John 20 (NIV)
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
John 20:11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Hallelujah! It’s Easter Sunday morning! PTL! And many of us are EXCITED I’m sure to the chagrin of many people, who just don’t understand why a bunch of “religious fanatics” like ourselves would get all worked up over an event, whether real, or imagined, in many a skeptics mind, that took place supposedly over 2021 years ago!
Well the reason, I am sure as to why they don’t understand the excitement, and exuberance for the occasion that we are commemorating today, is this.
EASTER IS NOT A HOLIDAY TO BE REMEMBERD OR RECALLED EACH YEAR – EASTER IS A REALITY THAT WE ARE TO EXPERIENCE EACH AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, AND BEYOND RIGHT INTO ETERNITY! AMEN SAINTS? AMEN!
And that is why I’ve entitled this Easter Sunday morning message in the 2021st year of Our Lord after these two and hopefully and prayerfully impactful words, that I’m praying each and every person who is in this building and is watching on facebook or you tube will entet into…my message title is simple these two words:
EXPERIENCING EASTER!
That is my message title to you this morning! And I must admit if I had any difficulty drawing up a sermon outline and material for last Sunday, Palm Sunday, let me tell you brothers and sisters, I had no such problem, preparing for this Easter Sunday as challenged as I was with the incredible time restraints I had upon my life due to a pastorate and a chaplaincy that God has given me!
There are so many different angles and perspectives that I could approach this most important and impactful day in the annals of human history, that, well if you know me well enough after listening to me for 23 years now, what I’m going to do is combine all of the various elements of this story into a four--fold cord that cannot be broken!
If Ecclesiastes 4:12 says a three-fold cord is not easily broken, I submit to you today that a four-fold one cannot be broken! PTL!!
And the four-fold cord is the 7 sayings, 7 signs, sightings and subjects recorded in this passage that is a record of a Risen Lord!
And so my proposition to you this Easter Sunday morning is this:
An analysis of the of the subjects, signs, sayings, and the sightings of Our Risen Savior, will prayerfully move us beyond the historicity of Easter, and into the experience of the reality of Easter!
And I would like to present that under the titles of the following points of this message:
I. The Mary of Easter
II. The Messages of Easter (God’s)
III. The Message of Easter (Main)
IV. The Meaning of Easter
V. The Mission of Easter
VI. The Means of Easter
VII. The Meat of Easter (The Heart, Crux, Core)
VIII. The Missourian of Easter (Show me state of mind!)
IX. The Mercy of Easter
Let’s begin by examining the..
I. The Mary of Easter
John 20:1a Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb- NIV
A) Who - was the first “Mary” to encounter Easter?
1. It was not Mary the mother of Jesus! (His mother)
2. It was not Mary the wife of Clopas, the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (His aunt)
John 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. - NIV
3. It was Mary Magdalene who was the first to experience Easter and encounter a Risen Lord!
B) Why?
1. She was the least! (Least likely of the three)
Luke 8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out. - NIV
a) Seven demons cast out of her implies a deeply rooted sin problem prior to meeting Jesus?
i. All sinners have a spiritual, satanic problem!
Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. - NIV
2 Timothy 2:26b the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.-NIV
2. I believe Mary Magdalene was first is first of all - This is the pattern of God!
a) He calls the least doesn’t He?
i. Saul the Benjamite who became the first king of Israel said of himself:
1 Samuel 9:20a And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” -NKJV
ii. Saul of Tarsus later to be known as Paul:
Ephesians 3:8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, -NIV
iii. Israel
Deuteronomy 7:7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; - NKJV
iv. The average Christian (Corinthian!)
1 Corinthians 1: 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. - NIV
a. But perhaps more importantly the reason Mary Magdalene was the first to experience Easter was not only because she was the least, but also because:
2. She lingered!
John 20:1b Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. -NIV
a) Sign #1 of a Risen Savior! (Removed stone – 1 to a 1 ½ ton stone.)
Matthew 27:62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
a) Sign # 1 - No Stone! (1 to 1½ ton stone)
b) Sign # 2 - No Seal!! (Romans signet seal -execution was the penalty for breaking it!)
c). Sign # 3 - No Soldiers!!! (16 were posted to guard the tomb, and desertion equated into death!)
John 20: 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” -NIV
d) Sign #4 – Empty sepulcher/tomb!!!!
