Gaining A Certain Hope

John 20: The Empty Tomb

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.2 So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.4 The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first;5 and stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.6 And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there,7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.8 So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.10 So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

11       But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;12 and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.13 And they *said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She *said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."14 When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.15 Jesus *said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."16 Jesus *said to her, "Mary!" She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).17 Jesus *said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"18 Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

Jesus among His Disciples

19       So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, "Peace be with you."20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

24       But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.25 So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

26       After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."27 Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."28 Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"29 Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

Why This Gospel Was Written

30       Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 

 

 

 

Slide 1 JOHN 20  THE REASONS WHY YOU CAN HAVE A CERTAIN HOPE

One of the most valuable commodities in this world is hope, because it's so rare. And the Bible promises you can find hope in Jesus Christ. In our vocabulary, we've reduced the meaning of hope to something that may or may not happen. We say, "I hope I'll pass that test." Or "I hope we'll win the game." You can ask someone, "Are you going to heaven when you die?" And their answer is, "I hope so!" We've diluted the word hope until it's something you want to happen, but you aren't certain that it will. But in the Bible, hope carries the meaning of absolute certainty.

Slide 2 Let me give you an acrostic to help you understand the Biblical meaning of hope. The four letters in HOPE stand for Having Only Positive Expectations. The only source of real hope in this world comes from a personal relationship with God brought to you by the historical facts of the death burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Two days before Christmas in 1927, the U.S. submarine S-4 collided with the U.S.S. Paulding, a Coast Guard destroyer, off the coast of New England. The submarine sank to the bottom of the ocean and rested on the sea floor 100 feet below the surface. A rescue mission was organized and as divers reached the disabled submarine they could hear someone inside the sub tapping out a message in Morse code. The message was four words repeated over and over again. "Is there any hope?" Sadly all forty sailors died before they could be rescued. But that is the same question millions of people are asking today, "Is there any hope?" The answer from God found in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is YES there is a sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The central truth of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.  The Lord Jesus died for our sins.  The proof that this is fair dinkum is His physical bodily resurrection from the dead. His resurrection has a whole lot of meaning for each one of us. But the meaning isn't relevant of the resurrection didn't happen. So God made sure that we knew without a doubt that Jesus was truly risen from the dead. He wants us to have a certainty in our faith and in our hope. A Certain hope.

Listen to what Herman Bavinck wrote in the "Certainty of Faith" : "The question regarding certainty of faith is not only of scientific, theological but also of practical, religious importance. It is of concern not only to the theologian but also to the layman. It belongs not only in the study but also in the living room. It is not just a theoretical, academic issue but preeminently one of life and practice. No matter how wicked and fallen anyone may be, at sometime in his life he will encounter moments of passionate seriousness. Everyone is at some time seized by the mystery of life, the power of death, the dread of judgment or the fear of the Lord. As one observer put it: "Happiness leads us into paganism, but suffering leads us to Christ." When the drunken stupor in which we often live wears off, when the happy glow dulls and the conscience awakens, when we are overcome by the mystery of life or the pain of suffering, then we all become conscious of death and the grave, of judgment and eternity. Then no one can maintain indifference or hide behind the shield of neutrality." 

Slide 3  There are enough shakes up at the moment to make anyone and everyone seek for a certainty to their life.  "Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? When the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift or firm remain?"

In times like these you need a Savior, In times like these you need an anchor; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock! This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One, This Rock is Jesus, the only One; Be very sure, be very sure, Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 Note three indisputable sources of evidence.

Slide 4  1.THE MIRACLE OF THE RESURRECTION WAS COMMUNICATED BY THE ANGELS  -AN EXTRA-ORDINARY TESTIMONY

Women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. Some religions denigrate women to a place of dishonor. A popular daily prayer of Jewish men during the time of Jesus was, "I thank you, God, that I was not born a dog or a woman." Islam even teaches the absolute subservience of women–equating them with pets. But the Christian faith was launched by men and women together. And in Jesus Christ, there is no male or female, Jew or Greek, slave, or free–we are all one in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:28) In a painting by the great 19th century Danish painter, Carl Bloch, Jesus is seen rising victoriously with the two angels in attendance. When the women arrived at the tomb on that first Easter morning, they were met by the angels. These angels were God's messengers coming to announce to the disciples Jesus was alive. They asked, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here– He is risen!" Just as God sent a band of angels to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the fields around Bethlehem, He sent angels to announce the resurrection to these faithful women.

