And turn your Bibles to John chapter 20.
John finishes this chapter by saying,
! 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 believing you may have life in His name.
Think of John writing this book.
This is toward the end of his life that he's writing this.
John has a purpose in writing.
He says, there are so many things I could have included,
but I was selective in what I put in.
Selective for the purpose of your knowing that Jesus Christ,
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
So John is thinking about what else has been written.
In the years since Jesus died and was raised again,
up to this time when John is writing,
Mark and Matthew and Luke had written Gospels,
each of them from a little bit different perspective,
covering a lot of the same accounts and things that Jesus said.
John is thinking what needs to be said still so that people can believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that people can have life in His name.
In my experience in preaching in different places,
John is thinking,
what is it that has been lacking perhaps?
What is it that people have been struggling with in the years since Jesus' resurrection?
And how can I answer those things in writing this Gospel?
How can I help them to understand better?
So John thinks about the things that have been written already.
He thinks about the things that are established,
the things that people can believe already.
But when he comes to the resurrection,
he thinks,
how can I answer the questions that are still there for certain people?
And so that's why he thinks,
well, let me portray two different people
who have certain issues with the resurrection
and show how Jesus answers those issues
and how Jesus satisfies the concerns that they have.
In doing that,
Jesus is not just thinking about people in his own day,
but he's writing this down
so that after he's gone,
people like us can read it.
And he can answer those questions as well.
And in the goodness of God
and the work of the Holy Spirit
who helps John in writing this Gospel,
he doesn't just answer questions of his own day,
but he answers questions from our own day.
For example,
there are people,
particularly in Islam,
who would say,
well, Jesus didn't really die on the cross
because he was a good man
and Allah would not let a good man die on the cross.
But John has already told us
of a conversation between himself,
the beloved disciple,
and Jesus' own mother
talking about how John is to become like her son
and take care of her after Jesus is gone.
So Jesus has put two very trusted people
who intimately know Jesus,
who could not be deceived,
having a conversation with Jesus at the cross.
How can we possibly say
it wasn't really Jesus who died?
So John,
there in the goodness of the Holy Spirit,
is answering a question
that he didn't even know was going to come up
and showing that it really was Jesus who died.
Some people,
like liberals in the past,
have said,
well,
Jesus didn't really die
because we don't believe
that a resurrection is possible.
We have to have an explanation
that is scientifically possible.
So we will just believe
that Jesus
seemed to die on the cross,
and then they took him
and they buried him in a tomb
and laying there
in the cool darkness,
he just kind of revived
and came back.
Well,
I find that harder to believe
than the resurrection,
but if you want to,
if you,
if you want to consider that,
John is already,
along with the other
writers of the gospel,
he's already answered
all those questions.
He had the most professional
execution team
of that day,
the Roman soldiers,
who have certified
that Jesus has died.
They didn't do a sloppy job of it.
They were certain
that he was dead.
And not only that,
but Joseph of Arimathea
went to Pontius Pilate
and asked for the body of Jesus
so that he could bury him.
And Pontius Pilate
certifies with the,
with the,
the man in charge,
the centurion in charge,
that Jesus was indeed dead.
Now,
what about witnesses?
Who would be the best witnesses
that he had died?
Well,
if you want to get
reliable witnesses,
how about two members
of the council
of the Sanhedrin
that was responsible
for Israel?
Here are two men,
Joseph of Arimathea
and Nicodemus,
who didn't just send
some,
some low level servant
and say,
go get the body
and put it in a tomb someplace.
But John makes it very clear
that they went personally,
they got the body,
and even if others
were helping them,
they were involved
in not just carrying the body
and quickly dumping it
into a tomb,
but wrapping it in spices
and linen,
linen,
strips of linen.
So they knew
for certain.
Here are two members
of the Sanhedrin
who were witnesses.
So it is clear
that Jesus has died.
There's no question
about that at all.
John is also thinking
about his own day
when he hears people
outside the window
of his home
marching down the street
and chanting,
Caesar is Lord,
Caesar is God.
That's the thing
that people want
to believe.
And John wants
to answer that
with Jesus is Lord
and Jesus is God.
And so he picks
these two people
to help him answer
those questions.
The two people
he chooses
are Mary Magdalene
and Thomas Didymus.