John 20:3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. -NIV
e) Sign #5 – Strips of linen!!!!!
i. Grave robbers don’t unwrap the strips of linen before stealing a decaying corpse, and fold them up all nice and neat before slinking away with the stolen dead body!
ii. If they are going to steal a corpse, they take grave clothes and all!
John 20:8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
C) What?
1. That the body was gone!
John 20:9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) – NIV
a) If the disciples were conspirators, they are sure painting a pathetic picture of themselves!
John 20:10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. – NIV
John 20:11a Now Mary stood outside the tomb….NIV
2. She lingered!
John 20:11b crying. -NIV
3. She loved!!
a) It is clear from the Gospels that Mary Magdalene had a great love for Jesus.
i. She had been freed by him from possession of seven devils.
ii. She followed him ministering to him from her means.
Luke 8:2b Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means -NIV
3. She looked into the empty tomb!!
John 20:11c As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb -NIV
a) If you look into it, you’ll discover its truth!!
i. Ex-Atheist Lee Strobel who was the legal editor of The Chicago Tribune but now a pastor and Christian author said this about Easter:
Lee Strobel - “I would have smirked at the fact Easter this year falls on April Fool’s Day because back then I thought anyone would have to be a fool to think that Jesus literally rose from the dead.”
ii. But after discovering what he can only describe as an “avalanche of historical data” in his quest to disprove the Resurrection, the Case for Christ author could no longer refute that Jesus Christ IS who he said he is — the resurrected Son of God.
iii. Strobel says upon his conversion, he did not have a rush of emotion as many do, but rather the “rush of reason” after seeing Jesus’ claims were backed by historical evidence that could not be denied:
Lee Strobel – “I had the rush of reason because the Resurrection of Jesus is not some April Fool’s Day joke, it is a historical reality based not on mythology or make-believe or wishful thinking, but a solid foundation of historical truth.”
iv. Josh McDowell , a self-avowed agnostic said that he was convinced the Resurrection story would not stand up to evidence.
Josh McDowell - I was a pre-law student, and I knew something about evidence. I decided to start with the Bible. I was sure that if I could uncover indisputable evidence that the Bible is an unreliable record, the whole of Christianity would crumble.
Josh McDowell - I took the challenge seriously. I spent months in research. I even dropped out of school for a time to study in the historically rich libraries of Europe. And I found evidence – evidence in abundance; evidence I could hardly believe with my own eyes.
Josh McDowell -After more than 700 hours of studying this subject, I have come to the conclusion that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is either one of the most wicked, vicious, heartless hoaxes ever foisted on the minds of human beings — or it is the most remarkable fact of history.
Josh McDowell - When I was confronted with the overwhelming evidence for Christ's
resurrection, I could come to only one conclusion: If I were to remain intellectually honest, I had to admit that the Old and New Testament documents were some of the most reliable writings in all of antiquity. I came to the conclusion that the resurrection is an historical fact that Christ was crucified, buried and literally raised from the dead on the third day. I didn’t want to believe that, but I ended up believing it.
Josh McDowell - Christ’s resurrection is as relevant today as it was in the first century – our present and eternal lives depend upon it. Easter happened. The resurrection is an historical and living reality that can empower us to live a life full of meaning and purpose.
FACT #1: BROKEN ROMAN SEAL
FACT #2: EMPTY TOMB
FACT #3: LARGE STONE MOVED
FACT #4: ROMAN GUARD GOES AWOL
FACT #5: GRAVE CLOTHES TELL A TALE
FACT #6: JESUS' APPEARANCES CONFIRMED
John 20:11b she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
b) She looked into the tomb, looking for a dead body not a Risen Lord!
John 20:14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
c) Perhaps she was blinded by her own tears, fears, and unbelief!
John 20: 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
II. The Messages of Easter
John 20:15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?
A) Messages?
1. Woman, why are you crying?
a) Reason for the tears?
b) Reason can be rooted out by going back to a different time, and different garden, and a different (1st) Adam (Jesus called the 2nd Adam in 1 Corinthians 15), where SIN ORIGINATED!
Romans 6:23a 23 For the wages of sin is death, -NIV
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. AMPC
Genesis 3:17 And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return. -AMPC
c) SIN is the source of ALL SORROW!
Revelation 21:4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” -NIV
John 20:15b “Who is it you are looking for?”
2. Message #2-“Who is it you are looking for?”
a) A dead teacher?
b) A made up mythological figure?
c) A fraud?
d) Lunatic?
e) Liar?
