WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:11.580 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:15.419 ! use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:34.399 Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel according to John, chapter 20, verses 19 to 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.840 31, as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:44.000 On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:51.019 doors locked for fear of Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 00:00:51.020 --> 00:00:53.260 Peace be with you. 00:00:53.740 --> 00:00:57.580 After he said this, he showed them his hands and sighed. 00:00:58.260 --> 00:01:01.420 The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 00:01:02.160 --> 00:01:05.600 Again, Jesus said, Peace be with you. 00:01:06.240 --> 00:01:09.120 As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:14.520 And with that, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:18.580 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven. 00:01:18.579 --> 00:01:21.679 If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:29.179 Now, Thomas, also known as Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when 00:01:29.179 --> 00:01:29.879 Jesus came. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:35.340 So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:42.680 But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:47.380 nails were and put my hands into his side, I will not believe. 00:01:48.460 --> 00:01:53.580 A week later, his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. 00:01:54.660 --> 00:02:00.620 Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. 00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:04.700 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here. 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:06.360 See my hands. 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:09.879 Reach out your hand and put it into my side. 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:12.299 Stop doubting and believe. 00:02:13.460 --> 00:02:16.740 Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. 00:02:17.359 --> 00:02:21.919 Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed. 00:02:22.799 --> 00:02:26.780 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:33.259 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:33.719 this book. 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:39.579 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, 00:02:39.739 --> 00:02:43.739 and that by believing, you may have life in his name. 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:46.599 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:47.419 --> 00:02:48.959 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:02:49.739 --> 00:02:50.560 Let's pray. 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.800 Lord, we want what you want for us. 00:02:55.860 --> 00:02:58.879 Faith and life in the name of your Son. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.400 Abundant life, eternal life, resurrection life. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:03.719 That's what we want to know. 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:04.939 That's what we want to experience. 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:07.480 That's what we want for our broken world. 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:14.620 So Lord, in the preaching of your word, in the preaching of your risen Son, would you show 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:15.280 us that life? 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:17.520 Would you give us a taste of that life in his name? 00:03:18.260 --> 00:03:18.520 Amen. 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:26.000 All right, so this is my last sermon until August 16th. 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:28.920 I'm kind of hoping it's the last sermon I ever preach. 00:03:28.980 --> 00:03:32.740 I'm kind of praying that Jesus returns before the end of my sabbatical. 00:03:33.380 --> 00:03:34.240 That'd be awesome. 00:03:35.800 --> 00:03:39.540 And what I'm not praying for right now is revival, because I'd be so bummed if that happened 00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:41.160 while I was gone, all right? 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:43.500 So just hang on for a little bit, all right? 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.400 But yeah, I'm heading out on sabbatical. 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:54.439 And as I've been preparing for sabbatical, you know that I've been reflecting a lot on 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:54.640 time. 00:03:54.700 --> 00:03:57.180 You probably hear it in all my sermons recently. 00:03:58.040 --> 00:04:03.320 And with this upcoming sabbatical, it's really been forcing me to think more deeply about 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:07.939 my relationship to work and what Sabbath means and looks like in my life. 00:04:08.500 --> 00:04:13.540 And a question that I came across recently in my scripture reading was this question that's 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:15.819 in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 3. 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:18.300 It's the wisdom literature in the Old Testament scriptures. 00:04:18.500 --> 00:04:19.740 And the writer asked this question. 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:26.639 He asked, what does anyone gain by all his hard work at which he works hard under the 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:26.939 sun? 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:31.180 And right before that in verse 2, he says, nothing but vapor, totally vapor. 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:33.500 Everything is just vapor that vanishes. 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:38.779 And this has really caught my attention because I'm about to step into this, you know, temporary 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:43.259 season of like intentionally not working. 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:48.439 Pushing pause on my labor under the sun. 00:04:48.659 --> 00:04:51.099 And it's raising all kinds of existential questions for me, really. 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:54.599 Like, who am I apart from my work? 00:04:54.779 --> 00:05:00.279 What am I supposed to do with my time if I'm not building and contributing and producing? 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.879 And then underneath that, when I dig even deeper, like, what have I even accomplished in 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:08.019 my work over these past eight years? 00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:09.359 What do I have to show for it? 00:05:09.919 --> 00:05:15.620 And like, what difference is it going to make when I go on sabbatical and stop working? 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:21.419 And then I flipped over the next day to the next chapter of Ecclesiastes chapter 2 and I 00:05:21.419 --> 00:05:22.039 read this. 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:27.740 He writes, but when I turned my attention to everything that my hands had done and to how 00:05:27.740 --> 00:05:33.419 hard I had worked for it, note this, it was all vapor, all chasing the wind. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.039 There was no benefit under the sun. 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:41.079 My first thought was, I should just take a really long sabbatical then. 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:43.419 That's what it means, right? 00:05:43.599 --> 00:05:46.439 It's all vapor, it doesn't matter how hard I work, whether I work. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:49.060 But really, this hit me hard. 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:52.259 It hit me hard, like, have you ever felt the weight of this? 00:05:52.599 --> 00:05:57.240 Ever wondered what the point of all your labor, all your hard work was? 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.699 Whether what you're working for would last? 00:06:01.180 --> 00:06:03.459 Have you ever, like, wondered about that? 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:09.139 You know, Ecclesiastes, it can be one of the most depressing books in the Bible because 00:06:09.139 --> 00:06:11.419 it pulls no punches, it tells it like it is. 00:06:12.039 --> 00:06:17.740 If this is all there is, life under the sun as we know it, everything is meaningless, it 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:18.039 says. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:25.159 But you know, the purpose of Ecclesiastes isn't simply to point out the futility of life under 00:06:25.159 --> 00:06:25.479 the sun. 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:30.360 No, the point is actually to have our hearts and our hopes set on something above the sun, 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:36.660 something transcendent, something out of this world, something that defies the cyclical pattern 00:06:36.660 --> 00:06:41.020 of life that's become so familiar and inescapable to so many of us. 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:46.900 But the question is, is there even such a thing above the sun? 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:49.859 And if so, what is it? 00:06:51.039 --> 00:06:55.560 Well, this is the second Sunday of Easter and what I'd like to propose is that that transcendent 00:06:55.560 --> 00:07:00.419 out of this world power, that thing that we all know we need and yet maybe have trouble 00:07:00.419 --> 00:07:05.399 believing because it's too good to be true, I'd like to propose that that above the sun 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:11.659 reality that turns all meaninglessness upside down is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:16.560 I love how the Yale historian, he puts it this way, his name's Yaroslav Pelikan. