He Is Risen | John 20

The Resurrection, Holiday Discernment, and the Problem of Pagan Overlap

All right, welcome everyone, and happy and blessed Resurrection Sunday to you all. It is a very joyous day to be celebrating on this particular day, but really every Sunday celebrates this as well, and we'll see that shortly.

Before I read the sermon text, we're going to read the entirety of chapter 20 of the Gospel of John. I wanted to kind of preface this real quick by saying that, like I typically do when I preach on holidays and stuff like that, we know that religious holidays are often mixed with pagan and Roman Catholic baggage, right?

So they're not mandatory, we don't have to celebrate them, but if we do so, then we need to be discerning, right? We need to be discerning Christians who observe the real reason for the holiday, which is really God, Christ, His work, His person, without all of the baggage.

So, you know, this season you have things like Lent, you know, the 40-day fast and Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras and all that stuff, and Easter bunnies and Easter eggs, which really have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ.

And, you know, I saw this video by a guy called Wes Hough, and he's got a lot of good stuff, I really like his work, and he's the one who showed up on, who was interviewed by Joe Rogan not too long ago.

And he talks about how, he's not the only one that says this, but he's talking about how, well, Easter isn't pagan, so nothing to worry about here, you know, it's not pagan. And the problem, I keep having problems with this because there's too many coincidences for it to not be pagan, right?

And we know that historically, whenever you see false religions, you tend to see the same gods just sort of resurrecting in different forms, cultural expressions of that culture. The Greek gods resemble the Roman gods a lot, and so on, and the cycle keeps repeating itself.

Basically, same demon, different culture. So, I already preached on this a couple of years back, and you can go back and listen to that message. I'm not going to do a deep dive on that again, but there's just too many coincidences.

You know, the Easter eggs and the fertility goddesses, and eating eggs and chocolate bunnies and stuff, that's all very reminiscent of what idols demand when worshipping them. You make food in their image, and then you eat it, you consume it, which is exactly what they were doing in Jeremiah 44, and God judged them for it.

So, I don't think these are just merely coincidences, that there's so much common overlap in these practices. Of course, this is one of John Calvin's most popular sayings. Man's nature is a perpetual factory of idols.

So, we cannot assume that cultures are just innocent, especially if they don't have Christ. I mean, if even Christianized, quote-unquote, civilizations, like the medieval ages, which had the Bible and all these things, they still were drowning in idolatry, and in idols, and in saints, and all that stuff, and in relics, and all of these things that people would pay homage to and bow down to.

Even in Christian, quote-unquote, society, how much more so pagan society, right? So, he also said, the mind begets an idol, and the hand gives it birth, the hand of worship, right? So, it's all things to keep in mind, and it's also because of a lot of supposedly Christian traditions that overlap with this time, but because of the fast, the 40-day fast, and all of these things.

Against Compelled Fasting and Food Restrictions

But 1st Timothy 4 is very clear, that the Spirit explicitly says that in a later time, some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been seared in their own conscience, who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God created to be shared with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected. If it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God in prayer, in pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being nourished on the words of the faith, and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.

Amen.

So, we have to be aware of these things, that compelling people to fast, and to abstain from food, and things like that, is not biblical. Not to say that fasting isn't biblical, of course it is, but that should not be compelled, forced, or obligated.

And so, that's just something to keep in mind, always, when we celebrate holidays, to just be discerning.

Okay?

The Resurrection Account in John 20

So now, I want us to turn to the main text for today, which is the Gospel of John, chapter 20. The Gospel of John. And, while you're making your way over there, you'll note that all four Gospels have an account of the resurrection.

So that's really important to, because it was obviously a pivotal event in the history of Christ's ministry. All four of them have an account of it. And, the Gospel of John has a very, very drawn out and detailed account that I want us to dive into today.

So, the Gospel of John, chapter 20, starting from the beginning. God's Word says, Now, on the first day of the week, take note of that, Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, which is John, and said to them, They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.

