John 20:1-11
David Wilkerson was a very simple country pastor in Eastern Pennsylvania when God called him to the inner city of New York City and preach the gospel.
Wilkerson’s experience had nothing in common with those young people he was trying to reach. He could not identify with them, as we are encouraged to do today.
The only thing Wilkerson had was a solid belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior. That belief drove him to reach people for Jesus Christ.
Wilkerson did not preach “his past,” but rather Jesus Christ. God is not impressed with our past, which should be put behind us under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus put it this way, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).
The apostle Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6).
This is our model.
The key here is in the word “believe.” Everybody believes in something or someone. It is not so much in what you believe as in whom you believe and why you believe.
Believing has to be well defined. James warned, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).
The devils believe and we all know their destination.
It is important who I believe in as the apostle Paul explained it, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
I need to define my belief and make sure it is on a foundation and I need to make sure the foundation is solid. David said, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:3).
So, how can I establish my belief on a solid foundation? How can I make sure that I am going in the right direction?
The answer is found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Although for many people, Easter Sunday is simply one holiday out of the year, for those who truly “believe” the resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated every day. As a Christian, I am what I am today because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The early church would greet each other…
“He is risen.”
“He is risen indeed.”
What I want to focus on today is simply this, what is the impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on your life today?
What in your life today celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ?
I believe in the passage before us, John 20:1-10, we see the answer to this. Let me break it down and show you a little bit of what I mean.
There are three areas where the resurrection of Jesus Christ impacts my life.
I. The First Area of Impact Is the Context of Life.
The three people in this passage illustrate for us the basic context of life, which is the platform upon which the resurrection of Jesus Christ impacts our life.
1. Mary Magdalene.
She was a very prominent woman among the followers of Jesus and spent over three years with him.
We find her story in Luke 8:2 – “And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.”
The passages are vague as to her, but the interesting thing is she is one of the first persons to come to the tomb of Jesus.
We do not know what the “seven devils” really refers to. Throughout his ministry, Jesus cast out many demons.
I would like to use this as an illustration of a person who has been controlled by evil forces. Mary Magdalene represents that kind of a person who Jesus delivered from the power of evil.
Mary Magdalene is key in understanding that there is victory over the influence of the world in our life. This one who was completely delivered from that power was the first one to come to the empty tomb.
I’m stretching it here, but perhaps her showing up at the empty tomb was her trying to figure out how this one could deliver her from demons and yet falls victim to death.
With Jesus being dead, how in the world could she really live her life without him.
Her belief in Jesus Christ was solidified by his resurrection.
2. Peter.
Peter is an interesting character. He represents those who are really confident in themselves.
Remember when Jesus confronted Peter, “34Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 35Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples” (Matthew 26:34-35).
I believe Peter meant what he said. The problem with Peter was, he did not know his own weakness. He thought he could handle anything that came down the pike and he was willing to risk his reputation.
At the cross, Peter was totally devastated. He had failed in a way that he never dreamed he would ever fail Jesus. Now what was left? His only choice was to go back to his life before Jesus.
Peter represents those people who don’t believe they could ever fail the Lord. They are quite confident that they have what it takes to live the Christian life and to believe in the Lord.
What Peter did not understand was that believing in the Lord has to be built on a foundation that can never be compromised. The resurrection of Jesus was that uncompromised foundation that Peter found and the best time of Peter’s life was ahead of him.
3. John.
To me the most intriguing character here is John. He is a teenager and does not have much of a past. The last three years of his life, he spent with Jesus.
In writing the gospel of John, he always refers to himself as “the other disciple.” “Whom Jesus loved.”
John represents innocence that can be dangerous if you believe the wrong person. It is easy to trust the wrong people if you do not know the difference. John was completely naïve.
John gives us his testimony in John 20:8-9 – “8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.”
John was the first one to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What he comprehended at that time is not for us to know now.
These three represent the context in which we find our belief. The context of my belief is the basis upon which I define my confidence.
II. The Next Area of Impact Would Be Confidence
My confidence in the Lord has to be something that will withstand the opposition of the world around me. Confidence is based upon a relationship.
The thing that brought Mary Magdalene, Peter and John to the empty tomb was a relationship with Jesus. At this point, that relationship is rather superficial. It is a beginning, but they are not quite there yet.
Confidence is something that must be built and nurtured or it will disappear.
This is exactly where the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes to play. We cannot have confidence in a historical figure. We cannot have confidence in someone who is dead.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he made it possible for this intimate relationship so crucial for confidence.
Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, before the resurrection, only had a superficial relationship with Jesus.
Remember Thomas?
John 20:24-29 – “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
After his encounter with the resurrected Lord, Jesus made this statement. “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
We sometimes think that the disciples as they walked with Jesus had an advantage over us today. Right there Jesus was before them but if you read the story, you find out that that was not enough for them to have complete confidence in Jesus.
It was after the resurrection, after his ascension into heaven, after the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost that these disciples had unshakable confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As believers today, we too share in that unshakable confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and the life of the believer to cultivate this confidence in the Lord.
The degree of my confidence determines the level of my commitment.
III. The Third Area of Impact Would Be Commitment
My commitment to the Lord reveals my confidence in him. Do I really believe him and what he had to say?
Many Christians have a rather superficial commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. The basis of that superficiality has to do with the resurrection.
Yes, we believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
However, have we truly encountered the resurrected Lord? Do we know him in personal experience?
Review your commitment to the Lord.
What kind of grade would you give your commitment?
Is your commitment to the Lord a reflection of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ?
The apostle Paul declared, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10).
Paul fully believed the power that raised Jesus from the dead was the power within us that transforms us into being a Christian. The very same power!
If this power could bring Jesus back from the dead, then how can it affect your life and your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ?
Conclusion…
How does the resurrection of Jesus Christ impact your life?
If you knew the same power that raised Jesus from the dead was available to you today, how would your life change?
There is a version of you that only the resurrection power can bring to light. The world needs to see that version.
If the world is going to know that Jesus Christ is alive and has risen from the dead, you are their only testimony and witness.
The priority of your life is not to give your testimony as such, but to lift up the Lord Jesus Christ and live a life that cannot be explained apart from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
