Jesus Appears to His Disciples

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the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most stupendous supernatural miracle that the world has ever known.
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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.
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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,
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God set the seal in the sight of heaven and earth and hell when raising him from the dead, end quote, amen.
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That's a wonderful quote, and the resurrection is the
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Father's amen, to the Son's exclamation, it is finished, amen.
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Listen to that again, the resurrection is the Father's amen, to the
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Son's exclamation, it is finished, paid in full, folks.
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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.
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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.
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The resurrection of Christ is no doubt the crowning miracle of God. As Brother Ben read from 1
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Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, everything is honed in to the resurrection.
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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.
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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
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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.
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What would be there? There would be nothing, hopelessness. But folks, I'm telling you,
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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
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Christians there, they set the world on fire, they turned it upside down, and they preached the resurrection of Jesus.
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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.
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Can I also add, right along with what Brother Keith mentioned, no other religion, as he mentioned today, all those
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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.
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No other religion in this entire world has a resurrection. Think of that, it is the very essence, and the very heart of Christianity.
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Well, the gospel of John chapter 20, is a great resurrection chapter in the
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Bible. So this morning, please turn with me, as I invite you to John chapter 20.
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John chapter 20, as we worship the Lord in this time period, within this hour, verse 19 to verse 21,
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I'm sorry, verse 31, to the end of the chapter, hear the word of the living
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God. And I'm reading from the New King James Version, beginning at verse 19.
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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
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Jews, Jesus came, and stood in the mist, and said to them,
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Peace be with you. And when he said this, he showed them his hands, and his side.
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And then the disciples were glad, when they saw the Lord. And so Jesus said to them again,
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Peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And when he said this, he breathed on them, received the
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Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
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If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas called the twin,
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Didymus. One of the twelve was not with them when Jesus came.
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The other disciple therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. So he said to them,
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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,
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I will not believe. And after eight days, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them.
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And Jesus came. The door was being shut, and stood in the mist, and said,
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Peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach your finger here, and look at my hands.
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Reach your hand here, and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.
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And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my
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God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed.
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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.
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But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
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May God richly bless the reading of his word from our ears to our hearts this morning.
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Please bow with me in prayer. Our Father and our God, how wonderful this text is.
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How wonderful is your word that you've preserved for us. We thank you this morning,
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Lord, that we have your holy word. The revelation from heaven.
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You speaking to us, oh God. Thank you for this word that's preserved.
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Thank you, Father, that it has come to us, Lord, on a sea of blood.
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Every time we open it, Lord, may we never ever forget that. We thank you,
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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.
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That's further than we can ever think of. Lord, I pray give us all ears to hear and eyes to see.
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Your son, your beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The one whom you raised from the dead.
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And who is now at the right hand of your power. Glorified and risen. And soon to come again.
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And to return in power and great glory with all the holy angels. May we be forever ready.
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And may our faith be strong when he comes. Father, we thank you for this time.
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Bless this time. In Jesus' name, amen. The disciples, when they saw the
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Lord, went from fear and doubt to courage, faith, and assurance.
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They were transformed. All because of the resurrected Christ. John chapter 20 here is the gospel.
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And it is the glorious record. And here gives the appearances of Jesus to his own followers.
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The first appearance, as you see, was to Mary Magdalene early in the morning.
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It was at dark before the sun arose.
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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.
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Then the appearance, as we would see, to Thomas, the twin,
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Denimus, in verse 24 to 29. Now, it's interesting to note this at the start of this message.
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Is that Jesus did not appear to unbelievers. He did not appear to unbelievers.
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And why? Because the evidence of his resurrection would not have convinced them in the first place.
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As other miracles did not convince them. Jesus, therefore, appears exclusively to his own followers.
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To the disciples. To Mary Magdalene, which
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I think was such a wonderful act of grace to her.
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To appear to her first and foremost. And to give her such a hope.
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She was in such despair, crying, that she loved the Lord so much.
