Witnesses of the Resurrection
3-31-02
I. Peter’s Story(1)
Good morning. My name is Peter. Some people call me Simon but I prefer Peter.
Since I was in the area and since it is Easter morning Pastor Tow asked me to share with you my eyewitness account of the resurrection of Jesus. It was certainly an event I will never forget.
First let me give you a little background of my relationship with Jesus. It was actually my brother, Andrew, who introduced me to Him. We had both been following the ministry of John the Baptist. What a fiery preacher John was- a little strange but powerful. Did you know that his favorite meal was grasshoppers and honey? (2) Well anyway, John had been saying that the Messiah would soon appear on the scene. That was something we Jews had longed for for centuries. When Andrew told me that Jesus might be the Messiah I decided to go find out for myself. That was the day Jesus gave me the name Peter. It means “a rock”.(3) I guess I love that name so much because Jesus gave it to me.
I was his disciple for three years, you know. On one occasion right after we had first met, I and the rest of the crew had been fishing all night long. We were exhausted. We had tried every trick of the trade and had caught nothing. Then Jesus walks up and tells us where to put the net. Can you imagine a carpenter telling us fishermen how to fish? It didn’t set too well with us but we decided to go ahead and give it a shot. Would you believe it—we caught so many fish our boat almost sunk. That got our attention.
Then Jesus said something to me that changed my life. He said, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Those words did something to my soul. At that moment I knew that God had a plan for my life—something more than just making a living—something of eternal consequence. And it all depended upon following Jesus.(4)
We followed Jesus during the next three years. What a trip that was. Jesus worked all kinds of miracles. He even let us get involved. One time we were in a deserted area with 5,000 men not to mention the women and children. We were all tired from ministering all day and suggested to Jesus that He send the crowd away. Well we should have known Jesus wouldn’t send them away hungry. He looked at me and the other disciples and said, “You feed them.” That was quite an order. We didn’t know what to do. You ladies know what its like to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the family. Well this wasn’t just one family; this was thousands of people. How in the world would we get enough food to feed all those people? The only thing we had to work with was five loaves of bread and two fish. I could have eaten that all by myself. Jesus had us sit everybody down in an orderly fashion. Then He prayed over those five loaves of bread and two fish. As He broke the bread and gave it to us it multiplied. As we broke it and gave it to the crowd it multiplied. I don’t know exactly how that happened; I just know it did. And we got to participate in the miracle. (5)
Well, there are many stories like that one that I could tell you. Actually there are some good books on the subject. One was written by a fellow named John Mark. Then there is the book of Matthew. And my good friend, the Apostle John wrote one. A doctor by the name of Luke wrote another one. There are all kinds of good stories in those books. I even wrote a couple of books. The titles are not real inspiring but they are great books. One is called 1st Peter and the other is called 2nd Peter. I don’t know if those will be available in the foyer after the service or not. Suffice it to say that we saw Jesus do some really awesome things.
One day we were over at Caesarea Philippi and Jesus asked us a question. “Whom do men say that I am?” Well we had heard all kinds of comments on that subject. Some people thought He was Elijah. King Herod in his paranoia thought Jesus was John the Baptist. A lot of people thought He was one of the prophets. But I knew who He was! Not just from what I had seen, although there had been plenty of objective evidence. But I knew in a deeper way than that. He was indeed the Christ, the Promised One, the Son of the Living God. When I said that, Jesus’ face lit up. He said, “Peter, flesh and blood didn’t reveal that to you. God showed you that. That’s the revelation upon which I will build my church. That truth is foundational to everything.” You can imagine how good I felt that day? (6)
But later Jesus started saying things that really bothered me. He started talking about how He was going to suffer and even be killed. It was a terribly negative confession. I just had to stop Him. So I told Him—“No way! You’re the King. You’re not going to suffer. You’re not going to die. No, it can’t happen that way.”
Well, we all know I was wrong. And Jesus sure let me know I was wrong. You can’t imagine how it feels to have Jesus look you in the face and say, “Get behind Me, Satan.”(7)
I had gone from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the barrel. But my emotional roller coaster had just begun.
