Jesus Appears to His Disciples

The Resurrection as the Crowning Miracle of God

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most stupendous supernatural miracle that the world has ever known. It supersedes everything else because if Christ is not risen from the dead then everything else promised to us from God, God's word, totally collapses.

He goes on to say this, upon all the virtue of his life and the value of his death and the victory of his conflict, God set the seal in the sight of heaven and earth and hell when raising him from the dead, end quote, amen.

That's a wonderful quote. And the resurrection is the father's amen to the son's exclamation, it is finished.

Amen.

Listen to that again. The resurrection is the father's amen to the son's exclamation, it is finished. It's paid in full, folks. Christ has paid the price and his resurrection guarantees it. It is guaranteed and we need not fear.

For all the promises of God are yes and amen. You can bank on it. You can take it to the bank. And God means exactly what he says. And it was showed in demonstration by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Christ is no doubt the crowning miracle of God. As Brother Ben read from 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, everything is honed in to the resurrection. This is why this is God's greatest miracle because without the resurrection of Christ you and I and everybody would be dead, not only dead in their sins, they would be hopeless and we would still be in our sins.

We would be, amen, doomed without hope. And by the way, if Christ is not living and ascending on high, ascended on high at the right hand of the father, that means not only we're still in our sins, our faith is vain, the preaching we do is in vain and also there would not be a judgment to come.

What would be there? There would be nothing, hopelessness. But folks, I'm telling you, Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and he's alive. And this is why if you go to the book of Acts, you see the apostles and the Christians there, they set the world on fire, they turned it upside down and they preached the resurrection.

Of Jesus.

And that was by the power of his resurrection they did it and made a great, great transformation in that time period and God helped us to do the same for us today in our generation through the power of the resurrection.

Can I also add right along with what Brother Keith mentioned, no other religion as he mentioned today, all those Buddha and Mohammed and all them is dead and gone. And by the way, they stand before the judgment, before Christ and at the final judgment to.

Come.

No other religion in this entire world has a resurrection. Think of that. It is the very essence and the very heart of Christianity. Well, the gospel of John chapter 20 is a great resurrection chapter in the Bible.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples in John 20

So this morning, please turn with me as I invite you to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, as we worship the Lord in this time period, within this hour, verse 19 to verse 20, I'm sorry, verse 31 to the end of the chapter.

Hear the word of the living God. And I'm reading from the New King James Version, beginning at verse 19. And then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be with you.

And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. And then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. And so Jesus said to them again, peace to you. As the father has sent me, I also send you.

And when he said this, he breathed on them, received the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas called the twin, Didymus, one of the 12 was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciple therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days, his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them. And Jesus came to doors being shut and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. And then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands.

Reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

May God richly bless the reading of his word from our ears to our hearts this morning. Please bow with me in prayer. Our father and our God, how wonderful this text is. How wonderful is your word that you've preserved for us.

We thank you this morning, Lord, that we have your holy word. The revelation from heaven. You speak into us, oh God. Thank you for this word that's preserved. Thank you, Father, that it has come to us, Lord, on a sea of blood.

Every time we open it, Lord, may we never, ever forget that. We thank you, Lord, that you honor your word. It is eternal and forever settled in heaven. And, Lord, you have exalted your word even above your own name.

That's further than we can ever think of. Lord, I pray give us all ears to hear and eyes to see. Your son, your beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The one whom you raised from the dead.

And who is now at the right hand of your power. Glorified and risen. And soon to come again. And to return in power and great glory with all the holy angels. May we be forever ready. And may our faith be strong when he comes.

Father, we thank you for this time. Bless this time. In Jesus' name, amen. The disciples, when they saw the Lord, went from fear and doubt to courage, faith, and assurance. They were transformed. All because of the resurrected Christ.

John chapter 20 here is the gospel. And it is the glorious record. And here gives the appearances of Jesus to his own followers. The first appearance, as you see, was to Mary Magdalene early in the morning.

It was at dark before the sun arose. And this is recorded in this chapter in verse 1 through 18. Then following was the appearance to the ten disciples in verse 19 through 23. Then the appearance, as we would see, to Thomas, the twin, Denimus, in verse 24 to 29.

Now it's interesting to note this at the start of this message. Is that Jesus did not appear to unbelievers. He did not appear to unbelievers.

And why?

Because the evidence of his resurrection would not have convinced them in the first place. As other miracles did not convince them. Jesus, therefore, appears exclusively to his own followers. To the disciples.

To Mary Magdalene, which I think was such a wonderful act of grace to her. To appear to her first and foremost. And to give her such a hope. She was in such despair, crying, that she loved the Lord so much.

