RESURRECTION OF HOPE
Sunday, March 27, 2005 – AM (Easter)
John 20:11 – 21:25
John 20:11, "But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher…"
Last week we began a journey through the Word of God with four messages that would bring us to this great day, the day of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1)In the first message we saw Jesus as he cried over Jerusalem and Israel for He knew that they had lost their opportunity to be the nation that God had wanted them to be. They had killed the prophets and slain the men and women of God that had tried to reach them with the truth and lead them back to God, and now they had rejected the very Son of God. Nothing was ahead for them now but judgment. We spoke of the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem as the crowds in the streets proclaimed the coming of their “messiah”, their king, who would cast of the rule of Rome and make Israel a free nation once again. And we saw Judas as he ran from the Upper Room after Jesus exposed the plot of betrayal. We saw Jesus as He instituted the Communion Service and we celebrated that service commemorating the body and blood of Jesus that was broken and shed for our sin.
2)In the second message we studied about the “Cup” that Jesus had to “drink” and how it was filled with such terror that Jesus struggled with it for a while. He saw the sin of the world that He would have to bear. He saw physical death and he saw what it would be like to be separated from the Father in Heaven for even a moment. But we also saw that Jesus never wavered in His commitment to be the sacrificial offering for the sin of mankind.
3)In the third message we saw the hopelessness that engulfed all that had placed their hope in Jesus. They were hopeless on a sea of grief as they watched Jesus die, then begged for his body and laid him in an unused tomb, closed the door with a stone and slowly walked away, sobbing and hopeless. Then we saw how that their grief was magnified even more when it was discovered that the body of Jesus was missing. Mary Magdalene was the first to discover the empty tomb, and she ran for Peter and John. They all looked in and saw it empty, then a dark cloud of gloom and despair settled over them all. Peter and John walked away, back to their homes and left Mary at the tomb crying all alone.
That’s where we want to begin this last message this morning. With Mary sitting there crying because the Master that she had loved so much was now gone.
Jesus had given Mary Magdalene a new life. She had been a harlot, caught in adultery, but Jesus had cleansed her from that sin and turned her life around. She had cried tears of joy and wiped the tears from Jesus’ feet with her hair. In Luke 7:47 Jesus said this talking about Mary, "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Truly Mary loved the Lord for He had given her so much to live for.
Mary sat at the tomb for a long while, then, just before she left she decided to look once more into the empty tomb. Just one more look; just one more time to see if it was really true, or was it all a terrible dream; with hopelessness in her heart, she took one more look.
Oh my friend, if Jesus isn’t in your heart this morning, just take one more look at the empty tomb. I know that life hasn’t been fair to you. I know that you often feel hopeless and drifting through life with no real purpose for living. I know that it seems that there just isn’t any answers for your grief and pain. I know that you have tried everything you know to try. Maybe you have tried the booze, the drugs, the adulterous affairs and the pleasures of sin that only last for a short time. But none of those things can satisfy and every day when you wake up, there’s a nagging emptiness on the inside. Something is missing in your life and it’s Jesus. Just take one more look at the empty tomb this morning.
Let’s look at John 20:11-16 one more time and let’s look at the rest of the story, "But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master."
What a glorious time that must have been for Mary! First to see two angels sitting in the empty tomb that were not there only moments before, then to see Jesus and to speak to him, and finally to hear his voice as he called her by name. At first she was so overcome with grief that she didn’t know who Jesus was, but when he called her by name – SUDDENLY, glory filled her heart and soul, and hopelessness was turned into joy, and joy into gladness, as she reached for the Lord and said to him, with all the love in her heart, Master, you’re alive! You are the Master!
Some of you in this congregation this morning may have been drifting in sin for a long while, and it has had such an effect upon you that you don’t even hear Jesus when he speaks to you. Do you hear his voice speaking right now? Right now, I believe that the voice of the Lord is speaking to every heart in this congregation. Can you hear him? Do you know his voice? Can you feel him reaching out to you? You may not notice, or hear, or understand right now because sin and Satan have you blinded. But Jesus will break through that barrier for you this morning. He is going to call you by name! When Jesus speaks to you directly and calls you by name, you will hear Him then and you will know it’s the Master that is calling you to Him! That voice will take hold of your heart, shake you out of your blindness, and bring your focus back to the Lord.
We serve a risen Savior! He is no longer in the tomb! He stands before us, right here, in this very service, right now! He is walking in and out of these pews and speaking to hearts and lives here this morning. He has paid the debt for your sin, shed his blood for your salvation, taken your punishment for you, and now He is calling you by name to accept his offer and accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Deliverer, and the Lord of your life. He has given his all, and now that’s what he wants you to give back to him; your all!
Oh what joy burst forth in the heart of Mary! She reached out to worship the Lord but Jesus stopped her. It was customary for many worshippers, especially the women, in that day to fall on their face and hold onto the feet of the one they worshipped for a long time, but Jesus would not allow her to touch him.
