Resurrection Sunday: The King's Resurrection

Good morning, everyone.

Happy Easter, Resurrection Sunday.

It's a joy to worship with you.

If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

And if you do not have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to bring one over to you that you can use while you are here.

John is in the New Testament.

It's the fourth book in the New Testament.

We're in John chapter 20, verses 1 to 31 today.

John 20 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we have gathered to celebrate the joyous occasion of our Savior's resurrection from the dead.

Just as he rose on the first day of the week,

we gather now on the first day of the week to worship him, to worship you.

Be pleased by our worship, Lord.

And now address us as we humbly incline our ears and hearts to your word.

Speak to us from your word.

That your word may land upon our hearts with conviction.

By the power of your Holy Spirit.

That he may give us life.

Life in Jesus' name.

Eternal resurrection life.

All to your glory.

In Jesus' name we ask.

Amen.

Please stand if you're able for the reading of God's word from John 20, verses 1 to 31.

John 20 · chapter mention

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 have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have 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?

She said to them,

They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her,

Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him,

Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

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,

And 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 any, they are forgiven them.

If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

Now Thomas, 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.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples,

which are not written in the book.

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing,

you may have life in his name.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

If I told you that someone I know who recently died has come back to life,

would you believe me?

Probably not.

You'd probably say,

Well, I'll believe it when I see it.

And that's probably what I would say too if you told me the same thing.

Because believe it or not,

people back then,

at the time of Jesus,

had just as hard time believing that someone was raised from the dead as we do now.

And yet,

Jesus' followers believed that Jesus really was raised from the dead.

And they passed that message on generation after generation after generation.

And we see here in John 20 why they believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

We're going to see first how John sees and believes,

and then how Mary sees and believes,

and then the disciples,

and then Thomas.

And then finally,

John's main concern in writing this book,

that we might believe in Jesus,

even though we have not seen him.

That's the main point of this,

that we should believe that Jesus is the Savior King,

being the Son of God,

who died and rose again,

so that we may have life in his name.

And to convince us,

John peppers his account here with things that can only be explained by the historical bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Read verse 1 with me in chapter 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 Mary,

it says,

while it's still dark,

dark early in the morning,

goes to the tomb to visit Jesus.

And when John tells us that it's still dark outside,

he's not just telling us that the sun hasn't risen yet physically,

because he uses the metaphor of light and darkness effectively throughout the entire gospel to communicate who is spiritually in the dark and who is spiritually in the light.

Because Jesus said in John 8, 12,

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.

So if you follow Jesus,

then you have light and you have life.

But if you do not follow Jesus,

then you have darkness.

And you have death.

And so John is giving us here a hint about the state of Mary and the other disciples.

Though they knew Jesus,

though they admire Jesus and follow Jesus,

they are still in the dark about who Jesus really is.

They do not yet understand that he has been raised from the dead.

So they are spiritually lost in the dark.

And Jesus is about to reveal himself to them.

When Mary arrives in the tomb,

she discovers that the stone that had formerly blocked the tomb,

the block,

the entrance of the tomb has been rolled away.

And,

and this is important because we know from chapter 1941,

that Jesus was laid in a new tomb where no one else had been laid.

So Jesus had the tomb all to himself.

That detail is important because it tells us that when the tomb is empty,

there's only one possible explanation.

Jesus has been moved because Jesus was the only one that was in that tomb.

And now Jesus isn't there anymore.

So this account confronts us with the reality of the empty tomb.

2,000 years ago,

a man named Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.

That's recorded in the history books.

And then he was buried in a tomb.

But then on Sunday morning,

the first day of the week,

his tomb was empty.

What do you make of that fact?

If Jesus's tomb had not been empty,

all that the Jewish leaders and the Roman rulers had to do was invite the new

followers of Jesus into a brief tour of his grave where Jesus's corpse still lay.

But they couldn't because they didn't have the body because the tomb was empty.