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity- “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
i. Point?
a. The source of our tears has much to do with what we are looking for!
Ecclesiastes 2:10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun. -NKJV
ii. Picture:
a. Of the Shulamite maiden and the King in Song of Solomon
Song of Songs 3:1 All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. 2 I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. -NIV
Song of Songs 5:6b I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.-NIV
b. CHRISTIANITY IS A PERSONAL. LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH A LIVING PERSON NAMED JESUS CHRIST!
John 20:15c Thinking he was the gardener,
c. Thinking he was someone other than the One who He said He was:
John 11: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” -NIV
John 20:15d she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
John 20:16a Jesus said to her,
3. Message #3?
John 20:16a “Mary.”
A) Point?
1. CHRISTIANITY IS A PERSONAL, LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH A LIVING PERSON NAMED JESUS CHRIST, WHO CALLS YOU BY NAME!
a) He redeems us as individuals!!
b) EACH PERSON HE REDEEMS HE CALLS BY NAME!!!
Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.-NKJV
Acts 9: 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. -NIV
John 10: 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me -NIV
John 10:3b He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. -NIV
John 10: 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”-NIV
B) Picture:
Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one. 11 For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers have appeared in the countryside; the season of singing has come, and the cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”
14 O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely. -BSB
1. CHRISTIANITY IS A MARRIAGE TO JESUS CHRIST!
Ephesians 5: 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. -NIV
2 Corinthians 11:2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. -NIV
a) You’ll recall at the Last Supper account of John’s Gospel Jesus said:
John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. -NKJV
i. That is marriage talk!
ii. The New Testament calls Christ the “bridegroom” and the church his “bride.”
iii. To understand what this means can change your life.
iv. A marriage however is only entered into when the prospective bride accepts the proposal and pledges her life to the groom!
C) Problem?
1. Even though Mary obviously loves Him, she doesn’t recognize him, or get it just yet!
John 20:16b She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
4. Message #4?
John 20:17a Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father…
4. Message #4 – The nature of our relationship, has been dramatically and eternally altered!
a) It is no longer physical – Don’t hold on to me!
i. It goes beyond time, and space, and the matters relating to this world!
b) It is now spiritual – For I have not ascended to the Father
i. It has entered into the heavenly, eternal, blessed, the divine!
c) You are no longer simply my followers, you are now forever my family!
John 20:17b Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” – NIV
Hebrews 2:11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters 12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises."- NIV
John 8:35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - NIV
III. The Message of Easter:
John 20:18a Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” -NIV
A) Message?
1, Man’s Message?
2. The Main Message?
a) JESUS IS ALIVE!!
Acts 2:22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. _NIV
Act 2:32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.- NIV
Act 3:15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.- NIV
Act 4:10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. -NIV
Act 5:30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. - NIV
Act 10:40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. . - NIV
Act 13:30 But God raised him from the dead, . - NIV
Act 13:34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “?‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.'- NIV
Act 13:37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. - NIV
B) Melody?
I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him He's always near
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives! He lives! Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart
Galatians 4:6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.-NIV
IV. The Meaning of Easter
John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them…
A) Meaning?
1. Message # 5 of Our Lord!!
John 20:19b and said, “Peace be with you!”
a) Peace be with yhou?
James Ellicott - The salutation is well-known words of greeting. But now the words would also have the fuller meaning of a message from the spirit-world to them. It is a voice from the darkness beyond the grave into which the living have tried in vain to see, and that voice is one of peace. It is the message of the conqueror of death to man who has conquered in and through Him, declaring that the victory is won. It is the message of atonement, declaring the peace which flows from pardoned sin and reconciliation with God.
i. Peace with God!!
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, -NKJV
ii. Fulfillment of - Peace and goodwill toward men!!!
Luke 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” -NKJV
John 20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21a Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!
V. The Mission of Easter?
A) Mission?
1. Message #6 of Our Lord:
John 20:21b As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
Adam Clarke – As I was sent to proclaim the truth of the Most High, and to convert sinners to God, I send you for the very same purpose, clothed with the very same authority, and influenced by the very same Spirit.
VI. The Means of Easter?
John 20:22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 8 But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. -AMPC
A) Means of Easter?
1. Resurrection Power of the Holy Spirit!
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. -NKJV
B) Meaning?