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And then he appears to her. And as you know this account, she thought it was the gardener. And then he says,
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Mary, you know it's touching to me. Because the
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Lord is the great shepherd of the sheep. And he calls his own by name. And when he said
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Mary, she recognized him. He appears to her. The risen
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Christ. And she's delivered. She was in great despair.
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And then she comes to rejoicing. And she goes back and tells the disciples. I have seen the
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Lord. At first they thought, wow, this woman must be absolutely out of her mind.
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They didn't really believe it. They didn't believe her. Well, such appearances are so profound that they literally transformed the disciples.
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They transformed Mary forever. And especially these disciples here that were cowardly.
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Fearful men, hiding in fear. To the bold witness for Jesus.
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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
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Messiah. The son of the living God. Who laid down his life for his sheep.
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That is a very strong witness. And saying that,
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I love the old hymn. That says, how firm a foundation you saints of the Lord.
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Is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say than to you he has said.
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To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.
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Isn't that wonderful? It's for your faith that we may believe.
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And our faith may grow stronger and stronger. Well, that's the purpose of the word of God.
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To strengthen your faith. My faith today. What more can he say?
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What more can he do? And I like to take that. What more can he say?
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What more can he do? And make an outline out of it. First of all.
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From verse 19 and 20. We say a body resurrected.
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A body resurrected. Second, in verse 21 we have a word of reconciliation. Third, in verse 22 through 23.
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We will observe a breath received. A breath received.
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That's the first half of it. What more can he say?
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Then the second half we will look from verse 24 to 31. To the end of the chapter. What more can he do?
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What more can he do? Fourth, we will look at verse 24 and 25.
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We see a low platform of a sight seer. Fifth, in verse 26 to 27.
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We see a mediator of mercy. Sixth, in verse 28 and 29.
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We see a high position of a believer. And last and final and seventh.
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We will see in verse 30 and 31. We have a, what is called the blessings of the believing.
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The blessings of the believing. Then we will look at some personal practical applications and conclusions. So let's begin.
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First of all, a body resurrected. A body resurrected. Verse 19 and 20.
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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
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Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them,
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Peace be with you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
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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.
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Brother Keith brought this out and I think this is a wonderful point. About the Lord's day. The first day of the week.
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Why is he focused so much on this? Well, there's a reason for the first day of the week.
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Because of the great event of the resurrection, obviously. Jesus had greater meaning than the
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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.
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According to Genesis chapter 2, verse 1 through 3, the Sabbath commemorates
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God's finished work of creation. Keep this in mind. There was a reason for the
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Jewish Sabbath. It commemorates God's finished work of creation.
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Now, there's a transition. Now the day of the
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Lord, when Christ finished the work of redemption, is a work of the new creation.
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That's what it commemorates and that's what it points us to. And there's a reason that we call this the
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Lord's day. Because of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
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And through the resurrection and through his resurrection, his bodily resurrection, we can have new life in him.
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Because he has that life, he is the life giver. And the new life giver.
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In creation and new creation. Now, God the
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Father for six days rested. After he worked in creation.
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Six days. Six days God created all things. Crowning creation on day six was man.
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That he made in his image. Then God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours.
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Isn't this interesting? No mistakes about it. For six hours God the
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Son, then he rested in the tomb. For three days.
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And out from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph over his foes. The former work of creation is here foreshadowed for us.
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And the latter work of new creation. That's the point. And we do not need to lose sight of that.
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Because it's very significant. The Sabbath was a sign of the Old Testament.
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Covenant that Israel belonged to God. Now, the nation of Israel was to use that day.
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That day of the Sabbath for physical rest. Even the animals were to rest.
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That's how serious it was. All things were to rest. On the Sabbath day. The Sabbath.
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The Jewish Sabbath. For refreshment. Both for man and beast.
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But unfortunately the scribes and the Pharisees added all kinds of restrictions to the
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Sabbath observance in the day of Jesus. Until it became a day of bondage.
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Instead of a day of blessing. Now, although Jesus deliberately violated such
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Sabbath traditions because of the traditions of men. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored the
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Sabbath in accordance to its original intention. And can I say that he honored it to the law perfectly.
