[0:00] Please take your Bibles and open them up to John chapter 20 this morning. Our sermon text is going to be the whole chapter, John chapter 20. If you didn't bring a Bible with you this morning, that's okay.
[0:13] We have Bibles provided for you in the seat backs there in front of you. And if you're using that Bible in front of you, you can find our passage on page 852. Either way, I would encourage you to have a Bible open.
[0:26] I don't want you just hearing my words this morning. I want you to see with your own eyes the Word of God as we walk through this chapter together. So when you found it, John chapter 20, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word.
[0:48] 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.
[1:06] We do not know where they've 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.
[1:17] 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, in the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.
[1:36] 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.
[1:50] Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood outside, 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.
[2:06] They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, They've taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they've laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing.
[2:19] But she did not know that it was Jesus. And 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.
[2:35] Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabbani, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
[2:49] 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.
[3:03] And that he had said these things to her. On the evening of that day, the first of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
[3:16] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
[3:31] 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.
[3:42] 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.
[3:53] 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.
[4:06] 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.
[4:17] 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.
[4:30] 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.
[4:44] 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.
[5:01] The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Let's pray once more. Father, we pray that as we open up your word now, as we look and consider the resurrection of Christ, would you give us eyes to see the truth by faith this morning?
[5:19] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Thank you for standing for that entire chapter. C.S. Lewis, you might know that name.
[5:32] He's the well-known author of Mere Christianity and the Chronicles of Narnia series and many other books that he's written. But you may not know that at one point in his life, he was a convinced atheist.
[5:44] At age 17, Lewis wrote a letter to his friend Arthur Greaves saying, I believe in no religion. There's absolutely no proof for any of them.
[5:57] But just 15 years later, by the grace of God, C.S. Lewis saw things differently and he wrote another letter to his friend Arthur Greaves saying this.
[6:07] He says, Christianity is God expressing himself through what we call real things. Namely, the actual incarnation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[6:27] Somewhere along the way, C.S. Lewis has experienced a shift in his belief. He was given eyes to see, not physically to see, but eyes to spiritually see and perceive and understand and believe that the things that we read about in God's Word are real things.
[6:47] And if they are real things, then according to C.S. Lewis, these real things change everything. C.S. Lewis would later write in his book, Miracles, the New Testament writers speak as if Christ's achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe.
[7:08] He is the first fruits, the pioneer of life. He has forced open a door that has been locked ever since the death of that first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the king of death.
[7:22] Everything is different because he has done so. This is the beginning of a new creation. A new chapter in cosmic history has opened.
[7:33] Everything is different because of the resurrection of Christ. Amen? This is what C.S. Lewis claimed for us this morning. Everything is different because of the resurrection of Jesus.
[7:45] And I think John, the beloved disciple, in our passage this morning would agree. So what I want us to see this morning as we walk through John chapter 20 together is four ways the resurrection changes everything.
[7:57] If you're a note taker and if you're writing down to follow along, this is our outline this morning. It will help you to follow as I go along. Four ways the resurrection changes everything for us who believe.
[8:12] Four ways the resurrection changes everything for us who believe. Way number one. First, because Jesus lives, we can trust the Word of God.
[8:24] Because Jesus lives, we can trust the Word of God. We've seen time and time and time again as we've gone through this series throughout the Gospel of John.
[8:37] John is showing us that Jesus' life and His death and especially now His resurrection, this isn't just accident, what's happening. This is fulfillment.
[8:48] He is perfectly fulfilling the Word of God. So look there with me starting in verse 1 of chapter 20. John says that on the first day of the week, Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and she saw in the dark of the early morning that that stone had been rolled away.
[9:08] And so she ran to Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, who we know to be John, and said, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb. And we don't know where they've laid Him.
[9:20] Apparently grave robbing was a common practice in this day. And so Mary feared that maybe that was what happened here with the body of Jesus. And so in a panic, she goes and she bears witness to the empty tomb.
