Easter Sunday See the Lord
Series: Easter 2012
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 8th April 2012
Passage: John 20:1-31
00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Well, good morning, everyone.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 If you were here on Friday,
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 I encouraged you to look to Jesus on the cross
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 and believe for forgiveness,
00:00:12 --> 00:00:14 for reconciliation with God.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:18 This morning, I invite you to not just look,
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 but to see the Lord for eternal life,
00:00:23 --> 00:00:26 for meaning, for life, for hope.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 So for that to happen,
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 we need to pray that God would help us
00:00:31 --> 00:00:35 to see what we cannot see with our own eyes,
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 that he might give us eyes
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 so that we might see the glory of the risen Lord.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:39 Let's pray.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 Father, I pray that as we come to your word this morning,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:46 we pray that it would come alive,
00:00:46 --> 00:00:49 just as alive as Jesus is now and reigning.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 So we need your spirit to come to help us
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 to see what we cannot see with human eyes,
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 lest we walk out of here like Thomas,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:02 doubting, questioning, refusing to believe.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:05 So help us in our unbelief
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 so that we might see the risen Lord, we pray,
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 for your glory.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:10 Amen.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 There are two questions for us here on Easter Sunday,
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 the truth question and the meaning question.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:23 Whenever you talk about the resurrection of Jesus,
00:01:23 --> 00:01:27 the truth question and the meaning question are intertwined.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 The truth question is, did it really happen?
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 The meaning question is, who cares?
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 What's the point?
00:01:35 --> 00:01:41 There are people who reject Christianity
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 because they don't think it's true.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 Jesus didn't die because dead people don't die and that's that.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:47 That's the truth question.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:50 But there are other people who reject Christianity,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 not because they are convinced it's not true,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:58 but because they can't see why it would make any difference
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 in their life if it were true.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:06 In other words, the meaning of it is insignificant
00:02:06 --> 00:02:10 or irrelevant for what really concerns them in life.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:13 And to answer a little bit of that,
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 I have written a blurb on the front of your bulletin.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 I encourage you to read it at some point
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 about just very briefly five things
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 that the resurrection does for us.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:28 Forty years ago, there was an assumption
00:02:28 --> 00:02:30 that there are fixed laws
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 that make the world understandable
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 and scientifically manageable.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 These laws, however, did not allow for the truth
00:02:38 --> 00:02:42 of the claim that someone could rise from the dead
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 and live forever.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:44 The world at that time,
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 with its scientific understanding of natural laws,
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 did not allow for resurrections,
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 so unbelief was often connected
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 to that kind of assumption,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:55 to scientific facts.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 Today, there's a different assumption behind unbelief.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 Today, the assumption is
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 that there is a personal law inside of me,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:05 not natural fixed laws,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 but personal laws inside of me.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 It's a law that says,
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 I don't have to adapt my life
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 to anything that I don't find helpful to be.
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 That is, truth for me is what I find acceptable
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 and what I find helpful for my life.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:22 So in the end,
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 it doesn't matter whether Jesus rose from the dead
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 because whether he did or whether he didn't,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:29 my issue is,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 I don't care.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 And if I don't care,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 then I will just view the resurrection of Jesus
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 in the same way that I would view UFOs.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:42 It may, may not exist.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:44 Don't care.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 It doesn't bother me
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 unless it's Independence Day
00:03:47 --> 00:03:49 and one is right on top of me.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 Some of us think that way
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 without even knowing that's the way we think.
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 We have just simply absorbed the culture in which we live.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 I think both questions are important to address
00:04:02 --> 00:04:03 at the same time.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:08 As the world has made rapid advancement
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 in scientific understanding,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 there has been
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 a chronological
00:04:13 --> 00:04:15 snobbery
00:04:15 --> 00:04:17 that assumes
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 any conclusions made in previous centuries
00:04:20 --> 00:04:21 were just based on ignorance.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 That truth is in my century
00:04:24 --> 00:04:25 or in my era,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 in my time
00:04:26 --> 00:04:28 and those other people
00:04:28 --> 00:04:29 were just ignorant,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:29 gallible,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:30 foolish people.