And then he appears to her. And as you know this account, she thought it was the gardener. And then he says, Mary, know it's touching to me. Because the Lord is the great shepherd of the sheep. And he calls his own by name.

And when he said Mary, she recognized him. He appears to her. The risen Christ. And she's delivered. She was in great despair. And then she comes to rejoicing. And she goes back and tells the disciples.

I have seen the Lord. At first they thought, wow, this woman must be absolutely out of her mind. They didn't really believe it. They didn't believe her. Well, such appearances are so profound that they literally transformed the disciples.

They transformed Mary forever. And especially these disciples here that were cowardly. Fearful men, hiding in fear. To the bold witness for Jesus. Because of fear of the Jews. Once again, John's purpose in recording these resurrection appearances was to demonstrate that Jesus' physical and bodily resurrection was the crowning proof that he is truly the Messiah.

The son of the living God. Who laid down his life for his sheep. That is a very strong witness. And saying that, I love the old hymn that says, How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord. Is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

What more can he say than to you he has said. To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled. Isn't that wonderful? It's for your faith that we may believe. And our faith may grow stronger and stronger. Well, that's the purpose of the word of God.

To strengthen your faith. My faith today. What more can he say? What more can he do? And I like to take that. What more can he say? What more can he do? And make an outline out of it. First of all. From verse 19 and 20.

We say a body resurrected. A body resurrected. Second, in verse 21 we have a word of reconciliation. Third, in verse 22 through 23. We will observe a breath received. A breath received. That's the first half of it.

What more can he say? Then the second half we will look from verse 24 to 31. To the end of the chapter. What more can he do? What more can he do? Fourth, we will look at verse 24 and 25. We see a low platform of a sight seer.

Fifth, in verse 26 to 27. We see a mediator of mercy. Sixth, in verse 28 and 29. We see a high position of a believer. And last and final and seventh. We will see in verse 30 and 31. We have a what is called the blessings of the believing.

The blessings of the believing. Then we will look at some personal practical applications and conclusions. So let's begin. First of all, a body resurrected. A body resurrected. Verse 19 and 20. Then the same day at evening.

When the first day of the week when the doors were shut. Where the disciples were assembled for the fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in the mist. And said to them, peace be with you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. You know it's interesting to hear that this is the second time in the chapter that John notes. It's the first day of the week. Brother Keith brought this out and I think this is a wonderful point.

About the Lord's day. The first day of the week. Why does he focus so much on this? Well, there's a reason for the first day of the week. Because of the great event of the resurrection obviously. Jesus had greater meaning than the Sabbath.

The Jewish Sabbath. I'd like to bring out first of all what does this mean. As we will look at a body resurrected. According to Genesis chapter 2 verse 1 through 3. The Sabbath commemorates God's finished work of creation.

Keep this in mind. There was a reason for the Jewish Sabbath. It commemorates God's finished work of creation. Now, there's a transition. Now the day of the Lord. When Christ finished the work of redemption as a work of the new creation.

That's what it commemorates and that's what it points us to. And there's a reason that we call this the Lord's day. Because of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. And through the resurrection and through his resurrection.

His bodily resurrection. We can have new life in him. Because he has that life. He is the life giver. And the new life giver. In creation and new creation. Now, God the Father for six days rested. After he worked in creation.

Six days. Six days God created all things. Crowning creation on day six was man. That he made in his image. Then God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours. Isn't this interesting? No mistakes about it.

For six hours God the Son. Then he rested in the tomb. For three days. And out from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. The former work of creation is here foreshadowed for us. And the latter work of new creation.

That's the point. And we do not need to lose sight of that. Because it's very significant. The Sabbath was a sign of the Old Testament. Covenant that Israel belonged to God. Now, the nation of Israel was to use that day.

That day of the Sabbath for physical rest. Even the animals were to rest. That's how serious it was. All things were to rest. On the Sabbath day. The Sabbath. The Jewish Sabbath. For refreshment. Both for man and beast.

But unfortunately the scribes and the Pharisees. Added all kinds of restrictions to the Sabbath observance. In the day of Jesus. Until it became a day of bondage. Instead of a day of blessing.

Now.

Although Jesus deliberately violated such Sabbath traditions. Because of the traditions of men. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored the Sabbath in accordance to its original intention. And can I say that he honored it to the law perfectly.

He never broke it. He lived the perfect law. And lived that. So that his righteousness would become our righteousness. It's glorious. So we need to remember that. Not only in his death. Him dying. His passive obedience.

