John 20 Sermon Notes

I’ve had many people over the years ask me, “So the WSU football team went away after the Plane crash right?”

I say, “No, the plane crash was in 1970, the last season was 1986.”

How many of you thought the crash was the end of the football team?

How many didn’t know there was a plane crash?

Dramatic historical events can get conflated in people’s minds over time.

But for people who experienced those events, the date, the details, are seared into their minds and hearts.

I think I’ve mentioned this before.

In 1980, I was asked to say a prayer at the halftime of the game that was to be played the week of the 10th anniversary of the crash.

The day before the game I was told “never mind”, the half time program was cancelled because it was still too “raw” for people.

I am embarrassed to say but I remember thinking, “That was 10 years ago!  How could it still be raw?”

But I was 21 and didn’t understand the impact of an event like that on the human heart and mind.

I do now.

The Gospel of John is a historical record of certain details of the life of Jesus.

It is not written to be a mere history; it is a gospel…it is written to convince people to believe, and it tells certain factual details, not all that could be told.

This is a passage I’ve mentioned numerous times this past year, we are finally there.

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:30, 31

The details John gives us are historically accurate, it is a true account.

What those details mean is of the utmost importance, they demand a response.

I’m reading a history of Winston Churchill; I assume the details are historically accurate

Reading about his life can impact mine, I am learning some things that challenge me and some things about him that I don’t want to be true of my life.

But the author did not write the history of Churchill to save me from my sins

Even though he named it, Churchill: Walking with Destiny.

It was Winston’s, not my destiny he was writing about.

His intention was not that I would believe in Winston and have life in his name.

The gospel of John is a unique book…one of only four books written in human history that are God inspired gospels…they are written to point us to the Savior.

This being said, John should either be discarded as total nonsense, or treasured as the most vital information a human can obtain…there is no in between.

I will testify that the gospel of John is factual true, and practically important for life change.

As we walk through John 20 today, I want us to do two things

1. I want us to pay careful attention to the historical detail, the factual accuracy of John’s writing:

The disciples would not have forgotten what they saw, over those three days and beyond.

Just as a plane crash was seared into the memories of some people in Wichita.

It would have been seared into their memory…what happened Friday, Saturday, Sunday…and beyond.

These events were corroborated by multiple witnesses…and the ruling authorities of the time had every incentive to try to hide the truth or expose it as a lie…but they could not.

God insured that they could not.

2. I want to pay careful attention to what those facts mean for us.

On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she went running to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved (we believe this is John), and said to them, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him!”

Grave robbing was a common crime at the time, Mary assumed this had happened and she was heartbroken.

³ At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. ⁵ Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Tombs didn’t generally have large openings where you could walk in upright, there was a small opening that required that they stoop to peer in.

John is giving us specifics here, these are the details of an eyewitness account.

⁶ Then, following him, Simon Peter also came. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. ⁷ The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. ⁸ The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then also went in, saw, and believed. ⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying.

Peter caught up to John (who outran him), and true to form, Peter didn’t hesitate, but he went straight inside the tomb.

He saw the clothes, just as John had…John was able to write this, because they had spoken about it.

This is an important detail because two men serving as eyewitnesses, would have held up in court of law.

It is also a powerful personal detail…clearly it stood out to both men.

As they walked home they had to be saying, “Did you see that?”  “Yeah, the body wrap was just lying there, the face wrap was folded up.”

“It’s like he just walked out of there or something.”

Meanwhile, Mary has returned, seems she didn’t run into the fellas as they went home.

¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” ⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. ¹⁵ “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”—which means “Teacher.”

Aramaic was the most commonly spoken language of the Jewish people…this is one of five times where John translates for his Greek readers.

Again, why would he go to this trouble, where he not giving factual details…just say it Greek,who cares what Mary said, except, that she did say it.

Imagine you are sitting at a meal with Mary months later and she is telling this story.

I think it’s impossible that wouldn’t cry when she told it…and I’m sure that the details were clear and consistent.

I have several stories I’ve told over and over…I have yet to tell them without tears…or without clarity of details…they are seared in mind.

There is nothing about this account that is made up…John is writing what Mary had seen, heart, felt, knew…she told them these details.

¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

This was not a time for desperately holding on…it was a time to celebrate…I am here…but not for long… I will leave again…to return to my Father and yours.

The days between resurrection and his going away, were all the days of his ascending…getting them ready for his departure.

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her. ⁹ When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So, the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus had a resurrected body, like all believers will someday have.

He could catch and eat fish, has scars in his hands…it is a real body…but he can come and go in locked rooms as he pleases…it is a resurrected body.