There's also a belief
that a lot of people
in our own day
would set forward,
and that is
that the disciples
really needed
to have erased Jesus
or to resurrect Jesus.
And so they made
this plot,
this scam
to put over
other people
that they stole
away his body,
that they hid it
in some other place
and then they all
agreed,
made a compact
together,
that they would
proclaim that Jesus
was raised
from the dead
even though he was
not raised
from the dead.
But the problem
is,
and John
answers this,
the problem
is that the
disciples didn't
believe that Jesus
would be raised
from the dead.
And we see that
very clearly
in these two people,
Mary and Thomas.
We see it in others
as well,
but we see it
very clearly in them.
It wasn't a plot
they came up with.
It was something
that they did not
even believe
at the time
until they were
compelled to believe
despite what their
heart and mind
told them.
The first of these
is Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene,
Luke tells us,
was one of the
women who followed
Jesus.
She came down
from Galilee
with them.
They cared for
Jesus and the
disciples.
They provided for
them out of their
own resources.
Mary Magdalene
was a woman who
was devoted to
caring for Jesus.
And a reason that
she was devoted
to that is because
Luke tells us
that Jesus cast
seven demons
out of her.
So her life was
transformed by
what Jesus had
done.
Jesus had made
her into a new
person and set
her free.
And therefore,
she was devoted
to caring for him.
Now when Mary
Magdalene comes
to the tomb,
she comes early
upon this morning.
You would read
that in the first
few verses of
the chapter.
Also, we're told
else in Luke
believe that she
came with other
women and they
brought the spices.
They brought these
things to care for
Jesus.
Were they expecting
a resurrected Jesus?
They were expecting
a corpse.
And that's why
they came prepared
to care for a
corpse.
So Mary Magdalene
comes.
She's the first one
that John talks
about at the
beginning of
John chapter 20.
But when she
gets there,
she finds the
body's gone.
She comes back
and she reports
to the disciples,
they have taken
the Lord out
of the tomb.
We do not know
where they have
laid him.
The idea that
Jesus is raised
from the dead
doesn't enter
her mind.
Instead, she's
thinking, we came
to wrap this corpse
and to take care
of it, but it's
gone.
They have taken
it.
I don't know
who's taken
it.
Is it Joseph
and Nicodemus,
have they taken
it to another
tomb?
Have the officials
come and taken
it?
Has someone
stolen it
away?
All she thinks
is the corpse
is gone.
So she's
weighted down
with the
impact of
her faith
has lost
its object.
Even the corpse
that she longs
to express her
grief by caring
for has
disappeared.
What's going
to happen to
her now?
So she goes
back to the
tomb and she's
weeping there.
Weeping and
wondering, where
will my life
go from here?
Will I go
back to Galilee?
What purpose
will I have?
Will my demons
come back
without Jesus
there to
protect me?
So she is
clearly grieving
the death of
Jesus and the
loss to her.
She has no
hope that he
is raised.
She only is
full of grief.
She doesn't
know who
might have
taken him
away.
In verse
2 she
talks about
they have
taken him
away.
And in
verse 13
and 15
as well
she says
to the
angels,
they said
to her,
woman,
why are you
weeping?
She said
to them,
they have
taken away
my Lord
and I do
not know
where they
have laid
him.
That's the
reason she's
weeping.
But also
when Jesus
appears,
she thinks
he's the
gardener and
thinks,
have you
taken him
away?
And asks
him that
question.
She's wondering
what has
happened to
Jesus.
In contrast
to her
sense of
hopelessness
and just
being loaded
down with
grief,
the angels
respond to
her,
they say,
woman,
why are
you weeping?
From the
heavenly
perspective,
it doesn't
make sense
to weep
because Jesus
is raised.
And when
Jesus responds
to her in
verse 15,
he says,
woman,
why are you
weeping?
Whom are you
seeking?
Then she
turns when
she hears
this man
speaking to
her,
she says,
supposing him
to be the
gardener,
she said to
him,
sir,
have you
have carried
him away?
Tell me
where have
you laid
him,
and I
will take
him away.
She turned
around,
in verse
14,
she turned
around and
saw Jesus
standing there,
but she
did not
know that
it was
Jesus.