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:22.280 He wrote, if the resurrection of Jesus actually happened, then nothing else really matters. 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:29.480 And if the resurrection of Jesus did not actually happen, then nothing else really matters. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:31.220 You see what he's saying? 00:07:31.280 --> 00:07:35.519 He's saying that if Jesus isn't risen from the dead, then Ecclesiastes truly is the most 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.680 depressing piece of literature of all time. 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:39.600 Everything is meaningless vapor. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:48.060 But if Jesus is risen, then what we have is the most meaningful central fact of history 00:07:48.060 --> 00:07:51.240 that relativizes and reorders everything else. 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:56.620 What he's saying is if the resurrection is true, then this changes everything. 00:07:57.960 --> 00:08:02.560 And yet here, when you turn to John chapter 20, it doesn't look like much has changed after 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:03.879 Jesus' resurrection, right? 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:07.579 At least not anything significant, positive, or clarifying, right? 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:12.180 Up to this point, only a few people have seen Jesus. 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:16.060 Mary Magdalene and the two disciples who are on the road to Emmaus. 00:08:16.120 --> 00:08:18.300 But even that hasn't really changed anything. 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:23.100 We know from the other gospel accounts that when Mary told the disciples what she saw, they 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:23.720 didn't believe her. 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:25.439 They've heard the report. 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:26.959 They know the tomb is empty. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.779 Peter and John saw it for themselves, but they don't know what to do with it. 00:08:31.139 --> 00:08:36.379 And though Jesus told Mary to tell them, hey, meet up with me in Galilee. 00:08:36.579 --> 00:08:37.399 I'll see you there. 00:08:38.079 --> 00:08:40.259 They're all staying put here in Jerusalem. 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:42.120 They're not out in the streets. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:43.840 They're not preaching boldly. 00:08:43.939 --> 00:08:45.960 They're not organizing a movement. 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:47.079 They're inside. 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:48.480 The doors are locked. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:49.779 And they're afraid. 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:55.679 Because the same leaders who had arrested, tried, and crucified Jesus, they're still out 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:55.899 there. 00:08:55.899 --> 00:09:01.019 And what might they do to the ones who just a few days earlier had ushered him into Jerusalem 00:09:01.019 --> 00:09:05.799 as king, singing as loudly as they could, Hosanna to the King of Kings? 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:07.939 These disciples, they were exposed. 00:09:08.199 --> 00:09:09.600 Everyone knew their faces. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.240 They were Jesus's unmistakable Galilean groupies, right? 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:20.840 So imagine these disciples huddling in this room, door locked, out of fear, sitting in silence, 00:09:21.199 --> 00:09:23.659 carrying the shame of deserting the rabbi. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:25.360 Heads down, hope gone. 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.759 We had hoped that he was the Messiah, right? 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:33.879 We gave three years of our life following him, positioning ourselves in his kingdom, building 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:35.700 our futures around this guy. 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:36.600 But now what? 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.060 Is Matthew supposed to go back and collect taxes? 00:09:40.940 --> 00:09:44.480 Are James and John, Peter and Andrew supposed to go back to fishing? 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:49.180 Is Simon the Zealot supposed to go back to his domestic terrorism? 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.100 And on top of all that, there's confusion. 00:09:52.200 --> 00:09:55.779 Confusion over what Mary has seen, what the two disciples are reporting. 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:56.700 We've seen Jesus. 00:09:56.820 --> 00:09:57.940 The tomb is empty. 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:03.019 By the time we get to our passage here in John 20, verse 19, Christ is risen. 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:04.220 The tomb is empty. 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.360 But the disciples are paralyzed. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:10.600 Paralyzed by fear and shame and disappointment and confusion. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:14.700 They have no direction, no idea what to make of the last three years of their lives, let 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:16.100 alone the last three days. 00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:23.580 And it's into this locked room, into the middle of these directionless disciples that Jesus 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:30.420 enters, full of grace and truth, coming to change their lives in ways they'd never dream 00:10:30.420 --> 00:10:31.080 or imagine. 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.899 Jesus enters the room, re-enters their lives, and he comes to do what he'd done for them 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:36.440 all along. 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:41.080 The thing that he loves to do for all his disciples, he enters that room to supply all 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:43.480 their needs according to the riches of his glory. 00:10:43.480 --> 00:10:47.840 And that's what I want to show you this morning from this text, what the risen Christ graciously 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:53.060 gives to his disturbed, directionless, and doubting disciples. 00:10:53.779 --> 00:10:58.300 Starting here in verse 19, what we see is that the first thing the risen Lord does here for 00:10:58.300 --> 00:11:02.440 his disciples is he just comes to them. 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:03.659 He comes to them. 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:04.980 He pursues them. 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:11.060 Like he, even as the risen Lord of glory, right, the defeater of death, the one to whom all 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:17.439 nations now have every reason to come and turn and flock and bow because of what he has just 00:11:17.439 --> 00:11:19.559 done to save the world and break the curse. 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:24.659 Though he had every reason to expect for them to come to him out of a realization of who he 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:26.279 is and what he's just done. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:28.519 No, he doesn't wait for them to come to him. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.679 No, the one who said, it is finished, said, I'm going to do some more and I'm going to 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:34.519 go to them. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:35.500 I'm going to look for them. 00:11:35.500 --> 00:11:36.379 I'm going to be with them. 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:41.080 I'm going to pursue them, though they deserted me because of my gracious character. 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.620 Because of his gracious character, what he wants for them is his presence and his peace. 00:11:45.700 --> 00:11:47.419 This is the first thing we see him do here. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:50.720 He graciously pursues them with his presence and his peace. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:51.620 Look at verse 19. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:57.179 It's Resurrection Sunday, the most amazing day in history thus far, the day that hope and 00:11:57.179 --> 00:12:00.019 new creation have broken into our broken world, right? 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:06.419 And while his disciples don't dare to believe it, but instead lock themselves in a room out 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:08.759 of fear, Jesus somehow meets them in that locked room. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:13.500 He says, it says here that he came and stood among them. 00:12:14.179 --> 00:12:17.879 And his first words to them, though they very well could have, maybe even should have been 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:20.840 words of disappointment, correction, reprimand. 00:12:20.899 --> 00:12:21.659 I told you so. 