The Resurrection in the Gospel of John

Recording. Check, check. One, two, three, check.

Alright, welcome to Sunday School.

So I hear we're competing with the Cherry Blossom Festival today.

If you don't live in New Haven, today is the Cherry Blossom Festival over in Worcester Square.

Because the cherry trees, I don't think they're blooming yet though.

You know, they always have to make these festivals and then...

It's hit or miss.

Right, it's hit or miss.

Trees didn't get the memo.

Trees didn't get the memo. God didn't get the memo.

Don't complain about the trees. It's about God.

Didn't you hear the sermon this morning?

There you go.

So anyway, they...

Yeah, so we may be small, but we will be fierce.

I'm going to start by saying this is my primary resource for today.

It's the Gospel of John by D.A. Carson.

He was one of my seminary professors, but that's not why I like him.

I like him because I think he's one of the best New Testament scholars of the 20, 21st century.

And this is probably his, in some ways, his greatest work.

And if you wanted to read a commentary, this would be the one I would recommend.

There are parts of it that get more technical because he's dealing with all of the scholarship about the Gospels and sources and stuff like that.

But at the end of the day, his theological and biblical coherence of understanding how the book of John is put together and how it communicates the message of the book of John is pretty powerful.

So anyway, I picked this up at the Cumberland Valley Book Distributors in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which if you're ever going through Carlisle, Pennsylvania, you ought to stop by because they also have online selling.

It's one of the great places to get cheap academic books if you're interested.

All right.

Well, that's enough of the advertisement.

We're going to go ahead and get started.

We really are a small group.

So what I'm going to ask you all to do is get up.

Let's make a little circle.

I'm going to put the microphone down so that we can record what we're doing.

We're just going to sit and talk together.

I don't need to lecture at you.

Thank you.

What are you talking about?

It's Hospital John.

Oh, I love John.

I love John.

John 8.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Now you just like circle.

We want to be able to talk to one another.

This is it.

No.

We actually need you.

Back.

Back, but just closer to one another.

There we go.

There we go.

All right.

Good.

Good.

It's the best place to be.

Best place to be.

Everyone's in the front of the class today.

So if you have a Bible, you can turn with me to John 20.

As you know, this series is an ongoing series about the resurrection of Jesus and its significance

in our lives.

These first four weeks, we've been covering the four gospel accounts with a particular

lens of just asking, what is it that this particular gospel adds to the biblical account

of the resurrection?

How is it that the four gospel accounts give us a richer explanation than any single one

does or a fuller understanding of what happened and what its significant was for us?

And so its significance is for us.

And so we're now at the end of that.

The next four weeks, we're going to be looking at some of the passages in, we're going to

look at Peter's sermon in Acts 2.

We're going to look at 1 Corinthians 15 for two weeks.

And we're going to look at Colossians 3 to walk through how the early church, through the

Apostle Paul and Peter in Acts, how the early church understood the resurrection and its

significance for us.

So that's kind of the picture of what we're doing and why we're doing it.

So what I'm going to do is, John 20 and 21, there's a lot of good stuff in here.

So we're going to focus more on John 20 than John 21, although we will actually talk about

both.

And what I'd like to do is to pray and then read John 20 together.

Now actually, let's read them both.

We've got time.

Let's read them both and then we'll get going.

Okay?

So let's pray together.

Lord, thank you for your word and thank you especially for the gospel of John and Lord,

how you used this man and his writing, how you speak to us through him, how you inspired

him to write your word in such a way that it has fed your church and your people for

thousands of years.

Lord, we pray this morning for you as for your work among us that as we read these things,

we would take to heart what it is that John is communicating to us about you and particularly

about the wonders of a resurrected Savior and all that that means for us.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, Tyler.

Tyler, why don't you start?

And we're just going to go around like a small group.

We're just going to read until you get tired or you get to an end of a sentence or an end

of the paragraph.

And if you really don't want to, you can look at the guy next to you and say, you know,

you can keep going if you don't want to read.

So we'll just read 20 and 21 together.

All right, John 20.

Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark

and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and

said to them, they had taken the Lord out of the tomb.

And we do not know where they had laid him.

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the

tomb first.

And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.

He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head,

not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb.

And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head

and one at the feet.

They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?

Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher.

Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.

But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,

Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.

If you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.

Now Jesus, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord.

But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails,

and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.

Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.

Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here and see my hands, and put out your hand and place it in my side.

Do not disbelieve, but believe.

Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

So verse 30.

Do you want to read?

I'm still catching up.

Okay.

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and the believing might have life through his name.

After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples of the Sea of Tiberias,

and on this wise showed himself.

There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee,

and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fish in here.

They saith unto him, We also go with thee.

They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.

But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?

They answered him, No.

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.

They cast before, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,

gird his fish as codentum, for he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea.

And the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from land,

but as it was two hundred cubits dragging the net with fishes.

And as soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there,

and fish laid there on and brayed.

Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.

Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty three of them.

Although there were so many, the net was not torn.

Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast.

None of the disciples dared to ask him, Who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so went the fish.

This is now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Feed my lambs.

He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Tend my sheep.

He said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love him?

He said to him, Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted.

When you were old, you would stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you, and you do not want to go.

This he said to show about what kind of death he was to glorify God.

After saying this, he said to him, Follow me.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them.

The one who had been reclining at table was to him, and it said, Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man?

And Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?

You follow me.

So the saying spread abroad.

The brothers, that this disciple was not to die.

Yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die.

But if it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things.

And we know that his testimony is true.

Now, there are many other things that Jesus did.

Were every one of them to be written, I suppose, the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

All right.

What does John have to contribute?

First of all, one of the nice things about John is that people wrestle with the Gospels to think,

Who is their audience?

What was their purpose in writing?

Do different Gospels have slightly different audiences or slightly different purposes?

John's really explicit, right?

What's John's purpose in writing this book overall?

Am I not Jesus?

The Christ.

Yeah.

So look at verses 30 and 31, right?

So that you might know that Jesus is the Christ.

What's the significance of the Christ?

What does that term mean?

Anyone know?

The anointed one.

The anointed one.

Right.

So it's a picture.

It's someone who would...

The first century Jews had an expectation from the Old Testament

that there would be one anointed by the Lord who would come.

An anointing, in this case, often had overtones of kingship.

It sometimes has overtones of priesthood.

In Jesus, it combined those in a wonderful way.

And so that you would know that Jesus is the one who is anointed by God to be the Savior of people.

Right?

And this is the second part, right?

That not only that Jesus is the Christ, but that the Christ is the Son of God,

bringing together from the very beginning.

You think about the beginning of John, if you remember.

John begins his gospel with this immensely large view.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the Word was Jesus Christ.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And so he starts his book with this incredibly cosmic view of Jesus,

the Creator of all things, the one who is God with God,

and suggesting the Trinitarian perspective that John brings to his gospel

to remind us that you see the three persons of one God at work

in this very central work of salvation.

That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you may have life in his name.

So this is the goal that John is telling us about.

That there is actually spiritual and eternal life to be found with God.

The most famous Bible verse in every football stadium in America is what?

John 3.16, right?

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have what?

Eternal, everlasting life.

Right.

So this is a theme that runs throughout the gospel, that life is found in Jesus.

Right.

Now, when we get to the resurrection, that seems to be pretty important, doesn't it?

What we see in the accounts of Jesus bringing this life to people.

There are actually a few things I want to draw out of here.

But one of the largest things that you see that's unique to John in the way that he spins it out

is John has encounters.

He has an encounter with Mary.

He has an encounter with Thomas.

He has an encounter with Peter in these two chapters

where he is meeting them in the midst of their confusion and doubt and despair after his death.

And in meeting the resurrected Christ, they are transformed.

And that's one of the key things that John wants us to see as we look at this.

Before we get to those stories, because that's what I want to spend the bulk of my time,

I just want to look at the first eight verses,

because there's something else that John is doing in the first eight verses in particular.

He's giving details that are not clear in some of the other gospel accounts to the same degree

in order to help clarify the nature of the eyewitness account that is being told here.

Now, some of you have been in Sunday school for the last couple of weeks.

Why is the eyewitness account important in the gospels?

It authenticates the message the apostles were preaching.

Okay.

It was, we saw Christ who rose from the dead,

and if you don't believe me, ask these other people that saw it.

Right, right, right.

It's not a myth, right?

It's not a fairy tale.

True story.

My family went to a church for a while when I was a younger child that didn't believe Jesus was God.

It's a long story why we got there and, you know, comes from my dad's spiritual background and stuff.

But we left that church because when they, when this church celebrated Easter,

which sort of is weird if you don't think Jesus is God,

but they celebrated Easter and the pastor stood up, according to my mom, this is my mom's account,

and said, and on Easter Sunday, something wonderful happened.

And now we have hope.

But there was no content to it.

There was nothing except Easter Sunday is supposed to be a day where we get warm fuzzies about the hopefulness of the world.

And that was the only thing that they could say.

Jesus actually gives us something far more specific.

The gospel is a true gospel account.

The historical account of Jesus rising from the dead gives us something far more substantive than that.

We have a hope that's based on something that actually happened.

And so the eyewitness testimony is saying this isn't just a theory or a philosophy

or a religious myth that's meant to arouse in us some kind of religious feeling.

It's actually what happened.

And because it happened, it changes everything.

When you look through the 10 verses of chapter 20,

does anything strike you about the eyewitness account in this one in particular?

What's that?

Did you read that?

I didn't hear you.

Oh, look at John 20, verses 1 through 10.

John 20:1–10

And see if there's anything that strikes you as interesting or that stands out about how John tells the story of them discovering the empty tomb.

I just always love the race.

The race?

The foot race?

Yes.

James and John.

Or John and Peter.

John and Peter running to the top.

Apparently John's either out of breath when he gets there or he's scared,

so he doesn't want to go away in.

It's when he beat Peter.

Yeah, but we know that.

Right, right.

John was a faster runner, but then Peter, in his typical impetuous way, blows by him to actually go into the tomb,

which you wouldn't want to do two days later.

Think about it.

There was a dead body that was embalmed, but, you know, I mean, when Lazarus died, by four days,

they were saying, don't even open the tomb because the stink will be too great.

So, you wouldn't willingly necessarily, like, walk into a tomb, but Peter blows right in to see.

Yeah, what else?

What else about this account?

Yeah.

They were in the middle of a holiday where they had to be clean, and they were willing to go into this tomb.

Yeah.

So, this was the Passover, right?

Jesus was crucified on a Friday of the Passover celebration.

And so, yeah, that's a pretty major thing there.

I mean, all of them are, in terms of taking care of Jesus' body, having to interact with this reality of ritual uncleanness.

Yeah, that comes with that.

Good.

What else?

Hey, guys.