[9:34] Now we'll return to Mary here in just a moment as we see her encounter with the risen Christ who she thought was just the gardener. But let me just point out really quickly here, briefly, the fact that the resurrection story begins with a woman's testimony ought to be shocking for us as we read this account.
[9:54] Especially if we realize and remember that in this culture, a woman's testimony, according to Jewish law, it wasn't even admissible in Jewish court as a reliable piece of evidence.
[10:05] Why in the world would John begin this story with a woman's testimony? Why in the world, if he were simply trying to fabricate a story and make up a believable story about something that he wanted us to think that happened, why would he start with a woman's testimony?
[10:20] Well, he wouldn't unless he wasn't fabricating a story. He was recording details of what actually happened that Sunday morning. Well, eventually, two men do arrive on the scene.
[10:33] Apparently, they raced there. At least John thought so. I'm not sure why he felt the need to include this, but verse 4 says, Peter and John were running together to the tomb, but John, make sure that we know John outruns Peter.
[10:47] He got there first. And he stooped in and looked inside. He saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
[10:58] Well, then Peter catches up eventually. I imagine him huffing and puffing and trying to catch his breath. Maybe, maybe not. But Peter, bold as ever, he does. He goes right inside the tomb. And verse 6 says that he saw the grave clothes, he saw the face cloth neatly folded up, but he did not see the body of Jesus.
[11:19] I have to admit to you that I am not well versed on proper etiquette. Some of you have eaten a meal with me. I do my best. But apparently, there are certain rules that you're supposed to follow.
[11:31] Where to put your knife, where to put your fork, where to put your spoon, how to go about this process of just getting food into your body. That's what I'm concerned about at a meal, right? And with your napkin, what you're supposed to do, proper etiquette, while you're eating your meal, where does your napkin go?
[11:47] It's on your lap. Okay, good job. When you're finished with your meal, you take that napkin and you fold it neatly and you set it off to the side of your plate.
[11:57] Why? Well, because you're finished. You don't need it anymore. You're done. You have no use for that napkin anymore. So you fold it right up. You set it off to the side. In a similar way, Jesus here, as He rises from the grave, He takes that grave cloth, that face cloth that He had use for for a moment, and He folds it up and sets it off to the side.
[12:20] Say, I don't need this thing anymore. You might remember we've seen another resurrection in John's Gospel. This isn't the first time someone's risen from the dead.
[12:30] Right? John chapter 11. Lazarus was raised from the dead. Just like Jesus, Lazarus was truly dead. Just like Jesus, Lazarus was laid in a tomb.
[12:42] And at the command of the voice of Christ, Lazarus came up out of the tomb. But do you remember how Lazarus came out of the tomb? He was still wrapped up in His grave clothes.
[12:55] And He would need them again. But here, Jesus, apparently, He's raised with a different kind of body. He passes right through those grave clothes.
[13:06] He folds them up, puts them to the side, and says, I won't be needing these anymore. Well, verse 8 tells us that eventually the other disciple who had reached the tomb first, just to make sure we're clear, don't forget that other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and listen to this, He saw and He believed.
[13:30] For as yet, they did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead. Did you catch that? The Scripture.
[13:42] The empty tomb. As John laid eyes on the empty tomb, that was key for John's believing and understanding the Scripture. What Scripture? It's not the New Testament.
[13:54] That hasn't been written yet. That's in progress right now. He's talking about the Scripture of the Old Testament. He saw the empty tomb and He believed the witness of the Old Testament.
[14:05] He believed that all of God's Word has been bubbling up in anticipation of this moment. Which is why what we read earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul starts in verse 3.
[14:20] He says, I deliver to you as of first importance what I also receive. That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture. That He was crucified.
[14:33] That He was buried. That He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. Church, if Jesus has not actually risen from the grave as a real thing, as a real event in human history, you can forget the Scriptures.
