SPEAKER_00: You may have a seat.
SPEAKER_00: He is risen.
unknown: He is risen.
SPEAKER_00: If uh this is your first time at the springs on Easter, we're glad that you're hanging out with us today.
SPEAKER_00: This is my first time here on Easter as well.
SPEAKER_00: And uh there's nowhere else uh I'd rather be, amen.
SPEAKER_00: The uh the first Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago didn't start with a grand celebration of great rejoicing.
SPEAKER_00: It didn't start with praise and worship and prayer.
SPEAKER_00: It started with disciples in a locked room, terrified, fearful, confused, and hiding.
SPEAKER_00: Our text in John chapter 20.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you open your Bibles there if you have them.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 20, verse 19 is where we'll begin.
SPEAKER_00: We see the evening here of the first Easter.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus at this point has already risen from the grave here in John, but has not revealed himself to the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: They had seen the empty tomb, but didn't understand what that can mean.
SPEAKER_00: So the disciples find themselves in a locked room filled with fear for their lives, having no idea that in a few moments something would happen to change their lives forever.
SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna read exactly what happens.
SPEAKER_00: Here at Adebald, we believe in the power and in the truth of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: And so we have a tradition here where we stand in reverence for those of us who can, in honor of the reading of the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: That we are a church not grounded in ourselves, a church not grounded in men's wisdom, but grounded on the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So I hope you're hungry today.
SPEAKER_00: Because when we lean into this book, when we're hungry for his word and his presence, he will fill us and transform us.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 20, starting in verse 19.
SPEAKER_00: It says this 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.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side, then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
SPEAKER_00: And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
SPEAKER_00: If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
SPEAKER_00: Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
SPEAKER_00: So the other disciples told them, We have seen the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: 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 hands into his side, I will never believe.
SPEAKER_00: Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.
SPEAKER_00: Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: Then he said to Thomas, Put your fingers here and see my hands, and put your and put your hand and place it in my side.
SPEAKER_00: Do not disbelieve, but believe.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me?
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
SPEAKER_00: Now Jesus did many other signs of the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that by believing you may have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: The question that the text will answer today for us is how does the resurrected Jesus give us new life?
SPEAKER_00: How does the resurrected Jesus give us new life?
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Dear Jesus, we pray for your help in this moment.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to hear your word.
SPEAKER_00: Lord God, to be convicted.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for faithless hearts in this moment.
SPEAKER_00: I pray for those who are afraid and have fear in their life, for those who have no peace, that they would find peace for the first time in your name, Lord Jesus, that through the preaching of your word that resurrection would happen in this place.
SPEAKER_00: That people would move from death to life, and that is only something you can do.
SPEAKER_00: So, Spirit, come and have your way.
SPEAKER_00: It's in Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: You may have a seat.
SPEAKER_00: You can really summarize the main point of this message in the final verse we just read together.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 31.
SPEAKER_00: But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: This is not just a summary of the really this message today.
SPEAKER_00: This is not just the summary of the story of Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: This is the summary of the gospel of John.
SPEAKER_00: This whole book.
SPEAKER_00: It's the main point that you would believe Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: John, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, writes this account for us.
SPEAKER_00: That the Lord Jesus, in his foreknowledge and in his plan, would know that we would be sitting here today under the preaching of God's word and hear the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: And John says why he writes down what we read.
SPEAKER_00: That we would believe in Jesus and have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to be up front with you this morning.
SPEAKER_00: My desire for you, for everyone in this room, is that you would believe in Jesus and have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: Our desire as a church is for you to believe in Jesus and have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: The desire of John is that you would believe in Jesus and have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: And most of all, the desire of Jesus today is that you would believe in him.
SPEAKER_00: I want to be up front.
SPEAKER_00: This is who we are.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we want.
SPEAKER_00: The people who brought you today, that's their desire as well.
SPEAKER_00: And you can have life in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Before we jump into this text, we're here at the end, jumping in to the end of this gospel, the gospel of John.