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He never broke it. He lived the perfect law. And lived that so that his righteousness would become our righteousness.
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It's glorious. So we need to remember that not only in his death, him dying, his passive obedience is so significant.
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His active obedience and his living, fulfilling the law was just as important.
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We need not forget that. So he honored the Sabbath in accordance to its intention of resting from the works.
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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
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Lord's day? How did it come to this? It's a good question. You'd get all kinds of answers.
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But the answer is really given from scripture clearly, specifically in this chapter. You see also in Revelation.
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And as John was on the Isle of Patmos in exile for preaching the gospel, the
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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.
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What is called the revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not the revelation of John the Apostle. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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Given to John the Apostle. But it happened on the Lord's day, folks. On the
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Lord's day. Well, right here, this is the first day of the week.
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This is the resurrected Christ. Mary Magdalene saw Christ. Other women saw Christ. To Peter.
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The apostles. Two disciples on the road of Emmaus. The disciples minus Thomas.
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And then next Sunday, all 11 were meeting and visited by Christ again.
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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
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Lord. And to commemorate his death and resurrection. That's why the Lord's day is significant.
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Well, let's move on. So John the Apostle makes reference to this because of its great importance to worshiping the risen
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Savior. Aren't you so glad that we serve a risen
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Savior? A resurrected Lord. He's alive. And that should give us strength and courage to go out and tell the world.
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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.
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Don't know exactly, but perhaps in the upper room where they met three nights ago.
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And the text tells us the doors were shut. The doors were shut. Why?
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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.
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Allow me to just use this as an example. This almost reminds me several years back when the
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COVID hit. We don't forget that, do we?
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It had repercussions and consequences of this whole nation. And actually the world.
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A virus is spreading. A flu. And people went into absolute panic and fear of what was going to happen to them.
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And government started to order that churches were not to meet. And it became a serious issue.
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And people stayed indoors because of what? Fear. It was a fear factor.
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And can I use that as an illustration of exactly what happened here? For the fear of the
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Jews, these disciples cowered down and stayed indoors.
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They locked their doors and they dared not go out. And then, beloved, can
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I say there was a great transition that took place. The text says something wonderful. And this changes everything.
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Jesus comes in the midst of them. And the scripture says here, Jesus came.
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He came and stood in the midst. Right in their midst.
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Doesn't that change everything? Jesus came. He stood in the midst and said to them.
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And this is significant too because what's the first words He mentions to them?
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He doesn't shame them. He doesn't condemn them. He doesn't press down on them. He says, peace be with you.
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Peace be with you. Now it seems very clear that the Lord entered the room without opening the doors.
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Absolutely. This was a miracle. It should be remembered that in His resurrection body,
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He was a real body of flesh and bones. A very physical, real body.
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But glorified. But yet, He had the power to pass through the barriers.
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In other words, act independently of all the natural laws. As He walked on the water.
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As so many other things that proves His deity. And here
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He walks right through the walls. And appears right in their midst. So Jesus comes to them supernaturally in a resurrected body.
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A physical body. He's not a phantom. He's not a spirit. He's a real body.
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And He comes right to them personally. You know, that's how the
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Lord is. He's personable. He loves you with an undying love.
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But He comes personally. And He took your sin to the cross personally.
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All because of His glory and the glory of the Father. Now, in order to comfort, to reassure the disciples.
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Just seeing Christ come was enough. Standing in their midst was a great comfort and assurance.
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But there's another step that Jesus takes. To these fearful disciples.
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There's a word of reconciliation. He gives a word of reconciliation. And that word is peace.
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Shalom. Be with you. Out of all the words to be chosen.
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That's the first thing He says to His disciples. I want you to think about that.
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Put a seal right there. Shalom. Peace be with you. That's a greeting
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He gives. Now, I'd like to ask the question. Why does He say peace be with you?
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Why does He say this? Did you know this complements
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His saying, the last thing He said on the cross? It is finished. It complements it.
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Well, I want you to see this. His work on the cross accomplished peace. You see that?
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Peace between God and His people. I'd like to ask you today. Do you have peace with God?
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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.