He can walk through tightly wrapped grave clothes, not like a mummy stumbling around…the tomb couldn’t hold him, neither could they.

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” ²² After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This is a Pre-Pentecost announcement, where the Spirit will fall on the church, and they will be sent to proclaim the gospel.

This is a Promise of the coming fullness of the Spirit…that fulness will be described in the book of Acts…after Jesus had ascended to heaven.

He is not giving them the power to forgive sins in themselves, but the authority to preach the gospel.

If people believe the gospel, they can be sure their sins are forgiven, if not they can be sure they will not be forgiven.

We don’t decide who believes and who doesn’t…we are to proclaim Christ risen from the dead, and the forgiveness of sins in him.

This is all a precursor to what Jesus will say just before his ascension

*You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on and you will be my witnesses: Act 1:8

²⁴ But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

He is called doubting Thomas, but that’s not entirely fair, if he had seen Jesus as they had, he would not have doubted.

Jesus accommodated him.

²⁶ A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

That line is for us, we have not seen the Lord in the resurrected flesh, but we have believed, and we are blessed.

By the way, this verse speaks to those who are desperately looking for, wanting some special experience, some supernatural word…they want a sign to validate their faith.

Blessed, happy, are those…Jesus said…who believe because they have heard the gospel.

In the gospel we have all we need to believe…there is nothing else you need to see, or experience.

1. This is a story of factual accuracy.

It is a gospel, a historical account written so that the readers might believe and be saved.

So, it is told in a way that leads its readers in that direction.

Again, by John’s own admission he doesn’t tell every detail that could be told, but he does tell all that should be told.

Years ago, I wrote an acrostic to help me remember the five key arguments or evidence for the historical veracity of the resurrection of Jesus.

It is: C.R.O.S.S.

The acrostic summarizes the answers to those who have tried to undermine the historical validity of the resurrection.

These answers can’t compel belief, but they demonstrate that belief in the gospel is based on good factual evidence.

C: CRUCIFICTION:

-This speaks to those have said that Jesus merely swooned (from swoon theory) or fainted on the cross and then when thrown into the cold tomb, was resuscitated.

-Some have put this forth as a logical explanation for what happened.

-In response Christian apologists (defenders of the faith) have used historical evidence related to the brutality of Roman crucifixion and the biblical data that indicated Jesus was truly dead.

-I won’t go into the gruesome facts of Roman crucifixion, but it was not survivable.

-Not to mention the fact that he was scourged, beaten in a way that many didn’t survive, Roman scourging…pieces of bone or rocks tied into the leather of a multi-pronged whip, it would expose muscle, bone, and even organs.

-The spear into his side ensured that he was dead.

-Then, there is the fact that a barely alive, horribly disfigured Jesus crawling from a tomb…would not inspire the confidence of this followers to go and proclaim that he was resurrected.

-This brings us to the R

RESULTS: Result in the lives of his followers

-It has been argued that the disciples just made up the whole story of the resurrection to keep the lie going.

-This doesn’t explain how Peter is cowering in fear in one moment and then very soon he will be bold as a lion.

-It doesn’t explain how they were hiding, in fear, behind locked doors when Jesus appears to them, then soon they boldly and publicly declaring the fact of the resurrection.

-No one would give their life for a known lie…certainly not an entire group of men.

-And virtually all of them were eventually murdered for their faith.

Acts 4:13

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

They hadn’t gone to leadership school and suddenly have new skills. They have seen Jesus alive after seeing him dead.

Acts 4:18

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

New found wisdom, new found courage.

Doesn’t sound like they were motivated by some fabrication…they had seen Jesus alive and well.

Brings us to the O.

Open tomb:

Some have said the explanation was that the body was stolen, and this was all an elaborate hoax…perpetuated by the disciples.

There are many problems with this theory…again, how would so many be taken in by that hoax and why would they die for a known lie?

They had seen the resurrected Jesus, many times over many days.

Plus, the Roman government and the Jewish establishment would have found the body and put down the lie…they had great incentive to do so.

Matthew’s gospel tells of how the Jewish leaders petitioned Pilate to post guards so that this kind of thing couldn’t happen.

In fact, the guards who were posted were paid off and told to lie about what actually happened.

The Bible is all we need as a factual source, but it is not all we have…the First “S” is…

SOURCES: standing for extra-biblical sources.

-The story of the resurrection is not limited to the gospels, though that is enough, we have more.

-One of these is from Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived from AD 37-100.

-Josephus is the most comprehensive primary source on Jewish history that has survived from antiquity

-He would have been able to interview many living eyewitnesses of the resurrection.