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:22.960 How could you forsake me? 00:12:23.059 --> 00:12:23.899 Where's your faith? 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:26.360 They aren't words of rebuke. 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:28.360 They're words of blessing and comfort. 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:30.120 They're words of grace and peace. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.159 Literally, he says, peace be with you. 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:34.580 Those are his first words to them. 00:12:34.620 --> 00:12:35.620 And he says it three times. 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:36.919 Shalom Aleichem. 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:38.560 Peace be with you. 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:41.340 He meets them with his peace and presence. 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:42.620 Peace be with you. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:44.419 I am with you. 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:46.300 This isn't just a greeting. 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:47.680 This is a gift. 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:49.800 He's not telling them to calm down here. 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:51.379 He's saying, I have something for you. 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:52.500 You can have this. 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:52.980 It's me. 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:54.240 I'm here now. 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:55.899 You can have my presence. 00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:57.720 And my presence is your peace. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:04.680 And listen, this isn't just any kind of presence and peace, but it's a unique, new, out of 00:13:04.680 --> 00:13:09.840 this world, above the sun, new creation, resurrection life kind of presence and peace. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:13.680 You see, his resurrection meant that a new kind of peace had just broken into the world. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:19.399 Peace with God and peace over death and in the face of the worst kinds of suffering. 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:20.139 Look at verse 20. 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:25.500 It says that he showed them his hands and his side where he'd been pierced by nail and 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:25.819 spear. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:30.240 What he was showing them was not just evidence that it really is me, that I'm the same one 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.620 that was crucified up on that cross. 00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:39.639 No, he was showing them the price of their peace, which was his life, his suffering. 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:44.840 His body pierced for their transgressions, paying the wages of sin, which is death, in order 00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:50.899 to atone for the sins that separated them from God, who is the source and sustainer of life. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:56.939 This is not a generic peace he's speaking to them, but a cosmic peace that he's paid for 00:13:56.939 --> 00:13:57.819 with his blood. 00:13:58.059 --> 00:13:58.980 It's peace with God. 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:01.199 And it's not just peace with God. 00:14:01.319 --> 00:14:02.559 It's peace over death. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:05.740 Peace no matter what kind of suffering may face them. 00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:09.580 That's what I've risen to win for you, he says to them. 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:11.080 True and lasting peace. 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:13.419 Peace that even death cannot steal from you. 00:14:14.060 --> 00:14:17.840 You see, Jesus wasn't just there showing them his scars. 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.860 He didn't have to be alive for them to see his scars, his piercings. 00:14:21.720 --> 00:14:28.560 But by showing them the piercings of his crucifixion as now a resurrected, like fish-eating man, 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:33.980 he's showing them that in addition to peace with the Holy Creator who hates sin, that's an 00:14:33.980 --> 00:14:35.399 incredible thing in and of itself. 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.860 He's also giving them peace to endure our sin-stained creation. 00:14:40.259 --> 00:14:41.840 Peace over death and suffering. 00:14:41.939 --> 00:14:47.279 He's offering here so much more than a momentary calm, so much more than relief from stress, 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:52.199 but a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that actually holds and lasts no matter 00:14:52.199 --> 00:14:54.819 what might break or fall apart. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:15:02.199 That kind of peace, the kind of peace that we're all looking for, really, and yet maybe struggle 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:03.840 to believe actually exists. 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:07.240 Because, like, everything in this world just feels so fragile, right? 00:15:07.240 --> 00:15:13.720 So how can peace be possible when so much of what we hold dear, even life itself, feels 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.060 like it could be taken away from us at just any moment? 00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:22.120 The next pandemic, the next war, the next global crisis, the next personal tragedy. 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:25.159 How can we believe there's peace? 00:15:25.960 --> 00:15:30.000 And because most of us kind of don't believe that peace is possible, what do we do? 00:15:30.060 --> 00:15:32.399 Most of us try to, we try to armor up, right? 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:36.580 Protect ourselves, scramble for control, fight to stay ahead. 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:43.500 Or maybe our armor is simply just distraction, numbness, just not caring that much. 00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:45.100 Everything's meaningless anyway. 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:51.100 There's this phenomenon that's very interesting to me, particularly in East Asia, but it's 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:56.320 here in the States too, but you especially find it in Hong Kong and South Korea and Japan. 00:15:58.139 --> 00:16:01.220 People, the Japanese call this hikikomori. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:08.659 Hikikomori, basically young people, mostly millennials, a lot of Gen Z, Gen Alpha, who out of fear of 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:13.759 the outside world, because of all the pressures that exist, because of all the possible academic 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:21.019 and social and economic failures that they could face, they just shut themselves up in the rooms 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:27.960 for months, even years, because it feels safer to just exist in their bedrooms, in their controlled, 00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:32.439 curated, and often digital worlds, than in the real world. 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:39.039 Because like in their digital world, their video game avatar can still take risks, even 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:42.720 die a million times, but there's always the restart button, right? 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:53.300 So these bedrooms basically provide nice, low-stakes living, an unlimited dopamine device, and no-cost, 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:55.220 unlimited resurrection. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.440 And for many, it's a wonderful haven. 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:06.920 Now, in case you high-achieving Gen Xers and millennials, in case you boomers here are shaking 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:09.480 your heads right now at this phenomenon, right? 00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.519 What if instead we gazed upon this phenomenon with compassion? 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:21.860 Because whether we armor up through distraction, like the hikikomori, or through diligence, like 00:17:21.860 --> 00:17:27.220 all the rest of you, at the end of the day, we're all trying to do the same thing. 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.180 We're all trying to build a life that feels secure. 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:37.759 So maybe for the boomer that looked like securing a career, getting a job at a Fortune 500 company, 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:40.900 building a nice nest egg, climbing the ladder. 00:17:41.640 --> 00:17:46.200 But what if for the Gen Zer, it just means living less ambitiously off their boomer parents' 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:47.080 nest eggs? 00:17:48.620 --> 00:17:52.580 At the end of the day, it's just different ways of armoring up. 00:17:52.579 --> 00:17:58.099 And sure, over time, this armoring up can start to feel kind of like peace. 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:02.319 Maybe some of us think that this is as close to peace as we'll get. 00:18:03.659 --> 00:18:08.359 But deep down, we all know that there's no way, there's no way to cover all our bases, 00:18:08.619 --> 00:18:11.199 no way to account for all our vulnerabilities. 