Is so significant. His active obedience. And his living fulfilling the law. Was just as important. We need not forget that. So he honored the Sabbath. In accordance to its intention of resting from the works.

So this leads me to the question. How then did God. I'm sorry. Did the first day of the week come to be known as the Lord's day? How did it come to this? It's a good question. You'd get all kinds of answers.

But the answer is really given. And from scripture clearly. Specifically in this chapter. You see also in Revelation. And as John was on the Isle of Patmos. In exile. For preaching the gospel. The Lord comes to him.

In chapter 1. And as the spirit of God comes upon him in a great and powerful way. Opens up heaven as we know. What is called the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not the revelation of John the Apostle.

It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. Given to John the Apostle. But it happened on the Lord's day folks. On the Lord's day. Well right here. This is the first day of the week. This is the resurrected Christ.

Mary Magdalene saw Christ. Other women saw Christ.

To Peter.

The Apostles. Two disciples on the road of Emmaus. The disciples. Minus Thomas. And then next Sunday. All eleven were meeting and visited by Christ again. And then to Thomas. And in our text. It appears that from the beginning.

The disciples and the early church met on the first day of the week as well. To worship the Lord. And to commemorate his death and resurrection. That's why the Lord's day is significant. Well let's move on.

So John the Apostle makes reference to this. Because of it's great importance to worshiping the risen Savior. Aren't you so glad that we serve a risen Savior. A resurrected Lord.

He's alive.

And that should give us strength and courage to go out and tell the world. So it was the first day of the week. Now Sunday. Now the evening. This is the evening. The disciples were assembled together.

Perhaps in the upper room. Don't know exactly. But perhaps in the upper room. Where they met three nights ago. And the text tells us the doors were shut. The doors were shut.

Why?

Well the scripture tells us. For fear of the Jews. For fear of the Jews. Since the authorities. At that time. Had executed their leader. They reasonably expected that Jesus' fate could be their own fate as well.

Allow me to just use this as an example. This almost reminds me several years back. When the COVID hit. We don't forget that do we? It had repercussions and consequences of this whole nation. And actually the world.

A virus is spreading.

A flu.

And people went into absolute panic. And fear. Of what was going to happen to them. And government started to order that churches were not to meet. And it became a serious issue. And people stayed indoors.

Because of what?

Fear.

It was a fear factor. And can I use that as an illustration of exactly what happened here? For the fear of the Jews. These disciples. Cowered down. And stayed indoors. They locked their doors. And they dared not go out.

And then beloved can I say there was a great transition that took place. The text says something wonderful. And this changes everything. Jesus comes in the midst of them. And the scripture says here. Jesus came.

He came and stood in the midst. Right in their midst. Doesn't that change everything? Jesus came. He stood in the midst. And said to them. And this is significant too. Because what's the first words he mentions to them?

He doesn't shame them. He doesn't condemn them. He doesn't press down on them. He says peace be with you. Peace be with you. Now it seems very clear that the Lord entered the room. Without opening the doors.

Absolutely.

This was a miracle. It should be remembered that. In his resurrection body. He was a real body of flesh.

And bones.

A very physical real body. But glorified. But yet he had the power to pass through the barriers otherwise. In other words act independently of all the natural laws. As he walked on the water. As so many other things that proves his deity.

And here he walks right through the walls. And appears right in their midst. So Jesus comes to them supernaturally in a resurrected body. A physical body. He's not a phantom. He's not a spirit. He's a real body.

And he comes into the right to them personally. You know that's how the Lord is. He's personable. He loves you. With an undying love. But he comes personally. And he took your sin to the cross personally.

All because of his glory and the glory of the Father. Now in order to comfort. To reassure the disciples. Just seeing Christ come was enough. Standing in their midst was a great comfort and assurance.

But there's another step that Jesus takes. To these fearful disciples. There's a word of reconciliation. He gives a word of reconciliation. And that word is peace. Shalom. Be with you. Out of all the words to be chosen.

That's the first thing he says to his disciples. I want you to think about that. Put a seal right there. Shalom. Peace be with you. That's a greeting he gives. Now I'd like to ask the question. Why does he say peace be with you?

Why does he say this? Did you know this compliments his saying. The last thing he said on the cross. It is finished.

It compliments it.

Well I want you to see this. For his work on the cross accomplished peace.

You see that?

Peace between God and his people. I'd like to ask you today. Do you have peace with God? Do you have the peace of God? You cannot have the peace of God. That surpasses all understanding. Unless you first have the peace with God.

Romans 5 .1 says this. Therefore it's a wonderful verse. Wonderful verse folks. Therefore having been justified. This is how you get the peace of God. You must be justified. Declared righteous before a holy God.