SPEAKER_00: And so the events of our passage today are after the birth, the life, death, and burial of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Earlier in chapter 20, some of the disciples have seen the empty tomb, and even Mary has encountered the risen Jesus, but the rest of the disciples have not.
SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 19, our first verse.
SPEAKER_00: It says, 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.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and stood among them.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to imagine the weight of what the disciples have just gone through.
SPEAKER_00: Their closest friend of the past three years, the person that they were around every day with, almost every single moment, was killed.
SPEAKER_00: The one to them was their savior, was their future king, who would rescue them, rescue their people, rescue their family, and now the unimaginable has happened.
SPEAKER_00: He's dead.
SPEAKER_00: Think of the fear, think of the confusion, think what will happen next, the unknown that they're facing.
SPEAKER_00: And verse 19 changes everything.
SPEAKER_00: When it says, Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them these four words, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: How does the resurrected Jesus give us new life?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives peace and brings that peace to the fearful.
SPEAKER_00: So rest in him.
SPEAKER_00: That's the first point.
SPEAKER_00: And one of the greatest moments of fear in the lives of the disciples, Jesus stands among them and says, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: I can imagine moments before Jesus appears, the disciples are standing there in that room with the door locked, saying to one another, What will we do?
SPEAKER_00: Hands trembling.
SPEAKER_00: Terrified.
SPEAKER_00: What's gonna happen to us?
SPEAKER_00: Is he dead?
SPEAKER_00: Is he alive?
SPEAKER_00: How long are we gonna be locked in here?
SPEAKER_00: Are they coming for us next?
SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus supernaturally enters the room.
SPEAKER_00: How do we know that it was supernatural?
SPEAKER_00: We see in verse 19 it says the doors were locked.
SPEAKER_00: And the last time I checked, when the doors are locked, you can't just show up in the middle of a room.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus appears in his new resurrected body.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 20.
SPEAKER_00: Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
SPEAKER_00: So the disciples rejoice when they saw the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: The first thing Jesus does when he enters the room is he says, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: And the second thing he does is he shows them his hands and his side.
SPEAKER_00: Why do this?
SPEAKER_00: Why did he show his hands and his side?
SPEAKER_00: Because in his hands are the holes in which he was pierced through.
SPEAKER_00: In his side was where the Roman guard pierced Jesus to make sure he was dead.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus speaks peace with his mouth and then shows with his hands how that peace was purchased.
SPEAKER_00: How we can find that peace.
SPEAKER_00: That death has been arrested, that death has been defeated once and for all.
SPEAKER_00: And see, we see the reaction, the response of the disciples.
SPEAKER_00: It says they rejoice when they saw the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So here's my question for you on this Easter day is do you have peace?
SPEAKER_00: For many of us today, our Easter looks much like the disciples before Jesus shows up.
SPEAKER_00: Nervous.
SPEAKER_00: Afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Even for us who are followers of Jesus, do you have peace?
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we may never lose our salvation in Christ, but we can have moments where we lose our peace.
SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like the disciples are fearful, afraid of what tomorrow brings?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe today you don't have fear of the Jews that are going to come and kill you, but you have fear of the future of your life, what tomorrow will bring.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you have a fear of an illness of yourself or for someone that you love.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe today you're not hiding behind locked doors, but you're hiding in shame and sin.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I want to tell you today.
SPEAKER_00: That through the Spirit of the living God and through the preaching of his word, the risen Jesus is here in this room and he is saying, peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes this is hard to believe.
SPEAKER_00: Can Jesus really give me peace?
SPEAKER_00: Does Jesus even want to give me peace?
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes it's hard to believe.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the fear doesn't come from life circumstances.
SPEAKER_00: If we're honest, sometimes the fear comes from God.
SPEAKER_00: Because we know we haven't been living as we should.
SPEAKER_00: And we think, would Jesus want to give me peace?
SPEAKER_00: For some of us, our greatest fear is not the circumstances of life, but misplaced fear of God.