Even when
Jesus spoke
to her,
woman,
why are you
weeping?
Whom are you
seeking?
It's a bit
of a mystery
why she
didn't
recognize
Jesus.
Maybe it
was the
early morning
light.
maybe it
was her
face being
covered over
in the
early morning
chills,
she was
covered over
and even
Jesus may
have had
something over
his head.
Maybe she's
just being
culturally
reserved and
not looking in
the face of
a man that
she doesn't
recognize.
But what is
it that turns
her heart so
that she
recognizes
Jesus?
Obviously,
the most
serious problem
with her
recognizing him
is she had
no anticipation
whatsoever that
it would be
Jesus speaking
to her.
She only
thought it
might be
the gardener.
What is it
that turns
her heart
and changes
her perspective?
Jesus said
to her,
Mary.
That one
word brings
her response.
She turned
and said to
him in
Aramaic,
Rabboni,
which means
teacher.
It was a
personal
recognition.
It was
Jesus speaking
her name.
Not just
her name
in a generic
sense,
but her
name,
Miriam.
The name
that she
knew from
her own
heart language.
When she
heard him
speak her
name,
she knew
who he
was.
And her
response to
him is to
call him
Rabboni.
Not just
rabbi as a
general class
of people,
but specifically
this word is
my teacher,
my beloved
teacher.
She is
relating to
him personally.
It's a
personal
recognition,
a personal
connection with
Jesus which
is reestablished.
He's
transformed in
her own
perception from
being some
gardener unknown
to her to
being the one
who has
delivered her.
What does
Jesus say to
her?
Jesus says,
do not
cling to
me,
for I
have not
yet ascended
to my
father.
But go to
my brothers
and say to
them,
I am ascending
to my
father and
to your
father,
to my
God and
to your
God.
Mary in
her heart
reaching out
to Jesus,
her devotion
to him,
one of the
other gospels
says,
she took
a hold of
him by
the feet.
Jesus says,
don't cling
to me
before I
have not
ascended to
my father.
In a way
he's saying
to her,
Mary,
what you
need is
not me
here,
that you
can touch
me.
What you
need is
me
resurrected,
me at
my father's
side,
that I
can be
your Lord
and Savior
from there,
that I
can save
not just
you,
but many
others as
well.
Don't cling
to my
body,
but hold
on to
who I
am.
He says,
go and
tell my
brothers,
I am
saying to
them,
I'm ascending
to my
father and
to your
father,
to my
God and
to your
God.
Again,
the focus
is on the
relationship
and a
change in
relationship.
Instead of
I'm ascending
to my
father and
to my
God,
because I
have raised
from the
dead,
I'm also
ascending
to your
father,
your
plural
father and
to your
plural
God.
All of
you belong
to him
because of
my going
to him,
because of
that
relationship.
Notice
what she
says when
she goes
back,
verse
18,
Mary Magdalene
went and
announced to
the disciples,
I have
seen the
Lord.
And that
he had
said these
things to
her.
The first
thing she
says is
not the
quote.
The first
thing she
says,
I have
seen the
Lord.
Her eyes
have been
opened.
She knows
he's
raised
again.
She knows
that the
one that
she is
certain was
dead is
just as
certainly
alive.
The
needs of
Mary's
heart are
satisfied by
Jesus'
resurrection.
Her
heart is
at peace
and at
rest because
she's
compelled to
believe what
she thought
was impossible
to believe.
The second
person that
John writes
about is
specifically
is Thomas
Didymus.
The name
Thomas means
twin.
The name
Didymus means
twin in
Greek.
So Aramaic
and Greek
he's twin
twin.
We often
think of
him as
doubting
Thomas.
But I'd
like us to
think of
him differently.
Thomas is
the one who
sees the
side of
things that
we don't
necessarily
want to
see.
Sometimes
we're trying
very hard
to be an
optimist
and Thomas
is the one
who brings
us back
to reality
and points
out the way
things really
are.
in John
chapter 11
verse 16
Jesus is
getting this
report that
his friend
Lazarus has
died.
They have
been near
Jerusalem and
there were
threats on
Jesus' life
and Thomas
like the others
knew that
threats on
Jesus' life
were also a
threat to
them.
Jesus says
he died
and now
we're going
to go to
him.