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:15.619 Deep down, we know that all this armor, it's just coping. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:16.599 It's not peace. 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:18.359 It's not peace. 00:18:18.359 --> 00:18:24.919 And then see what, see, that's what, that's what Jesus is offering here. 00:18:25.439 --> 00:18:28.859 Not a coping technique, but real, actual peace. 00:18:28.919 --> 00:18:34.939 Not the delay, not the denial of death or distraction from it, but the defeat of death. 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:40.159 The disciples, they were not so unlike the hikikomori. 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:43.619 They locked themselves in that room, not sure what their next move was. 00:18:43.619 --> 00:18:48.379 They were paralyzed, hopeless, and fearful of everything outside. 00:18:49.199 --> 00:18:56.839 But the good news of the risen Christ here is that you don't have to win or manufacture your own peace. 00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:57.879 That's the gospel. 00:18:59.139 --> 00:19:06.299 No, Jesus comes after you in your locked room, and he offers you his peace and his presence. 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:13.899 Peace, peace be with you, because I, the conqueror of death, I want to be with you. 00:19:15.500 --> 00:19:18.319 This is really the only hope for the world. 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:25.279 The only thing that can actually fill us with joy as it did for his disciples when they recognized it, 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:30.339 that the Prince of Peace, pierced for our sins and yet risen, wants to be with us 00:19:30.339 --> 00:19:34.619 and wants us to have his peace, wants to fill us with his peace. 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:40.059 He was saying to them, and he's saying to us, you don't have to stay in your locked rooms anymore, 00:19:40.779 --> 00:19:44.599 because not only do I give you resurrection, peace in the face of death, 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:49.359 and suffering of peace and hope and comfort that is stronger than death and pain, 00:19:49.719 --> 00:19:54.619 but I've also risen to give you purpose and power. 00:19:55.199 --> 00:19:56.339 See, not just presence and peace. 00:19:56.619 --> 00:19:58.919 Purpose and power is what he gives us as the risen Lord. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:01.719 Verse 21, again, Jesus said, peace be with you. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:06.680 And then listen, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you. 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:11.160 You see, the peace of Christ, it was never meant to be the end of your story, 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:15.740 but really actually just the foundation, just the beginning of your mission and calling in this world, 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:17.019 that's what the peace of Christ does. 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:23.180 Jesus doesn't give his disciples peace so they can just sit in it, enjoy it in the shade and in safety. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:29.640 He gives them peace so that they can go out into the world to serve him and to serve others in his name. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:34.780 Those who've received and believed in the unshakable peace of the resurrected Christ, 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:36.980 they don't retreat. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:38.040 They don't hide. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.380 They don't devote themselves to just armoring up for the rest of their lives. 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:43.200 No, they go where they are sent. 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.480 They launch out of their hiding places, out of their locked rooms. 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:47.480 They don't live in fear. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:48.380 They live in peace. 00:20:48.560 --> 00:20:50.000 They don't sit in paralysis. 00:20:50.340 --> 00:20:51.960 They live with purpose and direction. 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:59.840 But, you know, I think for a lot of us, we are quite content to just receive Jesus' peace. 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:06.279 And while we might be grateful for it, we're not actually moved or compelled by it. 00:21:06.360 --> 00:21:07.579 We're not inspired by it. 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:08.759 It doesn't animate us. 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:11.000 So we go right back to what we know, right? 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:13.819 We wake up every morning thanking God for his peace and kindness, 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:17.860 but then we head out the door to continue living just like everybody else. 00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:25.919 Go to work, not on mission, not as children of God, citizens of the kingdom sent out by King Jesus, 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:30.079 but as people still just trying to armor up and level up. 00:21:30.959 --> 00:21:38.339 When we could be living out of Jesus' resurrection life, instead we go just try to make a living, right? 00:21:39.139 --> 00:21:45.219 We uncritically just plug ourselves in as, you know, cogs in massive industrial machines, 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:50.059 and we just structure our lives not around Jesus' mission, not around making him known, 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:54.460 not around leading people into deep relationships with Christ and his church through community for the city, 00:21:55.059 --> 00:21:56.900 but around a different set of C's. 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:00.259 Comfort, convenience, consumerism. 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:05.000 And I'm not saying quit your jobs, become missionaries and pastors like me, 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:08.440 or even becoming non-profit workers or something like that. 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:17.580 What I'm asking is what might it look like as an engineer, as a nurse, as an investor, as a stay-at-home mom, as a retiree, 00:22:17.640 --> 00:22:24.600 what might it look like for the peace of Christ to influence your day-to-day, your work, your time, your relationships, your finances? 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:29.240 What might it look like for us to reframe our mission and purpose, 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:36.640 to think of it not just as surviving, but to think of it as us being sent by the risen Lord, 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:38.859 whose peace and presence are with us? 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:41.859 This is what Jesus is trying to convey to his fearful disciples, 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:44.559 to his disciples who just a few moments earlier had locked themselves in a room, 00:22:44.620 --> 00:22:45.519 afraid of the outside world. 00:22:45.799 --> 00:22:46.759 Jesus says to them, 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.720 as the Father sent me with his peace and presence, 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:54.500 so also I am sending you with my peace and my presence 00:22:54.500 --> 00:22:56.819 into that outside world that you are so afraid of, 00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:58.059 you don't have to be afraid anymore. 00:22:58.059 --> 00:23:01.279 To these disciples who are probably wondering what jobs, 00:23:01.419 --> 00:23:03.339 what callings they'd need to return to, 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:06.119 since their rabbi, the one they thought was the Messiah, 00:23:06.419 --> 00:23:07.779 had just been arrested and crucified. 00:23:07.919 --> 00:23:09.879 To these disciples who thought that they lost their purpose 00:23:09.879 --> 00:23:11.819 as disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:14.139 the risen Christ gives them a purpose. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:15.980 He has a plan for them, 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.019 to send them out as apostles, 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:18.960 as his messengers, 00:23:19.139 --> 00:23:20.039 as his witnesses, 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:22.059 as those who exist 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:23.419 to make Jesus known. 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:26.899 To make known who he is, 00:23:26.900 --> 00:23:28.040 what he's done, 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:30.880 and what that means for the world, 00:23:31.320 --> 00:23:32.740 from Jerusalem to Judea, 00:23:32.800 --> 00:23:34.440 to the ends of the earth. 00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:37.519 You know, a lot of people like to debate in this text, 00:23:37.620 --> 00:23:38.640 like, what was he talking about? 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:39.820 Like, as the Father sent me, 00:23:40.080 --> 00:23:41.019 so I'm sending you. 00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:42.620 And they focus a lot on, 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:45.480 okay, maybe we should just be doing all the stuff that Jesus did. 00:23:45.620 --> 00:23:46.300 All those acts, 00:23:46.540 --> 00:23:47.220 all those signs. 