He is risen! He is
risen indeed! The doctrine of Jesus' resurrection
is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without
the resurrection our hope of eternal life is vain and the Good News of
the Gospel is futile. Praise God, Jesus was
physically resurrected from the dead and he is alive!
The
Gospel of John documents four specific instances where Jesus appeared
to His disciples after the resurrection. Let's
discover the significance of each of these for our own personal faith.
The
first is in the garden of the tomb where Mary Magdalene is looking for
the body of Jesus. Instead she finds Him
alive!
John 20
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" ... 17 ... go to My brethren
and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God
and your God.'"
Jesus had
a message for Mary and the Disciples: I am
no longer dead, but alive! What a messages
of hope for this disheartened band of believers! All
of their hopes had been dashed by the crucifixion and now hope is birthed
in them again!
Peter
writes these words in his epistle:
1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to
a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter
was rejoicing in having been born again to a living hope because of the
resurrection! The resurrection is our LIVING
HOPE! When Christ was made alive, all those
who trust Him for salvation were also made alive. We are to enjoy the surpassing riches of His grace in
heaven, in our resurrected bodies!
The
resurrection provides us HOPE!
The
second appearance of Christ to His disciples was in
John 20
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.
Imagine
the impact of Jesus appearing in the room with the disciples! Shock, terror, joy, amazement, excitement-- was only a
part of the emotions which ran through that room. Jesus spoke peace to them and then showed them his scars. He
wanted them to know that this was really Him!
He
came to
them because He had something for them! First a commission: "As
my Father has sent me, so send I you." And then the
presence of the Holy Spirit: "Receive the Holy Spirit." And
both of these were effective! The results of these
words are demonstrated in the apostles in the Book of Acts.
Acts 4:33
33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon
them all.
After
Pentecost and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the disciples took the
words of Christ to be a lifestyle. They preached,
they prayed, the healed the sick, they cast out demons, and they raised
the dead! The resurrection had imparted a
new zeal and motivation for them because they knew that Christ was working
with them in all they did! Abundant grace
was upon them all!
Paul
did all he could to tell us that this same resurrection power is available
to you and to me!
Ephesians 1
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward
us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength
of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him
from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
Christianity
is not a religion. It is a relationship with
the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In
Him we have HOPE, GLORIOUS RICHES, and GREAT POWER! These are not earthly qualities but heavenly qualities
which impact our daily lives in the realm of the spirit. Because
He lives we can join the apostles in preaching, praying, and seeing lives
transformed! The life of Christ is in us! We
have been sent on His mission and with His power! We
still need Paul's prayer for our eyes to be opened so we will know what
Christ has given to us in the resurrection!
The resurrection
provides us HOPE, and the SPIRIT within us!
Returning
to John, we discover the third instance of Jesus' appearing.
John 20
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."
Thomas's
doubt underscores the ability we all have in NOT believing what God has said
or done! The other disciples had testified of Jesus'
resurrection but Thomas did not trust his closest friends! It wasn't until he saw with his own eyes the physical
presence of Jesus that he was willing to believe! It
was there he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" And
Jesus accepted those words as true worship.
The
testimony of these followers of Christ is the testimony which we have believed! It
is the same testimony that moved the world from the time of Christ until now! From
Thomas to Peter to Paul and on through time, the testimony has been believed
and lives have been changed because of that belief! It
is by believing the testimony of those who saw Him that we receive eternal life! Jesus said. "Blessed are those who did not see, yet believed."
The
resurrection provides us HOPE, the HOLY SPIRIT, FAITH, and
The
fourth occurrence of Jesus appearing to the disciples in the Gospel of John,
was by the seashore. Jesus cooked breakfast for the
disciples and --
John 21
15 when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon
Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said
to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend
My lambs."
Jesus
asked this question of Peter three times and ended the conversation each
time with "Feed My sheep."� Believing
the resurrection of Christ has a daily call to service attached to it
for all who are disciples. Jesus had said, "As
the Father sent me, so send I you."� And
now He specifically called Peter to minister the Word of God: Feed
the sheep! You and I have all been called
as well! Our specific ministries may differ,
but we each have a place of ministry.
The
call sounds the same from one century to the next: "Do
you love me? Then do the ministry that I've
called you to do."� And what will
you answer be? Jesus is alive, He is present
this morning, and He is asking us all, "Do you love me?"�
The
resurrection provides us HOPE, the HOLY SPIRIT, FAITH, and a CALLING
in life!
Jesus
is alive!
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