In this sermon by Owen Strachan, delivered on Easter, the focus is on the biblical account of Jesus' resurrection and its implications for believers and skeptics alike. Strachan begins with a reading from Matthew 18:12-14, emphasizing God's desire not to lose any of his followers, akin to a shepherd seeking a lost sheep. The sermon then transitions to John 20:1-29, presenting a detailed exploration of Jesus' appearances post-resurrection to Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and specifically Thomas, underscoring the theme of Jesus finding his lost, struggling, or doubting followers.
Strachan interprets these biblical passages to reveal several core truths: Jesus' resurrection is a testable, verifiable event that showcases God's heart for those who are lost or have strayed; the importance of belief in Jesus for salvation and the ongoing need for believers to be 'found' by Jesus throughout their lives; and the specific encounters of Jesus with Mary Magdalene, his disciples, and Thomas after his resurrection as illustrations of Jesus actively seeking and restoring his followers.
The sermon concludes with applications for both believers and non-believers: the assurance of Jesus' victory over death, an invitation to those who are lost to be found by Jesus, the promise of resurrection and a future glorified body for believers, the personal knowledge Jesus has of each individual, and the ultimate restoration and renewal of all things through Jesus.
Strachan emphasizes the personal and communal implications of Jesus' resurrection, encouraging faith and hope in the risen Christ, who knows each believer by name and offers forgiveness and new life.
In this sermon by Owen Strachan, delivered on Easter, the focus is on the biblical account of Jesus' resurrection and its implications for believers and skeptics alike. Strachan begins with a reading from Matthew 18:12-14, emphasizing God's desire not to lose any of his followers, akin to a shepherd seeking a lost sheep. The sermon then transitions to John 20:1-29, presenting a detailed exploration of Jesus' appearances post-resurrection to Mary Magdalene, the disciples, and specifically Thomas, underscoring the theme of Jesus finding his lost, struggling, or doubting followers.
Strachan interprets these biblical passages to reveal several core truths: Jesus' resurrection is a testable, verifiable event that showcases God's heart for those who are lost or have strayed; the importance of belief in Jesus for salvation and the ongoing need for believers to be 'found' by Jesus throughout their lives; and the specific encounters of Jesus with Mary Magdalene, his disciples, and Thomas after his resurrection as illustrations of Jesus actively seeking and restoring his followers.
The sermon concludes with applications for both believers and non-believers: the assurance of Jesus' victory over death, an invitation to those who are lost to be found by Jesus, the promise of resurrection and a future glorified body for believers, the personal knowledge Jesus has of each individual, and the ultimate restoration and renewal of all things through Jesus.
Strachan emphasizes the personal and communal implications of Jesus' resurrection, encouraging faith and hope in the risen Christ, who knows each believer by name and offers forgiveness and new life.