So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. And the two were running together, and the other disciple, John, ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the first tomb. And stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.

And so Simon Peter also came, following him and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on his head, Christ's head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but folded up in a place by itself.

So the other disciple, who had first come to the tomb, then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to where they were staying.

But Mary was standing outside the tomb crying. And so as she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laying.

And they said to her, Woman, why are you crying? She said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you crying? Whom are you seeking? Thinking him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.

This is this is so comical. But so verse 16, Jesus said to her, Mary, she turned and said to him in Hebrew, Raboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I sent to my father and your father and my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord and that he said these things to her. So while it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and while the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

And when he said this, he showed them both his hands and his side, the disciples and rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So they so Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, I also send you.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.

But Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see his hands, the imprint of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand on his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut and stood in their midst and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Bring your finger here and see my hands and bring your hand here and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving, but believing.

Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Because you have seen me, you have you believe. Blessed are those who did not see and yet believe. Therefore, many other signs also did.

Jesus did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these have been written so that you may have. You may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

This is God's word.

Amen.

The Disciples’ Unbelief and the Need to Understand Scripture

So this is an amazing. This is a really fascinating chapter. And I want to jump back here for a little bit to verse two, because in verse two, we see something very interesting. It says that the disciples here, they so the Mary Magdalene went and came to Peter and the other disciple and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they had laid him.

So Mary was so distraught and sorrowed that she did not believe that Jesus was going to rise from the dead. They did not believe the resurrection at this point. And so she had doubt and unbelief and she was distraught because she couldn't find the body.

She thought somebody took the body away because she thought Jesus was was dead when was going to stay dead. And so that's very important to bear in mind. And then notice on verses eight and nine how John, the other disciple, had come first to the tomb and then also entered and he saw and believed.

So before that, not even the apostle that Jesus love had believed. Why? Verse nine explains, for as yet, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. So the doctrine of the resurrection was not understood by the disciples until after it happened.

Even his closest ones, his inner circle, Peter as well. They all doubted and because they did not understand. So this is important as well to note that you cannot believe what you do not understand.

You know,.

There's a lot of talk about mysticism and the pietism where all, you know, we need, we just need to accept things by faith. Well, faith understands you can't, you can't accept as true what you don't understand.

That's not to say.

That we have to understand everything exhaustively because that's obviously impossible for us in this, in our, in this life. But we must understand in order to believe. So that's also very important to highlight.

And if you also jump over down to verse 13, you'll see, they said to her, women, why are you crying? And she said to them, because they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have laid him.

When she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. The sorrow was so intense that they couldn't see what was right in front of their face. And so this is important to highlight as well, because we have to account for the spiritual estate of the disciples before and after the resurrection and make sense of it properly.

OK, so and then down to verses 21 through 23, we see where Christ appears to them and says, peace be with you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and the disciples rejoice when they saw the Lord.

So Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, I also send you. And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive, receive the Holy Spirit. OK, receive the Holy Spirit.

If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. Now, receiving the Holy Spirit does not necessarily mean that this is the first time they are receiving the the spirit of God and are being saved.

That's not necessarily what this means. This is receiving the spirit of God to be commissioned by him to do a special work of the apostolic ministry, to fulfill the Great Commission and go into all the world and preach the gospel and baptizing in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that Christ has commanded them to do.

Right. Us to do. So this is a commissioned infilling of the Holy Spirit is what this is pointing to. OK, and you'll see that in the book of Acts as well, where the the disciples, they become full of the spirit and they start preaching the gospel or they start doing a work of God and ministry and so on.

So another important thing to keep in mind there. Now, obviously, we are here in the New Testament and the Gospels. All of this has reference to the past, the ancient past. This is ancient now as well, but the Old Testament past, specifically speaking, right?

This is all pointing to something that was prophetically foretold back in the Old Testament times. So we have to understand this as well in order to fully appreciate what the resurrection means.

The Passover, the Lamb of God, and Christ in the Old Testament

And is.