*In fact, he may have talked to John.  John was still alive when Josephus wrote his history.

-Here is a quote from one his writings regarding Jesus…it is important to note that there is no good evidence that Josephus became a Christian…so he is not trying to convince anyone to believe in him…just giving known facts.

At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day.

Let’s finish up, final S

STILL GOES ON: Impact that is.

-No event in human history has had a greater impact on the world than the resurrection of Christ.  This continues to be true to this day.

-Last week Brad talked about world missions.

-His family went to a difficult situation because Christ has risen.

-Many are in harm’s way today because Christ has risen.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Cor. 15:14-20

The reality of the resurrection of Jesus continues to change lives…mine included.

Which brings us to the second goal for today.

2. To think deeply about what these facts mean.

Last week I spent both services with our kids upstairs, River Next, grades 2-5, we had a great conversation.

They asked questions and we talked about them.

The first question I addressed was very sobering.

“How hard is it to pass away?”

This was from a younger child.

This is what is sometimes on their minds.

I asked them if anyone they loved had ever died?

Almost all raised their hands.

I didn’t know that one child who was visiting, her first Sunday, had lost her mom just a very short time ago.

But it was good, the conversation was good, and timely for her I think.

I asked our kids a question, “What is the difference between fear of being dead, and fear of dying?”

They knew the answer, and in insightful ways they described the difference.

I then asked them, “What can we do to deal with our fears of each of those different things?”

Again, they knew some answers.

Do you want to know what their answers were?

1. How do we deal with our fear of being dead?

-Believe the gospel, trust Jesus.

2. How do we deal with our fear of dying?

-Believe the gospel, trust Jesus with our earthly future, not just our eternal one.

They gave some other practical ideas…

-Read the Bible, pray, talk to friends

-Put off bad thoughts, think good ones.

Really great, Biblical counsel.

Trust God with the future: dying

Trust God with the future: death

The resurrection means that we have hope in life and in death

Not imaginary hope, not emotional hope…but actual hope.

Hope that will sustain us in life and death.

Hope that will sustain in the darkest hours…I have had my own dark hours,even very recently…I don’t speak merely from my head, I speak from my heart and life.

They had a lot of questions about heaven, the New Heavens and Earth, our eternal state as Christians.

1 Cor. 15:35  But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶ You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹ For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. ⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

This isn’t weird, or far-fetched…not wishful thinking.

Look at that acorn out there by that big oak…it has one kind of body, but boy, when it goes into the ground and dies and is reborn…it has a very different body.

That is your hope, that is the assurance of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

We do, sometimes fear the process of dying…and we must handle that as we are to handle all fears of the future…give it to God, the future belongs to him.

We must never fear being dead…death has been swallowed up in victory, Paul wrote.

That victory is Christ’s victory.

This week and next, John 21 are Christmas sermons…advent sermons.

Christ was born to die.

Christ was raised from the dead.

Christ will return again.

We live now, with resurrection hope, between the two advents…these facts are life changing facts.

TALK FOR A FEW MINUTES ABOUT NEXT YEAR, IT IS JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AWAY.

You have probably heard that many are going to read through the Bible in chronological order (as the events happened, not how they are arranged in our Bible).

If you read about 3-4 chapters a day, six days a week you will get through the Bible.

We are going to begin, Monday, December 30.

It’s okay if you don’t.

If you do, it won’t be magic…it will be a lot of plodding.

I’m working two months ahead because I am writing some daily devotional commentary paragraphs for each day’s reading.

I hope you will read these short devotional paragraphs before you read the chapters for each day, I think they will help you get more out of your time in the Scriptures.

I’m currently plodding through Leviticus…Genesis and Exodus and Job were super interesting, Leviticus not as much to me…unless I pay careful attention to what it says about God’s holiness, our need, and God’s provision.

If you prefer a written copy of these devotions we can put them on the website, four weeks at a time, you can print them off and keep them with your Bible.

Or you can have them delivered each day, along with prayers for our church, via text or email.

Here’s why we are doing all this:

I just finished a teen resilience book, here’s the cover…I’m bouncing but the ground still hurts.

In that book I talk about God’s resources for spiritual resilience: His Word, People, and Spirit.

Under the heading of his word, I have this image to describe a simple plan to unleash the resource of his word.

Read it.  That’s what we are hoping to do together.

Get help to understand it.  Sermons will be built around our reading, resources on the website.

*Daily devotional commentaries to help understand and apply the reading.

*Small groups will be discussing this as we go.

*Talk with your friends.

Because what we want, in the end, is to DO what God wants us to do…to know his will, to obey his will, to become more like Jesus.

PRAY