So intrigued by the empty tomb,

Peter and John run over to verify Mary Magdalene's report.

And John's the author of the book.

And he often refers to himself here as the disciple whom Jesus loved.

I don't think that's conceited at all.

I think that's actually a very sweet way of remembering the way Jesus loved him,

how he had affection for him.

And that's how I think of myself and how you should think of yourself for a follower of Christ.

I am one whom Jesus loves.

You are one whom Jesus loves.

And Peter and John start running over at the same time.

But apparently Peter is a little bit out of shape because John outruns him.

And Peter is lagging behind.

But even though Peter is not as fast as John,

Peter is much more decisive because John hesitates once he gets the tomb.

He's just stooping in.

And then Peter just barges right into the tomb to see what's going on.

And this is what they see.

He says,

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.

This is a very curious detail.

It tells us several things about what has happened.

It rules out several things.

First, if the linen cloths are still lying there,

then they didn't just move Jesus' body to a different tomb

because they would have taken Jesus' body along with the linen cloths

that were wrapped around him.

Why would you want to touch the bloody corpse?

Secondly, it rules out grave robbery,

which was not uncommon in those days

because why would they take the time

to remove the linen cloths from Jesus' body

if they really wanted to fake Jesus' resurrection?

If they were there for money,

then why would they leave the linen cloth,

which was the most valuable item in the tomb

along with the expensive spices that were in there?

Third, this is not the case of someone

who just kind of wakes up startled in a panic,

someone who had fainted

but is resuscitated by the cold, chill air of the grave.

This is not what's going on

because if you remember,

when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead

in chapter 11 of John,

he came out with his hands and his body

and his face still wrapped in the linen cloths

because he was confused.

He had no idea what was going on.

He was dead and then now he's alive

and he's like, what am I doing here?

And he just came right out of the tomb.

But that's not what's going on.

The linen cloth, the face cloth is folded.

Jesus was in full perception of himself.

He was raised from the dead by the power of God

as he said would happen.

And then he took his time,

folded the linen cloths

and then came out of the tomb.

And so as he is looking around

at what's happened inside the tomb,

John is able to connect the dots

and make sense of what has happened.

It says in verses eight to nine,

John saw and believed

for as yet they did not understand the scripture

that he must rise from the dead.

This language of seeing and believing

is a recurring theme throughout the book of John

and throughout this chapter in particular.

John saw the empty tomb

and believed that Jesus was raised from the dead

in fulfillment of the scriptures.

Several Old Testament passages

must have been swirling through his head

at this moment.

This is John's aha moment.

He thinks of Hosea 6, 2,

which we prophesied concerning God's people Israel.

After two days, he will revive us.

On the third day, he will raise us up.

That verse, all of a sudden, makes more sense.

John thinks, oh, Jesus represents God's people.

He is the new Israel.

He's raised from the dead.

Or Isaiah 53, 10,

which prophesied of the Messiah,

the suffering servant of Yahweh,

who would be crushed

as a sacrificial offering for guilt.

But then it says right after

that his days would nonetheless be prolonged,

even though he's already been crushed,

and that he would triumph

and divide the spoils of victory.

When you read Isaiah 53,

without thinking of Christ at all,

it doesn't make sense.

But then when you think of Christ,

what happened to him,

his death and resurrection,

you read Isaiah 53.

It reads like newspaper

that was a report of Jesus

that was written 700 years ahead of time.

This is the point

when this started to click for John.

John and the disciples

were not expecting Jesus

to rise from the dead.

They did not yet understand

that what that had to happen

in accordance with the scriptures.

This is when they start

to make the connections.

So that means this is not the case

of confirmation bias.

This is not the case

of self-fulfilling prophecy

because none of them

was expecting Jesus

to rise from the dead.

As yet, they did not understand

the scripture

that he must rise from the dead.