Good morning. Thank you to Pastor Jeff and the GBC elders for the privilege of preaching. My name is Owen Strand and I am joined to be with you this morning. We read this in Matthew 18 verses 12 through 14. Jesus says, "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." This morning we're going to be looking at John chapter 20 verses 1 through 29 and we're going to be seeing that in the midst of Jesus appearing to various people, he finds his struggling, wayward, broken people. And in so doing, I believe we will see not just that the Bible gives us testable, verifiable evidence of the resurrection, we will also see the very heart of God for people who are lost and need to be found. And I don't simply mean who need to be found at the moment of their conversion. I mean people who need to be found and found again and found after that. So we're going to see four truths this morning from John chapter 21 to 29. First, Jesus is nowhere to be found, verses 1 through 10. Second, Jesus finds Mary, verses 11 through 18. Third, Jesus finds his disciples, 19 to 23. Fourth, Jesus finds Thomas, verses 24 to 29. Let's look first at this truth. Jesus is nowhere to be found, verses 1 through 10. Let's read in John chapter 20 starting in verse 1. "Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved and said to them, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.' So Peter went out with the other disciple and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there and the face cloth which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, this is John by the way, who had reached the tomb first, also went in and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead, then the disciples went back to their homes. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. We pray now that you would strengthen our faith through it. I pray for those who are Christians that they would experience the great grace you have for them through your word today, that there would be much hope and joy and love mediated from Christ to your people this morning. And I pray for those who are not your people as of now. I pray that you would work in their hearts in a very powerful way and win them to yourself. We thank you for your word. We thank you for this morning. We thank you for Easter. We thank you for Resurrection Sunday and now in the strong name of Jesus who has found us, we pray. Amen. She came to the tomb when it was still dark. She had watched Jesus' burial, Mark 1547. She, Mary Magdalene, knew where he lay and though it was hard to get from her home in Magdala to the tomb, she was there. Mary couldn't sleep. Has anyone in here faced sleeplessness? Did you battle sleeplessness a matter of hours ago perhaps for some of us? How could Mary sleep? She had gone through a nightmare. As all Jesus' disciples had, Jesus' mission did not come off as any of his followers hoped. At the cross, don't be confused, none of them cheered. Yes, Jesus dying for us. This is it, guys. This is great. Jesus sacrificing himself. Did you see him right here? He's dying for us. None of them cheered. None of them cried tears of joy at the death of the God-man for them. None of them raised hands and worship and praise to the crucified God-man. Neither did most of them even stick around. They scattered, fearful, and candidates for arrest. They weren't idiots for being fearful. Contra the way sometimes the disciples are presented. Those bumbling disciples know, as we will see later in the passage, they were a prime target for prison. In fact, most of them will be imprisoned and most of the apostles will die for Jesus. The incarnational ministry of Jesus had been a dream for these men three years with the Messiah, but it all turned into a nightmare. This is true for Mary Magdalene. She found in Jesus her healer, her teacher, her kind and gentle leader, a man who did not mistreat her like many men do, but looked on her with eyes of love. Mary Magdalene was no great candidate to play a role in the central event of human history. She was a woman with a troubled past. We recall the witness of Luke 8 verses 1 through 3. Soon afterward he went on, Luke writes, Jesus, through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God and the twelve were with him as twelve disciples, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, who's the first name listed. Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out. This woman has seen and known and tasted and lived in darkness. Mary was not anyone's choice to be the first eyewitness to the resurrection of the Lord of heaven and earth. If you were making a list of candidates, she wouldn't be on the list. But things in the kingdom of God do not go according to the ways of this world. This is because the kingdom of God is the world made right. This is all pictured in poignant form in this one lonely woman coming to a tomb in the night, sleepless, distraught, defeated, hopeless. And yet, there. Did you notice that? She's there. She's at the tomb. She's drawn to a grave, the grave of the man who loved her, it once seemed, with an everlasting spiritual love. So she came, verse one, while it was still dark. The color of the sky mirrored the condition of the disciples. Their