So the word that's translated Easter in some versions of the English Bible, like the King James, is Pascha Pascha, which means Passover. It means Passover, like the Paschal Lamb and stuff like that. It's a Jewish commemoration of God's destroyer angel sparing the firstborn children of the Israelites and those who posted the blood of the lamb on their doors when they were still in bondage to Egypt.

It's the plague, the plague that killed the firstborn. And so that's what this is pointing to Passover. And it's a sacred observance in Judaism, the Old Testament Judaism, that commemorates the climactic tenth and final plague in the book of Exodus.

Right.

Where where Yahweh punishes Egypt by killing all the firstborn but passes over the firstborn of Israel, resulting in the Israelites deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

Right.

And so there's a passage in the book of Exodus, chapter 12, versus versus in verse 25, that says, and it will be when you enter the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this new slavery and it will be when your children say to you, what is the meaning of this new slavery to you that you shall say it is a Passover sacrifice to Yahweh who passes over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians but delivered our homes and know what the people did.

The people bowed low and worshipped. They bowed low and worshipped. So fast forwarding now to the resurrection into today that this is why resurrection Sunday as with every Lord's Day Sunday should be about worshipping worshipping God rightly in the truth of his word.

And that's why we so we appreciate the historic Christian church and especially the Protestant and reformed tradition because in this tradition every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ as the Lord's Day as the Christian Sabbath.

This is in keeping with what the Bible teaches as well. It's a special day. And of course we understand that God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth and truth because God is a God of truth.

John 4 24.

Amen.

So this is pointing us to a greater reality. The types and shadows of the Old Testament is pointing to a greater reality. And that reality is that Jesus.

Is our Passover lamb.

And deliverer from death and judgment. He is the Passover lamb just as the gospel of John says in chapter 1 verse 29. On the next day he saw John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him and said behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

This is Christ the Passover lamb. Now if you turn with me here to Jude 5 we'll see another very powerful.

Passage.

That illustrates another important truth about Christ. In Jude 5 God's word says now I want to remind you though you know all things that Jesus having once saved a people out of the land of Egypt subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

Amen.

So this is not only does the Old Testament point to Christ in the New Testament but Christ. The scriptures here say that Christ was in the Old Testament. He was the one delivering the people of Israel out of Egypt and judging and destroying those who did not believe.

It's the same God. Right. It's the same God and the same.

Deliverer. So.

The First Day of the Week, the Lord’s Day, and the Resurrection

And this is so amazing. This was so awesome when I was studying this and learned this that whenever Christ appears in his resurrected body.

And.

The day is mentioned in scripture every single time. It is always the first day of the week. It is always on the first day of the week on Sunday.

It's.

Such as in Matthew 28 verse 1 and verses 9 through 10 Mark 16 9 Luke 24 1 and verse 13 and 15 and the John chapter 20 and verse 19 and 26. So if you turn back with me there, we will read those again and see what it says there.

About the.

First day of the week in John chapter 20 verse 19. So while it was evening on that day, the first day of the week and while the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you.

That is powerful stuff. And I wonder why did he say peace? Why did he say peace be with you? Why did he say peace be with you? This is so important because there's some false teaching out there that says that Christ hadn't finished the sacrifice.

He still had to go up to heaven to ascend to finish the sacrifice. But Jesus said peace be with you.

Why?

What did he say earlier on the cross? It was finished, right? That's why we have peace. Peace be with you. So now. Verse 26.

Similarly.

Says and after eight days his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them and Jesus came the doors having been shut and stood in their midst and said peace be with you. So after eight days that's again on a Sunday the first day of the week and he appeared once again.

Very fascinating stuff there. So early Christians in the book of Acts and onward that's why they followed suit and worshipped accordingly. They worshipped accordingly. Whereas the Old Testament the Sabbath was a very important day of rest and they worship in those things.

The first day of the week was became a highlighted event or day because of what happened that day which was the resurrection.

That's.