And you cannot do it in your own good works. You cannot do it in your own good merits. It must come through Jesus Christ in him alone. Therefore having been justified by faith. That means we place our trust in Christ alone.

I like the way D .L. Moody described this. He said faith in God simply means. I lean on him with all of my weight.

Isn't that wonderful?

I lean on him. I'm justified just as if I've never sinned. I'm declared righteous by the almighty holy God. Because of what Christ did on the cross. By faith in Christ alone. We have peace with God. Think of that.

Peace with God.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ. No one else can give us that peace. But only Christ. Let me give you another scripture in Ephesians 2. 14 -17. For he himself is our peace. He himself is our peace. Who has made both one.

Has broken down the middle wall of separation. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity. That is the law of commandments. Contained in the ordinances. So as to create in himself one new man from the two.

Thus making peace.

Verse 16.

And that he might reconcile them both to God in one body. Through the cross. Thereby putting to death the enmity. In verse 17. And he came.

Isn't that wonderful?

Paul is saying and he came. And preached peace. To you who were far off. And to those who were near. He's talking about Jew and Gentile. Verse 18. For through him. We both have access by one spirit to the father.

Beloved.

That's how peace has been brought. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. By him paying the debt. Of sin. Our sin. Your sin. As Spurgeon says. That nailed our beloved to the tree. I want you to think of the great love behind that.

That Jesus was willingly. To go to the cross. To take your sin and my sin. And to suffer shame. Just not physical beatings of shame. But he endured and absorbed the wrath of God almighty. As the lights were turned out.

Beloved.

Listen to the Psalm 103 verse 10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins. Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. What a gracious God. To be so loving and kind. To take our sin. So that we may have peace with him.

And be justified.

Hallelujah.

What a savior. Christ is our peace. The prince of peace. And there is no peace to the wicked. Until one comes to believe and to repent. And trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he comes and he says.

Peace be with you.

To his apostles. Now has a new meaning. Because Christ has made peace by the blood of his cross. He's alive.

You see.

The resurrection makes it possible. His resurrection makes salvation possible. Redemption possible. He gives us this living hope. Through what he has accomplished at the cross. By faith alone. Those who are justified by faith alone in Jesus.

Have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now Jesus does a third thing. He reassures them by his word. And by showing them his hands. And his side.

The scars.

To remember him. To remember his sufferings. This is why we have communion. We choose to do it here once a month. But we remember the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of his passion. That he died for us.

And again. He's not a vision. He's not a phantom. But to show that he was indeed their master, Lord and Savior. He proves to them. That he is the same Lord who was crucified on the cross. He's resurrected.

He reassures them. By showing the marks of his passion. Shows the marks. By which peace had been obtained. Shows the marks. That this was just more than being a form of identification. His wounds were also the very evidence.

He was wounded for our transgressions. Bruised for our iniquities. Makes me think of the song also. I love Fanny Crosby's song. I shall know him. I shall know him. And been redeemed by his side. I shall stand.

I shall know him. By the prints of the nails in his hands.

Folks.

When you enter heaven. This will be the marks. No one else will have this. That God Almighty became flesh. And we will bow in heaven. And worship him forever. And say. Worthy is the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.

Folks.

Doesn't that blow your mind. That he would come and save us. Think of this. We don't deserve to be saved. But he came to save us from your sin. You see we think of everlasting life as something in the future.

And that's going to be glorious. But you know it begins now. It begins now. Through believing in him. By regeneration. By having a new heart. And as God through the Holy Spirit takes out a heart of stone.

And puts in a new heart of flesh. And makes a new creation out of us. And gives us new desires. Desires that's not toward the world. Because actually the Bible says. If you love the world. The love of the Father is not in you.

Who do you love today?

Do you love him with all of your heart? Do you love him with all of your mind? Your strength. Your soul. Beloved we owe it to him. We owe it to him. I remember missionaries years back. Years back in seminary that I loved.

Actually that was my favorite part of chapel. Is to listen to the missionaries. One by the name of Charles Greenway. Would always get up at just about. And he would have tears in his eyes. He was a southern boy from Alabama.

And he would get up. And I tell you his preaching was unusual. He would preach. You think I preach long. You ought to hear him. He would preach over two hours. And he would keep your attention. Every step of the way.

Every minute of the way. But all the time I remember him saying. You know. He would say young people. I wish I had a thousand lives. I'd give them all to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said folks you're young.

Give your life to Christ.

Don't waste it.

It's still ringing in my head. And he always would say to encourage us.

We're going to make it. We're going to make it.

It may not look like much when we get there. But we're going to make it.