So far from making up

the story of Jesus' resurrection

to fit their preconceptions

and expectations,

they only understand

the fulfillment

of the scriptural prophecies

after they are confronted

with the reality

of Jesus' resurrection

from the dead.

And today,

on Resurrection Sunday,

April 9th, 2023,

you too are faced

with a choice.

You're not here by accident.

Will you let the reality

of Jesus' resurrection

alter your faith,

change your life,

or will you deny

the reality of the resurrection

to make it fit

your worldview,

your faith?

Peter and John return home,

and then verse 11 says

that Mary stayed there

weeping outside the tomb.

The grief from Jesus' death

is still fresh

on Mary's mind,

and she is distraught

that she has no idea

where Jesus' body is.

Somebody's moved it

and now she can't pay

respects by visiting

his tomb.

But then now

when she looks inside

the tomb,

it says in verse 12

that she saw

two angels in white

sitting where the body

of Jesus had lain,

one at the head

and one at the feet.

And then one of the angels

asked him,

woman,

why are you weeping?

Why are you weeping?

And then she tells them

that they have taken away

my Lord,

and I do not know

where they have laid him.

But at that moment

as she is conversing

with the angel,

she senses that there's

somebody behind her,

and she turns around

and she sees Jesus.

But she doesn't yet know

that it's Jesus,

and so she asks him

the same question.

Where have you,

have you taken away

my Lord?

I do not know

where they have laid him.

If you have carried him away,

tell me where you have laid him,

and I will take him away.

This is a really moving example

of Mary's devotion to Jesus

because even though

she is convinced

that Jesus is dead,

she wants to be able

to attend to him,

take care of him,

and so she weeps

at the thought

that she might not be able

to visit his tomb.

So she is talking to Jesus

as if he's the gardener,

saying,

sir, please,

tell me where you have laid Jesus.

I'll take care of him.

I'll take him off your hands.

But then Jesus says to her,

Mary,

and this is Mary's aha moment.

The moment she hears Jesus

calls out her name,

she remembers,

and she knows in her very soul

that the man that is addressing her

at that moment

is the Lord Jesus.

And so she responds in Aramaic,

in their mother tongue,

in the language

that they had often spoken

to each other in,

Rabboni,

which means teacher.

It's such an intimate moment

of mutual affection.

We know from Luke 8, verse 2,

Luke 8:2

that Mary Magdalene

was one of those women

who followed Jesus around

and provided for him

and his disciples

out of her own means.

She apparently

didn't have family obligations

and had the freedom

to travel with Jesus

and his 12 apostles.

We also know

from the same verse

that she came from

a spiritually broken background.

It tells us in Luke 8, 2,

that she had,

that seven demons

had gone out

of Mary Magdalene.

And I assume

it was Jesus

who cast the demons

out from Mary.

Number seven

implies completeness.

So she was a woman

who was under

complete demonic bondage,

under the bondage

of evil spirits.

And yet Jesus

delivered her.

So Mary is not some

prominent,

unblemished individual.

She has a checkered history.

She was no Paul,

circumcised on the eighth day,

a Hebrew of Hebrews

as to the law,

a Pharisee

as to righteousness

under the law,

blameless.

No, Mary was not blameless.

She was full of blame.

She was no Jewish scholar.

She was no upstanding worshiper.

And yet Jesus

had mercy on her.

And note also

that Mary was a woman

in a society

where women

were often treated

as second-class citizens.

And according

to the Jewish law

at the time,

a woman's witness

was regarded

as inadmissible

in court

because they were

considered unreliable.

So if Peter and John

had seen

the resurrected Jesus

earlier,

they would have been able

to testify legally

that they saw Jesus.

But Mary

could not.

And yet,

surely Jesus

could have appeared

just moments earlier

when Peter and John

were there.

But he didn't.

He waits.

And the first person

he shows up to

is Mary.

the woman

who was weeping

in front of his tomb,

Jesus gives her

the privilege

of first announcing

to the disciples,

I have seen

the Lord.