Why in Acts chapter 20 verse 7 God's word says and on the first day of the week when we were gathered together to break bread Paul began speaking to them intending to leave the next day and he prolonged his message until midnight.

So the Christians in the early church in the book of Acts they gathered on the first day of the week because of the resurrection and because the Christ appeared himself on the first day of the week. It's saying something there and that is why it's not an accident that church is on Sunday now.

Even though of course the week the week that we follow is a pagan week. It's all a bunch of Viking gods and Thor's day and Odin's day and you know I forget what Tuesday is but Monday moon day and Friday Freya day you know fish fry Friday with the whole when they would abstain from meat and eat fish on Friday.

It's like that. This has nothing to do with what the Bible teaches us. Right. Right. So.

But.

The first day of the week.

Is.

Is a is a hinge in history. It's a turning point in history that changed everything as to how God's people did things and breaking bread. They were breaking bread on Sunday on the first day of the week which was also called the Lord's day.

The kuriakei heregma in Greek it's the Lord's day and breaking bread is means to fellowship like in Acts 242 where it says they were breaking bread and and fellowshipping and teaching. They were teaching the doctrine of the apostles.

So and this is by the way is when Paul was speaking and teaching for so long that Eutychus falls over and died and then he was brought back to life. Fascinating stuff there. So this is why we worship on Sundays the first day of the week and not because it's the day of the sun but because it's the day of the Lord and the day when Christ was raised again resurrected.

Amen.

The Resurrection as the Gospel’s Defining Truth

So.

This is very important and there's a reason for it. Obviously there's a reason for all this. Now we have the resurrection this brings us to the gospel right the resurrection and the gospel now because how significant is the resurrection to the gospel and to our salvation.

Right. Because if we see it like Pastor David read earlier in first Corinthians 15 we see that the resurrection is a sine qua non of the gospel. What do I mean by that? Well sine qua non is a Latin phrase for that without which it cannot be.

So the resurrection is so fundamental to the gospel that without it you don't have the gospel such that if you deny the resurrection you deny the gospel right.

So.

Let's turn back to first Corinthians 15 and explore this a little bit more.

Where.

Paul expounds a summary of the gospel message.

So here.

In this passage starting in the beginning of verse 1 the apostle the God-breathed apostle says.

Now.

I make note to you brothers the gospel which I proclaim as good news to you which you also receive in which you also stand by which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I proclaim to you as good news unless you believe for nothing for I deliver to you as a first importance primary importance that what I also receive that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Kephas then to the twelve Kephas was Peter.

So this is a very important explanation of the basic propositions of the gospel that it is a summary of Christ's life and death and resurrection his work his purpose and what he did on earth.

He.

God sent forth his son according to the scriptures prophesying the Messiah. Why? So that he could fulfill the law that we could never satisfy because we are all guilty sinners and condemned in the eyes of God right?

Romans 3. It's all over the bible we are guilty guilty guilty. We deserve nothing but the wrath of God apart from what Christ has done. Christ came to live a perfect life and satisfy the terms that were broken in the garden.

That Adam and Eve broke that Adam primarily broke as the covenant head and Adam all die. That is why all are condemned by the sin of the one in the garden like Romans teaches right? But by the righteousness of the other we can be saved.

In him.

That's why he came to satisfy the legal obligations of righteousness that we could not keep and that we were obligated to keep but now are guilty of breaking in Adam and because of our own sin. And so Christ came to fulfill that and not only to fulfill our righteousness but also to satisfy the wrath of God on that tree on the cross and pay that punishment in full.

And that's why Jesus said it is done finished the work is satisfied redemption is accomplished. And it is applied to us when we have faith when God gives us the gift of faith. And that is what we celebrate on resurrection Sunday this reality.

So.

The obvious answer then to the question of can you deny the resurrection and still be saved should be clear now right? If you turn with me to verse 12 in chapter 15 of 1st Corinthians again later on in the chapter we will see Paul break this down further and argue very logically very consistently.

As to.