[14:54] Toss them right in the trash on your way out the door this morning. If Jesus is not raised from the dead, the Scriptures have lied to us and they're not worth trusting. But if He is risen from the grave, as John professes and as we profess this morning, then church, all of God's Word can be trusted.
[15:16] The resurrection is the central fulfillment and confirmation of all of the promises of God. They fall flat if He's not actually raised. That's a real thing in human history.
[15:30] What sort of promises? What sort of promises has God made? What sort of promises do we lose if Jesus remains in the grave? I'll give you one. this promise of a new covenant.
[15:42] Jeremiah chapter 31. Let me read this to you. The Lord says, I will put My law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be My people.
[15:56] No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, Know the Lord for they shall all know Me from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.
[16:13] Church, this promise of forgiveness of sins and personal knowledge of God and personal relationship where He's our God and we're His people that is kept only in the resurrection of Christ.
[16:30] Which leads us to our second way the resurrection changes everything this morning. The second way. Second, because Jesus lives sinners like you and me can enjoy a personal relationship with God.
[16:46] That sentence ought to blow our minds church. Because Jesus lives because of the resurrection we can enjoy a relationship with God. To state the obvious if all we have is Jesus' death if He remains in the grave we might have a good example of selflessness maybe a motivating example of what sacrificial love looks like but what we don't have is forgiveness of sins.
[17:13] What we don't have is hope of eternal life. What we don't have is the possibility of a personal relationship with a holy God. If Jesus remains in the grave as Paul's written our faith is in vain and we're still in our sins.
[17:30] Look there to verse 11. Mary hasn't yet come to the same realization as Peter and John and after they went back to their homes she stood outside the tomb weeping and it says that she stooped to look into the tomb and she saw two angels there in white clothing sitting where the body of Jesus had been laying one at his head and one at his feet and the angels asked her woman why are you weeping and she said I don't know where the body of my Lord is they've taken his body away I don't know where they've laid him and John says that it was then that she turned around and she sees Jesus again notice this theme of the difference between physical sight and spiritual sight throughout this chapter she sees the Lord Jesus with her eyes but she's not able to recognize who it is apparently here in his resurrected state Jesus his identity is still able to be veiled she didn't recognize him right away she thought he was the gardener and so she speaks with him
[18:32] Jesus asks her woman why are you weeping and whom are you seeking and she says to him sir if you've taken away his body let me know where he is so I can take him away she's still distraught at this possibility that the Lord's body has been taken away but here at this point John says Jesus drops the veil and he makes himself known to Mary but how does he do it look there with me how does he do it simply by calling out her personal name Mary at that moment she turns and she knows it's Jesus it's here at this personal call by name that Mary turns and realizes it's the Lord this is a beautiful picture isn't it of the personal relationship between the Lord and his people between the shepherd and the sheep and we've seen already in John chapter 10 haven't we Jesus said the sheep hear the shepherd's voice and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out and he says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me this is personal knowledge it's amazing isn't it you know to be a Christian what that means is more than simply knowing a lot about
[20:00] Jesus it's much more than simply familiarity with the person of Jesus it's much more than just knowing a lot about God's word a lot about who he is and what he's done to be a Christian is to know him and for him to know you is one thing for you to know a lot about Jesus it's another thing entirely to say Jesus Christ the Lord of heaven and earth the risen king knows me by name many of you know that I love basketball this is my time of year right now and if you watch enough basketball you begin to recognize the same players you see them over and over and over again you hear stories from the commentators about their lives about what they're up to is much more than just their stats you get to know their personality social media has taken this to a whole other level it feels like we know them but the reality is of course these public figures have no idea who I am
[21:02] I was at a grocery store in Charlotte and I spotted a player and he was easy to spot right he was a big athletic looking man and he was in the checkout line I figured now was as good a time as any to embarrass myself and my wife and my family and so I walked right up to him and I started talking to him like we were old friends like I knew him back from the day and like we were buddies like I'd known him forever and he was nice enough and he put up with me he was patient but you could tell I was really excited to see him he had no idea who I was I felt like I knew him but he didn't know me and the truth was I didn't know him either I only knew about him I knew the stats and I knew the stories but I didn't know him personally in church I think there's a lesson here for many church going knowledgeable self professed