Do you doubt

that the Lord Jesus

could have any regard

for you?

That he would pay

any attention

to you?

that he would

have mercy

on you?

If you doubt

that,

look at Mary Magdalene

and think again.

See how tenderly

Jesus cares

for her here,

how Jesus

loved her,

and how Jesus

loves you too.

And Jesus

asks you

the same question

that he asked Mary,

whom are you seeking?

Whom are you seeking

this morning?

Is it Jesus?

Or is it someone else?

Do you hear him

calling your name?

Mary?

Jeffrey?

John?

Daniel?

Jen?

If so,

turn toward him

in faith.

Because he will

not turn you away.

But Jesus'

sweet reunion

with Mary

has to be cut short

because he has

a mission

to give Mary.

And he tells her

in verse 17,

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.

Jesus is telling Mary,

hey,

you don't need

to cling to me yet.

I'm not about

to disappear.

I'm not ascending

just yet,

but I will

ascend soon.

So you need

to let the brothers

know.

But the way

Jesus gives Mary

this mission

is amazing

because we know

that Jesus is telling

Mary to go to his

disciples because

that's exactly

what Mary does

in the following

verse,

verse 18.

That's what he means.

But he doesn't

call them his

disciples here.

He calls them

his brothers.

And this is

the first time

in the Gospel

of John

where Jesus

refers to his

disciples

as his

brothers.

He tells them,

I'm ascending

to my Father

and your Father,

to my God

and your God.

Jesus is God's

only begotten Son.

He's the only one

who shares

the Father's

divine nature.

There's no one

else like Jesus

in the whole world,

in the whole human

history.

and Jesus says

that he's going

to my Father

and your Father.

That's a staggering

statement.

Jesus is speaking

of the Christian's

adoption.

Romans 8.15

explains that those

who put their faith

in Jesus

receive the spirit

of adoption

as sons

so that we cry

out to God

as Abba,

Father.

That means

the same privileges

that Jesus enjoys

as the Son of God,

the only Son of God,

his access

to the Father,

the favor

of the Father,

the sharing

in the Father's rule

and in his kingdom,

the eternal

heavenly inheritance

as the heir

to the throne,

they are all

ours in Jesus

because we have

now been adopted

into God's

forever family.

I don't know

if you've ever

seen those

adoption surprise

videos.

You guys know

what I'm talking

about?

It's the videos

where like an orphan

who's been living

with foster parents

for a long time

first finds out

that she is

now going to be

adopted

by her foster parents

and then she just

breaks down

in grateful,

happy tears.

or the video

of a father,

of a foster parent,

father who's been

caring for a foster

child for a while

who is then surprised

with the letter

or legal request,

formal request

by his daughter

asking him

to adopt her

as his own

and then the father

just trembles

all over

and hugs the girl

and loves on her.

I don't know why

but almost always,

every time I've seen

these videos,

it's like this

huge burly man

with tattoos

all over his body

that looks like

he's never shed a tear

in his whole life

but as soon as he

hears the request

from his daughter,

can you please adopt me

as your daughter?

Can you give me

your name?

He just starts

crying like a little baby.

I love those videos

because not only

because they remind me

of my daughters

but because they remind me

of our father's love.

how he adopted us

into his family.

Christian brothers

and sisters,

you are not

an orphan.

you are no longer

an illegitimate child

with no lineage

or family

or name.

You have been adopted

into God's own family.

You have

his name.

You have

his inheritance.

Does that make your heart

sing with praise?

When you repented

and believed in Jesus

as your Lord

and made a public

profession

of your faith

by getting baptized,

you received

the Holy Spirit

who is in your heart,

who is sealing you

and indwelling you

and crying out,

God's,

my child,

my daughter,

my son.

You're taking on

Christ's name

when you are baptized

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

So as you conduct

yourself here on earth,

don't ever forget

who you are.

Remember

your venerable heritage.

Remember

whose name you bear

and remember

the Father's

care for you.