There was the glorious experience we had on the Mt. of Transfiguration. Of course, I let my big, fat mouth get me in trouble there. If you’re ever on a mountain with Jesus and Elijah and Moses, whatever you do don’t suggest building three tabernacles. (8)
Let me get to our last Passover meal together. At that meal Jesus warned all of us that we would get offended and forsake Him. I thought—“No way! There is absolutely no way that I would ever do that.” I told Jesus that no matter what the rest of these guys did, I would stick with Him through thick and thin. I would even die for Him. That’s when He told me that before the cock would crow the next morning I would deny Him three times. I could not imagine such a thing. (9)
Of course, now I know that the pride and presumption in my heart was a weakness, not a strength.
We were at the Mt. of Olives and Jesus asked me and James and John to pray with Him. By then we were so discouraged we couldn’t even pray. Have you ever been that discouraged? We kept falling asleep. Actually sleep was kind of an escape from it all. The atmosphere in that garden got really heavy and depressing.
Jesus woke us up and while He was talking to us a big crowd showed up. Judas was leading the crowd and he walked up to give Jesus a kiss on the cheek. I heard Jesus ask him “Judas, are you betraying Me with a kiss?” I could feel the pain in Jesus’ voice when He said that.
We immediately rose up to defend Jesus. I swung my sword and cut off a man’s right ear. I was trying to split his head open but I guess I was a little nervous and missed. Here’s what really threw me at the time. Instead of appreciating my effort, Jesus rebuked me. He even healed the man’s ear and told us to put up our swords. I got really confused when that happened. I was so humiliated I just kind of backed off. We all did. (10)
They led Jesus away to the High Priest’s house. That’s where they first brought their accusations against Him. I followed the crowd in the distance. I wanted to help but I didn’t know what to do. I was angry. I was confused. I was afraid. I just stood there by the fire watching it all happen. It was really cold that night. This girl started to stare at me. Then she pointed her finger at me and said, “This man was with Jesus. I saw him there.” Well, I denied it. Another person accused me of the same thing a little later.
Then the third time it happened I started cussing and telling them I didn’t even know Jesus. That’s when it happened! That’s when the rooster crowed. Jesus heard it too. He looked over at me. It wasn’t a look of anger; I could have understood that. It wasn’t a look of disgust. When our eyes met I felt such love for me—me, the one who had just denied even knowing Him. That broke my heart. It was a look that pierced my soul. I went out from that place and cried my eyes out. Nothing could have ever shaken me like that look from Jesus. (11)
Our next speaker will tell you some about His crucifixion. She saw it all. I’m ashamed to say that I and all the other disciples scattered. (12) We left Jesus when He needed us most.
After Jesus’ death we got back together. We didn’t know what to do. We were just hiding and trying to sort everything out. Then Sunday morning Mary Magdalene came to my place. She said the tomb was empty. Jesus was not there. I started running toward the tomb to see for myself. John started running too. In fact, he ran past me. But when he got to the tomb he stopped. I went right in as soon as I got there. Sure enough Jesus was not there. The linen was lying there in a very strange way. It was not as if it had been unwound and removed from Jesus’ body. It had its form as if the body had somehow slipped right out of it and left it in tact. That’s when I first began to believe that Jesus may have risen from the dead. (13)
That evening I and nine other disciples were together in a locked room. We still didn’t know what the authorities might do to us. We were playing it safe. Suddenly Jesus appeared in His resurrected body. He showed us His hands and side. Without question it was Jesus risen from the dead. I cannot describe the joy that we felt during that encounter.(14)
Jesus met with us a number of times after His resurrection. About a week later He met with us when Thomas was there.(15) It was actually forty days between the time He rose from the dead and the day He was taken up into heaven.(16) On one occasion there were over five hundred of us who saw Him at the same time. There are plenty of people who can testify of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (17)
On the Day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit has so mightily came upon us, I preached the resurrection of Jesus. About 3,000 people got saved that day. I’ve been preaching that message ever since: Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. It is the only hope of salvation. There is salvation in no other name. I’m here to tell you—Jesus is risen from the dead. And because He lives you can also live. There is salvation for all who call upon His name in sincerity. “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.”
Isn’t that a wonderful promise? (18)
Thank you for this opportunity to share with you my faith in Christ.
And now an old friend of mine will come and tell you what she saw that first Easter morning.
II. Mary Magdalene’ Story (19)
Good morning, my name is Mary Magdalene and your pastor has asked me to share my personal testimony with you this morning.
