When therefore 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." And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I shall 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." And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:19-31)
On that first Easter morning, when the women went to the tomb, they found something they didn't expect. The large stone which had been rolled across the mouth of the tomb and carefully sealed by the Roman soldiers, and guarded vigilantly --- this massive stone had been moved aside! The stone was rolled away and Jesus was not there!
The stone was rolled away, not so that Jesus could come out. As we have read in the text, in His post-resurrection body Jesus could walk through walls. He certainly did not need to have the stone rolled away for Him to come out. The stone was rolled away to let us look in! When the ladies saw that the tomb was empty, they knew something powerful and wonderful was happening. Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus was not there, He was alive. He had broken the bonds of death just as He said He would. Alive! Jesus is alive!
Along with the Cross, the resurrection is central to the Christian faith. Without the resurrection, all else looses its meaning. Indeed, Paul says that if Christ has not been raised from the dead then our faith is worthless and we are still in our sins. Without the resurrection, Jesus was just a good teacher and mistaken about His ability to defeat death and sin. The resurrection proves that Jesus is who He said He was. The resurrection validates Jesus divinity. It sets Him apart from all the other great religious leaders who have ever lived. Gandhi is gone. Confucius is gone. Buddha is gone. Mohammed is gone. All the leaders are gone, and their graves are with us today --- with them still in them! But Jesus is alive! He alone is the true Son of God, the way of salvation.
The purpose of this message, however, is not to prove the resurrection happened. We have preached on that, and there are volumes of scholarly work in the area of Christian apologetics which deals convincingly with the truth of that fact. Rather than focus on the fact of the resurrection, I would like to focus on the implications of the resurrection. What are the implications of the resurrection for us as followers of the risen Lord? What does Jesus expect us to do with the knowledge of His resurrection? How is it to impact our daily living? How is it to impact our relationships? What does it mean to live in light of the resurrection?
From our text we discover that there are at least four implications of His resurrection for every believer. There are at least four imperatives for us to put into practice in our lives. There was a reason Jesus rose from the dead. Not only did He rise to validate His claims, but He rose to give us a new direction --- a new way of living.
The Resurrection Means That . . .
We Must Heed His Commission
When therefore 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." And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." (20:19-21)
We find the disciples, after the resurrection, hiding away behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jews. But Jesus seeks them out. And when He finds them, He reveals Himself to them, showing them His nail-pierced hands and spear-pierced side. The disciples were jubilant. But there was a reason why Jesus was there. He had a commission for them. Jesus said that "as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
Jesus is the model for our going. Jesus depended on the Father, and so must we. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and so must we be about that same business. Jesus came to be light in the midst of darkness, and so must we let our lights so shine that people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Jesus was set apart by the Father and we are set apart by Jesus.
Here is a significant implication and imperative of the resurrection. The resurrection means that we must heed His commission. We are called to be sent out. Christianity doesn't simply put out its sign and say "come." Christianity puts on its shoes and goes. "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news," the Scripture tells us. Our problem is that sometimes we are exactly where the disciples were when Jesus found them --- behind closed doors. If we are to heed the commission of the Lord, we must get up and get out to where people are so desperately in need of hearing the truth of salvation through faith in a risen Savior and Lord.
But there is more we must deal with, if we are to understand and implement the implications of His resurrection.
The Resurrection Means That . . .
We Must Have His Power
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." (20:22)
It is significant that Jesus breathed on them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. This was merely a prelude to what would happen at Pentecost, but it is very symbolic. Some believe that it is the time of their regeneration. That may be so. But it reveals that they could not carry on the commission without the power which the Spirit would provide. It is no accident that Jesus juxtaposed the commission and the invitation to receive the Spirit. He wanted them to see the link. Indeed, we must see the link. Without depending on the Spirit's power to carry out the commission, we will ultimately fail. We must have His power in order to succeed. The resurrection means that we must have His power.
