it matter what I think or believe about Jesus anyway?” it’s all about life. Jesus summarized it succinctly (Jn. 3:16) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” I submit to you that Jesus was more than a man; He was and is the Son of God. He put flesh on the words of an ancient prophet (Is. 53:4-7, 11-12 NLT) “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”
The evidence is not only in the record; it’s all around you. Look at who’s next to you, in front of you, behind you. They are witnesses to Jesus; they are testimonies to the Son of God. But the choice is up to you. I have presented all this “…so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Either you believe and have life or you remain lifeless. You can believe and you set your troubled heart at rest, or you can live in turmoil and fear. The choice is yours.
As for me, I know that by the grace of God I am what I am. “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” I have chosen to believe and am experiencing life. “I believe that the Christ who was slain on that cross has the power to changes lives today; for He changed me completely, a new life is mine; that is why by the cross I will stay. I believe that this life with its great mysteries surely someday will come to an end; but faith will conquer the darkness and death and will lead me at last to my friend. I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary – I’ll believe whatever the cost; and when time has surrendered and earth is no more, I’ll still cling to that old rugged cross.” I rest my case.