00:04:30 --> 00:04:33 So the people around
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 when Jesus rose from the dead
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 were just that.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:36 They were gullible
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 and ignorant
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 and foolish.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 It's a bit odd
00:04:41 --> 00:04:42 because when you look
00:04:42 --> 00:04:43 at the first response
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 to the empty tomb,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 we don't find gullibility.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 Have a look at it there.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 John chapter 20.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:52 It was just read out to us.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 If you haven't got your Bibles open,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 please open them.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55 I want you to see these words.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 John 20 verse 1.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 Early on the first day of the week,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 while it was still dark,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 Mary Magdalene went to the tomb
00:05:07 --> 00:05:07 and saw
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 that the stone
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 had been removed
00:05:10 --> 00:05:11 from the entrance.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:13 So she came running
00:05:13 --> 00:05:14 to Simon Peter
00:05:14 --> 00:05:15 and the other disciples,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:17 the one Jesus loved,
00:05:17 --> 00:05:18 and said,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 they have taken the Lord
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 out of the tomb
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 and we don't know
00:05:22 --> 00:05:23 where they have put him.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:28 The very first response
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 to the resurrection of Jesus
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 is there must be
00:05:31 --> 00:05:31 another explanation.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:34 Mary,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 one of the disciples of Jesus,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 did not believe
00:05:36 --> 00:05:37 in the resurrection.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:39 Her first assumption was
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 that the body
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 had been moved.
00:05:42 --> 00:05:43 We also see
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 in verse 13,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 she was working
00:05:46 --> 00:05:46 on the assumption
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 that the Jewish leaders
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 had come
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 and taken the body
00:05:50 --> 00:05:50 of Jesus
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 and disposed of it
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 outside of the holy city,
00:05:54 --> 00:05:55 gotten rid of it somewhere.
00:05:57 --> 00:05:58 Mary is slow
00:05:58 --> 00:05:58 to believe
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 Jesus had been risen,
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 but she's not the only one.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 Even Peter and John,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 though somewhat puzzled
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 at the disturbed grave clothes
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 in the empty tomb,
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 didn't automatically jump
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 to the conclusion
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 that Jesus had been resurrected.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 Verse 8,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:15 finally,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16 the other disciple
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 who had reached
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 the tomb first
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 also went in.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 He saw
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 and believed.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:22 Now,
00:06:23 --> 00:06:23 you think,
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 he believes
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 in the resurrection,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:26 but no,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:27 verse 9,
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 they still did not
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 understand
00:06:29 --> 00:06:30 from scripture
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 that Jesus
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 had to rise
00:06:32 --> 00:06:32 from the dead.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 I think
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 John's first assumption
00:06:37 --> 00:06:37 is
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 that Jesus
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 has gone
00:06:39 --> 00:06:39 from the tomb
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 straight to heaven.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 That tells me
00:06:45 --> 00:06:46 that these disciples
00:06:46 --> 00:06:47 were not easily
00:06:47 --> 00:06:48 excitable
00:06:48 --> 00:06:49 or gullible people.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:49 They weren't
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 actually looking
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 for a resurrection.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 But what they were
00:06:54 --> 00:06:54 confronted with
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 on that morning
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 was a
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 bodiless tomb.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:01 That's what
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 they were confronted with.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 There was no body
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 in the tomb.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:05 You cannot play
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 around
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 with the resurrection
00:07:07 --> 00:07:07 of Jesus
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 and can see
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 that maybe
00:07:09 --> 00:07:09 it was just
00:07:09 --> 00:07:09 some sort of
00:07:09 --> 00:07:10 spiritual resurrection.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 The body
00:07:12 --> 00:07:13 wasn't there.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:14 And one of the
00:07:14 --> 00:07:14 great historical
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 evidences
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 of the resurrection
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 is that the tomb
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 where he was
00:07:19 --> 00:07:19 buried
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 was emptied
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 on the third day