[22:11] Christians it is not enough to simply know about Jesus you must know him and he must know you I think it's easy for us to be to be familiar to be comfortable with being familiar with Jesus when we're called to have faith in Jesus and this is why Jesus warns those who are simply familiar with him in Matthew chapter 7 he says on that day many will say to me Lord Lord did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then I will declare to them I never knew you depart from me workers of lawlessness friend genuine faith in the resurrected Christ means you don't just know about him you know him and he knows you and if you know him and he knows you the incredible thing is it doesn't just stop there if you know him and he knows you you are now brought into relationship with God the Father look there to verse 17 it's hard to miss the personal language here of what he tells
[23:29] Mary isn't it Mary had apparently wrapped herself around Jesus who can blame her and she wasn't letting him go again but Jesus tells her don't cling to me I'm here I'm not going quite yet but I am ascending and then he sends her with a message listen to this message go to my brothers you hear that go to my brothers and say to them I am ascending to my father and what does he say your father my God and what does he say help me and to your God do you hear that personal language because of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave he now calls us believers his own brothers and sisters how amazing is that his God is our God his Lord is our Lord he shares what he alone has right of with us who have earned nothing but separation what a grace is this it says
[24:35] John told us all the way back in chapter 1 to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God that's a right that has been earned by Christ alone purchased by his life death and resurrection given to us simply by faith that's appropriate I think for us to pause here before we go on to our third point this morning and ask ourselves do we know him do you know him or do you simply know about him does he know you if so we should know that being a part of this family of God it comes with profound dignity and responsibility Jesus sent Mary on a mission he's a go bear witness in verse 18 it says that she obeyed she went and announced to the disciples
[25:35] I have seen the Lord and I want us to see here in our third point that this witness bearing mission is the responsibility of every member of the family of God if you are a member of the family of God if you've been brought into personal relationship with God the Father through faith in Jesus Christ guess what now you're sent out on a witness bearing mission to bear witness to the real thing of the resurrection which is why third third because Jesus lives we join the mission of God because Jesus lives we join the mission of God look there to verse 19 John says that on the evening of that day the first day of the week the disciples were gathered there together in a room with the doors locked and you can probably just imagine they were thinking what in the world do we do now our teacher has been crucified are they going to come for us next they're fearing the danger that's lying out there against them and
[26:42] John says Jesus came and he stood among them and he said to them peace be with you now you'd love a little bit more detail about how this happened wouldn't you I know I would doors are locked they're all gathered there huddled up together all of a sudden Jesus is in the room and he's speaking to them peace be with you and he says when he said this he showed them his hands and he showed them his side and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord and then he follows up this pronouncement of peace with a mission look there to verse 21 Jesus said to them again peace be with you as the father has sent me even so I am sending you and when he 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 how in the world do we understand this this is somewhat difficult for us to wrap our minds around isn't it we know that the spirit of
[27:49] God fell upon the disciples in Acts chapter 2 at Pentecost it came in full and so likely what we're seeing here is a sort of prophetic sign of what's to come that after Jesus departs he will send another helper he's promised this already to equip them for the mission that he's about to send them to accomplish what mission what's the mission of the church as the father has sent me he says even so I am sending you as the father has sent me to accomplish salvation in my life my death my resurrection now I'm sending you to proclaim what I have done the father has sent me to do it now I send you to proclaim it the mission of the church is gospel proclamation the church can busy itself with many many many good things and many maybe not so good things but the central mission of the church at the very core of why we do what we do is to bear witness to the real things of the life death resurrection of
