The Week After The Death, & Burial Of Jesus.

Sermon- Week after Easter

- As I begin this morning’s message I want to give thanks to those who are sending

their tithes to the treasurer.

- I look back at the first week of Jesus’ resurrection, & think of the stewardship that

was in the middle of the church.

Q- Was there stewardship?

Q- Was there still a body of disciples?

- I think we have evidence that the disciples still banded together before the

resurrection, & after.

- The evidence shows that, while they didn’t fully know where they were going next.

It did show that they were still united like a family, even though they were not of

blood relation.

- Let’s go to the popular place in which the doubting Thomas receives his proof.

- Eight day’s before Jesus appeared to the apostles, & Thomas. It was the day Mary

Magdalene ran to tell Peter & John she saw the risen Lord.

- In the evening of this same day Jesus appeared to the Apostles.

- Let’s read the moment, & note the safety they have together in John 20:19-29

John 20:19-29

19 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.

20 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.

21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 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.

26 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.

27 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.

28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Q- Where were the disciples found?

- Together, they were huddled together, because they knew who they could trust.

- The family of God takes on the image of Jesus, that has saved us.

- The image is truth, & with that image the Church becomes the place you feel

your burdens lifted.

- It’s not because of the church itself, but because of Who can be found

within.

- Let’s talk to Him now, & let’s praise Him, for His unchangeable grace.

Prayer

- There’s no greater name to have than one that means you’re trusted.

- One of the things to have rocked the very Foundation of the Church was deceit.

- To be called an apostle of Christ, to many carried the title of trust.

- That wasn’t so with one of them though.

- Jesus even referred to that one Apostle as, a devil in John 6:70.

- We know the name of Judas, because we realize how his distrust cannot be

the picture of the church.

- There’s something I want you to notice about the one Apostle that holds true to

today.

- Jesus revealed to the apostles one of them would betray Him, & immediately they

all began asking, is it me.

- Nobody knew who it could be, that would deceive Jesus.

- Listen, even after Peter, lying against the breast of the Lord, asked who it was.

- He still didn’t grasp what Judas was about to do.

John 13:26-27

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

- Jesus told Judas, do it quickly.

- The base for my message is grounded on the fact that there will always be wheat