The disciples were ignorant of what was going on.

Like, they did not yet understand the Scripture.

Yeah.

They had no idea what the significance of the empty tomb was initially.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, it's so easy, because this has been the story of the church for 2,000 years.

It's so easy for us to think, oh, yeah, Jesus rose from the dead.

Right?

Have you ever talked to your friends who didn't grow up maybe in a church background about the idea of resurrection?

Have you ever had a response of, like, that's the craziest thing.

People don't rise from the dead.

Right?

When people die, they're dead.

It's the only thing that's as certain as taxes.

It's like, right?

Death and taxes are the only...

So, it's helpful for us.

And John is explicit about this.

Right?

Even the people who were most with him and knew what was going on didn't know what was going on, really.

Nobody expected that Jesus was actually going to rise from the dead, even though he had said he was going to.

He said he was going to multiple times throughout the account, throughout his life and ministry.

But nobody actually believed it.

Nobody showed up at the tomb thinking, hey, I think Jesus is going to rise from the dead.

I don't think we're going to find anything there.

I don't think they were expecting the crucifixion to be what it was.

And I think they were in shock after that.

It was such a definitive blow.

And they had people at the foot of the cross saying, if you really are who you say you are, come down.

And Jesus didn't come down.

And I think they were devastated.

And they were...

That was like...

I mean, can you imagine if you witnessed that?

Whatever had been said would be sort of shrouded in the chaos of that.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And why wouldn't Jesus have come down?

And of course, like you say, with hindsight, we know why he didn't come down.

He had a mission that they didn't really fully understand.

Yeah.

I don't know.

Yeah.

So...

Yeah.

Yeah.

But then it does say John went in and saw the clothes and he believed.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So...

Yeah.

So the linen cloths are one of the things that John uniquely accounts for, I believe.

I think I went back and looked.

It's not in the other...

So why does the linen cloths...

Why would that cause belief that he rose?

What were they afraid of when they went to the tomb?

Robbers.

Right?

They're afraid that someone had stolen the tomb.

So what's the significance of the linen cloths?

He got up and unwrapped and he left.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's not even clear that he unwrapped.

This is a...

I'm going to spend about three minutes on this.

But I want to talk about what Jesus' resurrected body did and didn't do in John 20 and 21.

We're in John, you guys.

What Jesus' resurrected body did and didn't do in John 20 and 21.

Because it's fascinating.

It's because it's possible that his body simply rose and left the clothes behind.

In the same way that his body seems to go through a locked door.

And we ought to be surprised by this in a way that we aren't, typically.

So, but yeah.

Yes, go ahead.

You know, there was a scripture that when there was...

When there was about to bust his head with a rock and he just left to the midst of it.

That's right.

That he had...

If you say that, I remember that.

He had to just, you know, materialize out of it, you know.

Only God can do some stuff like that.

That's right.

In John 8, they picked up stones to stone him and he passed through the crowd.

What in the world?

How did that happen?

But he just did it.

Yes.

So, um...

Yep.

So, so John is giving some, some very specific details about the linen cloth.

The way that it was left.

The fact that it was separated.

The fact that one was folded up.

It's a fascinating account that none of these things...

It doesn't make sense to include them at one level if they weren't real.

Right?

I don't know how they wrapped them.

Was it like this?

I mean, typically, right, it was...

I think it would have looked a little bit like you've probably seen pictures of Egyptian mummies.

Yeah.

You know, just sort of wrapped, you know, toe to neck.

And then the head is wrapped separately.

Um, and then it was covered with spices, um, and embalming to, uh, to honor the body and to preserve it.

Yeah.

So...

Yeah, so he just, like, phased out of it and went where he was supposed to be.

Then come back before his disciples said, peace.

Yep.

There we go.

That's, that's, that's amazing.

Yep.

And the guy's like, I wrapped him.

How did he get out?

I don't wrap him.

So he had to phase out of that.

Yep.

Yep.

Yep.

Yep.

Uh, is there a significance of the fact that he rose again on the third day in terms of, like, why, why three days?

Why was he...

Uh, so, so typically, typically, uh, it's understood that, uh, the three days was when you knew you were really dead.

Um, that there was a Jewish understanding that three days meant you were...

Okay.

Uh, sort of the, the, the Lord could declare you were now dead, you know, legally.

Okay.

If I remember correctly.

Um, there's also that little thing about Jonah and the whale.

Um, so, uh, and there was some prefiguring of the three days.

So, uh, but, but, yeah, I think that the major significance of three days, um, and again,

just in case you ever wonder about this, three days are counted differently than we do.

Like, we count three days as 24-hour periods, right?

So, but Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

Saturday, he was in the grave.

And Sunday morning, he rose.

Three days.

Um, that's a, that's a Jewish way of counting that we might stumble over, uh, but we don't need to.

It's just, it's just the way you count days.

So, um, you don't, you don't, you just don't need to, if people are like, well, it wasn't really three days.

It's like, well, yeah, you're not a first century Jew.

You, you, you would think differently about it.

But, uh, so, um, all right, so I've already sort of spoiled it, but, um, Jesus' body, I just want to spend a few minutes on it.

Like, what did Jesus' body do, um, in chapters 20 and 21?

To kind of rattle them off.

He ate.

Actually, interestingly, Luke says he ate.

John doesn't actually say he ate.

But he was there with them.

He was cooking fish.

Um, and he, you would imagine he ate.

Because, although, interestingly, Luke is very specific that he did eat the fish.