00:23:47.320 --> 00:23:49.480 Did he mean go out and do a ton of miracles, 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:50.560 heal a bunch of people? 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:53.279 Did he mean go out and preach and teach? 00:23:53.819 --> 00:23:55.819 And honestly, it probably is all of that. 00:23:56.139 --> 00:23:58.059 But, you know, I've begun to wonder, 00:23:58.659 --> 00:24:00.720 if when Jesus said, 00:24:00.899 --> 00:24:01.779 as the Father sent me, 00:24:02.059 --> 00:24:03.059 so I am sending you, 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:04.839 what if it's less about, 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:08.240 I'm sending you to go and do certain kinds of things? 00:24:09.179 --> 00:24:10.079 And what if it's more about, 00:24:10.179 --> 00:24:13.519 I'm sending you to go and be certain kinds of people? 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:18.139 Like, as the Father has sent me as his beloved son, 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:22.259 so I am sending you as his beloved children, 00:24:22.379 --> 00:24:23.359 beloved children of God. 00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:26.359 And as the Father has sent me with a perfect purpose and plan, 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:28.099 so I am sending you to trust in his plan. 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:30.599 And as the Father has sent me to give myself away 00:24:30.599 --> 00:24:33.879 compassionately, selflessly, sacrificially, 00:24:34.299 --> 00:24:35.039 like a servant, 00:24:35.180 --> 00:24:37.240 so I am sending you to give yourselves away 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:38.920 for the good of others. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:41.680 What if what Jesus was getting at 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:44.060 was not just do what I did, 00:24:44.600 --> 00:24:46.920 but go in the same way and manner, 00:24:47.019 --> 00:24:49.279 empowered by the same Spirit that I went in? 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:52.759 I think that's what he's getting at here in verse 22 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:53.759 when he breathes on them. 00:24:53.820 --> 00:24:55.080 He says, receive the Holy Spirit. 00:24:55.320 --> 00:24:57.019 He doesn't just send us with purpose, 00:24:57.380 --> 00:24:58.220 but with power. 00:24:58.920 --> 00:25:02.380 The same Spirit that empowered Jesus' entire ministry 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:04.380 and even raised him from the dead, 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:06.340 Jesus doesn't leave his disciples 00:25:06.340 --> 00:25:08.620 with just presence, peace, and purpose. 00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:09.560 He gives them power. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:11.539 Power to accomplish the purpose. 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:12.399 He sets before them. 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:14.119 Remember again who he's talking to, 00:25:14.159 --> 00:25:15.339 the same men who denied him, 00:25:15.899 --> 00:25:18.480 the same men who even when given good reasons 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.460 to believe in the resurrection, 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:20.839 they chose fear and hiding, 00:25:21.159 --> 00:25:22.659 but here Jesus is sending them, 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:23.440 of all people, 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:25.200 to embark on his mission. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:26.599 How does that make any sense? 00:25:27.099 --> 00:25:29.200 How is that a good winning strategy? 00:25:29.339 --> 00:25:30.200 How is that a good idea? 00:25:31.399 --> 00:25:33.619 Well, the answer is that it's not about them, 00:25:34.339 --> 00:25:37.000 but it's about the power that he's supplying to them. 00:25:37.859 --> 00:25:39.019 It's not about them. 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.319 It's about what he's trying to accomplish in and through them, 00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:43.639 through the Holy Spirit. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:46.660 And you know, this works the same for us 00:25:46.660 --> 00:25:49.819 when Jesus calls you to love someone difficult, 00:25:50.639 --> 00:25:52.139 to stay in a hard marriage, 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:54.920 to fight sin and temptation, 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:57.359 to live openly as a follower of Christ, 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:58.960 in public, in your workplace, 00:25:59.180 --> 00:25:59.819 in your neighborhood, 00:26:00.139 --> 00:26:01.319 in your social spheres. 00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:02.680 It is a big calling. 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.559 It is a hard calling. 00:26:03.680 --> 00:26:05.460 It is an impossible calling. 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:06.559 I know you feel that. 00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:08.759 And it makes sense that when you think to yourself, 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:10.759 it makes sense when you think to yourself, 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:13.180 I don't know if I have it in me. 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:15.380 I don't know if I have enough in my tank. 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:17.799 But see, that's exactly the point. 00:26:18.340 --> 00:26:19.900 That's exactly what the gospel teaches. 00:26:20.100 --> 00:26:21.100 You can't do it. 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:24.319 Jesus never intended for you to live the Christian life 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:25.460 out on your own, 00:26:25.600 --> 00:26:26.680 out of your own resources, 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:28.400 out of your own diligence and grit. 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.279 That's only the first, 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:32.079 like, that's the bad news. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.279 That's the first half of the gospel. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:34.460 You can't do it. 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:37.099 But the second half of the gospel 00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:38.160 is that what you lack, 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:39.720 what we all forfeited 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:42.279 when we turned our backs on God in unbelief, 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.559 what we forfeited, 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:45.720 Jesus graciously supplies. 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:48.839 Look, he's not saying go here, 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:49.720 but he says receive. 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:52.279 He says receive the Holy Spirit. 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:54.899 Receive power and life and joy 00:26:54.899 --> 00:26:56.500 and inspiration and understanding. 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:57.660 And even authority. 00:26:57.779 --> 00:26:58.599 Look at verse 23. 00:26:59.399 --> 00:27:01.700 He's inviting them to receive the authority, 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:03.900 to declare good news in his name 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:06.160 of who is and who isn't forgiven. 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:08.460 Not because churches can grant forgiveness. 00:27:08.580 --> 00:27:09.340 Only God can. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:11.559 And not because churches are infallible institutions. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.160 But as the apostles and their successors 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:16.220 preach the gospel, 00:27:16.400 --> 00:27:17.460 as we preach the gospel, 00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:19.559 as we tell the world that forgiveness belongs 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:22.500 solely to those who are united with Christ by faith, 00:27:22.620 --> 00:27:24.259 Jesus is breathing this mission, 00:27:24.700 --> 00:27:25.319 this purpose, 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:27.640 this power and authority into them. 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:31.600 And this is new creation power he's giving them. 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:35.600 The breath of God doing what it did from the beginning, 00:27:35.900 --> 00:27:36.720 Genesis chapter 2, 00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:39.000 at the creation and what he promised to do again 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:41.460 in the new creation through the prophet Ezekiel. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:45.600 The resurrected Christ has so much to give to us, 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:47.920 so much to give to his disciples, 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:50.299 to his disturbed disciples, 00:27:50.580 --> 00:27:53.880 to his distracted disciples. 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:57.500 He gives us resurrection, presence and peace. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:00.039 And to his directionless disciples, 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:01.680 he gives purpose and power. 