1. Power for the present!
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. -NIV
Ephesians 1:8 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.-NIV
Theodore Epp - God's power is sufficient for our every need. None of us has to live a defeated life. There's more than enough power to break the hold of all sinful habits; more than enough to give deliverance from temptation; more than enough to enable the believer to live above circumstances. Paul said that God's power is "to us-ward who believe."
God.Net - The resurrection power of Jesus is given through the Holy Spirit. As we allow, it flows through us as a river of life bringing constant revival.
2. Resurrection hope for the future!!
S Lewis Johnson – The power of indwelling sin and physical death over the believer's body is destroyed in the bodily resurrection. The logic of the apostle is clear. The presence of the Spirit of God in our mortal bodies is the guarantee of the bodily resurrection, for He is the one who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead.
VII. The Meat of Easter:
John 20:23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
A) Meat?
1. Forgiveness!!
Romans 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. – NIV
2. Forgiveness is The Heart of the Gospel.
Ephesians 1: 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding -NIV
VIII. The Missourian of Easter!!!
A) Missourian?
1. Someone who is in “show me” state of mind!
John 20:24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
2. Missourian is someone who is not in a meeting together state!!
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 26a If we deliberately keep on sinning…
a) You miss out - when you opt out of meeting!!
John 20:25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
IX. The Mercy of Easter:
John 20:26a A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them …
Matthew 18: 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.- NKJV
John 20:26a and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. …
A) Mercy?
1. Message #7a - You need evidence, I’ll give you evidence!
James Burton Coffman - Neither Christ nor his religion has anything to hide, nothing to conceal or cover up, no issues to avoid or problems to evade. To every unbeliever of all ages, the challenge of the risen Christ still thunders across centuries and millennia: INVESTIGATE! Test the evidence; make your own examination of the facts…
Fact #1: Broken Roman Seal
Fact #2: Empty Tomb
Fact #3: Large Stone Moved
Fact #4: Roman Guard Goes AWOL
Fact #5: Graveclothes Tell a Tale
Fact #6: Jesus' Appearances Confirmed
B) Miffed?
1. After Jesus rose from the dead, He told Mary to stop clinging to Him, but then told Thomas to touch His hands. Why the difference?
C) Meaning?
1. Jesus' invitation to touch Him was more reprimand than comfort.
2. If Thomas couldn't accept the eye-witness testimony of his fellow disciples—then Jesus would indulge him by offering the hands, feet, and side that still bore the wounds from the cross.
3. Message #7b from our Lord?
John 20:27b Stop doubting and believe.”
3. NOTE - There's no indication that Thomas actually took Him up on the offer to touch Him!
a) I personally think he did not!
b) He instead immediately and simply exclaimed:
John 20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
4. Point?
a) Jesus’s resurrection proved that He is indeed the Son of God, with power to conquer death. We cannot relegate Him as a great moral teacher and deny His deity. When we place our faith in Jesus, we are humbly surrendering our lives to Him in faith as our Lord and our God.
5. Why important?
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -NIV
John MacArthur - Christ’s resurrection was the supreme validation of His ministry. Belief in it is necessary for salvation because it proved that Christ is who He claimed to be and that the Father had accepted His sacrifice in the place of sinners. Without the resurrection, there is no salvation
Robert Haldane - Why is so much stress laid on the resurrection? Was not the work of Christ in this world finished by His death? Most certainly it was. But His resurrection was the evidence that it was finished.
Matthew Henry- This warning is given to all. If we are faithless, we are Christless and graceless, hopeless and joyless.
Revelation 21:8b the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” -NIV
John 20:28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
6. Those five words contain what is perhaps the single most important truth that has been revealed to the world: the Risen Lord Jesus Christ is God!!
John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Q: Who is Blessed?
I. THOSE WHO WILL NOT BELIEVE EVEN WHAT THEY SEE? NO!
II. THOSE WHO BELIEVE ONLY WHEN THEY SEE? NO!!
III. THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED? YES!!!
Q: Why?
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
W. J. Frankland - Without faith a man can be many things, a logician, a mathematician, a general, a man of business.
Q: But what is required to be child of God?
John 1:11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.-NIV
John 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Conclusion
1. Do you want to experience Easter?
2. Resurrection life?
3. Abundant life?
4. Eternal life?
BELIEVE AND RECEIVE A LIVING SAVIOR – JESUS!!
I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him He's always near
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart
In all the world around me I see His loving care
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair
I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast
The day of His appearing will come at last
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find
None other is so loving, so good and kind
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart
