Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 20 We'll be looking at John chapter 20 verses 24 Through 31 this morning on your pubibles. That is page number 947 May help you a little bit this is Palm Sunday and Maybe different than Palm Sundays of the past that maybe you remember we're going to go straight to the resurrection We're going to spend two weeks on the resurrection of Jesus Christ That this Sunday is the Sunday that we remember Christ Triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem where he was later betrayed Where he was beaten where he was crucified dead buried and on the third day he rose again and This is the account of Doubting Thomas beginning in verse 24
Now Thomas called dead amus one of the 12 was not with disciples when Jesus came So the other disciples told him we have seen the Lord But he said to them unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into his side I will not believe it A week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them Though the doors were locked Jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you And then he said to Thomas put your finger here see my hands Reach out your hand and put it into my side stop doubting and believe Thomas said to him my Lord and my God Then Jesus told him because you have seen me you have believed Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing You may have life in his name. Let's pray
Lord Jesus we ask that you would visit us By the Holy Spirit that we need to understand the resurrection Not that it will be something that will be normal to us, but we need to understand its implications for our life To know that death has not won to know that This world and its darkness will not have the final say To know that our sins are forgiven Lord. We are needy people. So please come and be as Kind as you were to Thomas be that kind to us We will love you and glorify you Produce faith in the hearts of doubters this morning And your name we pray I'm in
Resurrection is a big deal The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ Is the most Important doctrine In Christianity How can I say that? The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of Christianity If we do not have a bodily resurrected Jesus Christ Then we have no Christianity. It's something else In other words, we have absolutely no reason to be sitting here Worshiping a man named Jesus Christ if that man named Jesus Christ is dead
Paul says If we alone just believe in this life that Jesus Christ has not risen for the dead we should be a pitted Above all people John updike John updike the late American writer and His seven stances for Easter puts it this way Make no mistake If he rose at all it was as his body If the cells dissolution did not reverse The molecules renit The amino acids rekindle The church will fall If there is no bodily resurrection the church will fall Now there's a tension there Because nothing is more important to Christianity than the resurrection of Jesus Christ The validity of his claims that he is son of God are Based on whether or not he's alive this very moment But perhaps there's nothing that's more difficult to believe Then the resurrection of Jesus Christ The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ because it is outside our categories. It is outside our world We don't get it. Well, let me encourage you the resurrection has never been easy to believe It wasn't easy for Thomas who was a first century Jew It wasn't easy for first century Jews to believe it and it wasn't easy for first century Gentiles to believe it It's never been something that's been easy to believe. It is essential and it's hard to understand Can't you relate to Thomas? He's heard it for a week that we have seen Jesus all the other disciples Have said we have seen Jesus alive But Thomas goes I haven't seen him and until I see him and see the death marks in his hands and on his side because all I know is a dead Jesus It's as bizarre to Thomas as it would be for us to bury our best friend and And then three days later you get a knock on the door and you open up the door and it's your best friend the man that you bury Do you doubt that Jesus is alive right now and?
What do we do with those doubts? If it's so important that if I don't believe this then I'm really not historically a Christian But if I do doubt it then what do I do with those doubts? Well, let's talk about that this morning first facing our doubts Staring them down Secondly, how does Jesus respond to our doubts? What does Jesus have to say to us as we see how he responds to Thomas? What do we learn about Jesus in responding to our doubts and then third so what? How does it change my life? How does it change? How does the resurrection if I believe it? What are the implications? And I want here's my hope and I believe I'm positive It's the hope of John the John wrote these things so that you would believe that Jesus is the Messiah My hope is that you will walk out of here and I will walk out of here changed a Different person because Jesus is alive and that you and I we will stop doubting and we will believe it Let's look first facing our doubts We'll talk briefly about three kind of doubters Generalizations are realized. I'm probably other classifications, but just three kinds of doubters of the resurrection public doubters Private doubters and practical doubters Let's look at the first one public doubters This is the typical doubter in the resurrection The person who looks at the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and goes That is those are fairy tales That is those are myths That those are People who wanted to believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead Developed a tradition of mythology about this risen Jesus because they so desperately Wanted to believe that Jesus was alive. That's someone who publicly doubts it. There's no question about it Maybe that's you this morning and someone has dragged you to Palm Sunday Welcome to independent Presbyterian Church And here's how the argument goes and it's it's it's it's articulated very well in Tim Keller's book reason for God and Also by other authors, but a particularly by Dr. Keller Here's how the argument of the public doubter goes people did not have a scientific knowledge in the first century of the world and how it worked They really believed in magical mystical forces and supernatural happenings and they could have easily fallen prey to reports of a risen Jesus His followers were likely heartbroken because they really believed that he was the Messiah and They must have had some sort of mystical or very emotional experience would lead them to believe that Jesus really was alive Because they really wanted to believe it just like Elvis believers Because