And John does not specify it in the same way.

Um, which doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

It just means that John didn't feel like it was important enough to include in the same way that Luke did.

For whatever reason.

So.

He spoke.

He spoke.

Yep.

Still had the scars on his hands.

Yeah.

Come touch me.

Yeah.

He could be touched.

He could be touched.

Yeah.

Um.

He's not, like, some spiritual, like, force.

Right.

Right.

He's not an apparition.

He's not a, he's not a ghost.

Like, he's actually material.

Um.

In lots of ways.

Yep.

So, Matt, what about this, like, this appearance where there's not immediate recognition?

That seems to happen.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What do we make of that?

Um.

I think that, uh.

Uh.

I think that, that it maybe speaks to, uh, to potentially a couple things.

It's, it's not, it's not.

One is that you see throughout the Gospels, there, there are themes of misunderstanding.

Right?

Like, people, people don't understand Jesus a lot.

Uh.

Uh.

They misunderstand him regularly.

Even his disciples misunderstand him.

And you see this actually ratcheting up as you get to the crucifixion, where the very

thing that he's going to is, uh, you know, the very thing that he's moving towards is the

very thing that they don't understand the most.

And, you know, Peter says, no, you can't do this.

And, you know, that pulls out the sword to fight the Roman soldiers.

And over and over again, they don't understand that this is what Jesus is doing.

So part of it, I think, in some ways is of, it's the final step in that, um, we understand

who Jesus is because of, in light of the cross and the resurrection, and as God reveals

himself to us through that.

Right?

So, the, in, on the road to Emmaus, they didn't know who he was, and then he teaches

them, and then he reveals himself, and then they understand.

Right?

And then they think back, they're like, oh, yeah, we could have gotten that earlier, because

our hearts burned while he was talking.

But we didn't, we didn't put the pieces together.

Um, so it does seem like there is, like Mary here clearly doesn't know who he is.

Right?

But then when he appears to the disciples, nobody asks a question.

Right?

Like, when he, you know, when you get to verse 19, he stands, there's not a, like, whoa,

what are you?

He does say, peace be with you, but that's probably because a guy just appeared in your

room.

Like, that's a little odd.

He'd probably be freaked out.

He says, peace be with you.

Um, uh, so I think that, that part of it is, there is an ongoing theme of, like, God,

we understand Christ because God reveals this to us, not because we have great insight.

I think that's part of it.

Um, but I think there's, in the resurrection accounts, there's also a sense of, how do we

say it?

Jesus was both recognizable and in some, and in some ways transformed.

Um, and I don't know exactly how to, how to quantify that.

Um, but, but I think that he was more different in some ways than we imagine him.

Um, and then in some ways he was very human, like we do imagine him, I think.

Um, uh, that's as much as I have on that.

I don't know if anyone else have any thoughts on that?

Uh, the, well, in the Emmaus Road account, he literally has to, like, open their eyes to

himself.

Yep.

If I recall, he has to, he has to do something.

Yep.

But anyway, we don't spend too much more time.

No, it's fine.

It's fine.

I mean, it's interesting here because the way that, this will lead us into our first,

our, our first sort of looking at the account to, to just tease it out.

Um, because with Mary, the way that he reveals himself to her is a very intimate and a very

personal way.

Um, um, and it's a, it's a very powerful thing.

So, um, so yeah, so just to recognize, um, we've said it, but Jesus appears.

Um, it's not clear how Jesus gets around.

It doesn't say Jesus walked from here to there, to there, to there.

It's just these little snapshots.

Now, it's very possible that Jesus' resurrected body could have walked around with his disciples.

Um, but it also seems clear that the emphasis on the locked doors is pretty, pretty clear

here.

Jesus walked into a locked room and appeared to them.

Um, there's something about that body.

I don't know what, I don't know what that means.

I've watched too much Star Trek to like, not probably think that he just got, you know,

teleported in.

Um, but we, but there, there are signs here that Jesus' body is both natural and supernatural

in ways that I don't know that we totally understand, but something that we can really

look forward to.

Um, that the resurrected body is going to be pretty darn awesome.

Um, so, and it's going to be both real and physical and yet more than anything that we've

experienced because our bodies are subject to decay and corruption in a fallen world.

So, the linen clause, the eyewitness accounts, um, this account of all of this is so that

we would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing we would have

life in his name.

Um, now I want to spend the rest of our time looking at these encounters because it's so

clear that Jesus meets these people and in doing so.

And I'm, I want to spend the briefest amount of time on the first one because it's what Greg

preached on, on Easter.

Um, and so if you want to hear the full account, there's, there's a good sermon on it.

Um, but the first one is Mary.

Um, and, uh, uh, as again, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but as Greg said, it's remarkable

that Mary is the first one to see the raised, the resurrected Christ.

This was counter-cultural in many ways.

It would, it, it gives credence to the, uh, to the biblical account as not being something

made up, um, because no one in their, in the first century in their right mind would

have made up a story where the first witness to this miraculous event was a woman.

Uh, it just wouldn't have happened in that culture.

Uh, it doesn't make any sense.

It's like saying, I'm going to pick a lunatic to be my star witness, uh, in my, in my court

case.

Um, it just, it doesn't have, it doesn't make any sense.

Um, uh, uh, so, um, again, Greg expounded that.

But when you look at Mary, how is Mary transformed by meeting the resurrected Jesus?

That's a question I want to ask about each of the three people.