And Thomas
is the one
who says
well then
let us go
back to
Judea and
die with
him.
Thomas is
not saying
well if you
want to go
to Judea
that's your
own business
take your
own risks
we're going
back to
Galilee
where it's
safe.
Thomas says
if you're
going to
Judea
we're all
going to
go with
you
even if
it means
to death.
Thomas is
committed
and he sees
the reality
of things
as they
are.
In John
chapter 14
we hear
from Thomas
again.
Jesus is
in the upper
room and he's
talking to his
disciples about
how he is
the way and
he's going to
prepare a place
for them.
And Thomas is
they're all
asking these
various questions
but Thomas is
the one who
just brings it
right down to
the focal
question and
he says
Lord we
don't know
where you're
going so
how can we
know the
way?
Thomas is
the one who's
going to ask
the question
that the rest
of us haven't
thought of or the
question that we
don't dare to
ask.
The question
we think is
just a little
bit too
bold faced.
Thomas is the
one who's going
to ask that
question.
So Thomas
serves us well
because he's
the one who
asks questions
that we need
to ask.
The questions
that are going
to be on our
hearts later
on.
If you think
about the
Lord of the
Rings you
remember the
character of
Gimli.
Gimli is that
dwarf with a
heavy beard
and his big
axe and he's
the one where
they come to
the point and
they realize
that if
I was thinking
Frodo but it's
not Frodo is
it?
Who's going to
go and get
rid of the
ring?
Frodo.
Okay.
Why does that
slip away from
me?
So they think
well how is
Frodo going to
go and get
rid of the
ring when he's
got to go
right to the
enemy territory?
And so they
say well we
need to fight
as a distraction.
We need to
go and take
on this
enemy army.
And Gimli is
the one who
states the
obvious.
The thing that
nobody else
wants to say.
He says
overwhelming odds?
Certain chance
of death?
What are we
waiting for?
He's Thomas.
Thomas Didymus.
He's the one
who's stating
the obvious.
There's not a
question about
Thomas'
commitment.
His faith.
His willingness
to die.
He's committed
to the cause.
He's ready.
But he's the
one who's going
to state the
things that we
don't see.
Thomas wasn't
at the cross.
The only
disciple there
was John.
Thomas was not
there on that
first Sunday.
And so on that
first Sunday,
the day that's
being recorded
here, the day
of the resurrection,
Mary comes back
and says,
I've seen the
Lord.
Thomas misses
that.
Peter and
John come
back and
say, the
tomb is
empty.
And John
says, I
believe, I
believe he's
resurrected.
Thomas is
not there.
Later that
evening,
Cleopas and
another man
who met
Jesus on the
road to
Emmaus, they
come back and
they say, we've
seen the
Lord.
Thomas is
not there.
And then
they're all
gathered together
when those
men come in.
And Jesus
himself appears.
And Thomas
is not there.
So Thomas,
one of the
twelve, was
not with
them when
Jesus came.
And the
other disciples
told him, we
have seen the
Lord.
The same thing
that Mary
Magdalene said,
we have seen
the Lord.
And it
doesn't just
say that they
told him, it
says they
kept telling
him.
That's the
word there.
He's hearing
this over and
over.
Everybody he
talks to says,
we have seen
the Lord.
And Thomas'
response is,
I'm just
not ready
to believe.
I'm just
not ready
to believe.
John, in a
way, is
asking the
question that
needs to be
asked for
our own
day, so
that Jesus
can satisfy
that.
Thomas has
been the
scientist.
I need to
be able to
see it and
to touch it.
I need to
have verifiable
evidence that
Jesus is
raised.
I can't
just believe
what the
rest of
you are
saying.
So he's
asking that
question, a
question that
we need to
have asked.
So Thomas
was not with
him.
The other
disciples keep
telling him,
we've seen
the Lord.
But he
said to
them, unless
I see in
his hands
the mark of
the nails and
place my
finger into
the mark of
the nails and
place my
hand into
his side, I
will never
believe.
Eight days
later his
disciples were
inside again
and Thomas
was with
them, although
the doors were
locked just as
they were last
week.
Jesus came and
stood among
them and said,
peace be with
you.
The same thing
he said last
week.
But then the
next, very
next thing he
says is to
Thomas, put
your finger here
and see my
hands.