you want Elvis to not be dead. Surely they saw someone I just saw someone in my peripheral and I think it was Elvis So Elvis is alive. Have you heard? Probably a fence people in Memphis. I apologize for that and then some of the more creative of the group would have created they would have developed a Tradition like I said of mythology Stories that Jesus had been raised from the dead and then legends would grow until they've developed in something of a religion called Christianity That is the traditional public doubter of the resurrection of Jesus Christ What about the private doubters? This is probably a more of a Southern phenomenon that you would like for it to be true that you would even part of you even long for it to be true But in the world that you live You think to yourself. It's like Narnia and I want Aslan to be a real line But you know that's too good to be true and if something's too good to be true, then it probably is But you would never voice those kind of doubts that you come Sunday after Sunday Doing the Christian thing because a church like IPC is a good place to network. They're nice people here. We're nice people And if you would bring something up doubts about the reality of a living Jesus rather than a dead Jesus If you were to actually bring doubts like that up, you would be ostracized and it's sad that a church is not a place where you can bring really hard questions So maybe you're a private doubter or maybe you're a practical doubter This is a big group This is most of us It's not that you would come out and disbelieve or doubt the reality of the resurrection You just don't see how it applies to life You just don't know how it would actually have anything to do with your life, which is carpool and mortgages and Deadlines and Blood sweat and tears of living in 2010 It has nothing to do with my life So it's kind of preacher talk. I use that phrase a lot Because I'm guilty of preacher talk often it just up there in the clouds That you don't think about the implications of the resurrection in your everyday life so it makes no practical difference in your life so You don't doubt it outwardly And publicly or maybe even privately you just don't know how it applies It doesn't affect your life We can relate to Thomas We can relate to Thomas having these tremendous doubts if I don't see him Verses 24 and 25 then I will not believe it. Where are you today?
What classification do you find yourself in this morning? Which brings us to our second point what would Jesus Christ say to you in your doubts? How would he respond to you? How does Jesus Christ respond to a doubter? It's our second point First thing I want you to see And you look at verse 26 is that Jesus Christ has compassion on doubters a Week later his disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them Though the doors were locked Jesus came and stood among them and said peace be with you Let's just take that for a moment. We maybe you've heard that verse a lot. Do you realize what's going on here? They have batten down the hatches folks You know, let's bring some bread in and lock and make sure there are no Roman guards or Pharisees Following us because we don't want to be killed like Jesus locked the doors. We are scared to death They're this huddled little scared mass in this room with Thomas the doubter right in the middle of them and Jesus Christ Passes through the door Which makes you understand why he had to say peace be with you Can you imagine being sitting there one moment because this is the way it's written? You're sitting there one moment with the group of guys and then Jesus came and stood suddenly among them and The first thing he says is okay. Okay, okay, great peace be with you and then he takes Thomas aside He says Thomas Put your finger here. See my hands Reach out your hand and put it into my and put it into my stop in my side stop doubting and believing literally He's saying stop being unbelieving and believe. It's the same word stop not believing and believe me How does Jesus Christ know? How does Jesus Christ know that Thomas wants to put his hands on those those wounds? Does he know because he's been talking to the disciples? You know what Thomas wants? Jesus you probably should show up or
Is it because? Just like Jesus has always been able to read the hearts and minds of people Before his death and resurrection, he's still able to do the same now You know the line he knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake He knows when you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. I don't know about you But that that made me scared of Santa
But Jesus really does Really does know your doubts and he meets you where you are and he has compassion on you And instead of making fun of someone like Thomas and the rest of these scared scared disciples He says peace be with you. Come here Thomas. He didn't owe Thomas anything But Thomas come here and see these wounds see these wounds Thomas That he knows your doubts and he has compassion on you in those doubts Do you realize the character of Jesus Christ? For us do you see it here that Jesus meets us where we are and he's not like some Tyrant who wants to destroy people who ask hard questions. He moves in close and meets you where you are He's the kind of God that says peace be with you the second thing Jesus does in response to our doubts And this is very important Is that he points to his apostles? He points to the apostles. What do I mean when I say that? Do you know what apostle is? Do you know what an apostle is and apostle is someone who has seen the risen Jesus and
Apostle one of the most One of the most important marks if not the most important mark if someone who was an apostle in the New Testament was someone who had seen The risen Jesus you must have seen the risen Jesus Christ in order to be called an apostle and that is why he comes and shows himself to Thomas He comes to Thomas and he says see that I am actually alive That the one that you thought was dead is alive this very moment that you think to yourself Well, of course Thomas believed because he got what he wanted The reason Thomas was allowed to see the risen Jesus Christ was not just so Jesus could prove himself Jesus stooped to show himself to Thomas Thomas was a disciple and he must see the risen Jesus Christ and It is on that foundation That we have the church It is on the apostles eyewitness account So public doubters and private doubters have you considered the testimony of the eyewitnesses? Have you considered listen to me? Have you considered the testimony of the eyewitnesses because that is exactly how the Bible responds to our doubts listen to this first Corinthians 15 Paul's dealing with the exact same problem for I received what I passed on to you as a first importance That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures That he was buried that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Peter He appeared to the twelve after that he appeared He was seen that is to more than five hundred brothers at the same time Most of whom are still living those some have fallen asleep. So what Richie? What does that mean? That at the time of the writing of the letter that we know as first current first Corinthians There were hundreds of people that were still alive that had seen the risen Jesus Christ And Paul is saying don't just take my word for it. I've got a few addresses for you That just a decade after the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus Christ There were people living who were eyewitnesses to the risen Jesus Christ that was walking through doors that was doing all kinds of miracles and now John is saying Believe it. Have you considered the testimony the reason I'm saying this The way it is reported in the New Testament is not as a myth It's not as a fanciful story, but of news of Carefully articulated. I witnessed accounts of a risen Jesus. Great Richie. Here's what I'm saying. It is bizarre It is outrageous. And guess what? It's scared everyone to death
People didn't know what to make of it It is impossible, but it is true Dead men do not get up from the dead, but this one did and Here's the wonderful thing What is impossible is true and it's still true this very moment and
Jesus Christ in this very passage is calling you. He's calling you to believe it Not based on the fact that you have seen it but based on the fact that Thomas had seen it that Peter had seen it that the Mary's had seen it that 500 people had seen it and Jesus is calling us to believe it. How do I? How can I say that? Look with me at verse 29
Jesus told him because you have seen me Thomas. You will you have believed Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed You know those parts in movies Occasionally where the actor and maybe at the end of the movie will look out at the look at the camera and look at the theater and it kind of freaks you out You see movies like that Well, they'll have all this dialogue the entire movie and it's in their own world But at one point the actor will look out at the camera and look into theater and he brings you into the movie Imagine this Jesus Christ is speaking to Thomas you have seen me You're an apostle you have believed but then he looks at the camera and says blessed are you 21st century people? Though you haven't seen me and you have believed How will you respond to the risen Jesus? Is he alive? Or is he dead? And what if he is alive? Which brings us to our final point what if Jesus is alive? Public private practical doubters so what then if Jesus is alive You're sin That is so real That is so annoying That is so troubling and destructive Do you know your your sin with names and with dates they have really been paid for in a tone for if he's dead You're on your own if he's alive It's finished Look at his wounds Isn't it wonderful that the risen Jesus Christ has wounds? That he has wounds that he could show people and he hasn't right now That in the book of Revelation he has called the one that the land that has been slain Your sins which are very real and very troubling and you can't imagine how God could ever forgive you because you can't forgive yourself You don't owe a penny That because Jesus is alive you are no longer in your sins And if you don't believe Jesus is alive your sins rest upon you If Jesus is alive your sins are forgiven if Jesus is alive Then this evil world which seems so overwhelming that we turn the TV on and there's this just we're bombarded By the evil and the wickedness and the death of this world this world Doesn't have the last word if Jesus is alive That we're overwhelmed by crime and cancer and exhaustion and fear and hate and confusion and the things that seems so loud and Seemed to dominate the landscape Thomas said my Lord and my God if Jesus is your Lord and your God He beat those things Had an elder tell me in between the services he said Richie you were really why that realized why that so Encouraging to someone like me He said because tomorrow I'm going to have another difficult day I know I'm going to have a meeting that's going to be hard and I know I'm going to have a week that will be difficult It's always that way, but you know what Jesus is alive That no matter what I do I cannot make Jesus not be alive Jesus is alive See I think many of us walk around in this world like Jesus is dead practically speaking and we don't think about the fact that Jesus is alive So we spend our times in hospital rooms and in board rooms and in carpool Discurred and defeated as though Jesus is dead That's not the message of the New Testament. We walk around Kind of like people that Give her left a football game or a basketball game or a baseball game that you thought your team had just lost so you're like You know what traffic's going to be bad. Let's just get in the car and go home Let's just go and so you just go home and then you get home and you've convinced that your team had lost and you're kind of bummed out Then you turn the TV on you get a phone call and someone said you need to turn the do you realize what just happened? There was a there was a there was a win at the last second. There was a home run There was a last second win and we didn't lose we won
Here's what I'm saying we're walking around like our team lost folks and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest last Second victory in the history of the universe Stop walking around like Jesus lost We're believing to lie in our work and in our families and in our world like Jesus is dead and Jesus is alive He's alive this very second And he has compassion on you and your doubts and he's saying to you stop doubting and believe it Oh that the Holy Spirit would produce in us faith So I close with this Who do you say Jesus Christ is he is either the Lord God or he's a dead liar? There is no in between These things were written so that you would believe even though you haven't seen and that by believing you would have life If you've lived your entire life in opposition to Jesus Christ I want you to consider the testimony of the Apostles that have been handed down that I'm standing in this place Over two thousand years later because Jesus is alive not because he's dead How do you explain to the church if Jesus is dead? Let's pray Lord Jesus glorify yourself do your awesome work Where you pour out your spirit and you convince people that you're alive and if you're alive The world is forever changed and we are no longer in our sins and you are coming back Come Lord Jesus on the end