Introduction:
A. Happy Easter to everyone – how wonderful it is for us to celebrate the Resurrection on this Lord’s Day!
B. The story is told of a man who went on vacation to the Holy Land with his wife and his mother-in-law.
1. Sadly, while they were in Israel, suddenly his mother-in-law died from a heart attack.
2. The couple went to a local undertaker, who explained that they could either ship the body home which would cost more than $1500, or they could bury her right there in the Holy Land for only $150.
3. To his wife’s surprise, her husband said, “We’ll pay to ship my mother-in-law home.”
4. The undertaker responded, “Are you sure? That’s an awfully big expense, and we can do a very nice burial here.”
5. The husband said, “Look, 2000 years ago they buried a guy here and three days later He rose from the dead. I just can’t take that chance.”
6. I’m thankful that I have a wonderful mother-in-law, so I can use mother-in-law jokes in good conscience.
C. We, Christians, praise God today and every day, that Jesus arose from the dead.
1. Christianity, literally, stands or falls upon the truthfulness of that one event - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
2. No other religion claims the bodily resurrection of its founder.
a. The tomb of Moses is occupied.
b. The tomb of Mohammad is occupied.
c. The tomb of Confucius is occupied.
d. But the tomb of Jesus is EMPTY!
3. Years ago an unbeliever by the name of Frank Morrison decided to disprove the resurrection of Jesus “once for all” and he was going to write the definitive book disproving the resurrection.
a. Well, Morrison examined every thread of evidence available, but then realized that he could not write a book disproving the resurrection.
b. Instead, Morrison became a believer, and wrote a well-known book defending the resurrection called “Who Moved the Stone?”
D. The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is compelling!
1. Our faith is not just in an “idea,” or a “philosophy,” but is founded upon an event of history.
2. God’s son died for our sins on a cross and was raised from the dead by His power!
3. For me, personally, the most compelling evidence for the resurrection of Jesus was the explosion of believers within two months of the resurrection in the very city where the events took place.
4. In Acts 2, the first time the gospel was preached 3000 people were baptized.
5. By Acts 4, the number of Christian men had grown to 5000 – that doesn’t include the number of women.
E. Certainly, there is compelling evidence to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
1. But the evidence of truth alone does not always move us.
2. We also have to be convinced that the TRUTH has MEANING for our lives.
3. The question is not just “Was Jesus raised from the dead?” but also “What DIFFERENCE does the resurrection of Jesus make in my life?”
4. When Jesus appeared to His disciples following His resurrection, he not only proved the TRUTH of his resurrection, but by His resurrection He gave MEANING to the lives of His disciples, and to us.
5. Today I want us to examine 4 episodes from the Gospel of John that show Jesus meeting with His disciples after His resurrection and I want us to notice the difference the resurrection made on their lives.
6. At the end of our worship service last week, we left Jesus buried in the tomb after His crucifixion and today we will pick up the story right where we left off.
I. The Resurrection of Jesus turns Our GRIEF into JOY! (Jn. 20:1-18)
A. The Bible says: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 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.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 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.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
B. As I mentioned last week, we can only imagine how dark, and long, and hard were those hours and days that followed the crucifixion of Jesus.
1. Jesus, their teacher and friend, was dead and buried in a tomb.
2. It was the Sabbath, and a Passover Sabbath, which gave it even greater significance.
3. In compliance with the Mosaic Law, all the disciples would have gone through the Passover and Sabbath rituals, and regulations with a heavy heart.
4. One of those regulations was a restriction on work and travel.
5. And so they all stayed put and laid low during the Sabbath, which included Friday night and all of Saturday.
C. But as you saw from the reading, very early on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath was ended, while it was still dark, Mary went to the tomb.
1. Mary expected to find the tomb undisturbed with Jesus still laying dead within it.
2. Much to her surprise and grief, she found the tomb was open and empty.
3. She ran home and told the apostles, who came running and were very confused by what they saw.
4. In spite of Jesus’ many resurrection predictions, none of them concluded that the reason for the empty tomb was the resurrection.
D. The apostles returned home bewildered by the empty tomb, but Mary remained by the tomb.
1. There she stood crying her eyes out in grief.
2. You could hear the grief in her voice when she told Peter and John, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3. And you could hear that same grief when she answered the angels when they asked her why she was crying.