SPEAKER_00: That if God is real, then surely he is against me.
SPEAKER_00: Or I can't go to Jesus for peace because of the way I've been living my life.
SPEAKER_00: Can I remind you of who these people were?
SPEAKER_00: These disciples were in the locked room.
SPEAKER_00: They were Jesus' friends, yet they abandoned Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Only John was there.
SPEAKER_00: Can I remind you that Peter is in this locked room who had just denied Jesus three times after saying that he wouldn't?
SPEAKER_00: See, these men in here that were far from perfect.
SPEAKER_00: And so you know what I'm thinking?
SPEAKER_00: If I'm Peter in that moment, and I'm in that locked room, and Jesus shows up and he sees me, what I think Jesus is gonna say is judgment upon you.
SPEAKER_00: How dare you?
SPEAKER_00: That's not what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what he says.
SPEAKER_00: He says, peace be upon you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what you feel at this moment.
SPEAKER_00: I don't care what you've done, I don't care what's going on in your life.
SPEAKER_00: You may be filled with fear, drowning in despair, hungering for hope, and Jesus says peace.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus gives peace to the fearful.
SPEAKER_00: So rest in him.
SPEAKER_00: So many of us, so many, are trying to find rest in the world where there is no rest.
SPEAKER_00: We try to rest in our plans.
SPEAKER_00: But there is peace and rest in Jesus today.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't just die in order that you would have peace in heaven one day.
SPEAKER_00: He died that you may have peace today, in this moment, right now.
SPEAKER_00: Have you forgotten, followers of Jesus, of the death and the resurrection of Jesus, the peace that he purchased for you?
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're here today and you've never felt that peace before in your life.
SPEAKER_00: You can experience that today.
SPEAKER_00: There will be a moment where you will be invited to respond to the resurrected Jesus, and you can have that peace.
SPEAKER_00: Let's continue in our text.
SPEAKER_00: How does the resurrected Jesus give us new life?
SPEAKER_00: First point, Jesus gives peace to the fearful, so rest in him.
SPEAKER_00: Second point is this Jesus brings purpose to the forsaken.
SPEAKER_00: So live for him.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to them again, peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
SPEAKER_00: And when he had said this, he breathed on them and he said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
SPEAKER_00: If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
SPEAKER_00: Not only does Jesus come and give peace, he comes and gives purpose.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus takes the hopeless disciples locked in the room, scared for their lives, and he gives them purpose.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, as gee, as the Father has sent me, now I am sending you.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, how are you going to send us into the world?
SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm thinking.
SPEAKER_00: I was like the disciples, these humble men, men who probably weren't very educated, who were fishermen.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, how?
SPEAKER_00: We're terrified.
SPEAKER_00: We're a bunch of nobodies to the world.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus' answer is in the next verse in 22.
SPEAKER_00: And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: In the book of Acts, we see the repercussions of this.
SPEAKER_00: We see the result of this moment of sending out, where these terrified disciples become bold proclaimers of the message.
SPEAKER_00: What message?
SPEAKER_00: What they just saw.
SPEAKER_00: That Christ had died for sins and is risen and there is life in him.
SPEAKER_00: How could they do this?
SPEAKER_00: Because the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in them.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus breathes the Spirit of God in them.
SPEAKER_00: And through that, these nobodies can change the world.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder if we feel the weight of this.
SPEAKER_00: I think of when you when you throw a large stone in the middle of a pool of water, of the ripple effects of this, of this moment in history.
SPEAKER_00: Of Christ dying and being raised, and how it changed history forever.
SPEAKER_00: It's why we're here today.
SPEAKER_00: How this moment, this event started in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, and now we're here.
SPEAKER_00: And know of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because this moment, this resurrection moment and the sending out of the disciples, it's like a push, a pulse of truth and power going out into the world.
SPEAKER_00: And today the call is the same.
SPEAKER_00: To have that purpose, to feel that push, that this message is not to be locked behind closed doors.