John 20:17, "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Let me give you a few reasons why Jesus said this to Mary. First, it was because she had a work to do and Jesus’ work wasn’t finished either. There would be time for Mary to linger in worship and praise later on. Right now there was much to be done. Secondly, and more importantly, Jesus had not presented himself before the Father in Heaven as a wave offering.
If you will read Leviticus 23:9-16 you will understand why Jesus had to appear before the Father in Heaven as a “wave offering”, "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD."
As the firstfruits of the resurrection, and the firstfruits of the Family of God that would bring into the Kingdom many more adopted sons and daughters, Jesus had to appear before the Father in Heaven for his final step in being accepted as the Savior and our Great High Priest. He had not yet been “waved”. At about the same time that the High Priest of Israel had to stand and offer a wave offering of the firstfruits of Israel’s harvest after Passover, Jesus became the wave offering of the firstfruits of the resurrection. The Word of God is fulfilled to the letter.
It was only after Jesus presented himself to the Father in Heaven as a wave offering that he then began to make many more appearances on the earth before his Ascension to heaven some 40 days later.
John 20:18-22, "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"
Mary has seen the Lord, alive and well. She felt his love and heart his voice and knew that he had arisen from the dead. But the other disciples were still afraid and grieving.
Fear reigned in their hearts and so they had the door to the house locked and barred for protection. They were afraid of reprisals because everyone knew that they had been with Jesus. They feared the persecution that threatened to annihilate them.
That’s what happens when we lose hope in Jesus. Fear sets in and overcomes our lives. People don’t like to admit it but, unless Jesus lives in your heart, there is always fear of what may happen. Fear drives men to rob, steal, cheat and kill. Fear drives people to fight for the last loaf of bread at the slightest hint of a disaster coming. Fear drives people to hoard food, weapons and ammunition against the day when they fear that anarchy will reign in the earth. Fear drives men to dread the days that are coming and they know that this world can’t go on forever like it is. Fear drives us to think about how things can go wrong. Fear drives us to believe that we will never really be successful because something is bound to happen to bring us to a halt in our search for success.
What is different about those who truly know and willingly serve the Lord? Jesus speaks peace to them and then breathes the Spirit of Life and hope into them.
2 Timothy 1:7, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
Yes Jesus will speak peace into your life if you allow him to come in and surrender your heart and life to him. He will breath the Spirit of Life into you and He will fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit if you will only let him. He will give your life new purpose and then he will send you forth to do a work for Him that you never thought was possible.
Do you doubt that what I’m saying is the truth? Do you wonder if all of this is a fairy tale, or if it’s real? Can you accept the fact that Jesus is alive, risen from the dead, and that he has paid the debt for your sin? If you have those doubts, Jesus knows all about it and he will still come into your heart if you will just give him the chance. He will do everything he can to convince you of the reality of the resurrection and eternal life.
John 20:24-28, "But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, 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. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."
Thomas wasn’t the only doubter there. Every one of the disciples had their own doubts. I wonder how many of them would have believed if they hadn’t been there when Jesus came the first time? But Jesus came to them all!
Jesus appeared a number of times after his resurrection before going back to Heaven to stay until the Day of Lord shall come. But there is one last instance of his appearing before the disciples that I want to point out this morning.
The disciples were attempting to go on with life now. They went out fishing, just like they had done before they became disciples. These weren’t weekend fishermen with all the modern gadgets but “professionals”. They knew where every “honey hole” was in those waters. They had fished them for years and made their living selling the fish that they caught. But, on this day, they caught nothing. They fished all night long without even one fish in the net.
As morning came they were coming into shore, tired from working all night long. Then they saw a man standing there on the shore.
“Children, have you caught any fish?” They had to answer no.
That’s a lesson for you and I to remember. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, or how much you think you know, if you’re not working under the direction of the Lord and of the Holy Spirit, then you aren’t accomplishing much at all, at least not for the Kingdom of God.
They cast the net out where Jesus said and suddenly they had more than they could handle. They were about to sink the boat and had to call everyone around to come and share in the catch of fish. Now that’s the kind of blessings that Jesus wants to give to us.
Luke 6:38, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
There is the key. Give yourself to the Lord. Give your life to him in service. Give your heart to him in love. Give your body to him as a living sacrifice. Give everything that you are to the Lord and he will give you much more in return.
John 21:10-12, "Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine."
That’s the way we want to end this Easter message. Jesus suffered and died for your sin and mine, and for all of humanity. He was buried and arose again on the third day and is alive forevermore! Now he is calling to us all, “Come and Dine”.
Psalms 34:8, "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
This is the day that we celebrate the Risen Savior. People all around the world are going to church on this day to remember and to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and honor him for what he did for us on the cross.
But the greatest thing that could happen today is for someone to not only see Jesus and to worship him, but to accept him as their Lord and Savior. That would be the real joy of Easter.
Jesus died for you and I. He gave his life for our sin. He gave his life, and then arose from the dead, so that each of us could have a way to make Heaven our home and have a resurrection of hope in our hearts.
Will you let Jesus come into your heart right now? Will you allow the Risen Savior to arise in your heart today? He is calling you by name. Are you going to answer that call?