The Spirit is not given to us to console us because Jesus is no longer here. The Spirit is given to continue Jesus presence in the world through us. As we depend on the Spirit, and are yielded to Him, and filled by Him, we become the vehicle to manifest the presence of the risen, living Lord to others.
All of us need --- must have --- the power of the Spirit if we are to serve Jesus. The Spirit is not just for some elite super-spiritual few who live on some higher plane than the rest of us. The Spirit is not just for the so-called "professional minister." The power of the Spirit is for every believer. All of us are able to enjoy the power of the Holy Spirit. And we must have that power.
In order to receive that power, we must take it. That is the thrust of Jesus command. "Receive" can also be translated "take." Jesus asks us to take the Spirit. It is as simple as reaching out your hand to receive a gift from a friend. You must not be afraid of what the Spirit might do to you. There is no doubt He will turn you into a raving fanatic, but that's alright. You'll be better for it. And you will enjoy a sense of joy and adventure never dreamed of.
The Resurrection Also Means That . . .
We Must Hold Forth His Forgiveness
"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." (20:23)
What in the world was Jesus talking about when He said this? He seems to be saying that we can forgive sins. But we know that mere mortals do not have the power to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. But He seems to be giving us some sort of role to play in the forgiveness of others.
This statement reminds me of another like it in Matthew's gospel. In Matthew 16:19 we find Jesus saying "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Here Jesus is giving to us, the church, the keys of the kingdom. By that I think He means that we hold the keys to the truth of the gospel message. By the gospel message we open the door for others to enter in. Here He is getting at this business of forgiveness. How can we be involved in seeing people forgiven? By opening the door to the kingdom for them. The key is the gospel message. We forgive by sharing the message which can set others free.
The resurrection means that we must hold forth His forgiveness. This is what the commission is all about. This is why Jesus came. This is why He went to the Cross. This is why He suffered. This is why He died. This is why He rose from the dead.
We must also hold forth His forgiveness because so many need it. All around us there are people who are going through this life without hope. They stagger under the burden of their sins. They are under the just condemnation of a righteous and holy God. You can help them find freedom. You can be an instrument of forgiveness in their lives. You have the keys to the kingdom. You have the power to share with them a message which will change their lives. It is the message that Jesus can do for them what He has done for you.
The Resurrection Means That . . .
We Must Herald His Presence
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I shall 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." And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be with you." Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (20:24-31)
Because of the resurrection we have a living Lord. He is not dead, but alive. We must not be silent about that fact. It is not inconsequential. The fact that Jesus is alive makes all the difference in whether others receive the message we bring them.
Thomas is a good example of the kinds of people we may meet. He was a doubter, a skeptic. He wanted to see something which would make him believe.
Someone said that Thomas' real problem was that he was not at the first meeting where Jesus showed up. The account says that Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. It can be dangerous to miss a meeting!
In any event, the other disciples began to tell Thomas about the fact that they had seen the Lord. Although Thomas did not want to simply take them at their word, they were doing precisely the right thing. We must also do what they did because it will accomplish something very important. It will lead people to Jesus Himself.
Because Jesus is alive, people can encounter Him for themselves! That is the message of the gospel. He is available and knowable. He can touch people today! He is not dead, but alive and living and we must herald that fact for all to hear. The resurrection means that we must herald His presence.
Thomas responded to a personal encounter with Jesus. Jesus still personally encounters people. You see, I believe Jesus is alive because I have met Him. He has shown Himself to be real in my life. I have experienced a Lord who is alive and intimately involved with my life. Most people, like Thomas, will respond to a personal encounter with our resurrected Lord.
The resurrection challenges us with these powerful imperatives. We must deal with the implications of the resurrection. The resurrection means that we must heed His commission; that we must have His power; that we must hold forth His forgiveness; and that we must herald His living presence.
The question is not whether you believe in the resurrection, but rather whether you are going to do something about it.