prospects were as bleak as bleak could be. The Jewish nation was unleaded. The Roman power was undefeated. Their personal problems were uncured. And now, perhaps worst of all, they were alone. But that's too weak. It's all too weak. Their leader was betrayed, seemingly against his will. For a brief time, the disciples of Jesus Christ lived what Paul voices in 1st Corinthians 1519. They really were, of all men, most to be pitied. I saw on social media this past week some posts about the disciples and their time following the crucifixion. And no doubt, with good intentions, I saw that some had the disciples just after Jesus died and is buried expectant. They were expectant. They weren't really very expectant, honestly. They were in a bleak and hopeless condition. Have you ever lived? Can you remember what it felt to live without any hope? I don't mean a little hope. Can you remember what it felt to have no hope? This is what Mary Magdalene feels. This, as we will see, is what the disciples feel, even though, don't misunderstand. Jesus had given notice of what was to come. His disciples, much like you and me, struggled to hear Jesus, listen to Jesus, understand Jesus, and act on what Jesus has said. You see, we're no different than they are. More on that to come as well. We have to understand this though. It is just these kind of moments when it seems darkest. It's just these kind of moments that God not only allows, but God ordains. Do you feel discouraged this very minute? Do you feel despair? Do you feel or have you felt like God has abandoned you? Mary Magdalene felt that way, but she did not know what was coming just a few minutes away. None of us do. Finding the stone rolled away, she ran to Peter and John, verse 2. She thought that Jesus' body had been taken away. This, she said confidently but totally wrongly. Peter and John then raced over to the grave with John outrunning Peter, verse 4. There's a guy who has written his gospel, leaving testimony of his elite speed, you could say. The men, verse 6, find the linen cloths lying where they were left while the face cloth was folded up, verse 7, and tucked neatly at the side. And already we are getting a sense that this is not a normal graveside scene. God is up to something here. John had gotten to the tomb first, but did not go in first. What did Peter do if you know the character of Peter? He went right in, didn't he? He went right in, walking into the tomb. The tomb would have been, you know, maybe the height of a normal person, but in terms of the opening of the tomb, it'd be about a yard high. So you would have to stoop in to look into the tomb and stoop to go into the tomb. John then joined Peter in the tomb, verse 8, and he is the first, John tells us, to have believed in the miracle of Jesus conquering death, which the others did not, but even his comprehension of the miraculous work of God was in process. One scholar says this about John, "It was like a new certainty that took hold of him while understanding was still lacking." So you've got to understand with this resurrection account, okay? You've got to understand it's not like Peter, John, and Mary Magdalene show up on the spot, body gone, resurrection locked in. Here we go, go team, it's not like that. It's a lot messier and more confused and more complex than that. It's a lot more honest. You know that the Bible's honest about our failings and our flaws and our sins and our stumblings. I don't mean back when we were unsaved. It's honest about that too. I mean about right now as a Christian. These are disciples. These are born-again people. And yet what are we seeing here in this scene? We are seeing fierce grief, deep searching, apostolic sprinting, dawning faith, that's an actual technical term. Early understanding, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's how he refers to himself throughout his gospel. Misunderstanding. They've stolen his body and outright not understanding. That's what we've seen so far. In noting this, we're not these characters but we can see, as Emma Pains to say, our own pursuit of Jesus in this episode. Our faith too is full of groping around, grasping, sprinting forward, exclaiming, wondering, getting upset, coming to understanding, and generally fighting through fog. That's our faith too. And yet, for all that we see here in this scene, there is one figure we do not see. Jesus. Where is Jesus? That's about to change. Let's look at our second scene. Our second scene. Jesus finds Mary. Verses 11 to 18. Let's read that. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to him, "They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him." Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. But she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to pee 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." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him, "Rabboni," which means teacher. Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her." Mary Magdalene stayed near the body of Jesus as we see starting in verse 11. Even in his death, as we've already stated, she cannot help but draw close to her Savior. She wants to be near Jesus and this is the character of a true disciple. A true disciple is somebody who wants to draw near to Jesus even when they don't know necessarily what is going on or how things are going to work out or what God is up to in their life, even when it seems like they may have been abandoned because remember Mary Magdalene no doubt felt lost. Mary did not understand the resurrection plainly, but she stayed by Jesus' tomb when all the other disciples were scattered like seed and she wept over it in verse 11. She wept over the empty tomb, but then things changed. The scene shifts. She looks into the tomb verse 11. When she does so she sees two angels in white. Two angels. One asks Mary why she is weeping verse 13. Mary responds by repeating her charge that Jesus' body has been taken away verse 13 and then she turns around and sees a man there. It is Jesus verse 14, but not Jesus as we might expect him. Jesus loves to surprise us. He constantly surprised his people. He constantly upends expectations. Things do not work with Jesus as we necessarily expect them to go. Does this sound anything like the Christian life itself? This is not Jesus as you and I would have him revealed in other words. We would have him in kind of a Lord of the Rings Gandalf returning, raise of glory, marry it is me and it's not. It's not at all how he shows up is it? She thinks he's the gardener with all due respect to gardeners, absolutely. In verse 15 that's how she considers him. She actually accuses Jesus basically of taking his own body from the grave. As I heard a comedian say recently in a sketch if you'll permit this, if this is okay, I thought I was the proof of my own identity. That's a famous Nate Bargatsy sketch where he's having to reclaim luggage from TSA and TSA is not receiving his ID. His multiple forms of identification and at one point he just says am I not the proof of my own identification, my own existence? It's a little bit like that with Jesus. He is the proof of his own existence but Mary does not receive this proof initially. She thinks he is a worker in this area. Now Jesus is indeed a gardener. Jesus is a cultivator isn't he? Jesus is leading a banished people from a spoiled garden paradise to an unbreachable garden paradise. The New Jerusalem. Set your watch by that. Jesus is bringing his people to a greater and better garden. We're not going back to Eden, do you understand that? We're going forward to the New Eden which is better than Eden. It's better than anything your mind and heart can even take in and John is going to be the one by the way who sees so much of that. In his gentle and striking manner Jesus then engages Mary with two questions not the way I would expect Jesus to conduct this exchange. I've got to admit to you, questions? Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Verse 50, Jesus draws people out doesn't he? Jesus engages people with dignity. Jesus frequently asks questions. Jesus often uses those questions to draw out his hearers and his questions often seem simple but they are deceptively profound are they not? Jesus knew that Mary was seeking the presence of his lifeless body. He knows that. He's omniscient. Jesus offered her the answer to a far greater need than that. The need even for more than teaching and companionship Jesus offered Mary Magdalene total and endless salvation which is exactly what he offers us today. In her confusion Mary urged this man to tell her where Jesus body is. She wants to honor the body but then in verse 16 all the questions stop. They stop with a single word, Mary. Mary. That picks the walk that opens Mary's eyes and heart and mind. Jesus knew Mary's name personally. Jesus you see never forgets a name. Jesus knows the name of all of his children. Jesus knows your name. Regina. Jeff. Kayla. Delana. Jesus knows your name and he never forgets it. Mary responds in wonder, awe and immediate joy. Teacher. This is a living demonstration of John 10 27. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. My sheep hear my voice. Having just resurrected Jesus gives notice of his coming ascension. He was going back to communion with the Father, his Father, his God, but shockingly his father and his God was also Mary's father and Mary's God. Though Mary was a broken woman Jesus loved Mary but his love did not mean that he was staying on earth. Very briefly in 40 days from this very moment in John's Gospel Jesus would go to his father and he would sit down in glory at the Father's right hand. The ascension which is barely ever spoken of among evangelicals. The ascension signals that Christ finished his work. Made perfect atonement for sin. Inaugurated or began eternal life which has even now dawned in all who are in Christ man and woman boy and girl alike and Jesus is ruling over all things at this very moment and you say to me but it doesn't feel like he's ruling over all things. It doesn't look like he's ruling over all things. We got to make it look like Jesus is ruling. We got to formally recognize him somehow. The Arkansas state legislature has got to pass a bill because we got to recognize this. It doesn't feel this way and I say to you man can recognize it or not. He is ruling and reigning in undefeated and undefeatable glory now. He has died. He has resurrected. He has ascended. Right now he's