After Mary's witness

to the disciples,

Jesus himself

appears among them.

It says in verses

19 to 20,

on the evening

of that day,

the first day

of the week,

the doors being locked

where the disciples

were for faith,

and the fear of the Jews,

that 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

and the disciples

were glad

when they saw the Lord.

Jesus is able

to walk through doors

as it seems,

which shows that

his resurrected body

is not of the exact

same kind

as our perishable bodies.

And as Jesus

stands among them,

he says to them,

Peace be with you.

This is the disciples'

aha moment.

Jesus pronounces

peace over them

three times

in this passage.

Peace be with you.

And in the Bible,

the word peace

doesn't merely refer

to a calm

or a lack

of disturbance

or a quietness

that comes after

the noise

dies down.

It refers to something

far deeper than that.

The word shalom,

the word for peace,

conveys a sense

of wholeness,

the sense of fitting

into God's order

and plan,

being restored

to right relationship

with God.

That's where you have peace.

And that's a blessing

that is way beyond

our deserts.

We deserve

to have enmity with God,

to be his enemies.

We deserve

God's condemnation

and judgment.

We should be objects

of God's fiery wrath

because we are sinners,

full of hatred,

selfishness,

greed,

envy,

idolatry,

lust,

unrighteous anger,

pride.

But instead,

Jesus offers us

peace.

Peace.

peace.

This is only possible

because Jesus

has died on the cross

for the sins

of his people

and he has

satisfied God

the Father's

righteous wrath

against sinners.

It's because Jesus

has done

what we could not do.

It's because

on Good Friday,

Jesus said

on the cross,

it is finished.

That now,

on Resurrection Sunday,

Jesus can say,

peace be with you.

So even when your life

is surrounded by chaos,

there is a peace

that transcends

understanding

that can rest

in your heart

in Jesus.

Do you have

that peace with God?

Believe in Jesus,

the Savior King,

the Son of God,

who died and rose again,

then you can have

that peace with God.

Jesus continues

to speak to his disciples.

Again,

he says in 21-22,

peace be with you.

As the Father

has sent me,

even so I am sending you.

And when he has said this,

he breathed on them

and said to them,

receive the Holy Spirit.

The word send

is a key word

in the Gospel of John

as well.

God the Father,

he says again and again

that he sent Jesus.

Jesus is the sent one.

And now Jesus sends us out

in that same cascade

of sending from Father

to the Son

to the church

in the power

of the Holy Spirit

and we are sent out

to bear witness,

to extend the peace

that we have received

from God to others.

Because humanity

can never know peace

apart from being reconciled

to God

and having peace

with God in Jesus.

But Jesus knows

that this mission

is too much for us

to handle

in our own strength.

He says Jesus breathed on them

and he says to them,

receive the Holy Spirit.

This breathing

of the Holy Spirit

recalls Genesis 2-7

when God,

after creating

the life,

the creatures,

he breathes life

into them

so that they become

living creatures.

It's reminiscent

of Ezekiel 37

when God commands

Ezekiel to prophesy

to the wind

for the breath

to come

and fill the dry bones

so that dead dry bones

are raised up

and filled with life

and become an army.

The breath of God

has generative power.

It creates.

And so here,

as Jesus breathed

on his disciples,

he is making them

a new creation,

giving them a foretaste

of what will happen

when the Holy Spirit

comes down in power

at Pentecost

in Acts 2.

The presence

of the Holy Spirit

is yet another reality

that confronts us

and confirms to us

that Jesus did indeed

rise from the dead.

Throughout the New Testament,

the powerful presence

of the Holy Spirit

serves to assure us

that we are God's people

and that we belong

to his family.

That's why in Acts 19,

Acts 19:2

verse 2,

when Paul is trying

to verify

that a group of people

are actually genuine

believers in Christ,

this is the question

that he asks them.

Did you receive

the Holy Spirit

when you believed?