4. Then she noticed a man standing there, but didn’t realize it was Jesus.
5. And again she expressed her grief to him as she begged to know where they had put Jesus’ body.
6. Jesus then spoke her name in that same familiar way that He had done so many times and Mary immediately recognized it was Jesus - He was alive.
7. And you can feel her grief evaporate as joy came rushing in.
8. That’s what the resurrection of Jesus does, it changes our grief into joy.
9. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we know that death is not the end, but just the beginning of a much better life.
10. Because of the resurrection, we don’t grieve like everyone else, our grief is turned into joy!
II. The Resurrection of Jesus turns Our FEAR into PEACE! (Jn. 20:19-23)
A. After Mary returned from the tomb with the report that she had seen Jesus alive, the word of this spread among the other disciples.
1. Later that evening on the day of resurrection, the disciples gathered together behind locked doors in fear.
B. The Bible says: 19 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.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
1. Can you imagine how it must have felt for them to meet together that night and discuss what Mary had told them?
2. They really didn’t understand what was happening. They didn’t know what to think about it.
3. One thing was for sure – they were afraid.
4. Then all of the sudden Jesus appeared, stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
5. He showed them his hands and side, proving his bodily resurrection, and said a second time, “Peace be with you.”
6. Immediately the disciples’ fear was replaced with peace.
C. The resurrection of Jesus turned their fear into peace, and that’s what it can do for us.
1. Our fears may be different from the fears of the disciples, but knowing the One who overcame death gives us peace!
2. Heb. 2:14-15 says: Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
3. The resurrection frees us from the fear of death! We KNOW that there is life after death in Jesus Christ!
4. We don’t trust in a wish, a philosophy, or a hunch. We trust in the one who died and returned from the dead!
5. We don’t know all of what lies beyond death, but we trust the one who died and returned to life, Jesus the Son of God, who waits for us on the other side of death.
D. Ultimately, we can have peace because we can trust Jesus!
1. I like the story told of a minister went to visit a church member who was dying.
2. The minister tied up his dog on the front porch while he went in to visit the dying man.
3. As they visited, the minister’s dog was whining and barking, wanting to be let in.
4. The minister used this as an illustration to reassure the dying man, he said: “You know, my dog has never been in your house. He doesn’t know what’s here, but he knows I’m here, so he wants in to be with me. You and I have never been on the other side, but we KNOW HIM who died and was raised again. Heaven is where we want to be because JESUS is there!
5. The resurrection of Jesus turns our FEAR into PEACE!
III. The Resurrection of Jesus turns Our DOUBT into ASSURANCE (Jn. 20:24-29)
A. We’ve probably been unfair to Thomas by labeling him “doubting Thomas.”
1. In actuality he may have been guilty of no more than a healthy skepticism.
2. The other disciples had seen the risen Lord, but Thomas had not.
3. Thomas didn’t want to trust in someone else’s word. He didn’t want to be hoodwinked.
4. He wanted to see Jesus for himself.
B. The Bible says: 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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.”
26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
1. This “doubting Thomas” became a “believing Thomas” when Jesus appeared to him and gave him proof of the resurrection.
2. Once confronted with the evidence, Thomas’ doubts were replaced by full assurance that Jesus indeed was risen…and by the resurrection He proved himself to be “Lord and God!”
C. Just as Jesus turned Thomas’ doubt into assurance, the resurrection of Jesus turns our doubts in assurance as well.
1. A healthy skepticism is OK—in fact, like Thomas, our healthy skepticism is often the foundation upon which the Lord builds a strong faith in our lives.
2. Many of Christianity’s strongest proponents were once it’s strongest opponents.
3. The persecutor Saul became the great Apostle Paul.
4. The resurrection of Jesus moves us from DOUBT to ASSURANCE—IF we are willing to honestly examine the evidence!
D. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s “trump card.” Satan had the Son of God just where he wanted him: dying on a cross.
1. Satan thought, “Finally, I will remove Jesus from the face of the earth! The Son of God will no longer be able teach, preach, work miracles, or show love.”
2. And so, while the hosts of hell celebrated the death of Jesus, God pulled out his trump card and raised Jesus from the dead! The resurrection of Jesus changes everything!