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Romans 5 .1 says this. Therefore, it's a wonderful verse. Wonderful verse, folks.
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Therefore, having been justified. This is how you get the peace of God. You must be justified.
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Declared righteous before a holy God. And you cannot do it in your own good works.
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But you cannot do it in your own good merits. It must come through Jesus Christ in Him alone.
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Therefore, having been justified by faith. That means we place our trust in Christ alone.
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I like the way D .L. Moody described this. He said, faith in God simply means
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I lean on Him with all of my weight. Isn't that wonderful?
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I lean on Him. I'm justified just as if I've never sinned.
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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.
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Think of that. Peace with God. Through our
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Lord Jesus Christ. No one else can give us that peace but only
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Christ. Let me give you another scripture in Ephesians 2, 14 -17. For He Himself is our peace.
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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.
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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.
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And 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.
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He's talking about Jew and Gentile. Verse 18, For through Him we both have access by one spirit to the
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Father. Beloved, that's how peace has been brought through our
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Lord Jesus Christ by Him paying the debt of sin. Our sin, your sin.
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As Spurgeon says, that nailed our beloved to the tree. I want you to think of the great love behind that.
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That Jesus was willingly to go to the cross to take your sin and my sin and to suffer shame.
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Just not physical beatings of shame but He endured and absorbed the wrath of God Almighty as the lights were turned out.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Lord Jesus Christ. And He comes and He says, Peace be with you, to His apostles.
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Now has a new meaning because Christ has made peace by the blood of His cross. He's alive.
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You see, the resurrection makes it possible. His resurrection makes salvation possible, redemption possible.
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He gives us this living hope through what He has accomplished at the cross by faith alone.
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Those who are justified by faith alone in Jesus have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now Jesus does a third thing. He reassures them by His word and by showing them
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His hands and His side, the scars to remember
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Him, to remember His sufferings. This is why we have communion.
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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.
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And again, He's not a vision, He's not a phantom, but to show that He was indeed their
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Master, Lord and Savior, He proves to them that He is the same Lord who was crucified on the cross.
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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.
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His wounds were also the very evidence. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.
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Makes me think of the song also, I love Fanny Crosby's song, I shall know Him. I shall know
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Him and been redeemed by His side, I shall stand. I shall know Him by the prints of the nails in His hands.
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Folks, when you enter Heaven, this will be the marks. No one else will have this.
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That God Almighty became flesh and we will bow in Heaven and worship
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Him forever and say, worthy is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
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Folks, doesn't that blow your mind that He would come and save us?
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Think of this, we don't deserve to be saved but He came to save us from your sin.
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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.
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It begins now through believing in Him, by regeneration, by having a new heart and as God through the
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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
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Bible says if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Who do you love today?
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Do you love Him with all of your heart? Do you love Him with all of your mind, your strength, your soul, beloved?
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We owe it to Him. We owe it to Him. I remember missionaries years back in seminary that I loved.
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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 just about and he'd have tears in his eyes.
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He was a southern boy from Alabama and he'd get up and I'd say his preaching was unusual.
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He would preach, you think I preach long, you ought to hear him. He'd preach over two hours. And he would keep your attention every step of the way, every minute of the way.
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But all the time, I remember him saying, he would say, young people, I wished
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I had a thousand lives. I'd give them all to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, folks, you're young.
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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.
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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
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God that the Lord comes to His disciples here and encourages them.
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Well, the basis for all of our peace is found in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. He died for us.
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He arose from the dead for us in victory and He lives for us. Our fears cannot lock
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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.
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Fear has torment. Doesn't it? It torments people. But perfect love casts it out.
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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.
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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, than one to lay down one's life for his friends.
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And you are my friends. If you do, if you do whatever I command you, we must obey
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Him. Verse 21. It's a beautiful verse. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you.
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As the Father has sent me, I also send you. Jesus gives them a commission here.
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And this is based on His prayer in John 17, verse 18. And this is what
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He says in that wonderful chapter. As you sent me into the world, as Jesus is praying to the
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Father, I also have sent them into the world.