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 and the enemies
00:07:23 --> 00:07:24 of Jesus
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 could not
00:07:25 --> 00:07:26 produce a body.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:28 The assumption
00:07:28 --> 00:07:29 of Mary
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 that the Jewish
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 leaders had
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 taken the body
00:07:32 --> 00:07:32 of Jesus
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 away
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 was her first
00:07:35 --> 00:07:36 assumption.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 And all the
00:07:38 --> 00:07:38 Jewish leaders
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 needed to do
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 was to kill
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 off Christianity
00:07:41 --> 00:07:41 was to go
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 boom
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 there's your
00:07:44 --> 00:07:44 dead Lord.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 In fact
00:07:49 --> 00:07:49 it's
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 one of the
00:07:51 --> 00:07:52 striking things
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 about
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 the resurrection
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 of Jesus
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 is that
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 in the days
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 and the weeks
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 and the months
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 that passed
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 nobody
00:08:02 --> 00:08:03 was able
00:08:03 --> 00:08:04 to be reduced
00:08:04 --> 00:08:05 in order to
00:08:05 --> 00:08:05 kill off the
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 things that both
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 the Jewish
00:08:07 --> 00:08:07 and the Roman
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 rulers
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 hated so much.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 the advancement
00:08:11 --> 00:08:11 of this
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 cult
00:08:12 --> 00:08:12 called
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 Christianity.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 Some have
00:08:17 --> 00:08:17 tried to say
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 well he didn't
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 really die
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 he was revived
00:08:21 --> 00:08:21 in the cool
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 of the tomb
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 and moved
00:08:24 --> 00:08:24 the stone
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 away on his
00:08:25 --> 00:08:25 own.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:27 This goes
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 against the
00:08:28 --> 00:08:29 horrible realities
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 of crucifixion
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 and against
00:08:32 --> 00:08:32 the rigorous
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 steps that
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 Pilate and
00:08:34 --> 00:08:34 the leaders
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 demanded
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 to make sure
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 that he was
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 in fact dead.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 John chapter
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 19
00:08:40 --> 00:08:40 you can
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 read that.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 Others have
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 tried to say
00:08:44 --> 00:08:44 that the
00:08:44 --> 00:08:44 disciples
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 stole the
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 body.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:49 A couple
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 of things
00:08:50 --> 00:08:50 about that
00:08:50 --> 00:08:50 one.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:51 It would
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 seem a bit
00:08:52 --> 00:08:52 odd that if
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 they stole
00:08:53 --> 00:08:53 the body
00:08:53 --> 00:08:53 that they
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 would actually
00:08:54 --> 00:08:54 unwrap the
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 grave clothes
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 first and
00:08:56 --> 00:08:57 leave.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:58 I mean who
00:08:58 --> 00:08:58 wants to do
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 that?
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 Who wants
00:09:00 --> 00:09:00 to unwrap
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 the grave
00:09:01 --> 00:09:01 clothes and
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 cut away a
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 bloody
00:09:03 --> 00:09:03 beaten
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 naked body?
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 No one
00:09:07 --> 00:09:07 would do
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 that.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:08 But more
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 significantly
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 if they
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 took the
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 body it
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 would mean
00:09:13 --> 00:09:13 that the
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 disciples began
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 to risk
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 their lives
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 and in fact
00:09:17 --> 00:09:17 give themselves
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 up to martyrdom
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 for the sake
00:09:19 --> 00:09:19 of a hoax
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 that they knew
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 was false
00:09:21 --> 00:09:21 and was
00:09:21 --> 00:09:21 worthless.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:23 Who dies
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 for a lie?
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 So how
00:09:28 --> 00:09:28 else do you
00:09:28 --> 00:09:29 account for
00:09:29 --> 00:09:30 the dramatic
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 change in the
00:09:31 --> 00:09:31 disciples as
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 well?
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 After Good
00:09:33 --> 00:09:33 Friday if it
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 wasn't for
00:09:34 --> 00:09:34 the resurrection
00:09:34 --> 00:09:37 the fact is
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 that they
00:09:37 --> 00:09:37 were utterly
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 dejected,
00:09:39 --> 00:09:39 they were
00:09:39 --> 00:09:40 terrified after
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 the death of
00:09:41 --> 00:09:41 Jesus that
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 they too
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 would die.