sitting at the Father's right hand in glory and no one can unseat him. No one can stop his reign. Your unbelief honestly with respect your unbelief doesn't do a blessed thing to unseat Jesus. Jesus is the King whether you receive it or not. But all that the ascension is shortly to come as of this text. Mary obeys the command of Christ right on the spot. Tells the disciples verse 18 that she has sees she has seen the Lord excuse me and shares his words. She's not she's not a preacher by the way. Sometimes this is taken in evangelical circles to say Mary Magdalene is the first preacher. Women should be preachers in churches. See this text that's not what's going on just in technical terms. It's not at all what is happening but it is amazing that Mary Magdalene is the first eyewitness of the resurrected Jesus. It is not a high and mighty Roman official who meets the resurrected Christ first. It is a forlorn woman destitute and wracked with suspicion and grief and pain who encounters Jesus. And we are reminded once more that everything about Jesus works backward from worldly wisdom. The humble are exalted. Women are honored and valued. The confused are granted revelation and the lost are found. This is what we see play out here ultimately. Jesus finds or refines Mary Magdalene but she's not the only one Jesus found. Is she? Third, Jesus finds the disciples verses 19 to 23. Let's read that passage."On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this he showed them his hands and his side and then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you as the Father has sent me even so I am sending 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, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.' Mary was wracked by sadness as we saw the disciples for their part were gripped with fear, fear, for fear of the Jews." Verse 19. Again, before we smirk at the disciples and chastise them for their foolishness, remember that the Jews had just occasioned the crucifixion of Jesus. They had just cried out for the blood of the Messiah. That is not a small thing. As the work of Saul, who will become Paul, will show the Jews did indeed pose a very deadly threat to the church, did they not? That is not as an extended point very quickly to be taken to mean that when you meet an ethnic Jew or a Jew by birth, you are meeting a sinner who is especially a sinner in native terms. You are not to hate Jews. You are not to look at Jews as a Christian, as an especially evil person. If that was the case, Paul would not have talked in Romans 9 through 11 about his love for his countrymen. Paul does not say, "Hey, early church in Rome, hate those Jews. Distrust them. They're gonna start a global cabal against you." It's like what the Apostle Paul says. He says that his heart is for them and he cares for them and he wants them to know Christ an indeed in the end times a good portion of them will come in as disciples. So you watch out for anti-Semitism which is no part in the Christian church. The disciples met under lock and key but this did not stop Jesus. Jesus found his disciples. That's what he does as he had done years before. He came and stood among them and delivered a comforting word in verse 19, "Peace, peace be with you." Not, "You idiot guys, what are you doing in here with the doors locked? Don't you know I'm victorious and triumphant and omnipotent by the way? What is wrong with you?" It's not at all what Jesus does. "Peace, peace be with you." That's exactly what Jesus brings, isn't it? Peace. In the Old Testament it's called shalom. It's basically, you want to know what shalom is? Every good thing. Every good thing. It's like living in a world where there is no evil. That's shalom. Living in a world where there is no pain, where there is no sin, where there are no tears. That's shalom. That's what the gospel brings. That's what Jesus speaks over his beloved disciples. "Peace." And he then shows them his pierced hands and his side. It was really him and his frame bore the marks of his death. Verse 20, "This body was a resurrected body but it was a storytelling body. This body told the story that is of a vicious and violent death on behalf of his people. It was only at this moment that John records the response of the disciples. They then, verse 20, are glad or rejoiced to see him. At this point Jesus repeats his blessing of peace. There's war outside the church but inside the church there should be the peace of the gospel. Jesus tells his disciples that he is sending them, verse 21, "even as the Father sent him." But Jesus was not there just to pat his men on the back. As I just alluded to, he was there to launch them. This is the energy of the kingdom of Christ. It's a centrifugal force. I had to look that up. I literally had to Google what is the difference between centrifugal and centripetal. Some of you out there, you know that intuitively but I didn't. So I was like, I do not want to say the wrong thing here and indicate the force that draws in when it's the force that draws out. Four of you are with me and understand what I am saying here. These are the things you sweat over as a supply preacher. The kingdom of Christ is a centrifugal kingdom. It sends disciples out. It