How are they transformed by their encounter with the resurrected Christ?

Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.

Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

She announced the disciples

the wedding.

I've seen the Lord.

Yeah.

It's a victorious thing to say.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Her going back and announcing.

There's something that comes out of it

is this incredible confidence.

Like she doesn't just tell.

She announces.

And that's a strong word.

Just so we can be clear on the clinging thing,

if this wasn't clear from Greg's sermon,

what Jesus is not saying is,

don't touch me because I'm like in transit to the Father

and you might defile me.

Nor is he saying to her like,

ooh, don't touch me.

Like, you know, get away.

What he is saying is,

you don't have to be afraid of me abandoning you right now.

I think her clinging is,

oh my gosh, you're alive.

I'm going to hold on to you and never let you go

because I never want to lose you again.

I think,

this to me is the most logical read.

And what he's saying is,

no, no, no.

Don't be afraid.

You don't have to cling to me

because I'm going to my Father and your Father,

my God and your God.

I'm in the process of ascending

and that ascension will include his time on earth.

He's coming from the grave

and he's going to the Father, right?

And that will include this time on earth.

But what he's saying is,

now that I've been raised,

you will be mine forever.

I will be yours forever.

So don't be afraid.

The separation that you've been weeping about

at the beginning is not real.

The separation has now been,

has actually been,

the thing that you're most afraid of,

that you've lost me,

is actually not true.

So,

I think that's the best way to understand that,

like, don't cling to me.

Or don't,

some Bible verses say don't touch me,

which is even more confusing, I think.

So,

any other thoughts about Mary?

It was fascinating,

this little sight and sound show that I went to

told sort of the story of Mary Magdalene

and how she had been rescued from,

most likely prostitution,

delivered from demonic oppression,

brought in.

You think about how Jesus had rescued her

sort of sociologically and personally

out of a terrible life situation

into a place where she found a place of belonging

as one of those who followed Jesus.

And then you bring him,

then you bring her to the foot of the cross

and as you said, Jeff,

it's got to be devastating.

Like,

this is the first person who looked at me

as a human being

and not as someone to be used.

You don't want to over-psychologize it,

but I think this seems to be fair and real.

He delivered me from those things

and brought me into a place where I belonged

and now I'm being abandoned

and now I'm lost.

And then suddenly he reappears.

He says,

my God and your God,

my Father and your Father,

what you thought you had lost

has actually now been

brought into its fullness.

and you will have this forever.

Can I be honest?

I struggle with this a little bit

and this is just going to share

with my honesty moment.

I love your honesty.

It's great.

Thank you.

But,

I don't see if you have

the actual person of Jesus with you

for a period of time

and you watch what he does and says

and he purifies you if you're married.

Like,

he does exactly what you said

so now you're just,

you're a whole different person.

Yeah.

And then he dies

and then he comes back

and he's like,

married.

And you're like,

oh,

you're back.

You know?

Then he says,

don't cling to me

because what's coming

is going to be better

than you having me in the body.

At least that's how

I always hear it interpreted.

I'm just not,

I'm sorry,

but unless the charismatic people

are right,

like,

and we're just,

we're resisting the spirit

and we don't have

what we really ought to have,

I'm willing to say that.

I am willing to say that.

Then I just don't agree with that.

I mean,

don't we all long

to be with Jesus?

Wouldn't we,

wouldn't we do anything

to have him walk in the door

right now and hug us

and just,

and we could talk to him

and say,

why this?

And what this is,

you know,

and interact

and have him speak to us

like apparently he's

interacted with them

and don't we,

aren't we told,

whoa,

you see through a mirror dimly now,

and you believe now

and you don't even see

and we have things like that

and so I struggle with this

little piece here

of the,

don't claim to me

because this is going to be

way better

and way more awesome.

I think more,

I think I could get my head around,

I can't stay now,

I have to send myself out

onto millions,

but we'll be reunited

and that will be a good thing,

but it can't be as good

as having it,

it just can't,

can it?

Or are we not drinking

in the well?

like,

no,

so,

having,

having seen the resurrected Christ

is better than having seen him

before he died

because we understand more

of what he's doing,

but I do think that

you sort of slipped it in there

like,

oh,

but if maybe Jesus was clear

about this plan,

like,

I'm gonna,

I'm going to prepare a place

for you,

but your job now

is to proclaim me

and to spread me

as far as,

as far as you can

because,

because we're gonna have that

again.

Um,

I actually think

that that is what he does.

Um,

so look,

look with me,

look at verse,

uh,

17,

right?

Don't cling to me

for I have not yet ascended

to the Father.

Go to my brothers

and say,

right?

So the first thing,

so,

so,

so Jesus then says,

don't stay here with me.

I have another task for you.

Go and let other people know.

And you know what we'll see?

We'll see it three times.

Everybody that he interacts with.

That's,

that's a key part of

what he's doing,

um,

as he prepares,

as during this time

of resurrected

and not yet ascended Jesus,

what Jesus is doing

is reaffirming

what he's told them

the whole time

about what he's going to do

and about what his purpose is

and what it means

for them to follow him

is to proclaim him,

right?

But it's finally going to fall

into place

in a new way.

Um,

and in fact,

it doesn't really fall into place

until Acts,

right?

We don't really see

the fullness come

of,

of the disciples

getting this

until Acts 2.

It would seem like.

Um,

and maybe

the Charismatics

do have things

to teach us

about experiencing

the risen Christ,

uh,

daily experience now.