I will never forget the day I met Jesus of Nazareth. My life had become unbearable. I was tormented day and night with shame and depression. Fear and self-hate and guilt dominated my thoughts. I knew by personal experience that “They way of the transgressor is hard.” I really didn’t want to go on with life. A part of me wanted to change-desperately wanted to change. But I knew I would never change. I had tried to change but couldn’t. I was trapped in my own sin. I was doomed to depression and misery.
Then Jesus came to town. They said he could change your life. I had nothing to lose so I went to check it out. The moment I heard Him speak I knew this was no ordinary man. This was more than a teacher, more than a philosopher. There I was in the crowd. His eyes scanned the crowd and I felt Him searched me out; his eyes met my eyes. And fear flooded my heart. I was terrified. I was found out. It was as if He could see all that I was and all that I had done. It was a moment of reckoning. But then something wonderful happened. He spoke, not to me, but to my bondage. And He commanded it to go. Suddenly God touched my life. At that moment demons left my body- seven vile demons left one after another.(20) When they left so did my guilt; so did my defilement; so did my shame. I was changed instantly that day by a touch from God. And I have never been the same since. If you haven’t met the Master; if you haven’t met the Giver of life, let me tell you He calls you today just like He called me that day.
All my affection, all my love turned to the Holy One who had set me free. My life was consumed with gratitude for what He had done for me. I worked hard, very hard, but I loved every minute of it. I gave everything I could to support His ministry. I wanted so much that others could have what I had received. I wanted so much that others could experience the freedom that I had found in Him. (21)
During those days God gave me some very dear friends. One of them was His mother, Mary. It’s ironic that we would have the same name. She had been so pure and I had been so vile. I don’t feel vile anymore though. I feel clean. I feel liberated. I feel so loved and accepted-not just by Jesus but also by the others in our group.
Those days of ministry were days of great hope and anticipation. How I loved to hear Jesus talk about the kingdom of God. It wasn’t just talk though. Jesus demonstrated the kingdom wherever He went. I saw blind eyes healed; I saw the lame walk; I even saw Jesus raise the dead. Life was good in those days even though the scribes and Pharisees were opposing everything Jesus did.
All that came to an abrupt halt one day in a garden just outside Jerusalem. It was one of Jesus’ favorite places to pray. A crowd of soldiers came into that garden and arrested Jesus. I think the thing that hurt him the most was the betrayal of Judas. Jesus so loved Judas. None of us ever dreamed he would turn on Jesus that way. (22)
We thought that the Roman authorities would see that Jesus had done nothing wrong and let Him go. But His trial was not a fair trial. It was a sham. Envy and jealousy had so filled the priests that they committed all kinds of atrocities against Jesus. They even hired false witnesses against Him. Pilate knew it was all a sham. God had even warned his wife about it in a dream. Still he decided it would be better for his political career to just go along. He did a little theatrical thing of washing his hands of the matter. But in reality he went along with all the others. They wanted Jesus crucified and Pilate gave the order. (23)
It was a heartbreaking scene to watch Jesus journey to the hill of Golgotha. He had already been unmercifully been with a Roman whip. His face was bleeding from where the soldiers had beaten Him and yanked out His beard. They had even pressed a cruel crown of thorns on His head. Because of all the abuse Jesus was too weak to carry His cross to the hill. So they go some guy name Simeon to carry it. (24)
We felt so helpless as we watched them nail Him to the cross and hang Him between heaven and earth. Oh, I wanted to do something to help. But all I could do was stand there and cry I and the others watched Him go through all that.(25) It broke my heart when I heard Him cry out “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” Even on the cross He was caring for others- making sure Mary would be taken care of, granting forgiveness to a thief who was being executed beside Him. (26)
After He had died a soldier took a long spear and plunged into His side. The blood just gushed out—that precious blood that was shed for me.(27) That was the worst day of my life--to watch all that happening to my dear, dear Lord. And there was nothing-absolutely nothing I could do to help. I kept praying for God to intervene—but He didn’t. There was a terrible upheaval of nature when Jesus died that day. A darkness came like I have never seen before or after. It was a darkness that could be felt. I found out later that at that exact time the curtain at the Holy Place in the Temple tore open from the top to the bottom.(28) That had to be God. I knew God was working but at the time I did not understand why He didn’t deliver His Son.
