Well, good morning, everyone.
If you were here on Friday,
I encouraged you to look to Jesus on the cross
and believe for forgiveness,
for reconciliation with God.
This morning, I invite you to not just look,
but to see the Lord for eternal life,
for meaning, for life, for hope.
So for that to happen,
we need to pray that God would help us
to see what we cannot see with our own eyes,
that he might give us eyes
so that we might see the glory of the risen Lord.
Let's pray.
Father, I pray that as we come to your word this morning,
we pray that it would come alive,
just as alive as Jesus is now and reigning.
So we need your spirit to come to help us
to see what we cannot see with human eyes,
lest we walk out of here like Thomas,
doubting, questioning, refusing to believe.
So help us in our unbelief
so that we might see the risen Lord, we pray,
for your glory.
Amen.
There are two questions for us here on Easter Sunday,
the truth question and the meaning question.
Whenever you talk about the resurrection of Jesus,
the truth question and the meaning question are intertwined.
The truth question is, did it really happen?
The meaning question is, who cares?
What's the point?
There are people who reject Christianity
because they don't think it's true.
Jesus didn't die because dead people don't die and that's that.
That's the truth question.
But there are other people who reject Christianity,
not because they are convinced it's not true,
but because they can't see why it would make any difference
in their life if it were true.
In other words, the meaning of it is insignificant
or irrelevant for what really concerns them in life.
And to answer a little bit of that,
I have written a blurb on the front of your bulletin.
I encourage you to read it at some point
about just very briefly five things
that the resurrection does for us.
Forty years ago, there was an assumption
that there are fixed laws
that make the world understandable
and scientifically manageable.
These laws, however, did not allow for the truth
of the claim that someone could rise from the dead
and live forever.
The world at that time,
with its scientific understanding of natural laws,
did not allow for resurrections,
so unbelief was often connected
to that kind of assumption,
to scientific facts.
Today, there's a different assumption behind unbelief.
Today, the assumption is
that there is a personal law inside of me,
not natural fixed laws,
but personal laws inside of me.
It's a law that says,
I don't have to adapt my life
to anything that I don't find helpful to be.
That is, truth for me is what I find acceptable
and what I find helpful for my life.
So in the end,
it doesn't matter whether Jesus rose from the dead
because whether he did or whether he didn't,
my issue is,
I don't care.
And if I don't care,
then I will just view the resurrection of Jesus
in the same way that I would view UFOs.
It may, may not exist.
Don't care.
It doesn't bother me
unless it's Independence Day
and one is right on top of me.
Some of us think that way
without even knowing that's the way we think.
We have just simply absorbed the culture in which we live.
I think both questions are important to address
at the same time.
As the world has made rapid advancement
in scientific understanding,
there has been
a chronological
snobbery
that assumes
any conclusions made in previous centuries
were just based on ignorance.
That truth is in my century
or in my era,
in my time
and those other people
were just ignorant,
gallible,
foolish people.
So the people around
when Jesus rose from the dead
were just that.
They were gullible
and ignorant
and foolish.
It's a bit odd
because when you look
at the first response
to the empty tomb,
we don't find gullibility.
Have a look at it there.
John chapter 20.
It was just read out to us.
If you haven't got your Bibles open,
please open them.
I want you to see these words.
John 20 verse 1.
Early on the first day of the week,
while it was still dark,
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb
and saw
that the stone
had been removed
from the entrance.
So she came running
to Simon Peter
and the other disciples,
the one Jesus loved,
and said,
they have taken the Lord
out of the tomb
and we don't know
where they have put him.
The very first response
to the resurrection of Jesus
is there must be
another explanation.
Mary,
one of the disciples of Jesus,
did not believe
in the resurrection.
Her first assumption was
that the body
had been moved.
We also see
in verse 13,
she was working
on the assumption
that the Jewish leaders
had come
and taken the body
of Jesus
and disposed of it
outside of the holy city,
gotten rid of it somewhere.
Mary is slow
to believe
Jesus had been risen,
but she's not the only one.