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You see, the mission continues. Jesus was the greatest missionary.
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As He came from heaven to deliver us from sin, to rescue us from sin.
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For that's what salvation is. Is to be made whole. And now He is commissioning
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His apostles to do the same. And this is a commission from Jesus.
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The disciples are to share it with others and tell the world of the great wonderful news of the gospel.
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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
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Lord. There was gladness. 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.
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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.
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To pray for one another, to honor one another, to love one another. All but one another's. And that's the purpose.
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So when Jesus saw that the disciples' fear had turned now to joy,
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He commissioned them. It's all in that order. Now He's giving a commission. Warren Wiersbe said this in his commentary and I love
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Wiersbe. He says this. Keep in mind that the original disciples were not the only ones present.
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Others, including the Emmaus disciples, were there, were also in the room.
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This commission was not to the formal ordination of a church order.
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Rather, it was the dedication of His followers to the task of world evangelism. We are to take
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His place in this world. John 17, 18. And what a tremendous privilege and what a great responsibility.
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It is humbling to realize that Jesus lives, loves us as the
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Father loves Him. And that we are in the Father just as He is.
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It is equally as humbling to realize that He has sent us into the world just as the
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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.
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Amen. It's the whole gospel we're to give to the whole world.
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Well, next, third, we see a breath received. A breath received. Verse 22 and 23 says,
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And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
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If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.
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Now, this is a wonderful text. It says Jesus came here and as He came,
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He commissioned them and now He's given them command of what to do.
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And to the disciples to reassure them. But He also came to enable them.
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There's a reassuring and also there's an enabling to enable them through the
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Holy Spirit. It kind of reminds me of the text in Genesis 2 -7 when
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God breathed the life into the first man, Adam. He became a living soul.
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God's breath became in Him. The breath that we have in us is God's breath.
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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
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Him. And only Christ can bring us to worship Him. So both in Hebrew, Greek, this word breath is interesting.
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It means spirit. Spirit. The breath of God in the first creation meant physical life.
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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.
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Much, much more. Because this is one of the most difficult verses in the entire gospel. Why? Because the reason is the
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Holy Spirit was not yet given until later, literally 40 days later on the day of Pentecost.
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So there's a lot of going back and forth about this text.
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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.
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But here, no doubt, Jesus is breathing upon them and commissioning them.
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So this verse could be that as if Christ is given a pledge of the
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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.
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And verse 23, exclusively restricted to just those who were literally in that room that day.
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Is that true? Well, I would think no. And I'm going to tell you why
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I think no here. More correct literal translation in English would be
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Jesus says, whoever's sin you forgive shall have already been forgiven because of what
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Jesus did on the cross, right? And whoever's sins you do not forgive shall have already not be forgiven.
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Now, in other words, we do not provide forgiveness of sins. We cannot do that, can we?
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No. But rather, we can proclaim it. And that's what we're to do.
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The Lord Jesus Christ provides the forgiveness. We are to proclaim it.
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All believers can do is announce the message of forgiveness. But God performs the miracle of forgiveness.
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Kind of give an example. And I love this example. I give it quite often. Just in the case of Lazarus when he died.
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We can roll the stone away. We could do what is possible.
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But the Lord does what is impossible. Roll the stone away. We can proclaim forgiveness.
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But we cannot provide the forgiveness. The Lord Jesus Christ does the impossible.
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He provides the forgiveness of sins. So all believers can do this.
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Just like the case of Lazarus there. As the Lord called him out.
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Called the dead out and says, Lazarus, come forth. And I'm telling you, if he didn't call out
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Lazarus, everybody in that entire cemetery would have came out of the grave. Because he is the resurrection and the life.
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Well, by the Lord's authority, we can declare the gospel to the sinner. And the sinner who believes on Christ and has finished work by faith alone can have their sins forgiven because of what
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Christ has done. Because he's provided forgiveness. Well, the disciples are transformed here.
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They went from fear to faith. From fear to faith. And we are to have faith.
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Not to be fearful. And go forth in the name of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And be bold in God. This was accomplished first by Christ's personal visit to them.