00:09:45 --> 00:09:45 The people
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 who had
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 killed their
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 boss,
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 their leader
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 were potentially
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 going to kill
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 them too.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 They did not
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 have a hope
00:09:56 --> 00:09:56 for resurrection,
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 they were ready
00:09:58 --> 00:09:58 to go back
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 fishing but
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 were scared
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 of the authorities
00:10:02 --> 00:10:02 that put their
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 teeth to the
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 death and so
00:10:04 --> 00:10:04 they hid
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 themselves in
00:10:05 --> 00:10:05 a room,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:07 a bunch of
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 cowards,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 hoping not to
00:10:10 --> 00:10:10 be found,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:11 hoping not to
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 be put to
00:10:12 --> 00:10:12 death.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 And then
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 Jesus appears
00:10:17 --> 00:10:17 to them.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 And in the
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 next coming
00:10:22 --> 00:10:22 weeks these
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 men went
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 from cowards
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 to courageous,
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 bold men
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 willing to
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 die.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 what had
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 happened to
00:10:33 --> 00:10:33 them.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 Their own
00:10:35 --> 00:10:35 account was
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 they had
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 seen the
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 Lord alive.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 The evidence
00:10:43 --> 00:10:43 is there for
00:10:43 --> 00:10:43 sure.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 But doubting
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 the resurrection
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 of Jesus is
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 common.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 Strangely enough
00:10:50 --> 00:10:50 though, it's
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 the first person
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 to doubt the
00:10:53 --> 00:10:53 resurrection,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 the first
00:10:55 --> 00:10:55 person who
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 was to
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 actually
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 specifically
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 doubt the
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 resurrection,
00:10:59 --> 00:10:59 not just
00:10:59 --> 00:10:59 question whether
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 it happened
00:11:00 --> 00:11:00 or not have
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 a confused
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 assumption about
00:11:02 --> 00:11:02 it, but to
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 say I will
00:11:03 --> 00:11:03 not believe
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 it, was
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 in fact not
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 an opposer
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 of Jesus but
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 one of his
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 closest supporters,
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 Thomas.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:10 Thomas wasn't
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 there when
00:11:11 --> 00:11:11 Jesus first
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 appeared to
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 the disciples.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 Have a look
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 at it there in
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 verse 24.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 Now Thomas
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 called Didymus,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 one of the
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 twelve, was
00:11:17 --> 00:11:17 not with the
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 disciples when
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 Jesus came.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:20 So the other
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 disciples told
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 him, we have
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 seen the
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 Lord.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 But he said
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 to them, unless
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 I see the
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 nail marks in
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 his hands and
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 put my finger
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 where the nails
00:11:31 --> 00:11:31 were and put
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 my hand in
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 his side, I
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 will not
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 believe.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 Unless I
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 see it for
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 myself, I
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 will not
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 believe it.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 I will
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 believe if
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 Jesus comes
00:11:45 --> 00:11:45 and shows
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 himself to
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 me.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 The odd
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 thing is
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 that for
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 Thomas, like
00:11:52 --> 00:11:52 the other
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 disciples, the
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 resurrection was
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 not a new
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 idea.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 As an
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 Orthodox Jew, he
00:11:58 --> 00:11:58 would have
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 believed in
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 everyone being
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 resurrected to
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 face judgment
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 when God
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 calls the
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 end of the
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 world to
00:12:06 --> 00:12:06 be.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:08 But he
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 doubts the
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 resurrection of
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 Jesus here.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:13 His
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 response to
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 the news is
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 absolute.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 He makes
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 his demands
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 in absolute
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 terms.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 Unless I
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 see and
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 place my
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 hands, I
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 will not
00:12:26 --> 00:12:26 believe.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 He demands
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 tangible
00:12:30 --> 00:12:30 proof.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 He rejects
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 the witness of
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 ten or more
00:12:33 --> 00:12:33 of his
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 closest mates.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 He dictates
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 absolute terms to
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 God about
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 believing, which
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 reveal a lack of
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 wisdom and
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 humility.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 What he has
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 not yet
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 grappled with
00:12:45 --> 00:12:47 is that
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 seeing does
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 not equal
00:12:50 --> 00:12:50 believing.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 You see, many
00:12:54 --> 00:12:54 people saw the
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 miracles of
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 Jesus and
00:12:57 --> 00:12:57 yet they
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 didn't believe.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 They in fact
00:13:00 --> 00:13:00 plotted to kill
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 him when they
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 saw Jesus
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 command Lazarus
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 to walk out of
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 the tomb.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 Dead man walking.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 They saw it
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 happen and
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 instead of
00:13:09 --> 00:13:09 going, my
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 goodness, who
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 is this man?