The next day was like a haze to me. I was so overwhelmed by sorrow that I hardly even remember anything. All I could think about was the cruel way Jesus’ had died. We rested that Saturday because it was the Sabbath and we were required to do so. (29)
I had watched Joseph Arimathea bury the body of Jesus. I remember feeling so grateful that we had that tomb where we could lay Jesus’ body. It took a lot of courage for Joseph to go to Pilate and ask permission to do that. (30) After seeing Jesus placed in the tomb some of us ladies went home and prepared spices and ointments for his body. (29)
Now comes the exciting part of my testimony. On the third day, on Sunday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn and went to the tomb. I don’t know what I was thinking because there was this huge stone blocking the entrance to the tomb. On the way I thought about that, but guess what? When I got there the stone had been rolled away and I couldn’t find Jesus. I ran as hard as I could to tell Peter and the other disciples that Jesus was gone. We ran to the tomb and saw the strips of linen lying there just like Peter described in his testimony but Jesus was nowhere to be found. After awhile the disciples went back to their homes but I stayed there at the tomb. As I stood there crying I looked and saw two angles sitting where Jesus’ body had been. They asked me why I was crying and I told them because somebody had taken Jesus’ body away and I didn’t know where.
Then I knew someone was standing behind me so I turned to see who it was. He too asked me why I was crying. I thought it was the gardener so I guess I was a little curt.
“Sir, if you have carried Him away. Tell me right now where you have put Him and I will go get Him.” I don’t know how I would have carried His body but I knew I would find a way.
At that moment Jesus said to me “Mary.” I knew instantly that it was Jesus. I cannot describe to you the joy I felt that moment. I fell at His feet and cried “Rabboni” which is what I sometimes called Jesus. It means “Teacher.” As I grabbed His feet He told me to let go and go tell Peter and the disciples what I had seen. I took the good news to them screaming, “I have seen the Lord. I have seen the Lord.” (31) That was the best day of my life.
I know that He is Risen from the dead for I have seen Him. I have touched Him.
I don’t know why Jesus gave me the privilege of being the first one to see Him after His resurrection. (32) There are so many others so much more worthy than I. I don’t know why He let me, a woman, be the first preach His resurrection.(33) But I do know this. I will never stop proclaiming the message. “He is risen. He is risen indeed.” This is the basis for all my hope—all my peace—and all my joy.
Thank you for letting me share my testimony with you this morning.
Conclusion (34)
1. I want to thank Peter & Mary for sharing with us this morning. Their lives have obviously been transformed by their Encounter with the Risen Christ
2. Have You Encountered Jesus?
I’m Not just asking if heard about someone else’s Encounter.
I’m asking if you have encountered the Risen Christ.
He is Alive --- and you can know Him.
You may not see Him with your natural eyes.
But you can have a spiritual encounter Jesus.
And when that really happens you will never be the same.
He stands with open arms to receive all those who come to Him.
If you need Him, He is here.
If you want Jesus to come into your life like He did for Mary Magdalene,
I want you to come and pray with one of these Prayer teams.
Let the Risen Christ transform your life.
Notes:
(1) Narrated by the pastor in full costume. This narrative style was inspired by a number of sermons I’ve seen done in this kind of format with a variety of Bible characters.
There are a number of other characters that could be introduced and they could also interact with each other.
(2)Mark 1:6
(3)John 1:40-42
(4)Luke 5:1-11
(5)Matthew 14:15-21
(6)Matthew 16:13-20
(7)Matthew 16: 21-23
(8)Matthew 17:1-8
(9)Matthew 26:31-35
(10) Matthew 26:36-58 and Luke 22:45-54
(11) Matthew 26:69-75 and Luke 22:54-62
(12) Matthew 26:56 and John 16:32
(13) John 20:1-8
(14) John 20:19-25
(15) John 20:26-30
(16) Acts 1:3
(17) I Corinthians 15:6-8
(18) Romans 10:9
(19) Narrated in costume by Pastor’s wife, Jeanie Tow
(20) Mark 16:9
(21) Luke 8:1-3 Matt:27:55
(22) Matthew 26:47-50
(23) Matthew 27:15-26
(24) Matthew 27:32-33
(25) Matthew 27:55/ Mark 15:40
(26) John 19:25-27 Luke 23:39-43
(27) John 19:34
(28) Luke 23:44-46
(29) Luke 23:56
(30) Matthew 27:57-61 Mark 15:42-47 John 19:38-42
(31) John 20:1-18
(32) Mark 16:9
(33) Mark 16:9-11 John 20:18
(34) Invitation given by Pastor in regular Sunday attire.
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