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Graciously dealing with them. Not as their sins and behavior deserved. But reassuring them with his word.
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And proof of his resurrection. Praise God. Then he commissions them.
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He gives the pledge. Then the power of the Holy Spirit. Now we come to the latter portion of the chapter.
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What more can he do? What more can he do? Well, let's look at this. This is from verse 24 to 31. Fourth, we see here the platform of a sightseer in verse 24.
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Now Thomas called the twin. One of the twelve was not with the disciples. Plural.
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Therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. Now, in scripture,
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Thomas the twin has already been portrayed as loyal.
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But he's very pessimistic, isn't he? He's very downcast.
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And we should be careful, by the way, not to jump to conclusions on Thomas here.
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He gets a bad rap, doesn't he? So to speak. He's blamed for many things of being doubting
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Thomas. Doubting Thomas. But can I tell you this? There's nothing in the text that's said to indicate the reason for his absence.
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Nothing. We don't know why he was absent. I believe it was ordained of God in his providence.
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All we know is that when Jesus came, Thomas was not there. There's nothing there that tells the reason why he wasn't there.
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Amen, brother Keith. It was a blessing. And I want you to think of this. He had to endure.
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Now, one thing that was hard on him, I think. He had to endure another week of fear and unbelief.
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Where the other disciples were technically already released, in a sense.
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And glad that the Lord came. They experienced a week of joy and peace.
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Now, again, we don't know why he was absent. But scripture tells us this about Thomas. Listen to this. According to John 11, 6, he was courageous.
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And he was willing to go to Judea and die with Christ. In John 14, 5,
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Thomas seems to be spiritually minded. Who wanted to know the truth. And was not hesitant to ask questions to the
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Lord for some reason. But, again, he's known to be pessimistic.
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He's coined and marked as Doubting Thomas. Well, you know, let me say this about him.
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Let me say this about the Lord here. I want you to notice something that we need to see. That's very obvious in the text.
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Jesus does not rebuke him for his doubt. People say he's
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Doubting Thomas. But he's not Doubting Thomas, folks. You know what Jesus really reproves him for?
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His unbelief. His unbelief. Let's look at it and see it. See, the following verse is verse 26 and 27.
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This is a mediator of mercy. A mediator of mercy. And after eight days his disciples were again inside and Thomas with them.
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Jesus came. The doors were shut and stood in the midst. And he said, Peace to you.
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Jesus says the same words. For Thomas. And in verse 27, he said to Thomas.
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Reach your finger here and look at my hands. And reach your hand here and put it into my side. And do not be unbelieving.
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But believing. He said nothing of doubt.
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He basically is saying, be believing. Well, interesting that Jesus did not rebuke him again for his failure.
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But instead Jesus gently, compassionately offered him proof of his resurrection. Jesus lovingly met him personally.
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And he appears that second time in their midst for Thomas' sake. It's wonderful.
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It was not doubt. It was unbelief. By the way, what's the difference? Let me tell you the difference here.
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Doubt is most often is an intellectual problem where a person wants to believe. But their faith is overwhelmed by problems and questions and so forth, etc.,
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etc. But unbelief is really more critical. I'm going to tell you why.
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It is a moral, deep -seated heart problem. Heart problem.
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Because the person is simply unwilling to believe. It's an unwillingness to believe.
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Hebrews 3 .12 says this. Take heed, take care, brethren. He's speaking to the church, the brethren.
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That there not be any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living
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God. Doubt says, I cannot believe.
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Unbelief says, I will not believe. You see the difference. So what happens here?
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Jesus had heard these words. Thomas says, verse 25. After eight days,
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Jesus came. So you need to be careful what you say in your home. Because you may not see the
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Lord, but He's there. You see that? Eight days,
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Jesus knew exactly, because He knew His heart, but He knew exactly what He said. And what
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He requested. And everything again changes when Jesus comes and He graciously stoops to our level of experience in order to lift us where we should be.
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That's what I love about the Lord. He's in the restoration business. Yes, there must be repentance.
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There must be restitution. There must be reconciliation. There must be restoration.
