What Does It Mean?
What Does It Mean? John 20 19: Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20: And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. 24: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25: The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26: And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27: Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28: And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29: Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. Think about that first Easter morning, the women went to the tomb to perform one last service for their Rabbi, their Teacher, their Master and friend. They walk in mourning grief stricken, dejected and confused. When they got there, they find something totally unexpected the Stone had been rolled over entrance and sealed was rolled away . Literally sealed depending on the financial resources of the person sealed with wax the most expensive or clay for the very poor�but I would bet the Romans spared no expense I bet they used lead to make sure that no one came in or out of that tomb. With Roman guards in place with orders that their lives depended on them keeping everyone away, no one was removing the body of Jesus from that tomb. Still with all those precautions, Jesus was missing. That stone was�rolled away�not so that Jesus could walk out. He did not require it to be moved He is The risen Lord. Nothing as simple as a stone could prevent him form coming out of that tomb. That stone was rolled away so that we could see in so that we could see the wonder of that empty tomb. He was alive just as he had said he had broken the bonds of death He was alive and is Alive even now. The Cross and the resurrection are central to the our faith without them everything else looses its meaning�As Paul Says �If Christ had not been raised from the dead our faith is worthless and we are still in our sin�. Without that resurrection, Jesus was just a teacher and philosopher. And everything he said about defeating death were just metaphors�pleasant stories to make a point. This proves His validity it proves that Jesus was just who he said he was fully human and fully God the messiah Only Jesus lives all the other major religious founders have moved on into death. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius. All dead and buried we can visit their graves, there bones still lie within. Only Jesus defeated death�.He is alive He alone is the Son of God the only way to salvation. Now, I didn�t come up here this morning to prove that the resurrection happened there are volumes of work in Christian apologetics that deal with that. I want to focus on what the resurrection means to us as followers of the living Christ What does Jesus expect us to do with this understanding? How should it impact our lives? How does it affect our relationships? And mostly what it means to live in the light of the resurrection? Now, the disciples were hiding behind closed door afraid of what the their own people might do to them but Jesus seeks them out�they were jubilant but Jesus hadn�t just shown up to comfort the disciples He had something for them to do�Jesus tells them �As the Father has sent me I also send you.� Jesus depended on the Father and so must we. He came to seek and to save so we must be going about the same business. Jesus came to be the light of the world and we are to let our light shine so people will see us in a way that glorifies the Father. The Father set Jesus apart and Jesus in turn set us apart from the world. As his very own �no man can snatch us from His hand� This means we are to obey his commands and we are to keep his words to us. We are called to be sent out Christ did not intent for us to simply put a sign out front that says �Come on in� He intended for us to put feet to our prayers He intends for us to go out. The problem is that we too are often right where the Disciples were�we are sitting safely and comfortably behind closed door. If we are to act upon his commission, we must get out to where the people are we need to go out to where the people are out to where the people need to hear the word of truth and salvation. The Resurrection also implies that we must have his power (20:22) 22: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: It is important to see that he breathed on each of them and told them to receive the Holy Spirit a small glimpse of what would happen at Pentecost. It reveals that they could not carry on the commission without the power of the Spirit. It was no accident that Jesus proposed both the invitation to receive the Spirit and the command for them to Go out to others. He wanted them to understand the connection just as we have to make the same connection because without the Spirit to guide us we will fail. His power is required in order that we may succeed. His victory over death means that we can have his power of the Spirit and that we must seek it in every moment of our lives. The Spirit is not given to us to console us because Jesus is no longer here. The Spirit is given to us so that Jesus� presence can be seen by the world through us. If we lean on the Spirit�If we yield to Him, and are as willing to be filled by Him, we can demonstrate to the world the presence of the Risen Lord. If we are to serve Jesus All of us --- must have --- the power of the Spirit. This ain�t just for the elite super-spiritual people. It ain�t reserved for the "professional minister." The power of the holy Ghost is for everyone who believes everyone who takes up their cross is empowered with the Gift of the Spirit . All of us can have that power. All of us should be seeking that power it because we must have that power to do the work that he has chosen for you. How do we get that power, we have to want it we have to take it. Jesus� command was�. "Receive" that word is also translated as "take." Jesus tells us to take the Spirit. It is that simple just reach out and take it�if you want it all you have to do is take it just like a gift from a friend�all that is required is that you put out your hand and grasp it. Don�t be fearful of what the Spirit might do with you. So what if He will turns you into a raving fanatic. You'll be better for it. Go for it, it is an adventure that cannot be summed up with mere words. What else does it mean for us? 23: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. What did Jesus mean by that? It sounds like we can forgive sin but mere mortals don�t have that power. Only God can forgive sin. But it reads in such a way as to give us a role in the forgiveness of others. I tend to associate this scripture with the passage in Matthew 16:19 19: And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Jesus is giving us�His church the keys to the kingdom. I think he is saying that we hold the truth of the Gospel. With the Gospel we can let others in on our great secret...(((Back to the whatever we forgive))) we can be involved in this forgiveness of people by opening the door to the Kingdom. The Keys in this way is the gospel the Word of God. We can see others forgiven by sharing the message of the gospel and the gospel can and does set us free. The resurrection means that we must be a demonstration of His forgiveness. That is what the commission is all about. This is why Jesus Came� Why He went to the Cross� Why He suffered� Why He died� And WHY HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD!!! All around us people are living without hope. They stagger under the burden of their sins. They are under the condemnation of the righteous God. We can help them find freedom We can help them find the Kingdom We have the keys. We have the power to share the power of the message of Christ to share with them. The message that Jesus can do for them what He has done for you. 24: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25: The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. 26: And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27: Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28: And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29: Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. 30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. We have a living Lord but we have often remained silent about that fact�as if it were inconsequential. Jesus is alive that is our message that is why we are able to lead others to aid in their understanding of the message that we have to offer them Jesus is alive. And Whosoever believes in him shall not perish.. I�ve heard that Thomas was a doubter. The fact is that he was not there when Jesus came to the others Thomas had to see for himself.(shows you just how dangerous it can be to miss a meeting) The others began to tell Thomas that they had seen Jesus he just was not able to believe it with out seeing but they told him that Jesus was alive and that is what we need to do. Tell people of our living Lord. In order that people will be led to Jesus Himself. People can encounter Jesus because He is alive. That is the message of the Gospel. He alive and everyone can know him. He can touch people today! He is not dead but alive and living and we must shout from the rooftops for all to hear. So that they may be led to the Lord of all things. People can come to Jesus to the Living savior. I believe that 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 in my Everyday. Most people will respond to a personal encounter with our Resurrected Lord. The resurrection Challenges us with these powerful things and we must deal with them if we are to be His children and live the life intended for God�s children. The phrase �He is Risen� means that we have to heed his commission. That we must have His power and be living demonstrations of His forgiveness. We must be prepared to live the life He has in store for us. And we must go out as commanded to make disciples of all nations. And all people. The question isn�t if you believe in the resurrection. The question I want to leave you with is knowing that we have a living savior�knowing that Jesus defeated death and freed you from the condemnation of your sin. What I want to know is�What are you�.going to do about it? Father, May today and everyday be a reminder of the grace and mercy of our Lord. Let us remember the agony of the cross and the glory of the resurrection. Let us be confident on that day when we meet our creator that we will have done as He commanded. And lived the life that He had planned for us, comfort us in the knowledge that one day we will be together with Him our King in paradise. Amen
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