Um,

in the way that our,

in the way that our

sort of reformed

cognitive,

um,

understanding of

Christianity

can be,

uh,

uh,

faithful,

true,

right,

but maybe lacking

I think of it

through the lens

of conversation.

So like my charismatic

friends come in

and they encourage me

to seek out

like a direct,

like I'm going to say,

yeah,

I have my conversation

through God's word.

Like he's given me

God's work.

I have his word.

Yeah.

And that's why

I was connected

into having Jesus

physically,

like Mary said

something to Jesus.

He said something

back to her.

She said,

well,

I want to cling on you.

He's like,

no,

you can't right now.

And,

and what my friends

would say is,

yeah,

you can have that.

And what everything

in my heart

and my experience

in life,

you have enough.

Yeah.

You have what's sufficient

in the written word of God

and you need to just calm down

because this is coming.

Yeah.

So just to cap this off

and just saying

to me,

it's not better

than what they,

if you've got Jesus,

the risen Jesus

right there

and he's like,

we've got to go,

we've got a mission now

and then we're going

to get reunited.

I like that.

Yeah.

But if,

yeah,

no,

it seems,

if he's going to say,

what I'm about to do

is going to be way better

than you having me

physically here with you,

that's the part

I don't understand.

Now we can move on

and not get.

Okay.

Where does he say that?

Sorry.

Say which?

Or if he says

that it is going to be better.

In John 14,

right?

If I do not go,

then you cannot understand.

I think it's implicit

in the don't cling to me.

He's trying to tell Mary,

like,

hey,

don't hang,

don't physically try

to hang on to me right now

because even though

my presence is good,

I'm ascending to my Father,

but the hope is that

because he's my Father

and your Father

and my God

and your God,

you're going to come with me

eventually.

You will come.

And so that's...

He's not saying

that life on earth

is going to be better

without...

No.

Yeah.

Not necessarily.

Well,

it's an interpretation thing,

right?

It's a...

You having his spirit,

like,

once he goes,

that enables his spirit

to be poured out

on everyone

and you receiving

that Holy Spirit

is better than...

Some argue.

This is what

some people would argue.

Well,

he says it explicitly

in John 16,

right?

Yes.

It's not 14,

it's 16.

Yeah.

Nevertheless,

I tell you the truth,

it is to your advantage

that I go away,

for if I do not go away,

the helper will not come to you.

Yeah.

So clearly it is

to our advantage

that we are not with him.

No.

But it's not...

If I do not go away,

it is to your advantage.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But,

so,

if we don't have...

If we just have Christ

in the flesh,

obviously that's wonderful,

but...

But if we don't have the spirit,

we don't have participation

in the Godhead,

right?

The spirit

that dwells within us

allows us to participate

in the Father,

Son,

and the Holy Spirit

that try you in God.

So of course

that's better

than being present

with Christ,

as wonderful as that is,

and hopefully we will be

one day,

but...

I just...

Participation in the...

That's a really excellent comment.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That is an excellent comment.

And so I think

that comes from the,

you know,

the early church concept

of theosis,

and then Calvin also

has the union

with Christ,

right?

And that's,

we...

That's through the

Holy Spirit

dwelling within us.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And if in some sense

that can't happen

until Jesus,

which we can't understand,

why?

Right,

right,

right,

right,

right.

But he's pretty explicit

about it,

and I have to go away

for the Spirit to come.

It seems that that's...

But where we're headed

is both and.

Where we're headed

is both and.

Yep.

And the both and

is not now.

We don't get Jesus.

We don't get...

We don't get all of that now.

What we do have

is the Spirit.

And that's a...

And in the Old Testament,

right,

God dwells with the people

of God in the Spirit,

but not within them,

right?

Right.

In the same way.

The crucifixion

and resurrection of Christ

and the descent

of the Holy Spirit

allows for that.

Yeah.

Thanks, John.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

All right.

Let's move on

to Thomas.

How is Thomas transformed

by his encounter

with the risen Christ?

So now we're at...

There's this intervening thing

where Jesus appears

to the disciples.

They're excited about him.

He says,

Peace be with you

as the Father sent me up.

So I'm sending you.

So you see this clear,

like,

missional sense.

Like,

as Jesus is appearing

to people,

he is saying,

the purpose of this

is not just so that

we're having a little

come-by-out moment,

right?

I'm appearing to you

because I'm now

going to be commissioning you

to be sent out.

Verse 22,

just briefly,

receive the Holy Spirit.

Obviously,

the outpouring of Pentecost.

This is some sort of

proleptic encounter.

People spilled

all sorts of ink

about when the disciples

had the Holy Spirit,

when they didn't.

I think that we can say

clearly that at Pentecost,

the Holy Spirit

was poured out on them

fully and in a

beginning of a new era way

and that before then,

we have these

time when,

again,

I don't think we need

to make this into,

it's not Pentecost.

I think it's distinct

from Pentecost,

but it's,

but I think it's

looking ahead

and preparing them

for this.

We come to Thomas

24 through 29.

How is Thomas transformed

by his encounter?

He's humbled.

Mm-hmm.

Just a little.

What's that, Frankie?

I said just a little.

Just a little.

Yep.

It's interesting because

throughout the Gospels,

Jesus has these public

exchanges with the Pharisees

where they always

demand a sign

and he always refuses,

he never will give it

to them because if he

were to give it to them,

it would confirm

their delusion

that he's somehow

accountable to them.

Yep, yep, yep.