3. It’s OK to be a “doubting Thomas” – If you are searching for truth!
4. Let God show you the reality of his risen Son.
5. When we grasp the truth of the resurrection of Jesus, our doubts will turn to assurance!
IV. The Resurrection of Jesus turns Our GUILT into FORGIVENESS and COMMISSION (Jn. 21:1-19)
A. I really love the story of the apostle Peter.
1. His is a story of human weakness and divine grace.
2. During Jesus’ third appearance to a group of His disciples recorded in John, Jesus takes Peter from a state of GUILT to FORGIVENESS and COMMISSION.
B. Let’s set the stage for this story.
1. Before His arrest, Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the next morning.
2. And even though Peter declared that he would not do such a thing, Peter did just that.
3. After Peter’s third denial, the Bible tells us that Peter went out and wept bitterly (LK 22:62).
4. Peter had succumbed to what Jesus had warned his disciples about in the garden, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
5. Unfortunately, even after the resurrection, Peter was still full of guilt over his denials.
6. And so Peter gave up the hope of fishing for men and returned to what he knew best – fishing for fish.
C. The Bible tells the story like this: After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
D. Meeting the risen Jesus moves us from GUILT to FORGIVENESS!
1. In many respects, each of us is no different from Peter – We’ve all denied the Lord. We’ve all sinned. We’re not worthy.
2. And we think that there is no way that God wants to commission us.
3. But by His resurrection Jesus calls us to move from guilt to forgiveness and commission!
4. Jesus extended forgiveness to Peter, and just as Peter had denied Jesus three times, three times Jesus gave Peter a chance to affirm his love for Jesus and to be commissioned by Jesus.
5. Jesus finished up this section with the words, “Follow Me.” Just as Jesus had invited Peter to follow Him at the beginning of His ministry, now Jesus let Peter know that He still wanted Peter to follow Him.
E. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives the cross it’s forgiving power.
1. In I Peter 3:21, Peter says that baptism is like the flood of Noah: “This water (of Noah’s flood) symbolizes baptism that now SAVES YOU also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ.”
2. Baptism SAVES us by the RESURRECTION!
3. It is the death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus gives baptism it’s saving power!
4. The resurrection of Jesus moves us from GUILT to FORGIVENESS and COMMISSION!
5. The miracle of the resurrection assures us of the miracle of God’s forgiveness and the miracle of God’s deployment of people like you and me into God’s service!
Conclusion:
A. So there we have it: John records four appearances of Jesus after the resurrection.
1. In His resurrected state, Jesus moved his disciples:
a. From Grief to Joy.
b. From Fear to Peace.
c. From Doubt to Assurance
d. And From Guilt to Forgiveness and Commission.
2. Let me ask you this important question: What have you allowed the resurrection of Jesus to do in your life?
3. The Resurrection has the power to give us great joy, peace, assurance, and purpose.
B. I like the story told of a man who stood one day looking through a shop window at a beautiful picture of the crucifixion.
1. Standing next to him was a ragged little boy who was rapt in contemplation of the same picture.
2. Wondering if the boy really understood it, the man asked: “Sonny, what does this picture mean?”
3. “Doncha know?” the boy answered, “that there man is Jesus, and them others is Roman soldiers, and the woman cryin’ is his mother, and…they killed him.”
4. The man smiled at the boy and then turned and walked away.
5. In a moment the man heard pattering footsteps behind him and turned to see the same little boy run up to him and breathlessly say, “Mister, I forgot to tell you the best part, Jesus rose again!”
C. Last week we experienced the days that led up to the crucifixion.
1. We were excited as we walked with Him in the triumphal entry.
2. We were pained as we walked with Him as He was arrested, mocked, beaten, tried and condemned.
3. We were heart-broken when He was crucified, died and was buried.
4. But we must never forget the best part – Jesus arose from the dead!
5. The resurrection of Jesus changes everything about everything.
6. And ultimately, the resurrection of Jesus should change everything about me and about you.
7. Someone has said, “The most convincing evidence of Jesus’ resurrection is not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church.”
D. I hope and pray that all of us will allow the resurrection of Jesus to change everything about us.
1. I hope that through the resurrection we will find God’s joy, peace, assurance, forgiveness and commission.
2. Jesus is our risen Savior and He is alive and is empowering us all.
3. Let us allow the resurrected Jesus to do His transforming work in us and through us.
4. That we might truly be a carried-away church that is a great testimony to the Resurrection.
Resources:
Three appearances of the Risen Lord, Sermon by Mark McLean, Central Kitsap Church of Christ, Silverdale WA