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But the restoration is the end of it. That's the goal. Where God wants to bring us all.
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You never go too far where God cannot take you and mold you. He may put you through some hardships and afflictions to make you what you need to be and build character.
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But He wants you to be like His Son. Amen? That's His goal.
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That's God's goal for you, to be like Christ. So Thomas' reaction was transformed and changed.
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What happened here? Thomas ever accepted the Lord's invite to touch him? And when this time came to prove his faith,
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Thomas needed no more proof, folks. Verse 28, Thomas answered and said this to the
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Lord. My Lord and my God. What's he doing?
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He's confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and God. Notice this testimony did not come from his touching
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Jesus, but him seeing Jesus. That's glorious.
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Oh, that we would see Jesus. As Brother Keith mentioned, to behold the
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Lamb of God. You don't have to be an intellect to look and live and to see
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Jesus and gaze upon Him. Folks, can I tell you this? The great need of the hour of the church is to see
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Jesus. And Jesus alone. Ministers are just voices.
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So to speak, like John the Baptist. I'm just a voice. But we need to see
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Jesus. Spurgeon always said when people left his congregation in England years ago, and after he preached, they didn't leave saying,
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Oh, what a wonderful sermon, Spurgeon. You know what they said? What a wonderful Savior. There was people that came from the outside to study
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Spurgeon and hear his sermons. And we just want to hear him. And they were kind of being critical about his sermons.
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And they wanted to say, you know, let's just critique him apart. And when
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Spurgeon finished the benediction, the amen, these people left and said, Oh, what a marvelous
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Savior is Jesus. They forgot why they came. That's the way it should be in church.
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Oh, that we would decrease that Jesus may increase. Amen. The hour of the church, the great need of the hour of the church is,
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Oh, that we may see Jesus. And Thomas' confession says, My Lord and my
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God. This is one of the great seven testimonies concerning the deity of Jesus Christ. He worships.
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He falls on his face. Verse 29 says, Thomas, because you have seen, this is our
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Lord, seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
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Now we see the blessing to the believer. Our Lord Jesus foresaw the time when such tangible evidence here as Thomas has received, as he received, would not be available to us.
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When Jesus ascended on high to the Father, all those who believe would do so without the benefit of seeing the resurrected
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Lord. So Jesus pronounced a special blessing on those who believe without seeing.
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Let me give you a verse on this. First Peter 1 .8 .9 says this, Peter says this to the persecuted church, whom have not seen your love.
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Though now you do not see him, yet believing, yet believing.
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That's what's important. You rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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And folks, he's talking to a persecuted church here, that were beaten for Christ's sake. You rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
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You love him, you've not seen him, but you love him. Yet believing.
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Isn't that wonderful? So that's the special blessing that the Lord gives.
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Now in conclusion, the Gospel says in verse, John says this in his
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Gospel, verse 30 and verse 31, Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written.
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But the reason, here's the purpose, here's the point of his book. Why he writes this, that you may believe, you may believe, that Jesus is the
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Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
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Folks, if believing comes and regeneration comes and the power of God and you truly believe who
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Christ really is, I'm telling you, it will transform your life. The resurrection miracle was not exclusive for those alive at the time that it took place, but so it should be.
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We should not envy them, no, but is experienced by faith and trust of the believer in every age to come.
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Romans 10, 17, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
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This is the direct result of believing his word. Faith and obedience. When you truly have living faith.
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Read James. There's dead faith, there's living faith. Dead faith does not act in obedience, but living faith acts in obedience to God's word because you love him.
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You see the difference. So faith and obedience are always inseparable. Well, I need to give an application here.
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Did you know there's a hundred references to believing in Christ in the gospel of John? A hundred references.
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1 John 5, 9 -13 We receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.
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For the testimony of God is this, that he has testified concerning his son. The one who believes in the
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Son of God has testimony in himself. The one who does not believe, God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his son.
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And the testimony is this, and here it is, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his
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Son. And he who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
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These things I have written to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know.
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That's important folks. That you may have that assurance. That you may know that you have eternal life.