The Spirit of God

is invisible,

but that does not mean

we cannot know him

or feel him.

On an overcast day,

you will not see

the sun anywhere,

and yet you know

that the sun is there

because you see

everything around it

by its light.

In the same way,

you might not see

the wind,

which is invisible,

but yet you can know

that the wind is there

by the streaming flag

outside

or by the swaying branches.

Likewise,

we can know

that the Spirit

is there

by his unmistakable

effect on our lives.

According to

1 Corinthians 2,

14,

we cannot even understand

the spiritual things

of God

apart from the help

of the Holy Spirit.

Was there a time

in your life

when the truths

of God's words

seemed strange

and foreign

and untrue,

and yet one day

you're reading the Word

and it seems

it strikes you

that this is true,

that this is good,

and that this is beautiful.

That's not something

you accomplished.

That's the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8,

14 to 17 says,

the Spirit of God

bears witness

with our spirit

that we are children

of God.

Do you know

this moment

that you are

indeed a child

of God,

that you are

a beloved son

or daughter

of our Heavenly Father

and you have

peace in your heart

knowing that you

sense his love?

That's not

your own accomplishment.

That's the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 4, 31

tells us that

when we are filled

with the Holy Spirit

we speak the Word

of God

with boldness.

Have you ever had

and felt faith

and courage

rising up inside you

that enabled you

to share the Word

of God with others

in spite of all

your fears

and apprehensions?

That's the work

of the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever noticed

that you have grown

however incrementally

over the years

since coming to faith

in Christ

in love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control?

That's the work

of the Holy Spirit

because those are

fruit of the Holy Spirit.

If you are not

acquainted with the work

of the Holy Spirit

then you must believe

that Jesus is the Savior King

who died and rose again

and then he will send

the Holy Spirit to you.

And because the church

is the gathering

of believers

who have been indwelled

by the very Spirit

of God,

they have the God-given

authority as his representatives

to forgive

or withhold forgiveness.

That's what verse 23

is speaking of.

It's the same authority

that God gave

to his apostles

and by extension

to his church

in Matthew 16

and Matthew 18

the keys of the kingdom

that whatever we bind

on earth

shall be bound in heaven

and whatever we lose

on earth

shall be loosed

in heaven.

This is an amazing

responsibility

that as the church

that God's forgiveness

or withholding

of forgiveness

in heaven

is tied to

our forgiveness

and withholding

of forgiveness.

This is why the church

has the authority

to baptize

which we will do

shortly.

Receive new members

into the family of God.

they're extending

God's forgiveness

proclaiming that

that person is forgiven

and when that happens

it happens in heaven.

God does that.

This is why

your membership

in a local church matters.

Yes,

the church

is a universal fellowship

of believers

that transcends

all geographic borders

but the universal church

manifests in a real way

in a local embodied

gathering of believers

in local churches.

Jesus.

And so far

we've seen

how John saw

and believed

Mary saw

and believed

and how the disciples

saw and believed

but it turns out

that one of the disciples

was left out.

Thomas was not there

when Jesus first

appeared to them

and even though

the other disciples

tell him

we have seen the Lord

Thomas is skeptical

he says

hey unless I see him

with my own eyes

and touch him

with my own hands

I will not believe him.

I know there's

there are several people

I think

maybe many people

here in our building

who share

Thomas' skepticism.

He's the kind of guy

who thinks logically

and relies on empirical evidence

to assess situations.

He's the scientist

and he says

unless I see his hands

the marks of nails

and place my finger

into the mark of the nails

I will not believe.

And the amazing thing is

Jesus could have spurned him

he could have said

well then forget it.

But he's so gracious

he accommodates Thomas

and appears to him again

in shows himself

in a way

that he will believe

and understand.

