Birthday invitations—the kids start on them months before the party because they want people to come.
For the last several months I’ve been sharing stories from the Gospel of John about Jesus invitation to us—the invitation to come near to Him. This morning we both celebrate His resurrection and conclude this series of messages—appropriately enough with another invitation from Jesus to draw near—Near enough in this case to feel the scars.
I believe that invitation echoes through the ages to us here in this room this morning. And like he did on that day I believe that Jesus extends that invitation to us in spite of ourselves. First of all I’d like us to remember that
Jesus Invites us near in spite of our Failures.
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Among those there was a man who gets a lot of bad press at Easter time. A man who had declared proudly that even if he had to die, he would always stay by Jesus’ side. Jesus had predicted that not only would that man desert him, he would deny even knowing him three times before the rooster crowed the next morning. The way that story turned out is found in
John 18: 25-27 25As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “I am not.” 26One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.
Of course its easy to forget that Peter stayed with Jesus longer than most of the others—they had fled when the guards came to arrest Jesus. In fact as far as faithfulness was concerned it was a room full of failures to which Jesus showed the proof of His love for them—See here my hands and side that bear the scars so that you may be forever with me.
Perhaps you are here today because it’s Easter and somebody asked you to come and this is the first time in a very long time that you’ve been in church for anything other than wedding or funeral. It’s become easier to stay away because the guilt isn’t quite as bad when you’re not here.
Maybe somewhere in the past you made a commitment to the Lord. But like Peter’s commitment it dissolved in the realities of a harsh world.
Hear the Lord’s word to you this morning, just as surely as if you had been one of the ten in that room two thousand years ago:
“Peace to you, come near and see the scars—these were for you, so that we could be together forever. It doesn’t matter now that you ran away, stay with me now.”
Jesus invites all of us near, in spite of our failures. There’s another group that I think the Lord wants to invite near this morning.
Jesus invites us near in spite of our Doubts.
24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So 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 it.” 26A 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!” 27Then 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.”
Jesus has always invited the skeptics to come near. A faker never invites the crowds to come close. A magician won’t let you examine the props too closely. But Jesus virtually ordered Thomas not just to see but to feel the scars.
I’ve been preaching about drawing near to Jesus since Christmas time and in some sense we’ve come full circle here. At the birth of Jesus the shepherds were invited to come and see, now at his resurrection Thomas is invited to see and to feel the evidence of Christ’s love.
If you’ve come here this morning not knowing how much of the story of Jesus you believe, I’ve got news for you: I’m not scared of you—more importantly, Jesus isn’t scared of you. The unsure, the seekers, and even the skeptics have always been invited to come near.
I understand it’s a lot to believe that God became a man, lived a perfect life then not only died but died somehow bearing the punishment for all of our sin and then Rose from the grave so that all who believe in what He has done can receive eternal life.
It’s a lot to believe, but then a lot was required to save us from our sins. We couldn’t do the job ourselves, so God came up with a mind bending plan to take care of them for us, His love was so great that The eternal son of God paid the price for us. Because He paid the price once and for all he now offers forgiveness to all who believe.
Of course that leaves believing itself or “faith” as we say in the business as the main sticking point. Jesus understood that from the beginning and he invited Thomas to come near to see the proof. He invites you to come near too.
Of course the true skeptics have already skipped ahead to the fact that I don’t have that same evidence available in the room today—Jesus is not here in the flesh for your examination. But He has left other proofs and I offer you two.
The first is this book. The record of God’s plan and of Christ’s life here on Earth. Spend some time with it, start in the book we’ve been reading from today, the Book of John. Ask the Lord to reveal Himself in it’s pages. If you do that in honesty, I believe you’ll believe.
Secondly in evidence I offer the lives of those who have experienced the Risen Jesus.
First, those that we read about in the story. Explain how a band of 12 so timid that they disappeared at the first sight of the Guards coming to arrest Jesus were transformed into a force that fearlessly preached Jesus risen from the dead transforming the world. Explain, if they had not seen the risen Lord, how each of them save one who died a natural death, willingly and boldly faced the executioner for proclaiming that Jesus was alive. People do not die for something they know is a lie.
But it’s not just those transformed lives that I offer in evidence of the risen Lord today. I offer mine—and I offer these too. All of those who have trusted in the risen Lord have experienced a transformation as well. And I believe that if you’ll spend time with us, you’ll experience Him through us. The Bible says that no one has seen God, but if we love one another his Love can be seen in us. We are the nail scarred hands.
If you are wondering this morning if Christianity is a faith you can believe in, I give you permission this morning to belong before you believe. Join us this evening as we lift our hearts in worship and spend time together afterwards. Join one of our home fellowship groups that meet the 1st and 3rd Sunday evening of each month.
See if God’s people are genuine. We’re not perfect, don’t hear me saying that, we all fail in many ways, but I believe you can sense the risen Christ in those who have trusted Him. You can see the Peace that He gives as Christians face trials. You can sense His presence as we worship, you can recognize His love in our generosity.
No pressure on you members of Minier Assembly, If people don’t get saved it’s your fault. Seriously though, let me say to those who call themselves Christians: What I’ve said just now isn’t some new plan, it’s Jesus original plan He told us to let our light so shine before others that they would see what we do and they too would become worshippers of our Father in heaven.
So those are the proofs I offer, this book and these people. There’s one more, but I can’t offer it, it comes from the Lord Himself. His voice. It’s that voice some of you hear already, whispering to your heart “He’s real!” The one you might have sensed earlier as God’s people sang in worship to their risen Lord. It’s that spiritual proof that’s every bit as important as the intellectual proof. And I believe that that voice will grow louder as you spend time with this book and with these people.
And when the voice has convinced you come to me or go to someone else who knows Jesus and tell them you’re ready to believe. If that’s today, great. If a month or a year from now, that’s fine too. I invite you this morning to belong and be a part of Minier Assembly until you believe.
The Lord invites you to draw near this morning, in spite of your failures. It doesn’t matter if you’ve run away, stay near now. And from this day forward.
And He invites you near today in spite of your doubts. As he invited Thomas, He invites you to handle the evidence, this book, these people. The only reason to reject His offer is that you don’t wish to know the truth. But may I caution you? To ignore His offer will mean eternal loss.