doesn't draw you in the huddle. It launches you to the ends of the earth. That's what's gonna happen with this very band of disciples. They're gonna turn the world upside down. It's all because of God. It's not because of them. It's not because they're talented or well-trained or impressive people or have great personalities. It's because of the Spirit. God through Christ has the Spirit breathed out on these men. I don't think this is by the way Pentecost itself. I think this is a symbolic outpouring of the breath of God that is going to be realized in Acts 1 at Pentecost. But this is indeed a symbolic empowerment. These men are empowered now to do nothing less than grant forgiveness of sin. That is their mission and that is what the church still has as its mission. We proclaim the forgiveness of sin and so we make disciples. Christians you see are not functionally perfect people. Christians are forgiven people. We are initially forgiven when we become a Christian and then here's some good news. We are forgiven again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Repeat until dead and this is what the disciples offer the world. This is the greatest miracle there is. The greatest miracle in this world is forgiveness of sin so that your sins are not on your shoulders so that your conscience is not weighed down so that you do not live in guilt and shame so that Jesus is the one who takes all of that from your shoulders and now you live free. Not just at the moment when you are born again but all throughout your life you need that forgiveness freshly applied over and over again and then you yourself need to forgive and be forgiven even on the horizontal plane and so let this be an encouragement to our hearts in relationships that are represented in a crowd of this size. There's gonna be some serious forgiveness problems. Let forgiveness flow. Let it flow. Don't hold on to anger. Don't fail to confess. Sit down at a table, pour good coffee or tea or lemonade or whatever you need to have drink at that moment and talk things through and as much as you can, can't do this perfectly right in every relationship but as much as you can, forgive. Ask for it and offer it. There really isn't any greater mark of being a Christian than forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn't wipe away all consequences. Forgiveness doesn't mean there aren't serious effects of our sin. There are and there should be in earthly terms but forgiveness is real. Forgiveness is divine. Our fourth and final section. We'll do this rapidly. Verses 24 to 29. Now Thomas, Jesus finds Thomas. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came so the other disciples told him we have seen the Lord but he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side I will never believe." Eight days later, his disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God." Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." I need to make a confession in public. I've never really gotten to Thomas. If I can be honest he's always kind of annoyed me. Why didn't he just trust Jesus? His lack of faith, his refusal to trust and be put together and color inside the lines, it frustrated me. You see, I thought I was better than Thomas. Christians are good at ranking themselves. Thomas's lack of faith, his refusal to do these things meant that I thought that I was basically in a higher class of Christian than he was but here's what I've come to realize. I'm just like Thomas. Far more than I want to admit, I too struggle to trust God. I struggle to hear the Word of God, the promises of God and keep my hold on them. But do you know what we see in this final part of our time in John 20? We see how Jesus engages Thomas. We see more specifically this. Jesus appears to Thomas. Jesus graciously engages Thomas. Jesus corrects Thomas. Jesus proves to Thomas that he is resurrected. Jesus in some finds Thomas. Thomas was not around when Jesus initially found the disciples. Verse 24, "The disciples did what they were going to do a lot more of. They testified to Thomas that Jesus was alive." Verse 25, "Jesus was back." In the Greek this is an imperfect verb, "elegant," and it means that the disciples kept telling Thomas, "Thomas, you've got to believe this bro. He really is alive. He really is resurrected. We're not messing with you." But Thomas doubted unless he could see and touch the permanently disfigured body of Jesus, he would never believe. Verse 25, "Be careful with those pronouncements you make about yourself and your future because Jesus just might show up and turn that whole scene around. Turn that frown upside down as you might say." A full eight days later Jesus again found his disciples. He again blessed them and he again said, "Peace be with you." Verse 26, "And then wasting not a minute he locked in on Thomas." He heard all Thomas said in Jesus' perfect omniscience, perfect divine knowledge, that is. He gave authoritative direction to Thomas telling him to put his finger here, put out your hand, place it in my side. Jesus did not strike Thomas, jump on Thomas, or cut Thomas to shreds. He pointed to his body to produce faith in Thomas. Everything centers in the body of Jesus as Christians. Jesus then