Slide 5        2. THE MIRACLE OF THE RESURRECTION WAS CONFIRMED BY HIS ABSENCE -AN EMPTY TOMB

Not too far from there, archaeologists have uncovered a tomb–and the tomb is empty. Obviously it was a very expensive tomb, with places for several bodies. When scientists took microscopic samples from the soil and rocks they found there was no trace of any human remains (traces can be found in burial sites thousands of years old). So if this was His tomb, Jesus was the first and last to use it. The Old Testament predicted centuries earlier the Messiah would "make His grave with the rich." (Isaiah 53:9) As a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea could have afforded such a tomb. In Bible times the tomb was sealed with a large round stone. It could be rolled downhill into a groove to seal the opening.

Slide 6 This planet is littered with the graves and tombs of millions of people–some are famous tombs, but most are obscure. The pyramids in Egypt are really tombs, the Taj Mahal in India is a mausoleum, and the Ming Dynasty Emperors are buried in massive tombs, with each complex covering almost 100 acres. Millions of Muslims visit the tomb of Mohammed in Medina each year. But there is no tomb of Jesus, no burial shrine. We don't know if the tomb I showed you was really where He was buried or not–because wherever it was, He was only there for three days. Today, we don't visit some holy site and say, "That's where the body of Jesus is." One of the greatest proofs of the resurrection is the fact that nobody has ever produced the corpse of Jesus.

Even if you're a skeptic, you've got to answer the question: What happened to the body of Jesus?

Slide7   3. THE MIRACLE OF THE RESURRECTION WAS CERTIFIED BY HIS APPEARANCES   -EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

The absence of a body alone is not a compelling argument–but when you combine it with the fact that a living, breathing Jesus appeared on several occasions to His disciples, you either have to say the account is fictional, or Jesus really came back from the dead.

A large number of people, across a diversity of circumstances, testified that they had seen the risen Jesus. We are not talking about one single sighting, or several appearances in one remote location where they could be staged. Peter Williams gives the list:

Slide 8   "The resurrected Jesus is recorded as appearing in Judea (Mt 28:9; Lk 24:31, 36) and in Galilee (Mt 28:16–20; Jn 21:1–23), in town (Lk 24:36) and countryside (Lk 24:15), indoors (Lk 24:36) and outdoors (Mt 28:9,16; Lk 24:15; Jn 21:1–23), in the morning (Jn 21:1–23) and the evening (Lk 24:29,36; Jn 20:19), by prior appointment (Mt 28:16) and without prior appointment (Mt 28:9; Lk 24:15,34,36; Jn 21:1–23), close (Mt 28:9, 19; Lk 24:15,36; Jn 21:9–23) and distant (Jn 21:4–8),

Slide 9  on a hill (Mt 28:16) and by a lake (Jn 21:4), to groups of men (Jn 21:2; 1 Cor 15:5,7) and groups of women (Mt 28:9), to individuals (Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5,7–8) and groups of up to five hundred (1 Cor 15:6), sitting (Jn 21:15 implied), standing (Jn 21:4), walking (Lk 24:15; Jn 21:20–22), eating (Lk 24:43; Jn 21:15), and always talking (Mt 28:9–10, 18–20; Lk 24:17–30, 36–49; Jn 20:15–17, 19–29; 21:6–22). Many are explicitly close-up encounters involving conversations. It is hard to imagine this pattern of appearances [recorded] in the Gospels and early Christian letters without there having been multiple individuals who claimed to have seen Jesus risen from the dead."

After first finding the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene a short time later meets Jesus. After appearing to Mary Magdalene, Jesus appears to ten of the remaining eleven disciples. If Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the Gospel writers who record and tell this story) were making this up, they made a horrific mistake because they all record that the first witness to the resurrection and the empty tomb were women. In those days, both in Jewish and Roman courts, women could not testify. They were considered completely unreliable, and their testimony would be inadmissible in a court of law. In other words, if you were going to make a story up or prove a point, you certainly would never make a woman your first eyewitness or any eyewitness at all. But, that is exactly what all Gospel writers did, and this only acted to make the story more believable. Using women as eyewitnesses was sensational, but it also brought credibility and forced everyone to take a hard look at the facts.

 If you add up all the eyewitnesses from all Gospel accounts, you will find that over a period of forty days, Jesus appeared to more than 515 individuals – to both men and women and to both believers and doubters. If we are looking at this logically, how can we discount the eyewitness accounts of so many people claiming Jesus was resurrected?