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 They went, right,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 it's time to
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 kill this guy.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:17 Seeing doesn't
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 equal belief.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 And it's a
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 mistake that's so
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 easy to make.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 The assumption
00:13:21 --> 00:13:21 that if God
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 would appear to
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 me or directly
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 intervene in
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 certain aspects of
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 my life for my
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 good as I
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 determine it, then
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 I would believe.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 In other words,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 if God would
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 appear to me on
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 my terms, then
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 I would believe
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 he is God.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 Of course, the
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 irony of that is
00:13:38 --> 00:13:38 that a God who
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 submits to my
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 terms isn't so
00:13:40 --> 00:13:40 much of a fancy
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 God after all.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:45 I remember
00:13:45 --> 00:13:49 going through
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 US customs.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 Here's another
00:13:50 --> 00:13:50 one of those
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 US customs
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 stories.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 Going from
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 Canada into
00:13:55 --> 00:13:55 the US,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 walking up to
00:13:58 --> 00:13:58 the counter,
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 handing over my
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 passport, and the
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 custom guy takes a
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 look at it, big
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 long pause, and
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 he says here,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 you're a
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 clergyman.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 Yes, yes I
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 am.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 Right, I've got a
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 question for you,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 and it was like,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 is this like one of
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 those test things?
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 You know, I'm saying
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 I'm here on business,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 I've got something to
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 declare, is he trying
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 to check me out,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 what's the deal here?
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 And he said, what
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 would you say to a
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 person who says to
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 you, show me God and
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 I'll believe in him?
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 And so I'm thinking,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 oh, in that moment
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 God help me, you
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 know, I might be
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 stuck in Canada, I
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 mean, please help me
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 in this moment.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 And I said to him,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 Jesus said, you see
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 me and you see the
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 Father.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54 So God actually has
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 revealed himself, he
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 has come into this
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 world and revealed
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 himself.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 And he's done sort of
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 things, not just makes
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 claims that he's God,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 but he did things to
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 prove he was God, he
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 raised people from the
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 dead, he healed the
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 sick, he calmed the
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 waters, and I said
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 historical facts that
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 prove that he was who
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 he said he was.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 But let me say that
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 plenty of people saw
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 Jesus and they saw the
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 miracles he did and yet
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 they still plotted to
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 kill him.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 I said, I would say to
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 that person, don't make
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 this mistake of thinking
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 that seeing equals
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25 believing.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 And I said, the reality
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 is I could be God right
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 here, right in front of
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 you now and prove it to
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 you, but if your heart
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 is one where you were
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 determined to will to
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 not to believe, you
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 won't.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 I said, that's basically
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 what I would say to
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 that person.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 I said, there is plenty
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 of evidence.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 I said, I would
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 encourage that person to
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 go and read the
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 evidence in the
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 Gospels and ask for
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 eyes to see.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 He gave me my passport
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 and he slid it across
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 and said, okay, you
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 pass.
00:15:56 --> 00:16:05 So what happens with
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 Thomas?
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 Reading on in verse
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 26.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 A week later, his
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 disciples were in the
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 house again and Thomas
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 was with them.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 Although the doors were
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 locked, Jesus came and
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 stood among them and
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 said, peace be with you.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 And he said to Thomas,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 over here, put your
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 hand, put your finger
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 here and see my hands
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 and reach out your
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 hand and put it into
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 my side.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 Stop doubting and
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 believe.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 When Jesus did finally
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 appear to Thomas, he
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 says, just stop doubting
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 and believe.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 So the call from Jesus
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 to Thomas was to stop
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 his disbelief.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 And Jesus in that
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 moment was incredibly
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 merciful to him and
00:16:48 --> 00:16:48 came to him in
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 demonstration of his
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 resurrection and Thomas
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 believed.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 The interesting thing
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 is though, that when
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 you go through the
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 gospels, the latter
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 part of the gospels,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 and you move even
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 into the early parts
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 of Acts, Jesus'
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 intention was not for
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 everyone to see in the
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 same way.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 In fact, Jesus did not
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 appear to everyone
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 after his resurrection.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 He could have just
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 wandered up to Pilate
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 one day and said,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 wrong.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:23 But his intention was
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 not to reveal himself
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 to everyone.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 Yes, he did appear to
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 well over 500 people at
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 different times.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 Enough saw him alive.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 But his intention was
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 not for everyone to
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 believe him in that
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 way.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 John, who wrote this
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 biography, was one of the
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 eyewitnesses.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 And this is what he says
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 about how we come to see