Well.

Praise God. That the Lord comes to his disciples here. And encourages them. Well the basis for all of our peace. Is found in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. He died for us. He arose from the dead for us.

In victory. And he lives for us. Our fears. Cannot lock him out. You know actually the Bible says. And I believe it's in Timothy. Where Paul the apostle was encouraging young Timothy. Perfect love casts out fear.

Fear has torment. Doesn't it? It torments people.

But perfect love casts it out. That's the love of God. That's the power of the gospel.

That's the power of his resurrection. And he comes to his apostles. And he assures them with the word. It's almost as if he's saying. Faithful the wounds of a friend. It makes me think greater love. Has no one than this.

To lay down one's life for his friends. And you are my friends.

If you do. If you do.

Whatever I command you. We must obey him. Verse 21. It's a beautiful verse. So Jesus said to them again. Peace to you. As the father has sent me. I also send you. Jesus gives them a commission here. And this is based on his prayer in John 17.

Verse 18. And this is what he says in that wonderful chapter. As you sent me into the world. As Jesus is praying to the father. I also have sent them into the world.

You see.

The mission continues. Jesus was the greatest missionary. As he came from heaven. To deliver us from sin. To rescue us from sin. For that's what salvation is. Is to be made whole. And now he is commissioning his apostles.

To do the same. And this is a commission from Jesus. The disciples are to share it with others. And tell the world. Of the great wonderful news of the gospel. Notice also in the latter part. Verse 20.

After Jesus showed them his wounds. His marks of the passion.

The text says.

Then the disciples were glad. And they saw the Lord. There was gladness.

You know.

You see this in Acts. There was gladness of heart. As they came together. Because they had all things in common. And they encouraged one another. That's another reason to meet together in church.

Isn't it?

To encourage one another. To love one another. To stir up each other. For good works. To pray for one another. To honor one another. To love one another. All but one another's. And that's the purpose.

So when Jesus saw that the disciples feared. And had turned now to joy. He commissioned them. It's all in that order. Now he's given a commission. Warren Wiersbe said this in his commentary. And I love Wiersbe.

He says this.

Keep in mind that the original disciples were not the only ones present. Others including the Emmaus disciples were there. Were also in the room. This commission was not to the formal ordination of a church order.

Rather it was the dedication of his followers to the task of world evangelism. We are to take his place in this world. John 17, 18. And what a tremendous privilege. And what a great responsibility. It is humbling to realize that Jesus loves us as the father loves him.

And that we are in the father just as he is. It is equally as humbling to realize. That he has sent us into the world just as the father sent him. As he was about to ascend to heaven. He again reminded them of the commission to take the message to the whole world.

Amen.

It's the whole gospel. We're to give to the whole world. Well next. Third. We see a breath received. A breath received. Verse 22 and 23 says. And when he had said this. He breathed on them and said to them.

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any. They are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any. They are retained. Now this is a wonderful text. It says Jesus came here. And as he came.

He commissioned them. And now he's given them command. Of what to do. And to the disciples to reassure them. He didn't reassure them. But he also came to enable them. There's a reassuring. And also there's an enabling.

To enable them. Through the Holy Spirit. It kind of reminds me of the text in Genesis 2 .7. When God breathed the life into the first man Adam. He became a living soul. God's breath. Became in him. And the breath that we have in us.

Is God's breath.

And we shouldn't waste it. For our own. We should give glory to God. And praise him and thank him. But we're created to worship him. And only Christ can bring us to worship him. So both in Hebrew and Greek.

This word breath is interesting. It means spirit. Spirit. The breath of God in the first creation. Meant physical life. And the breath of Jesus Christ in the new creation. Meant spiritual life. There's much more.

That can be said. About these two verses. Much, much more. Because this is one of the most difficult verses. In the entire gospel.

Why?

Because the reason is. The Holy Spirit was not yet given until later. Literally 40 days later. On the day of Pentecost.

So.

There's a lot of. Going back and forth about this text. So the spirit could not come in his fullness. Until Jesus was glorified. As we know. That is until he had gone back to heaven. But here. No doubt.

Jesus is breathing upon them. And commissioning them. So this verse could be. That is if Christ is given a pledge. Of the Holy Spirit's coming. I'd like to think of it like that. So in verse 23. We basically see there's the privileges granted.

In verse 23. Exclusively restricted to just those who were literally in that room that day. Is that true?

Well.

I would think no. And I'm going to tell you why I think no here. More correct literal translation in English would be. Jesus says. Whoever sin you forgive. Shall have already been forgiven. Because of what Jesus did on the cross.

Right.