On the first Sunday evening, Jesus suddenly appeared to His disciples from behind closed doors. He invited the disciples to feel His hands and feet–He even invited Thomas to put his hands in the wound in His side. Can you imagine the wonder and the awe as the same folks who witnessed the savage crucifixion seeing Jesus alive? No wonder Thomas fell to his knees and cried, "My Lord and my God!" But Jesus didn't just make one or two appearances. The Bible says during the forty days between His resurrection and when He ascended back to heaven He made numerous appearances:

Now, if it was a hoax perpetrated by two or three people who claimed to have seen Jesus alive they might have pulled it off. But it is beyond the realm of logical possibilities that 500 people could have been a part of a hoax. Of those 500, all of them suffered persecution and many of them died horrible deaths.

Chuck Colson was a former advisor of President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. He tells how difficult it is to keep a cover-up going. All of Nixon's top advisors got together and agreed to the same lie. They concocted a story and agreed on the same dates, the same facts, the same time to protect President Nixon. Yet Colson says, as soon as the media scrutiny began every one of them folded like a cheap suit trying to protect himself. Chuck Colson says, "If six Harvard and Yale educated men could not stand a modicum of media scrutiny to protect the most powerful man on earth, how likely is it that eleven uneducated fishermen could withstand torture, imprisonment and death to cover a hoax concerning an obscure Jewish rabbi. As incredible as the resurrection may seem, a cover-up is even more incredible."

Slide 10   II. THE MEANING OF THE RESURRECTION:

Slide 11  Christ's resurrection meets you at your need  (20:10-29)

He Comforts the despairing  Mary (10-18)  He Encourages the discouraged disciples (19-23)  He Gives proof to the doubting Thomas (24-29)

Slide 12  1. IF IT'S TRUE… JESUS HAS REDEEMED US FROM OUR SINS.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 4 that Jesus' resurrection was the verification that God had accepted Jesus' sacrifice as the payment for our sins.

Think of it like a receipt. When you are shopping at Big W.  Do you get intimidated by the lady who stands at  the door of Big W to check your receipts and your hand bags?  You pay for your items, they give you a receipt and tell you to hold onto it, so when that elderly lady stops you at the door, you can show her receipts from the cheap shop. and say, "This is the proof my items have been paid for!" The resurrection is the proof, Paul says, that God has accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

John Calvin wrote  "He was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune."

Slide 13  2. IF IT'S TRUE… THE RESURRECTION MEANS THE POWER FOR NEW LIFE IS HERE.

Jesus is not only able to forgive every sin; he can reverse and restore anything sin has ruined. He puts together broken hearts. He renews and rebuilds what sin has wrecked.

I told you that one of the women that went to the tomb that morning was named Mary Magdalene. Let me tell you a little bit more about her. When Mary first met Jesus, the Gospel of Mark tells us that she had 7 demons. Not 1; not 2; SEVEN. That's Mark's way of saying she is hopelessly consumed by the demonic. Her life would have been a mess. With 7 demons, she would have looked like she was mentally ill. She would have been grossly immoral, Scripture says a prostitute, with lies built upon lies and immorality layered on top of each other. Everyone thought of her as beyond redemption. Imagine her life before Jesus: Hopeless, destitute (Who hires someone with 7 demons?) She's outcast. Forgotten. Given up on.

But, in Luke 8, she fell at Jesus' feet and found healing. And she's the first person Jesus appears to. In fact, it might be the most beautiful scene in all the Gospel. Mary Magdalene is in the garden and she mistakes Jesus for the gardener. But then Jesus said her name: "Mary" and she recognized him. What a beautiful moment. Calling her name woke her up. He's doing that with some of today. He's calling to you. 

Keller wrote "When the risen Jesus approached her, Mary saw him but did "not realize that it was Jesus" (verse 14). This is not surprising. We've already seen how the disciples on the road to Emmaus did not recognize him at first. Christ's resurrection body was the body he had before, yet now it was wholly transformed and perfected, and so people who had known Jesus could not immediately identify him when they saw him raised from the dead. But there was probably more to the inability of Mary to recognize Jesus than that. In her mind she had a narrative through which she was interpreting everything. "'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.'" (John 20:13) Because of this narrative she failed to recognize the angels and even Jesus himself. Jesus and his salvation did not fit her expectations, which functioned like a filter or screen, making it impossible to see him right in front of her. Although she was looking right at him, she couldn't see him. In this, Mary represents the entire human race. Acts 13:27 tells us, "The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets." There would be no hope for us if God waited for us to make the first move. We would be lost if he stood apart from us, tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for us to figure out for ourselves who and where he is. Unless he calls us by name, we would never come to him. And that is exactly what he does with Mary. He begins with questions— "Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" He does not approach like a sergeant seeking submission but like a counselor seeking insight.