Even Peter and John,
though somewhat puzzled
at the disturbed grave clothes
in the empty tomb,
didn't automatically jump
to the conclusion
that Jesus had been resurrected.
Verse 8,
finally,
the other disciple
who had reached
the tomb first
also went in.
He saw
and believed.
Now,
you think,
he believes
in the resurrection,
but no,
verse 9,
they still did not
understand
from scripture
that Jesus
had to rise
from the dead.
I think
John's first assumption
is
that Jesus
has gone
from the tomb
straight to heaven.
That tells me
that these disciples
were not easily
excitable
or gullible people.
They weren't
actually looking
for a resurrection.
But what they were
confronted with
on that morning
was a
bodiless tomb.
That's what
they were confronted with.
There was no body
in the tomb.
You cannot play
around
with the resurrection
of Jesus
and can see
that maybe
it was just
some sort of
spiritual resurrection.
The body
wasn't there.
And one of the
great historical
evidences
of the resurrection
is that the tomb
where he was
buried
was emptied
on the third day
and the enemies
of Jesus
could not
produce a body.
The assumption
of Mary
that the Jewish
leaders had
taken the body
of Jesus
away
was her first
assumption.
And all the
Jewish leaders
needed to do
was to kill
off Christianity
was to go
boom
there's your
dead Lord.
In fact
it's
one of the
striking things
about
the resurrection
of Jesus
is that
in the days
and the weeks
and the months
that passed
nobody
was able
to be reduced
in order to
kill off the
things that both
the Jewish
and the Roman
rulers
hated so much.
the advancement
of this
cult
called
Christianity.
Some have
tried to say
well he didn't
really die
he was revived
in the cool
of the tomb
and moved
the stone
away on his
own.
This goes
against the
horrible realities
of crucifixion
and against
the rigorous
steps that
Pilate and
the leaders
demanded
to make sure
that he was
in fact dead.
John chapter
19
you can
read that.
Others have
tried to say
that the
disciples
stole the
body.
A couple
of things
about that
one.
It would
seem a bit
odd that if
they stole
the body
that they
would actually
unwrap the
grave clothes
first and
leave.
I mean who
wants to do
that?
Who wants
to unwrap
the grave
clothes and
cut away a
bloody
beaten
naked body?
No one
would do
that.
But more
significantly
if they
took the
body it
would mean
that the
disciples began
to risk
their lives
and in fact
give themselves
up to martyrdom
for the sake
of a hoax
that they knew
was false
and was
worthless.
Who dies
for a lie?
So how
else do you
account for
the dramatic
change in the
disciples as
well?
After Good
Friday if it
wasn't for
the resurrection
the fact is
that they
were utterly
dejected,
they were
terrified after
the death of
Jesus that
they too
would die.
The people
who had
killed their
boss,
their leader
were potentially
going to kill
them too.
They did not
have a hope
for resurrection,
they were ready
to go back
fishing but
were scared
of the authorities
that put their
teeth to the
death and so
they hid
themselves in
a room,
a bunch of
cowards,
hoping not to
be found,
hoping not to
be put to
death.
And then
Jesus appears
to them.
And in the
next coming
weeks these
men went
from cowards
to courageous,
bold men
willing to
die.
what had
happened to
them.
Their own
account was
they had
seen the
Lord alive.
The evidence
is there for
sure.
But doubting
the resurrection
of Jesus is
common.
Strangely enough
though, it's
the first person
to doubt the
resurrection,
the first
person who
was to
actually
specifically
doubt the
resurrection,
not just
question whether
it happened
or not have
a confused
assumption about
it, but to
say I will
not believe
it, was
in fact not
an opposer
of Jesus but
one of his
closest supporters,
Thomas.
Thomas wasn't
there when
Jesus first
appeared to
the disciples.
Have a look
at it there in
verse 24.
Now Thomas
called Didymus,
one of the
twelve, was
not with the
disciples when
Jesus came.
So the other
disciples told
him, we have
seen the
Lord.