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:05.140 But what he also gives is his assurance. 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:08.539 He meets them with his presence and peace. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.740 He sends them with his purpose and power. 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:12.119 And then he reassures them 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:14.059 with his proofs and promises. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:15.660 Now maybe at this point, 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:17.339 you're tracking with all the implications 00:28:17.339 --> 00:28:18.740 of the risen Christ 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:20.140 and how if it's true, 00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:21.819 it really does, 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:23.539 it really should change everything 00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:26.160 and nothing else could matter as much as this. 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:29.259 But maybe that's exactly the issue 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.160 that you're hung up on. 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.039 Did it actually happen? 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:35.559 Did it really happen? 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:36.779 Or like, 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:38.640 what do I do with my doubts 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:40.940 about Jesus and the resurrection? 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:44.019 And how can I have assurance about him? 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:46.539 Well, that's where it's time 00:28:46.539 --> 00:28:48.160 to turn our attention now to Thomas. 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:49.860 Man, I feel like this guy, 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:51.480 I feel like he gets a bad rap, okay? 00:28:51.580 --> 00:28:52.740 So many of us think about him 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:54.360 as doubting Thomas. 00:28:54.940 --> 00:28:56.120 But I like to think of him 00:28:56.120 --> 00:28:57.799 as the honest, authentic one 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:59.120 whom Jesus loved 00:28:59.120 --> 00:29:01.720 and whom Jesus revealed himself to. 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:02.460 I mean, basically, 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.740 when the rest of the disciples 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.580 are telling Thomas, 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:05.880 we've seen Jesus, 00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:07.279 he's risen, bro. 00:29:07.340 --> 00:29:08.840 You gotta believe us, right? 00:29:09.420 --> 00:29:10.799 Thomas just says here in verse 25, 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.879 what many of us feel. 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:13.119 Unless I can see, 00:29:14.139 --> 00:29:15.180 unless I can touch, 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:17.319 unless I can verify this, 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:19.059 I will not believe. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:21.779 I've walked with a handful of you 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:24.720 who have said very similar things. 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.099 I get it. 00:29:26.879 --> 00:29:27.720 Thomas gets it. 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:29.240 This apostle, he gets it. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.819 And we might think, 00:29:30.940 --> 00:29:32.059 well, you know, 00:29:32.099 --> 00:29:32.879 Thomas got pretty lucky. 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:34.299 If I could just see what Thomas saw, 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:35.619 then I would believe too. 00:29:36.619 --> 00:29:37.180 And I, you know, 00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:38.539 I think a lot of us can be like, 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:39.059 well, that was, 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:40.259 it was easy for Thomas. 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:41.099 Must be nice. 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:42.740 He got to see Jesus risen. 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:43.900 Wish I could see it too. 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:45.900 And we can even think to ourselves 00:29:45.900 --> 00:29:46.259 that, man, 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:47.259 Thomas didn't even need 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:48.099 to have any faith. 00:29:48.700 --> 00:29:49.379 I wish I didn't need 00:29:49.379 --> 00:29:50.500 to have faith either. 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:51.940 I wish Jesus would just 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:52.720 show up right now 00:29:52.720 --> 00:29:54.420 and prove himself to me. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:57.539 But would you be convinced? 00:29:58.839 --> 00:29:59.960 Look carefully at the text. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:00.319 Jesus, 00:30:00.779 --> 00:30:01.759 he invites Thomas 00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:02.839 to touch his wounds. 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:05.539 But what the text never says, 00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:06.579 he does. 00:30:07.579 --> 00:30:08.240 It just says, 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.379 Thomas responds, 00:30:09.679 --> 00:30:10.759 my Lord and my God. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:14.339 Do you see what's happening here? 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:15.279 See, even Thomas, 00:30:15.699 --> 00:30:17.159 in the presence of evidence, 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.379 he still has to take 00:30:19.379 --> 00:30:20.179 a leap of faith. 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:22.259 Like, honestly, 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:23.000 he could have, 00:30:23.179 --> 00:30:23.720 actually, 00:30:23.779 --> 00:30:24.599 he could have carried out 00:30:24.599 --> 00:30:25.839 a more thorough investigation. 00:30:26.339 --> 00:30:27.460 Let me check that wound out 00:30:27.460 --> 00:30:28.159 a little bit more. 00:30:28.699 --> 00:30:28.919 I mean, 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:30.379 wait a couple thousand years 00:30:30.379 --> 00:30:31.500 for some DNA testing, 00:30:32.139 --> 00:30:32.460 right? 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:33.079 Maybe, 00:30:33.179 --> 00:30:33.339 Jesus, 00:30:33.379 --> 00:30:33.960 did you have a twin? 00:30:34.379 --> 00:30:34.919 Did you have a twin? 00:30:34.920 --> 00:30:35.759 Because maybe that's how 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:36.279 this happened? 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:37.140 No. 00:30:37.620 --> 00:30:38.700 He could have subjected 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:40.279 Jesus in front of him 00:30:40.279 --> 00:30:41.200 to more and more 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:42.000 doubt and scrutiny 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:43.240 if he had wanted to. 00:30:45.340 --> 00:30:46.279 How do we know, 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:46.640 right? 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:47.840 How do we know? 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:49.700 Thomas could have drawn 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:51.039 many conclusions 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:52.460 other than that 00:30:52.460 --> 00:30:53.360 Jesus was crucified, 00:30:53.820 --> 00:30:54.120 dead, 00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:54.740 buried, 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:55.240 and risen, 00:30:55.380 --> 00:30:55.940 and therefore, 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:57.460 both Lord and God. 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:00.259 But here he is, 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:01.720 not doubting Thomas, 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:02.660 but believing, 00:31:03.200 --> 00:31:03.580 trusting, 00:31:03.860 --> 00:31:04.680 worshiping Thomas. 00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:05.920 See, 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:07.240 there is no version 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:07.940 of Christianity 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:09.880 where faith is not required. 00:31:10.660 --> 00:31:11.880 Not for the apostles 00:31:11.880 --> 00:31:13.180 who saw the risen Christ 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:14.300 and not for us 00:31:14.300 --> 00:31:15.400 who don't see him. 00:31:16.620 --> 00:31:17.060 So, 00:31:17.259 --> 00:31:18.240 if you're here today 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:19.580 finding it difficult 00:31:19.580 --> 00:31:20.560 to believe in God 00:31:20.560 --> 00:31:21.140 and you even think 00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:21.620 to yourself, 00:31:21.800 --> 00:31:22.620 like Bertrand Russell, 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:23.160 you know, 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:24.640 even if I should die 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:26.200 and be surprised 00:31:26.200 --> 00:31:27.519 and have to stand 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:28.039 before God 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:28.880 and he confronts me 00:31:28.880 --> 00:31:29.840 with my unbelief, 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:30.860 I will plan to point 00:31:30.860 --> 00:31:31.779 my finger back at him 00:31:31.779 --> 00:31:32.160 and say, 00:31:32.360 --> 00:31:33.480 not enough evidence. 