[29:02] Jesus to preach the gospel that Jesus has borne the wrath of God that we have earned so that by faith in him we might know the peace of God that he has earned if you have received peace with God your mission is to extend peace with God to others that's the mission we're sent out as messengers of the risen king and as messengers of the king the disciples are given this profound responsibility in verse 23 he says if you forgive the sins of any they're forgiven and if you withhold forgiveness for many it is withheld this is immense responsibility isn't it how do we understand that let me put it to you like this when a father sends a child outside with a message for his brothers it says something like this dad says come inside and get ready for dinner the authority of that message is not in the child the authority in that message is in the one who sent the child to deliver the message and if the brothers disregard the child if they disregard the message ultimately they're not disregarding the child are they they're disregarding the father who sent the child out with the message now let's imagine there's a reward for obedience and a punishment for disobedience come inside get ready for dinner and you will receive dessert you will get some ice cream and if you don't come inside if you refuse to listen to this message you go straight to bed again the brothers may scoff at the messenger but the fact is the same the child is pronouncing blessing and consequence on behalf of the father well church the same is true for us but on a much larger more significant on an eternal scale we are commissioned to go out with a message from the king of kings repent and believe the gospel the blessing for belief that we hold out to sinners is eternal life and the punishment for rejection is eternal death condemnation and when that message is received guess what it's not about you it's not because of you it's not for you and when that message is rejected guess what it's not about you it's not because of you it's not for you
[31:44] Jesus says in John 13 truly truly I say to you whoever receives the one I send receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me but even so even though it's not about us ultimately church we have been given a tremendous responsibility have we not we pronounce forgiveness on behalf of the king what does that look like well say you you share the gospel with a friend you leave here this morning you're fired up about the resurrection of Jesus you just you want to share it with somebody over lunch you go talk about the good news of Jesus and your friend says yes I want that I want to believe that message I'm willing to repent of my sins and trust fully in Christ I want that and your friend believes praise God you are well within your rights to proclaim on behalf of the risen Christ friend your sins are forgiven they come and they enter into the church and over time their testimony is confirmed by the church community they're baptized into the church what is that that's the church community saying your sins are forgiven we see the grace of God at work in you we see it the opposite side of that situation you share that same gospel message and your friend says the resurrection of Jesus and get out of here with that
[33:10] I don't believe that I don't want any part of that you are well within your rights to say with tears than friend if response to this message you're still in your sins forgiveness is withheld from you church we don't ultimately forgive sins of course not that's God's job but we've been given the responsibility to pronounce what God has done in Christ that's our mission Paul says that we are entrusted with the message of reconciliation therefore we are ambassadors for Christ God making his appeal through us we implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God what's the result of that reconciliation when a sinner believes the message of the gospel and they're made right with God what's the result what's the fruit of that acceptance of what Christ has done fourth because Jesus lives we who believe share in the very life of God because
[34:28] Jesus lives we who believe share in the life of God look there to verse 24 John says that Thomas one of the twelve called the twin was not with them when Jesus came I don't know where he was but he gets back and everyone's talking about seeing Jesus and I can't blame him can you he's a little skeptical of this I would think maybe they're pulling some practical joke on me what are the odds that as soon as I leave Jesus shows up in the room starts talking to everybody else but me but obviously they were genuine they believed what they were telling him and so he says well unless I see it unless I see the marks on his hands unless I put my own hand in his wound in his side I will never believe hence the nickname that he's earned for himself fairly or unfairly you decide doubting Thomas well church it's for our benefit that Thomas wasn't there that day because what happens next is one of the most beautiful proclamations of the identity of Jesus in all of the scripture verse 26 says eight days later the disciples were inside again now
[35:41] Thomas was with them right no more running off the doors again were locked they're still on lockdown and John says although the doors were locked Jesus again just like before came and stood among them and again just like before he makes his pronouncement peace be with you and then he looks at Thomas he tells him put your finger here see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side he says to Thomas do not disbelieve but believe Thomas no doubt shocked to see Jesus and probably even more shocked that Jesus had heard his doubts he answered with his beautiful declaration of who Jesus is my Lord and my God now churches we've walked through the gospel of John together we've asked the question over and over and over and over and over again who is