But he said
to them, unless
I see the
nail marks in
his hands and
put my finger
where the nails
were and put
my hand in
his side, I
will not
believe.
Unless I
see it for
myself, I
will not
believe it.
I will
believe if
Jesus comes
and shows
himself to
me.
The odd
thing is
that for
Thomas, like
the other
disciples, the
resurrection was
not a new
idea.
As an
Orthodox Jew, he
would have
believed in
everyone being
resurrected to
face judgment
when God
calls the
end of the
world to
be.
But he
doubts the
resurrection of
Jesus here.
His
response to
the news is
absolute.
He makes
his demands
in absolute
terms.
Unless I
see and
place my
hands, I
will not
believe.
He demands
tangible
proof.
He rejects
the witness of
ten or more
of his
closest mates.
He dictates
absolute terms to
God about
believing, which
reveal a lack of
wisdom and
humility.
What he has
not yet
grappled with
is that
seeing does
not equal
believing.
You see, many
people saw the
miracles of
Jesus and
yet they
didn't believe.
They in fact
plotted to kill
him when they
saw Jesus
command Lazarus
to walk out of
the tomb.
Dead man walking.
They saw it
happen and
instead of
going, my
goodness, who
is this man?
They went, right,
it's time to
kill this guy.
Seeing doesn't
equal belief.
And it's a
mistake that's so
easy to make.
The assumption
that if God
would appear to
me or directly
intervene in
certain aspects of
my life for my
good as I
determine it, then
I would believe.
In other words,
if God would
appear to me on
my terms, then
I would believe
he is God.
Of course, the
irony of that is
that a God who
submits to my
terms isn't so
much of a fancy
God after all.
I remember
going through
US customs.
Here's another
one of those
US customs
stories.
Going from
Canada into
the US,
walking up to
the counter,
handing over my
passport, and the
custom guy takes a
look at it, big
long pause, and
he says here,
you're a
clergyman.
Yes, yes I
am.
Right, I've got a
question for you,
and it was like,
is this like one of
those test things?
You know, I'm saying
I'm here on business,
I've got something to
declare, is he trying
to check me out,
what's the deal here?
And he said, what
would you say to a
person who says to
you, show me God and
I'll believe in him?
And so I'm thinking,
oh, in that moment
God help me, you
know, I might be
stuck in Canada, I
mean, please help me
in this moment.
And I said to him,
Jesus said, you see
me and you see the
Father.
So God actually has
revealed himself, he
has come into this
world and revealed
himself.
And he's done sort of
things, not just makes
claims that he's God,
but he did things to
prove he was God, he
raised people from the
dead, he healed the
sick, he calmed the
waters, and I said
historical facts that
prove that he was who
he said he was.
But let me say that
plenty of people saw
Jesus and they saw the
miracles he did and yet
they still plotted to
kill him.
I said, I would say to
that person, don't make
this mistake of thinking
that seeing equals
believing.
And I said, the reality
is I could be God right
here, right in front of
you now and prove it to
you, but if your heart
is one where you were
determined to will to
not to believe, you
won't.
I said, that's basically
what I would say to
that person.
I said, there is plenty
of evidence.
I said, I would
encourage that person to
go and read the
evidence in the
Gospels and ask for
eyes to see.
He gave me my passport
and he slid it across
and said, okay, you
pass.
So what happens with
Thomas?
Reading on in verse
26.
A week later, his
disciples were in the
house again and Thomas
was with them.
Although the doors were
locked, Jesus came and
stood among them and
said, peace be with you.
And he said to Thomas,
over here, put your
hand, put your finger
here and see my hands
and reach out your
hand and put it into
my side.
Stop doubting and
believe.
When Jesus did finally
appear to Thomas, he
says, just stop doubting
and believe.
So the call from Jesus
to Thomas was to stop
his disbelief.
And Jesus in that
moment was incredibly
merciful to him and
came to him in
demonstration of his
resurrection and Thomas
believed.