We also learn that Christian faith means intimate, personal communion. As soon as Mary cries "Rabboni [Teacher]!" Jesus says to Mary, "Do not hold on to me" (verse 17). At first glance that is a strange statement. Some have thought he was saying, "Don't touch me; I'm too holy," as when God spoke to Moses out of the bush and told him not to come any closer (Exodus 3:5). But this does not explain why Jesus invited Thomas to touch him later in the chapter (John 20:27) and why he let other women who met him clasp his feet (Matthew 28:9). The term translated "hold on to me" is a word that means to cling very tightly, even to pinch. It is more than likely that when Mary realized it was Jesus, she embraced him with all her physical and emotional strength. What he is saying to Mary could be paraphrased like this:3 "Mary, I know why you are clinging so tightly to me. You were grieving over the loss of our relationship, and now you are thinking that you will grab me and never let yourself be parted from me. But you don't understand. When I ascend to the Father and sit at his right hand and send the Spirit, then everyone in the world who believes in me will be able to have personal intimacy with me. Through the Spirit I will be able to come to you, to commune with you in love, to have my presence within you. Let me go to the Father, and you—and all who seek it—will have a fellowship with me beyond anything you can imagine." Intimacy with the risen Lord is one of the gifts given to believers in the resurrection. There is an infinite distance between knowing about God and knowing God. To know God personally is eternal life (John 17:3). This is no abstraction. It takes the form of a genuine, give-and-take, speak-and-listen relationship with the Lord through worship, the Word, and prayer. And because Jesus is not a dead teacher but a risen, living Savior, we can have such a relationship.

Maybe your life feels so hopelessly wrecked by sin you don't see a way out.  Mary says to you this morning: I know! I was there. I had 7 demons in them. But there is more healing in him than there is sickness in you. As dark as the sickness is in you, the light of Christ can dispel it. There is more forgiveness in him than there is sin in us.

Slide 14  3. IF IT'S TRUE DEATH WILL BE DEFEATED FOR YOU.  THE GRAVE ISN'T THE END!

There is nothing more terrifying, or that feels more final, than death. And I know that some of you have dealt with that this year. You're sitting here broken with sadness over somebody you've lost. Maybe it was expected--a mum or a dad, or maybe it wasn't--it was sudden, tragic--the death of a spouse or a brother or sister or a child.

Or maybe you are afraid of your own death. And apart from Christ you should be. Because it's just a matter of time, and there are so many reasons that you and I are confronted with death in these days now.

Let me quickly tell you about one of the other ladies at the tomb that morning. Her name was Mary, also. This was Mary the mother of Jesus. (There were actually 3 Mary's at the tomb that day. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and "the other Mary," (that's what Matthew calls her, at least),3 You can see all 3 of them together in John 19:25.)

For Mary the mother of Jesus, this was an especially devastating day, right? A mother feels the pain of their child probably more acutely then they feel it themselves. To be a mother who is forced to watch your son executed unjustly? To watch him humiliated, mocked, and tortured?

Mary had remained at the cross when everyone else left. Because that's what mothers do.

When everybody else dispersed, when the crowds had gone home, Mary stayed there.

Imagine Mary's sadness in this moment turning to joy, knowing that her son is not dead and gone forever but has ushered her into an eternity where there will be no more pain or crying, where the sun never sets and no one ever has to say goodbye. It seemed too good to be true, but this is what the resurrection promises for all of us whose families die in the Lord; for every mother in Christ who has had to say a tearful goodbye to their child.

I wonder of she remembered the words to Martha and Mary that the Lord had spoken a year or so earlier?

"So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.21 Martha then said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."23 Jesus *said to her, "Your brother will rise again."24 Martha *said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"27 She *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world." John 11:17-27.

Martha and Mary had confirmed to them that death is not the end. Their brother Lazarus was dead and Jesus made him alive again. But now the One who made Lazarus alive was dead!  Had all He had done been overcome by death? No! Jesus is risen and all He had promised would come true.  He is the defeater of death, not only for Himself but also for all who will believe in Him!!

Paul says that in the resurrection, "Death will be swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor 15:54)

A day is coming when God will remove the curse of death entirely from our lives. He will undo every injustice and heal every hurt. On that day God will wipe away every tear and make all things new. To use the words of J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings, he will on that day "make every sad thing come untrue."

In times like these I have a Savior, In times like these I have an anchor;
I'm very sure, I'm very sure My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

 

Slide 15  30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have eternal life?  With so much threatening your life right now, you need to make sure you are right with God. You need to make sure you have eternal life.