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:34.820 If that's you today, 00:31:34.920 --> 00:31:37.080 can I just ask you 00:31:37.080 --> 00:31:38.500 honestly to consider 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:39.480 what would actually 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:40.300 even constitute 00:31:40.300 --> 00:31:41.720 proof for you? 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:43.440 Is there really 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:44.860 any amount of evidence 00:31:44.860 --> 00:31:45.740 that could actually 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:46.640 convince you? 00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:48.140 Or have you already 00:31:48.140 --> 00:31:49.240 made up your mind 00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:50.620 about what you are 00:31:50.620 --> 00:31:51.620 and what you aren't 00:31:51.620 --> 00:31:52.820 willing to believe 00:31:52.820 --> 00:31:53.779 and trust in 00:31:53.779 --> 00:31:54.920 and devote your life to? 00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:56.420 And have you 00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:57.980 simply just put 00:31:57.980 --> 00:31:58.640 the resurrection 00:31:58.640 --> 00:31:59.600 into the category 00:31:59.600 --> 00:32:00.700 of things you aren't 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:01.500 willing to believe? 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:02.519 Can we just be 00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:03.319 honest about this? 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:04.259 Can I just ask you 00:32:04.259 --> 00:32:05.319 to be honest about this? 00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:07.400 About all the things 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:08.160 that you are 00:32:08.160 --> 00:32:08.839 willing to believe 00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:09.680 by at least some 00:32:09.680 --> 00:32:10.680 measure of faith? 00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:11.579 Like whether or not 00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:11.980 your spouse 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:12.920 actually loves you? 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:13.740 Right? 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:14.200 Whether or not 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:15.119 the sun will rise 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:15.599 tomorrow 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:16.460 or that airplane 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:16.839 you're planning 00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:17.799 to get on this summer 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:19.000 can be trusted 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:19.880 with your life? 00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:22.119 If we're honest, 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:22.759 we believe 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:23.160 and trust 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:24.460 all kinds of things 00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:25.599 without absolute 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:26.119 certainty, 00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:27.759 without exhaustive 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:28.539 verification 00:32:28.539 --> 00:32:29.519 or maximum 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:31.240 indubitable evidence 00:32:31.240 --> 00:32:32.519 because the truth 00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.000 of the matter 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:33.879 is no one can live 00:32:33.879 --> 00:32:34.779 without such faith 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:35.339 and trust. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:36.559 So the question 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:37.440 isn't whether or not 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.339 I can have faith 00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:39.379 but whether or not 00:32:39.379 --> 00:32:40.299 faith in Jesus' 00:32:40.500 --> 00:32:41.059 resurrection 00:32:41.059 --> 00:32:42.440 is reasonable 00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:43.779 and reasonably 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:44.339 supported 00:32:44.339 --> 00:32:45.299 by the available 00:32:45.299 --> 00:32:46.159 evidence. 00:32:47.379 --> 00:32:47.859 And you know, 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:48.539 to add to this, 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:49.299 I might also encourage 00:32:49.299 --> 00:32:49.680 you to consider 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.420 not only is it 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:50.899 reasonable 00:32:50.899 --> 00:32:52.420 but is it 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:53.779 personally compelling, 00:32:54.379 --> 00:32:56.099 existentially satisfying? 00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:56.339 You know, 00:32:56.399 --> 00:32:57.379 I think what happened 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:58.560 with Thomas here. 00:32:58.620 --> 00:32:58.760 Again, 00:32:58.820 --> 00:32:59.300 it doesn't say 00:32:59.300 --> 00:33:00.060 he went and touched 00:33:00.060 --> 00:33:00.960 Jesus' hands 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:01.720 and sighed. 00:33:01.760 --> 00:33:02.540 Jesus simply 00:33:02.540 --> 00:33:03.380 graced Thomas 00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:04.360 with his presence 00:33:04.360 --> 00:33:05.520 and spoke gracious 00:33:05.520 --> 00:33:07.100 inviting words to him 00:33:07.100 --> 00:33:08.020 and then something clicked. 00:33:08.820 --> 00:33:09.700 All of a sudden, 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:10.960 Thomas no longer needed 00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:12.780 to take a magnifying glass 00:33:12.780 --> 00:33:14.640 to observe Jesus' wounds 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:15.260 but all of a sudden 00:33:15.260 --> 00:33:15.920 he went from 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:16.820 wanting to observe 00:33:16.820 --> 00:33:17.840 Jesus with a microscope 00:33:17.840 --> 00:33:19.540 to beholding Jesus 00:33:19.540 --> 00:33:20.500 with eyes of faith 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:20.980 because see, 00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:21.960 what you have to understand 00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:22.540 about Christianity 00:33:22.540 --> 00:33:23.460 is that no one 00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:24.900 is ever just proved 00:33:24.900 --> 00:33:25.660 or evidenced 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:26.480 into accepting 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:27.200 the Christian faith 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:27.620 is true. 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:28.579 In fact, 00:33:28.660 --> 00:33:29.160 just believing 00:33:29.160 --> 00:33:29.680 that Christianity 00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:30.120 is true 00:33:30.120 --> 00:33:30.860 doesn't even make you 00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:31.400 a Christian. 00:33:31.519 --> 00:33:31.960 It doesn't mean 00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:33.059 you're united with Christ 00:33:33.059 --> 00:33:34.079 and right with God. 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:34.839 The scriptures teach 00:33:34.839 --> 00:33:35.620 that Satan knows 00:33:35.620 --> 00:33:36.259 and acknowledges 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:37.019 the truth about 00:33:37.019 --> 00:33:37.640 who God is, 00:33:37.839 --> 00:33:38.500 who Jesus is, 00:33:38.620 --> 00:33:39.579 what Jesus has done 00:33:39.579 --> 00:33:41.200 but he does not enjoy 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:42.339 union and communion 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:43.140 with the living God. 00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:43.880 No, a Christian 00:33:43.880 --> 00:33:44.640 isn't just someone 00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:45.519 who intellectually 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:46.799 agrees with Christianity 00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:48.700 but someone who loves, 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:49.420 adores, 00:33:49.700 --> 00:33:50.740 and worships Jesus 00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:52.099 because of who Jesus is 00:33:52.099 --> 00:33:52.740 and because of 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:53.539 what Jesus has done 00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:53.980 for them. 00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:55.799 And I think that 00:33:55.799 --> 00:33:56.880 that's what's happened 00:33:56.880 --> 00:33:57.400 for Thomas. 