“We have seen the Lord!”

Day Eight John 20:1-31 The Resurrection      from Jesus Last Days, A Model For Our Days

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. ² So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” ³ So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; ⁵ and stooping and looking in, he *saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. ⁶ And so Simon Peter also *came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he *saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. ⁹ For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. ¹⁰ So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

¹¹ But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; ¹² and she *saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. ¹³ And they *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She *said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her. 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. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve, called  Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I 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.”

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.” ³⁰ Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

1Corinthians 15:54-57 says:… then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was the Easter season of 2001 that the power and truth of that scripture was more real to me than ever before. My mother went home to the Lord on January 5^th that year. That resurrection Sunday I knew she celebrated our Lord’s victory over sin and death with all of heaven. While we never stop missing and our hearts never stop hurting over the loss of dearly missed loved ones, our hearts and spirits rejoice that they share in Christ’s victory. The empty tomb is our evidence of that victory. There undoubtedly would have been Christians even if the story of Jesus ended in death. Jesus was a great man and a great teacher. But we know He was and is so much more. The empty tomb  is the one thing that undeniably separates Jesus from every other great teacher and leader. He is our risen Savior, the Living God! 

In verses 24-29 of our text it speaks of a time when Jesus appeared to the disciples as they were gathered in a closed room. One of the disciples, Thomas was not there to witness the Lord’s appearance to the others. He said he would not believe Jesus was risen unless he personally could see and touch Him. Eight days later Jesus appears again to assure Thomas of the truth of the resurrection. Thomas is often remembered as doubting Thomas. If we look more closely though, at all of the accounts of the empty tomb, we find that none of the disciples grasped the resurrection purely by faith. Verse 9 lets us know neither Peter, the other disciple nor the women understood what happened. It says, for yet they did not know the scriptures that He must rise again from the dead.    Jesus had said on the cross, “It is finished” The work had been done. To Him the resurrection was a given. His appearing was for assurance to us all. The other disciples required proof as much as Thomas did. It is only through a revelation of the risen Christ that we walk in all the promises of God. This is the one area where God is willing to prove Himself to us. As we saw before, He will not respond to mockers or doubters who challenge Him to prove who He is. But the living resurrected Christ will surely reveal Himself to anyone who seeks Him. He says in Revelation 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.   In both Luke 24:41 and John 21:5-12 Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples by sharing a meal with them. In Revelation 3:20, He says He will share a meal with us. Jesus will surely reveal Himself to all who seek Him.

We who live now don’t see Jesus with our physical eyes as the disciples did on that resurrection day. We see Jesus through spiritual eyes, by faith. The assurance is every bit as certain. Jesus says in John 16:7-8:  But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.  The Helper Jesus talked about is of course the Holy Spirit. Jesus says we will be better off with the Holy Spirit. We can be sure that we can rely on and trust the witness of the Holy Spirit. Verse 13 says, “When He, the spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority but whatever He hears He will speak and He will tell you things to come. Verse 14 says:    He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

We can  trust the Holy Spirit to guide us. The resurrection is the assurance of victory! The Holy Spirit is our witness of the resurrection. If you have never before seen the risen Christ, ask Him now. He will reveal Himself to you. He is alive!

Then, in the power of the resurrection, you can go on.