It says eight days later

verse 26 to 28

Jesus appeared

stood among them

he says peace be with you

and he singles out Thomas

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

and then Thomas

answered him

my Lord

and my God

Thomas and many others

would have never believed

Jesus

had they not seen

him themselves

but they did see Jesus

and they told

other people about it

and then they told

other people about it

and so on

down to our

very generation

and here we are

reminding each other

once again

that Jesus really did

rise from the dead

if Christ

had not risen

from the dead

Christianity

would have been

like a ship

parked at the dock

that can never

take off

without an engine

Christianity

would have been

dead in the water

but Christianity

grew into

the largest religion

in the world

it has spread

into every continent

Asia

Europe

North America

South America

Africa

Oceania

and even

Antarctica

but how

how did a religion

whose central tenet

is that a man

who is claimed

to be God

died and was

raised from the dead

ever get off

the ground

because it really

happened

Thomas came to

that same

conclusion

and he exclaims

my Lord

and my God

and that's no easy

thing for a faithful

Jew to say

the Jews have been

worshipping

Yahweh

and saying that

there is no

no God

but Yahweh

the Lord is one

for thousands

of years

and yet

confronted with

the reality

of Jesus

resurrection

Thomas dispenses

with his

theological qualms

and skeptical

instincts

and proclaims

that Jesus

is God

the son of God

and this is

the kind of God

we get to serve

the mark

of the great love

that Jesus

showed us

is forever

stamped upon

his human body

in his wounds

even in his

glorified

resurrected body

Jesus has nail

wounds in his

hands

he has the

wound in his

side where the

Roman soldiers

had speared him

through to make

sure that he's

dead

Jesus carries

with himself

these wounds

as an eternal

reminder of his

undying and

unchanging love

for us

what God in the

world was

wounded for you

what God in the

world died

for you

only Jesus

there's no

better person

to call my

Lord and my

God

Edward

Shilito a

Christian minister

in England

during the

first world

war wrote a

beautiful poem

entitled Jesus

of the scars

and part of it

goes like this

Lord Jesus

by thy scars

we claim thy

grace

the other

gods were

strong but

thou wast

weak

they rode

but thou

didst stumble

to a throne

but to our

wounds

only God's

wounds can

speak

and not

a God

has wounds

but thou

alone

our

Jesus

alone

has wounds

our

Jesus

alone

loved you

to his

death

and

therefore

Jesus

is uniquely

worthy

to be

worshipped

to be

loved

so

who do

you say

that Jesus

is today

do you

confess him

as my

Lord

and my

God

John

Mary

the

disciples

and Thomas

all saw

and believed

and they

bore witness

to us

and they

bore

and John

bears witness

in this book

so that we

who have not

seen him

might

believe

and that's

his purpose

it says in

verses 30

to 31

now Jesus

did many

other signs

in the

presence

of the

disciples

which are

not

written

in this

book

but these

are written

so that

you may

believe

that Jesus

is the

Christ

the son

of God

and that

by believing

you may

have life

in his

name

Jesus promised

to give us

life

and life

abundantly

God

God

it's

it's when

you believe

in Jesus

the risen

Christ

that

you are

adopted

into

God's

family

it's

when you

believe

in Jesus

that

you have

the love

that you're

assured

of the love

of our

Father

Heavenly

Father

by the

Holy Spirit

who indwells

you

this is the

king

that we

get to

serve

and remember

on

Resurrection

Sunday

have you

tasted

and seen

the abundant

life in

Jesus

my hope

and prayer

for you

this morning

is that

every single

one of you

will leave

this place

saying

Jesus

is my

Lord

and my

God

let's

pray

together

Jesus

you are

my

God

you are

my

Lord

I love

you

I give

my

life

to you

it is

our

joy

and honor

to serve

you

so help

us Lord

to be

faithful

witnesses

pointing

people to

the risen

Lord

and all

those who

do not

yet have

faith

please

give the

gift of

faith

today

that they

too may

profess

you

confess

you

as

their

Lord

and

Savior

in

Jesus

name

we pray

amen

God

and

we