But then Thomas

demands a sign

and he appears to them.

Yeah.

It's interesting.

And yet,

it's interesting because

the one sign that Jesus

does for saying

that he'll do

is this.

Is this.

It's the resurrection,

right?

In John 2.

Yeah.

He says,

would they demand a sign

after he cleanses the temple?

He says,

no sign.

I'll destroy this temple

and I'll raise it open

for you.

Yep, yep, yep.

Or the sign of Jonah.

Would you even believe

the sign of Jonah?

Like, it's fascinating

how he actually threads

that in.

That the one sign

that he will give

for sure

is the resurrection.

Yeah.

So this one

isn't actually

rocket science,

right?

Verse 25,

I will never believe

to verse 27.

Do not disbelieve

but believe.

And Thomas answers him,

my Lord and my God.

Which is a confession

of faith.

It is a profession

of belief.

Thomas is classic

in his doubting.

We ought to recognize

that his doubting

is perfectly rational.

And if you hadn't seen it,

you'd think it was

a fairy tale too,

right?

Even though Jesus

had prepared,

nobody really expected that.

And that's part of

what John is telling him.

Nobody expected this

even though Jesus

had been saying it.

And so his post-resurrection

appearances are confirming

and spreading

clearly these encounters

to affirm

that his resurrection

was real.

And to,

as you see here,

this is why

John's statement

about the purpose

of this gospel

is so important,

right?

The apostle John

runs in,

he sees a linen cloth

and he believes.

Now here's the second person.

Thomas says,

unless I see him,

I don't believe.

Jesus appears,

says,

here I am.

And he believes,

right?

So we're seeing

what Jesus,

what John is saying

about the resurrected Christ

is what we're believing in

and he's actually

giving pictures

of people

who are actually

doing that.

And it's helpful

for us to see this.

I had a conversation

with a university student

who said,

I'm an agnostic.

I actually think

that existentialism

or maybe even nihilism

makes the most sense.

But some of my friends

are Christians,

so I'm here.

You know?

He says,

it seems like the resurrection

is a big deal.

You know,

I had to pull out

my two-minute answer

for her,

but what I said to her

was,

yeah,

like,

in fact,

it's everything.

Because every other religion

you've ever studied

is a philosophy

or it's a worldview.

It's a nice idea

about,

maybe it's a moral code

of how to live.

Uniquely,

Christianity says

that God intervened

in space-time history

in ways that are

historically verifiable.

And the resurrection

of the dead

is the linchpin of that.

Either Jesus rose

from the dead

or he didn't.

And if he didn't,

then we're fools.

The Bible even tells us that.

If he didn't rise

from the dead,

then it's all a fairy tale.

And, you know,

I might as well be inspired

by the Matrix

rather than this,

you know?

So.

Plus there are those

who have not seen

and have believed.

Yeah.

Isn't that an interesting

statement?

Why do you think

Jesus says that?

I think,

I don't know,

I read it just

in light of this

conversation

that we're having.

Yes, it's,

it's,

if you need to,

you can approach this

rationally

and try to rationally

think about it.

But, you know,

ultimately,

there is a,

there is,

God is up there,

right?

And,

yep,

yep.

Blessed are you

who give him

fully your trust

without needing this,

like, you know,

this intense,

rational confirmation

of that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think it's also

laying a foundation stone

for the fact that

most of the church

won't see the risen Christ.

Bodily.

Right?

Most,

we haven't,

I don't think,

maybe,

maybe some of you

had some vision

I didn't know about,

but,

the church throughout history

is those who have not seen

and have yet believed.

and the people of God

in,

that are produced

by the risen Christ

are those

almost,

you know,

there's an infinitesimally

small percentage of them

who have actually seen

the risen Christ.

Most of us have not.

And I think Jesus is saying,

this is what,

this is where this is going.

You are going to go

and proclaim

the risen Christ

to people

and it will be enough

for you to proclaim that.

they don't have to see me

to believe.

They have to know

that someone see me.

But they don't have to,

they don't have to see me

to believe.

Yeah,

what are you wrestling with?

Well,

I'm not wrestling actually,

I'm just thinking of the delicious

or sort of rich,

if it's not irony,

it's,

but here's this man

and because of him,

it's like Jesus is

condescending to this man,

obviously.

Right.

Right.

Like the God of the universe

is going to allow

that someone says,

I'm not believing

until you prove it.

Yeah.

And so he condescends in love

and he does prove it.

Yeah.

But yet we're watching this scene

as readers

and so it,

it helps us,

it enriches us

so this,

so it's almost like we're,

because it's funny,

you know,

as we've been reading along

and trying to picture

the scenes

and I'm picturing

this Jewish man

looking at

at least what appears

to be another human being

and calling him God

and how insane that is.

Like,

how,

we don't,

I think,

feel how insane

and crazy

and he's basically

abandoning his whole

extended family.

He's a,

he's,

he's turning

to,

and,

but we get to witness

that through his,

so Jesus is saying,

blessed,

it's just kind of profound

how God is even going to turn

this man's weakness

and turn him into a witness

to countless millions of people

who are going to read this

and it's going to help us

because I know it helps me.

Yeah.