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 and believe.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 Verse 30, Jesus did
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 many other miraculous
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 signs in the presence
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 of his disciples, which
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 are not recorded in this
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 book.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 But these are written
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 that you may believe
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 that Jesus is the
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 Christ, the Son of God,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 and that by believing
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 you may have life in
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 his name.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 What he is saying is
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 that what is written in
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 this biography of
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 Jesus' life, his
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 ministry, his death,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 his resurrection, is
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 everything that you need
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 to believe.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 In fact, he says,
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 Jesus did plenty of
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 other stuff, but I
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 haven't written them
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 down because you don't
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 need to know about it.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 We have everything that
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 we need to believe right
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 in front of us.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 So can I encourage you
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 this Easter to read
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 one of the biographies of
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 Jesus, Matthew, Mark,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 Luke, John.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 Just read one of those
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 biographies and ask for
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 eyes to see the risen
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 Lord.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 Of course, there are
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 also those who refuse
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 to accept the evidence
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 of Jesus' resurrection
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 or even look into it
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 because it's not a matter
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 of historical facts.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 It's not a matter of
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 historical evidence.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 It's a matter of the
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 claims that Jesus made.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 And this is the unbelief
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 of the will.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 That is, if Jesus rose
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 from the dead, then he
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 is who he says he is
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 and he is king and he
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 is Lord.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 He is God and he
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 commands our allegiance.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 And so the rejection
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 of the resurrection then
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 is a rejection of the
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 will.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 It's not about the
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 intellect.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 It's about the heart.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 It's about the will.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 Look at what Thomas
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 says when he realized
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 that Jesus had come
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 back to life.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 Verse 28 reveals the
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 consequences of the
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 resurrection of Jesus.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 The meaning of it.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 Thomas said to him,
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 my Lord and my God.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 His first questions
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 were not, how are you
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 walking around with a
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 hole in your side?
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 The first thing that
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 impacted him was the
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 meaning of the
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 resurrection.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 My Lord and my God,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 it's true.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 Everything you said
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 about yourself is true.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 He is God.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 He is the king of the
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 universe.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 He is my Lord.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 He is my king.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 He is my boss.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 He is my ruler.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 He is my God.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 Belief in the
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 resurrection of Jesus
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 for Thomas and for
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 many of us may just
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 simply be in the end of
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 the matter, a matter of
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 the will.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 It is about who's in
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 charge of my life.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 It's about who's in
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 charge of my world.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 God.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 And we don't have
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 Thomas' direct evidence.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 We are more like Peter
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 and John in the tomb.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:40 There is evidence and
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 either we see through it
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 or we don't.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 And the issue for us here
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 this morning is do you
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 see?
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 This is what I mean.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:56 Your doorbell rings this
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 afternoon and one of your
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 friends asked to come in
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 and have a chat with you.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 He comes and says, I have
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 some really bad news.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 Your brother has just
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 died.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 And you say, shaking your
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 head, no, I don't believe
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 it.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 I saw him this morning and
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 he was fine.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 I don't believe it.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 It can't be true.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:20 And your friend says, well,
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 we went off to the Easter
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 show together and as we
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 were leaving, this car went
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 out of control, jumped the
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 curve and hit him.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 And I knelt over him and I
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 waited for the ambulance and I
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 saw it and he died in my arms
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 and he is gone.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 And you say, oh, I see.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 What do you mean?
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 Oh, I see.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 What you mean in that
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 moment is the witness of your
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 friend has become a window
00:21:58 --> 00:22:02 and the reality of the window
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 has become plain.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 You were not there.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 You did not see the
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 accident.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 But still you say, and
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 it is right to say with all
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 your heart, I see.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 I now understand.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 And God has brought you here
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 this morning, my friends, for
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 this message and for this
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 Bible passage and for this
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 story of the resurrection of
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 Jesus so that you might go,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 oh, I see.
00:22:38 --> 00:22:40 Through the witness of John,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 John says, I see.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 I understand.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 I see.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 I understand.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 And that in seeing you might
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 believe in Jesus and have life
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 in his name.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 John says, but these things are
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 written that you might believe
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 that Jesus is the Christ,
00:22:57 --> 00:23:00 the Son of God, and that by
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 believing you may have life in
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 his name.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 And so my prayer for you this
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 morning is that you will now,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 before this service is over,
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 or very soon, by God's grace,
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 say, oh, I see.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 And in seeing the resurrected
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 Jesus, we'll live like he lives
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 forever.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 Amen.