[36:44] Jesus who is Jesus Colossians chapter 1 tells us that he's the image of the invisible God the first all creation and he's the first born from among the dead that in everything he might be preeminent Hebrews 1 says that he's the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature John 1 as we began this series said in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was what was God he was in the beginning with God all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made and here in the aftermath of the resurrection Thomas sees the resurrected Jesus with his own eyes and he gets it right my Lord and my God friend who do you say that Jesus is who do you say that Jesus is who do you believe that Jesus is
[37:55] John says in verse 30 that he's written this book so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that by believing look at the result that you may have life in his name church the good news of the gospel what we proclaim here on Easter Sunday and every Sunday is that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord that's what we celebrate with the resurrection of Jesus this morning that if he's your Lord and if he's your God then his death is your death and his life is your life you are buried with him in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old is gone the new has come that we share in the very life of
[38:58] God by faith in him you know I have no doubt this morning that in a room this size there are some here this morning who need to hear Jesus' command to Thomas do not disbelieve but believe love and I want you to know that if you're wrestling this morning with doubt Jesus has seen it before your questions are not new to him your doubts are not new to him your hesitations are not new to him but John has shown us who he is and our response to him this morning ought to be to believe do not disbelieve but believe and by believing you may have life in his name Thomas was blessed to see the risen Lord face to face he wasn't the only one we know 1 Corinthians 15 he appeared to more than 500 witnesses visibly physically real people who saw
[40:04] Jesus with their own eyes none of us have ever seen Jesus with our own physical eyes but we believe by faith by the grace of God who gave us eyes to see not physically but spiritually to see we believe like John by faith on the strength of an empty tomb and the witness of the scriptures that Jesus Christ is Lord and that he lives today to offer eternal life to any who believe in him by faith Jesus pronounces a benediction here in verse 29 for those of us who have never seen and yet believe Jesus said to him have you believed because you have seen me blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed as Peter says in first Peter 8 1 8 9 though you have not seen him you love him though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory if that's you this morning
[41:10] Jesus says you are blessed you know for some what we talk about here on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday morning for some of us the death of Jesus and his resurrection from the grave are just religious things and not real things for some of us they are familiar things but not foundational things they are familiar things but not things of genuine faith but John has shown us this morning that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead his actual resurrection as a real thing changes everything central to our faith it's central to our relationship with God it's central to our purpose in this life and our hope in the life to come so as we close this morning I just want to ask you one more time as we close is everything different for you because of the resurrection of Christ what has the resurrection changed in your life do you believe in the risen Lord
[42:21] Jesus by faith and if you do what has it changed in you we're going to stand and sing in just a moment as we close in Christ alone my hope is found is that true of you as he stands in victory since curse has lost his grip on me is that true of you for I am his and he is mine bought with the precious blood of Christ is that true of you if it's not friend if you don't believe these words that we're about to sing don't don't sing it in fact I would encourage you use this time as we respond in worship to pray and to ask the Lord to give you eyes to see the risen Lord Jesus not physically but spiritually to receive him by faith but if that is you and if that does describe you if you can say with confidence this morning in Christ alone my hope is found in church let's respond joyfully in worship as we close this morning amen let's pray
[43:24] Lord we praise you for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead apart from which we have no hope Christ if you are not actually raised our faith is void and futile we're still in our sins our preaching is worthless our life is empty but father because Jesus lives and reigns in resurrection this morning God we may know you and share in your very life we pray if there's any here who don't know you God would you draw them to yourself even this moment give them eyes to see this moment Lord give them a spirit desire to call out to you in faith and father we pray Lord that we would leave here joyful in the good news of the gospel and eager to share it with all who might listen to us we pray this in Jesus name amen church let's stand and respond majority of therichten of theator and leave a time in number in año o in 2009 juns 蔡 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0