What happens when you deny the resurrection. God's word says now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead. But if there is no resurrection of the dead not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is vain. Your faith is also vain. It's all worthless. It's all in vain if there is no resurrection. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God because we bore witness against God that he raised Christ whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised your faith is worthless utterly worthless. You are still in your sins.

Then.

Those who have also fallen asleep in Christ have perished if you have hoped. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only we are of all men most to be pitied.

So.

This doctrine of the resurrection is of primary primary importance and it is it is a key foundational part of the gospel. It is foundational because this is a system of doctrine. This all has a process that needs to be fully drawn out and developed.

And.

That's why it's so important. This brings us to the question that I raised earlier what happened to the disciples before and after Jesus died. Why didn't they believe in the resurrection of Christ at first.

Why the Disciples Did Not Believe at First

And I had been wrestling with this for some years because I was trying to make sense of how is it that they're following Christ for those years.

And then they.

He dies and they suddenly like everything goes out the window they just they just they don't believe that he's.

Coming back.

If you let's turn to the gospel of Luke for some more insight into this question as well the gospel of Luke chapter 24 will start in verse 8. Verse 8. So the gospel of Luke chapter 24. Verse 8. God's word says.

And they.

Who are they. The women who had come with him from Galilee. Is what they are. Who they are. Remembered. His words Christ's words. And when they returned from the tomb they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

Now when Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there they were telling these things to the apostles but with the. But these words appear to them as nonsense and they were not believing them.

But Peter stood up and ran to the tomb and stooping to look in he saw the linen wrappings only and he went away by himself marveling at what had happened. So they they couldn't grasp what the women were saying.

They thought it was nonsense and they did not believe them. They couldn't believe what they had seen that Christ had come back from the dead. They had to see it to believe it. They had to see it to believe it.

Much like doubting Thomas. You know we a lot of a lot of.

Teaching.

Christian teaching people will isolate doubting Thomas like hey look this guy was a doubter you know he was the one that was doubting.

This.

This resurrection he says like unless I see it and I put my finger in the ribbon what about the disciples. They all doubted.

All of them.

Doubted that he was going to come back from the dead.

So.

There's.

We can't just isolate Thomas for that it's a very fat. And this is something that also illustrates the historicity of the Gospels because the Gospels have nothing to hide they have nothing to hide they're showing even the inner circle of Christ.

Doubted.

And.

Shows the frailty of their faith. At that point even the inner circle.

So.

Even the women doubted they thought he was dead they thought hey they took his body somewhere his corpse. So Jesus explains what was wrong with them in the same chapter in verse 25 in Luke 24. And he said to them.

That he was.

Talking to the men on the road to Emmaus to Cleopas and another guy O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe slow of heart to believe.

In all.

That the prophets have spoken all that they have spoken. Okay. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory. Necessary. Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets he interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures.

And remember. Remember how Christ confronts the Pharisees and deduces the resurrection from the tents of a verb. The tents of a single verb. Because he quotes the Old Testament saying I am the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

Not I was I am the God of the present tense. Because why. Because Abraham and Isaac and Jacob are alive in heaven and they will be raised to newness of life in the resurrection with a glorified body.

So.

They Christ here helps us to understand what happened to the disciples. They were slow of heart to believe. They eventually did but they were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

So they believe some things but not all things they fail to understand and therefore did not believe the resurrection at that point in time.

So.

Yes it doesn't mean that it doesn't necessarily. This is where we have to be really careful. It doesn't necessarily mean that they were not saved until after the resurrection because they were doing all kinds of ministry and they were they were doing all kinds of.

Work with Christ.

And so we have to properly make sense of this carefully.

Because.

What this often points to. And this can happen to us as well. This was a moment of sorrowful doubt because hope deferred makes the heart sick like Proverbs says. Right that leads to depression and stuff like that.

It's like well why do Christians have suffer from depression if they they have eternal life. It happens right. Christians can doubt even though they may still be saved. They can have severe sorrowful doubt but nonetheless temporary doubt that gets resolved when they are not thinking straight.