The interesting thing
is though, that when
you go through the
gospels, the latter
part of the gospels,
and you move even
into the early parts
of Acts, Jesus'
intention was not for
everyone to see in the
same way.
In fact, Jesus did not
appear to everyone
after his resurrection.
He could have just
wandered up to Pilate
one day and said,
wrong.
But his intention was
not to reveal himself
to everyone.
Yes, he did appear to
well over 500 people at
different times.
Enough saw him alive.
But his intention was
not for everyone to
believe him in that
way.
John, who wrote this
biography, was one of the
eyewitnesses.
And this is what he says
about how we come to see
and believe.
Verse 30, Jesus did
many other miraculous
signs in the presence
of his disciples, which
are not recorded in this
book.
But these are written
that you may believe
that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing
you may have life in
his name.
What he is saying is
that what is written in
this biography of
Jesus' life, his
ministry, his death,
his resurrection, is
everything that you need
to believe.
In fact, he says,
Jesus did plenty of
other stuff, but I
haven't written them
down because you don't
need to know about it.
We have everything that
we need to believe right
in front of us.
So can I encourage you
this Easter to read
one of the biographies of
Jesus, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John.
Just read one of those
biographies and ask for
eyes to see the risen
Lord.
Of course, there are
also those who refuse
to accept the evidence
of Jesus' resurrection
or even look into it
because it's not a matter
of historical facts.
It's not a matter of
historical evidence.
It's a matter of the
claims that Jesus made.
And this is the unbelief
of the will.
That is, if Jesus rose
from the dead, then he
is who he says he is
and he is king and he
is Lord.
He is God and he
commands our allegiance.
And so the rejection
of the resurrection then
is a rejection of the
will.
It's not about the
intellect.
It's about the heart.
It's about the will.
Look at what Thomas
says when he realized
that Jesus had come
back to life.
Verse 28 reveals the
consequences of the
resurrection of Jesus.
The meaning of it.
Thomas said to him,
my Lord and my God.
His first questions
were not, how are you
walking around with a
hole in your side?
The first thing that
impacted him was the
meaning of the
resurrection.
My Lord and my God,
it's true.
Everything you said
about yourself is true.
He is God.
He is the king of the
universe.
He is my Lord.
He is my king.
He is my boss.
He is my ruler.
He is my God.
Belief in the
resurrection of Jesus
for Thomas and for
many of us may just
simply be in the end of
the matter, a matter of
the will.
It is about who's in
charge of my life.
It's about who's in
charge of my world.
God.
And we don't have
Thomas' direct evidence.
We are more like Peter
and John in the tomb.
There is evidence and
either we see through it
or we don't.
And the issue for us here
this morning is do you
see?
This is what I mean.
Your doorbell rings this
afternoon and one of your
friends asked to come in
and have a chat with you.
He comes and says, I have
some really bad news.
Your brother has just
died.
And you say, shaking your
head, no, I don't believe
it.
I saw him this morning and
he was fine.
I don't believe it.
It can't be true.
And your friend says, well,
we went off to the Easter
show together and as we
were leaving, this car went
out of control, jumped the
curve and hit him.
And I knelt over him and I
waited for the ambulance and I
saw it and he died in my arms
and he is gone.
And you say, oh, I see.
What do you mean?
Oh, I see.
What you mean in that
moment is the witness of your
friend has become a window
and the reality of the window
has become plain.
You were not there.
You did not see the
accident.
But still you say, and
it is right to say with all
your heart, I see.
I now understand.
And God has brought you here
this morning, my friends, for
this message and for this
Bible passage and for this
story of the resurrection of
Jesus so that you might go,
oh, I see.
Through the witness of John,
John says, I see.
I understand.
I see.
I understand.
And that in seeing you might
believe in Jesus and have life
in his name.
John says, but these things are
written that you might believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that by
believing you may have life in
his name.
And so my prayer for you this
morning is that you will now,
before this service is over,
or very soon, by God's grace,
say, oh, I see.
And in seeing the resurrected
Jesus, we'll live like he lives
forever.
Amen.