pronounced a blessing upon all who have not seen and yet have believed. In seeing the risen Christ, Thomas came to fame. And this morning through the Word of God, if you see Jesus, you too will have the blessing of eternal life. And if you are a Christian and you have the blessing of eternal life, you can rejoice afresh that your Savior is near and kind to you. Application, five quick applications as we conclude. First, first, harvesting this text. So much there, so much left on the bone, so much meat. First, remember that Jesus is risen, not defeated. Remember that. Nobody's defeated Jesus. Nobody's stopped the work of the kingdom. The kingdom of God is not dependent on us. It's not dependent on any church. It's not dependent on any denomination. It's not dependent on any nation. It's not dependent on anything except God. Jesus arouse through no help of the Romans or the Greeks or anyone around. The Bible is clear that Jesus is raised. That is our evidence. That is our verifying principle. The scripture, the Word of God, it tells us that Jesus is raised. We either trust it or we deny it. Please, by God's grace, trust it. Christ is raised. Second, if you're unsaved, come to Jesus. Today is the day to be found by Jesus. If you are lost, if you know that you have that guilty conscience, if like Thomas you struggle with doubt and faith, today is the day not to have Jesus hate you but to have Jesus wrap his arms of love around you. If you grew up in a context where Jesus and God more generally was not presented as loving, be amazed, be stunned by what the Bible presents as an incredibly loving, peace-giving, joy-birthing God. This is the Savior. This is why we have any hope at all. And Christian, we don't have this much hope. We have an outpouring mountainous river of hope because of this. And if you are lost, if like Mary you are broken and you are distraught and you have no hope in earthly terms, then hear this. You don't get a little thimbleful of hope when you come to Christ. You get it all. You get all the kingdom. You get the glory. You get everlasting life itself. Trade the world. This world is passing away by the hour. Our context, our civilization seems to crumble. Today has been proclaimed a transgender day of visibility in America by the very President of the United States of America. And you know what? It doesn't matter because Jesus is Lord. Third, third application, to the people of God, remember that you will be raised. You will be raised. Life has won. Death does not have the last word in your life. Even now you and I grapple with death. Loved ones die. Family members die. Friends die. Death is still all around us. Our world is flush with death. And yet you and I will be raised. You have nothing to fear and everything to gain. In Christ you have nothing to fear and everything to gain. Fourth, rejoice that your name is known by Jesus. Your name is known by God and God will never unknow your name. The risen Christ knows you. When you go to gates of splendor, he will receive you. He can't wait to see you. Is that your vision of Jesus? Is that your vision of the Father? That he loves you with an everlasting love now? And he will show you that love in dynamic form when you go to gates of splendor. Your name is known. Fifth and finally, savor that you have a resurrection body coming. You have a resurrection body coming. Some of us can't mow the lawn without an extended thought exercise and what movements we should make and not make because the back could get thrown out at any deadly moment, right Jimmy? It's true. We're all navigating a fallen body in all seriousness. We're all navigating the aches and pains of this world. At least those of us ages 37 and up or something like that's not technical but something like that. We're feeling it keenly. We're groaning. All creation groans. All this will be made right. You'll have a resurrection body. Your aches and pains and difficulties and struggles and challenges, they will end and you will have a glorified body. In conclusion, hear this from Revelation 21 verse 3. Hear this promise, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man and he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new! Even now, the Lord Jesus Christ is making all things new. What needs life in your existence? What needs help? What needs grace? What needs healing? What needs forgiving? What needs confessing? What needs changing? What needs resurrection? Good news! All of it is in the One who is raised from the dead. And He is making all things new. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for this promise. I pray that you would grip our hearts with it. I pray that we would be flush and full of hope this morning. For Christ is not in the grave. His bones are not in a Middle Eastern tomb. He is seated at your right hand. And He is reigning and ruling over all things. Forgive us for so quickly and easily straying from Jesus. Forgive us for being a people who are lavishly forgiven. And yet grant about a thimbleful of forgiveness to those around us. Let our hearts and lives overflow with love and joy and hope and forgiveness. For Christ is raised and He is making all things new. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.[music]