It,

it helps me see

Jesus' love for us

that

even,

I mean,

how many of us

have harbored doubts,

you know,

in our hearts

that are,

that are outrageously

disrespectful

and sat,

and that God

had every right

to just snuff us out

just because we even

had the thought,

you know,

but yet

he comes and,

and he says,

and he condescends

and he bears with us

and,

I don't know,

it's just,

it's so rich

and so beautiful

and,

yeah,

yeah,

and it's interesting,

Carson actually argues

that he thinks

if,

if John has a target audience

and a purpose,

he thinks the best way

to try to put that together

is actually

that John is writing

an apologetic

to diaspora Jews,

so Jews not who live

in Jerusalem,

but Jews who are spread out

throughout the Roman Empire,

and they're the ones

who wouldn't have known

someone who saw Jesus

in,

in Jerusalem.

They're people who would

have been spread out

and who have,

who would have,

and so there's an interesting,

you know,

the intermediary step

of if John is writing

to those Jewish men

and women saying,

he really is a Christ,

and here's one of your own

who's looking at another

human being saying,

my Lord and my God,

which is a pretty profoundly

remarkable thing to say,

because he saw

the resurrected Christ,

and these other people

in Ephesus and Rome

and,

and,

you know,

Carthage and whatever,

they're hearing these accounts,

they're hearing these stories,

and,

and they're being called

to believe in that same Jesus

on the basis of these

eyewitness accounts,

and that by believing,

you might have life

in his name,

that this life that comes

to us is freeing us,

freeing us

by meeting us

in our doubts

and drawing us gently

towards this life

that we are able

to have with him.

Amen.

All right,

I think,

I think we have like

two minutes.

Peter's a big story

in 21.

There's a lot going on in it,

but,

briefly,

how would you,

how would you try

to summarize

how is Peter

transformed

by his encounter

with the risen Christ?

And again,

you remember,

just to make sure

we all remember,

Peter was the one

who,

at the Last Supper,

said,

I would die for you

before I let them

take you away.

I will never deny you.

And then,

within hours,

literally,

had turned around

and said,

I'm not with him,

I don't know the man,

that he had disavowed

any connection

with Jesus

in order to save

his own skin

and out of fear.

And so,

it was this Peter

who then

is being met

on the beach.

So,

yeah.

I think that that Peter

is,

before the crucifixion,

those words were empty

and now those words

are true.

That's how he's transformed.

So,

now when he,

if he were to say

the same thing,

I would rather

die before I would

deny you,

it actually becomes

true,

right?

And John

hints to this,

which is the tradition

that Peter is crucified.

This is to show

by what kind of

death he was to work.

And by tradition,

he was actually

crucified upside down

because he refused

to be crucified

in the manner

that Jesus

was crucified.

But that he did

die a similar death.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No,

I mean,

I think that's right.

That's part of the

transformation is

his,

you know,

in all we know

about Peter's

personality and temperament,

his impetuous,

fiery,

strong-headed,

but ultimately,

at empty,

sort of bravado

became actually

real courage

and real faith

and real substantive

commitment

to follow Christ.

Yeah.

Anything you guys

would add to that?

I mean,

obviously,

there's a

restoration story

here,

where he,

I mean,

the shame he must

have felt,

right,

and the,

and the,

and everyone's overjoyed

to see Jesus,

that,

oh,

wow,

you know,

Jesus is resurrected,

but maybe Peter's joy

was tainted with,

yeah,

but none of you

literally,

verbally,

you know,

he,

he had this weight

of shame and guilt.

Yeah.

And,

um,

and I think we,

we can all step in

and relate to that

because when we,

you know,

when we realize,

when God opens up

our hearts

to realize

how bad an offense

our sin is

against him,

you know,

we all have

to experience that,

I think that shame

and guilt.

Yeah.

And then the relief

of,

of God coming to us

by his spirit

and saying,

this is why I died.

Yeah.

You know,

this is,

yeah,

why I died

is to take the punishment

for,

for that.

Yeah.

And restore you,

and I love how he,

Peter's mission

is connected now.

Like,

have you ever had,

like,

a terrible season

of coldness

or been in,

like,

a valley,

you know,

and,

and you just feel like

I'm not fit

to even serve the Lord.

Like,

I'm not fit to do

what he's called me to do

because I'm filthy

and I,

I think there's a connection

there that we see.

Like,

not to tease it out

too far,

but it's like,

do you love me?

You're,

I'm restoring you

and I'm,

I'm beyond that,

I'm going to give you

a purpose

and it's going to be

a meaningful purpose.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And,

so,

I think all,

all that's kind of

going on.

Yeah.

No,

I think that's right.

Yeah.

And it's remarkable

that Jesus doesn't

just come to Peter

and say,

you blew it,

didn't you?

I forgive you.

I forgive you.

Like,

the restoration

is much greater

than that,

isn't it?

He's not saying,

hey,

let's,

let's,

let's let bygones

be bygones.

I rose from the dead.

It's okay.

You know?

I mean,

it went badly,

but it's okay.

You know?

Like,

that's how we humanly

would probably

want to deal with this.

And yet,

you see,

the restoration

of Peter

is not just to,

hey,

Peter,

we're okay.

Right?

But it's to more than that.

It's,

Peter,

I've told you,

I've called you

to follow me.

I've told you

that you are to be one

who,

by your profession

and by your apostleship

will establish my church.

And,

and,

and you blew that

spectacularly.

But you didn't lose it.

I'm going to bring you back.

He wasn't just saying,

did you sin?

Yes,

I sinned,

Lord.

I forgive you.

He said,

Peter,

feed my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

Go,

go fulfill

what you've seen in me.

Go and live out.

Live for this purpose.

It's a remarkably