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That's what John says. So faith in Jesus Christ alone, and the
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Son of the living God, transforms us. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
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Old things are passed away, behold all things become new. Ravenhill said it right.
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There are two kinds, only two kinds of people in this world. Those who are dead to sin, and those who are dead in sin.
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Which category do you fall under this morning? Are you dead to sin?
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Or are you dead in sin? One of the two. The overall application here is salvation, is not an act of resuscitation, but resurrection.
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It comes by the mighty power of God, the operation of God, through the word of God, by the spirit of God. Raising dead men to life, by the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
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That's what he comes to do. We heard this this morning in Sunday school. Jesus says, in John 11 25,
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I am the resurrection and the life, and he who believes in me, will live even if he dies.
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Then he says this, and whoever lives and believes in me, shall never die.
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Do you believe this? That's what Jesus says. And put that question that Jesus says to you personally.
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Do you believe this? And if you do, there will be a transformation. A transformation.
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I like what Stephen Lawson said, and he was actually referring to this in John this morning, as we were looking through the doctrines of grace, through the gospel of John.
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He says this, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, not to let Jesus out, but to let the world in.
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Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty. Isn't that great news?
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Christ is the just and the justifier. And he came to save wicked men, like you and me, from our sins.
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And it's all accomplished through his life, his death, and his resurrection. Have you repented and believed the gospel this morning?
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Are you truly trusting in the living God? Keep in mind that the resurrection assures that there will be a judgment to come, folks.
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The Bible says it is appointed for once man to die, and after this the judgment. And because of Christ's resurrection, because he's the one that is the judge, he could be savior now, so when he's judged in that day, there'll be no condemnation if you're in Christ.
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Because Christ has taken the condemnation. Christ has taken the sin. He has taken the guilt.
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He has taken all that we deserve. Have you trusted him for this?
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He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the
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Son will not see life. But the wrath of God abides on him. Folks, did you know repentance is not an option or a suggestion?
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It's a command from God. That does not come from this pastor or any other preacher.
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Open up the Word of God. And Paul says this as he's preaching on Mars Hill in Acts 17.
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For God commands all men everywhere to repent. Folks, that is a divine mandate and a command from Almighty God for you and me to repent and believe the
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Gospel. Why? Well, it's obvious. If you don't repent,
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Jesus says you will all likewise perish. Folks, I heard a sermon years ago, and it's so true, and he got it right out of the
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Bible. It's holiness or hell. It's Jesus or hell. It's salvation or hell. There's no other two.
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That is it. It's Christ or you perish. Come to him.
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Jesus says, he that comes to me I will no wise cast out. He says, come unto me all you that labor and heavy laden.
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I'll give you rest for your souls. And then he says, my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
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Oh, what a Savior we have. What a Savior is Jesus Christ our
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Lord to pay such a price. And through the resurrection, it is paid.
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It is accomplished. It is guaranteed. And all that he is, praise his name.
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He is more than able and he's more than willing to save to the uttermost. Do you have this resurrection power abiding within your breast today?
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It can be yours. It can be yours by the grace of God. And he can even make you willing to come.
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If you're not willing, he can make you willing. Praise his name. Hallelujah, what a
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Savior. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for such a great salvation.
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We thank you, Lord, that you even grant repentance. And we cannot believe within our own power.
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You even give us the gift. And Lord, we need to just cry out for mercy.
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Thomas was so far from believing.
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He was unbelieving. And then he went to believing. And then he went to worship. And then we read that these apostles and these disciples that were there, because of the resurrection of your son, that,
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Father, you raised them from the dead. As Jesus appeared to them, they had gladness and rejoiced.
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And then they turned the world upside down in their day. Lord, may it be so for us.
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Grant us repentance, Lord. That we may believe this everlasting gospel before it's everlasting too late.
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Father, we thank you that you have accomplished so much in your son.
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Help us to humble ourselves before your face and pray and seek your face and turn from our wicked ways.
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Then you will hear from heaven and forgive our sin and heal our land. Lord, we thank you for Jesus Christ, his life, his death, his burial, and his resurrection and soon to return.