00:33:57.500 --> 00:33:58.240 He thought he needed 00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:59.579 proof of Christ's 00:33:59.579 --> 00:34:00.920 crucifixion and resurrection 00:34:00.920 --> 00:34:02.279 but what he actually beheld 00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:02.779 was a proof 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:04.039 of a greater kind, 00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:05.759 a proof of God's love, 00:34:06.339 --> 00:34:07.400 proof of God's commitment, 00:34:07.579 --> 00:34:08.380 proof that God was willing 00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:09.539 to go to the furthest lengths, 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:11.019 even to death on a cross 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:12.019 to bring resurrection 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:13.699 into our broken world. 00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:15.800 Thomas went from wanting 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:17.320 to observe Jesus' wounds 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:18.579 as true versus false 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:20.539 to beholding Jesus' wounds 00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:21.500 as the most beautiful, 00:34:21.740 --> 00:34:22.559 most compelling, 00:34:22.900 --> 00:34:23.880 life-changing sight 00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:24.440 that he'd ever 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:25.260 laid eyes on. 00:34:25.460 --> 00:34:27.340 My Lord and my God, 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:28.000 he declared. 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:29.480 The boldest, really, 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:29.980 the boldest, 00:34:30.019 --> 00:34:31.019 the most worshipful claim 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:31.900 we've encountered 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:32.619 about Jesus 00:34:32.619 --> 00:34:33.760 in all the Gospels. 00:34:34.059 --> 00:34:34.860 This is the climax 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:36.019 of the Gospel of John. 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:36.720 This is what John 00:34:36.720 --> 00:34:38.440 wanted for all his readers 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:39.320 to take these words 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:40.119 on our lips 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:41.480 as they came upon 00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:42.320 Thomas' lips, 00:34:43.099 --> 00:34:44.059 to do so in response 00:34:44.059 --> 00:34:45.160 to what Thomas beheld, 00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:46.420 the wounds of Christ. 00:34:47.099 --> 00:34:48.440 This is the most compelling 00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:49.740 thing about Christianity. 00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:51.700 Not that some wise teacher 00:34:51.700 --> 00:34:52.460 came and said 00:34:52.460 --> 00:34:53.420 some really great stuff 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:54.280 about loving others 00:34:54.280 --> 00:34:54.820 selflessly. 00:34:55.139 --> 00:34:56.260 And not even that God 00:34:56.260 --> 00:34:57.179 appeared to the world 00:34:57.179 --> 00:34:57.699 in the flesh, 00:34:57.800 --> 00:34:58.420 but more importantly 00:34:58.420 --> 00:34:59.139 that this God 00:34:59.139 --> 00:34:59.960 who appeared to the world 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:00.500 in flesh, 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:02.059 he didn't just come 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:03.320 teaching about selfless love, 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:05.659 but he came demonstrating it 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:07.179 by his wounds 00:35:07.179 --> 00:35:08.300 upon a cross. 00:35:08.400 --> 00:35:09.360 The beauty of Christianity 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:11.340 is the wounded God 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:13.019 who it proclaims 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:14.179 as the most worthy, 00:35:14.699 --> 00:35:15.079 honorable, 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:16.380 possible God 00:35:16.380 --> 00:35:17.400 that we could worship 00:35:17.400 --> 00:35:19.500 and trust. 00:35:19.500 --> 00:35:21.099 this is the proof 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:23.199 that the risen Jesus provides, 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:23.880 proof that maybe 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:24.699 you didn't even think 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.239 to look for, 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:26.480 proof that he loves you. 00:35:28.139 --> 00:35:29.019 He's a God who 00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:30.440 wants us to be assured 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:31.000 of this, 00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:32.780 not just of his existence, 00:35:33.300 --> 00:35:34.380 not just of his death 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:34.940 and resurrection, 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:36.420 but of his love 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:37.500 and promises. 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:40.219 His promise that 00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:41.539 we can truly be blessed 00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:43.239 if we just believe in him. 00:35:43.460 --> 00:35:44.340 Even and especially 00:35:44.340 --> 00:35:45.320 without seeing him, 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:46.139 that is the blessing 00:35:46.139 --> 00:35:47.019 he wants for us, 00:35:47.139 --> 00:35:47.840 that is the blessing 00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:48.420 worth seeking, 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:49.039 that's what he's saying 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:49.700 in verse 29. 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:51.300 He has each and every one 00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:52.180 of us in his mind 00:35:52.180 --> 00:35:52.940 and heart 00:35:52.940 --> 00:35:54.079 when he says these words, 00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:55.099 blessed are those 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:56.420 who have not seen 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:57.960 and yet have believed. 00:35:59.079 --> 00:35:59.820 Are you bold enough 00:35:59.820 --> 00:36:00.700 to want that blessing? 00:36:01.920 --> 00:36:02.880 That's the heart of God 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:03.500 for you, 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:04.119 for us. 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:05.400 He wants us to be blessed. 00:36:05.780 --> 00:36:06.700 As it says in verse 31, 00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:08.019 he wants us to have life 00:36:08.019 --> 00:36:10.099 and life in his name, 00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:11.220 life in him, 00:36:11.460 --> 00:36:12.180 life with him 00:36:12.180 --> 00:36:13.539 and he wanted it so bad 00:36:13.539 --> 00:36:14.360 he sent his son 00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:15.460 to die for it. 00:36:16.019 --> 00:36:17.659 If we would just believe 00:36:17.659 --> 00:36:19.179 that he is the Messiah, 00:36:19.940 --> 00:36:20.920 the son of God, 00:36:21.019 --> 00:36:21.980 slain for our sins 00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:23.719 and risen to an abundant 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:25.259 and imperishable life 00:36:25.259 --> 00:36:26.480 that he wants to enjoy 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:27.519 with us forever, 00:36:28.199 --> 00:36:28.859 that he's won 00:36:28.859 --> 00:36:30.359 and purchased by his wounds, 00:36:31.279 --> 00:36:32.139 this life, 00:36:33.000 --> 00:36:34.219 this resurrection life 00:36:34.219 --> 00:36:35.319 and peace and presence 00:36:35.319 --> 00:36:36.259 and purpose and power, 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:37.440 all his promises, 00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:39.519 they can be ours 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:40.679 if we would be willing 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:42.000 to accept the proof 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:43.379 of his resurrection, 00:36:43.380 --> 00:36:45.680 the proof of his love 00:36:45.680 --> 00:36:47.160 by faith. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:48.940 So let's go to him. 00:36:49.720 --> 00:36:50.180 Let's pray. 00:36:53.680 --> 00:36:55.000 Lord, help our unbelief 00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:57.340 and would your proof 00:36:57.340 --> 00:36:59.340 not just be intellectually 00:36:59.340 --> 00:37:00.619 satisfying to us 00:37:00.619 --> 00:37:01.780 but beautiful. 00:37:02.920 --> 00:37:04.180 Will we come to love 00:37:04.180 --> 00:37:06.500 more than the proof 00:37:06.500 --> 00:37:07.280 and the evidence 00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:08.360 of the resurrection, 00:37:08.579 --> 00:37:09.519 the proof of your love 00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:10.740 in the wounds 00:37:10.739 --> 00:37:11.339 of our Savior, 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:13.059 which we will remember 00:37:13.059 --> 00:37:13.719 at this table. 00:37:14.879 --> 00:37:15.939 Thank you, Jesus. 00:37:16.679 --> 00:37:17.059 Amen.