Put out your
hand, place it
in my side.
Stop, do not
disbelieve, but
believe.
Jesus doesn't
say, Thomas,
what's wrong
with you?
Why can't you
believe?
But instead
Jesus says,
Thomas, here's
what you need
to touch, to
see.
Do that,
Thomas, and
then stop your
unbelieving and
believe.
Did Thomas
touch Jesus?
It doesn't
say, does it?
But Thomas'
response,
Thomas' answer
was my
Lord and
my God.
And John
hears people
chanting outside
his place as
the procession
passes, Caesar
is Lord,
Caesar is
God.
And what
those words
really mean is
Caesar is a
certain kind
of Lord.
He's in
charge of the
Roman Empire
and we hold
him in great
honor because
of that.
He is one
kind of Lord,
he is a
political Lord.
Lord.
And when
they say
Caesar is
God, they
mean Caesar
is, he's
part of all
this great
collection of
gods.
He fits in
there someplace.
He fits in
the category
of being a
God.
But John
answers that
slogan of
his day by
putting these
words in
Thomas'
mouth.
Thomas answered
him, my
Lord and
my God.
He's not
just a
Lord, he
is Yahweh,
the covenant
keeping God
who takes us
as his own.
He is not
just a God,
but he is
El Shaddai.
He is
Elohim.
He is the
living and
the true God.
In Thomas'
eyes,
Jesus is
nothing but
the most
supreme God
because he
has seen,
because he
has understood.
and that's
what Thomas
wants us to
understand as
well, and
what John
wants us to
understand.
Jesus said
to him,
have you
believed because
you have
seen me?
Blessed are
those who
have not
seen and
yet have
believed.
The questions
of Thomas'
mind were
satisfied by
Jesus'
resurrection.
What about
us as
those who
read John's
letter,
John's
gospel?
What about
us who
have not
seen and
yet have
believed?
Some of
you may
share Mary's
concerns.
You may
feel like
there's
brokenness in
my life,
and the
Lord put
those things
together.
Is he
really raised
from the
dead?
Is he
really the
Lord who
is able
from heaven
to help
me,
to continue
to care
for me?
Or did
he die
and just
leave behind
ideas?
behind.
We need
to be
satisfied like
Mary that
he is the
one who,
even from
heaven,
is bringing
personal
healing to
us.
Some of
us may
be more
like
Thomas.
We may
have
questions.
We want
answers to
those questions.
We don't
want to
believe easily.
We don't
want to
believe just
because we
try hard to
believe.
We want
to be
convinced
of what
Jesus has
taught us,
the reality
of his
resurrection,
and know
that it's
true.
And Thomas
helps us
to have
that kind
of affirmation
that Jesus
is who he
claims,
that he
is alive,
that he
is Lord,
that he
is God.
For Thomas,
like the
other disciples,
it wasn't a
scam that they
somehow managed
to pull off.
It was
something they
all stuck to
to their
deaths.
Tradition
tells us
that Thomas
took this
message all
the way to
southern India.
That's how
committed he
was to what
he saw,
and what he
touched,
and what he
believed.
We need to
be like
Mary and
to listen to
the voice of
Jesus.
Jesus said,
My sheep
hear my
voice,
they know
me and
they follow
me.
We need
to be like
Thomas,
and our
response needs
to be
worshiped.
Not,
yes,
I believe,
I can
certify
that these
things are
true,
but to
say,
my Lord
and my
God.
John
helps us
to understand
that it's
not just a
matter of
his writing
a credible
account,
it's a
matter of
the Spirit
working in
us as
well.
That we
might believe
that Jesus
is the
Christ,
the Son
of God,
and that by
believing you
may have
life in
his name.
It's not
just mental
things,
it's not
just believing
things are
true,
it's a
transformed
life,
a new
life.
And we
need to
do like
these
disciples
are doing,
like we're
doing tonight,
we need to
gather in
his name,
we need to
affirm to
each other
the truth,
we have
seen the
Lord,
this is
what he
has done,
this is
who he
is.
And we
need to
be like
Mary,
just saying
to other
people outside
of this
room,
we have
seen the
Lord,
and he
offers you
life in
his name.
Let's
pray.
Let's
pray.