SPEAKER_00: But to be spread to the nations, to the world.
SPEAKER_00: Are we being people sent out by the Lord?
SPEAKER_00: Are we living in purpose?
SPEAKER_00: Are we living for ourselves?
SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes we can keep our gospel message locked behind closed doors of our heart and our mouth, or we hide in our pews, we hide behind our office desks, we hide in our homes.
SPEAKER_00: But just as the disciples were given a commission to go, he has given us that same one.
SPEAKER_00: And when we cherish the cross of Christ, when we believe it for ourselves, then it will go out from us.
SPEAKER_00: Brothers and sisters, the Lord is doing a work in this church.
SPEAKER_00: Do you believe that?
SPEAKER_00: That he has been growing this church physically and spiritually, that he is preparing something for us.
SPEAKER_00: Do you believe that?
SPEAKER_00: And it's to be ambassadors.
SPEAKER_00: To live out the purpose that he has for us.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to miss out what God is doing here.
SPEAKER_00: And he wants to take this message of the resurrected Jesus, and he wants to give that hope out to the world.
SPEAKER_00: But are we living in that purpose?
SPEAKER_00: Or are we living for ourselves?
SPEAKER_00: Because some of you have been trying to live for Jesus and live for yourself at the same time, and it has been destroying you.
SPEAKER_00: We need to surrender.
SPEAKER_00: We need to surrender to Him completely.
SPEAKER_00: We see the disciples go from scared for their lives, right?
SPEAKER_00: It says, Hey, the Jews are gonna kill us.
SPEAKER_00: To some of them what, being killed for their faith.
SPEAKER_00: Because of that encounter with Christ.
SPEAKER_00: These nobodies, these people who felt in that moment forsaken and forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: You know what that reminds me of?
SPEAKER_00: Reminds me of us.
SPEAKER_00: Reminds me of the springs.
SPEAKER_00: That the world will look at a community like this or a church like this and think that's a place of brokenness.
SPEAKER_00: It's a place forsaken and forgotten.
SPEAKER_00: A bunch of nobodies, nothing can happen there.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus, as he saw the fearful disciples, he sees us and he sees the opportunity here of what the gospel message can do when it takes root into his church.
SPEAKER_00: We be bold proclaimers of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: The same spirit breathed on the disciples, dwell in us.
SPEAKER_00: Let's continue reading verse 24.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Thomas, one of the twelve called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible doesn't say.
SPEAKER_00: Why was Thomas not there when Jesus first showed up in the verses before?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Thomas was disappointed, and in that disappointed, he isolated himself.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe he was in the restroom and it was bad timing.
SPEAKER_00: We have no idea why Thomas was not there.
SPEAKER_00: But verse 25, it says, the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We've seen him, Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: And imagine what Thomas is feeling.
SPEAKER_00: His friends saying in excitement, We have seen Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is not dead, he's alive.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 25.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_00: We have seen him, 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 nail and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.
SPEAKER_00: When we think of Thomas, he's often given the name of what?
SPEAKER_00: Doubting Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: In some sense, yeah, maybe he's doubting, but when we look at the text, Thomas is not struggling with doubt.
SPEAKER_00: He is in complete disbelief.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas is not saying maybe Jesus is risen, maybe not.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas says, I will never believe unless I touch the scars.
SPEAKER_00: The Greek word here for never is the strongest possible negative that you can use.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, I will never believe.
SPEAKER_00: There's a difference between one who struggles to believe and the one who rejects belief.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 26.
SPEAKER_00: Eight days later, his disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them.
SPEAKER_00: Although the doors were locked, are we seeing the similar situation here?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you.
SPEAKER_00: Eight days later, doors locked, same thing happens.
SPEAKER_00: And the very next thing it says, Jesus, what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He he turns to Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: That's the first thing he does.
SPEAKER_00: He turns to Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: Before we read 27, don't miss this church.
SPEAKER_00: The text says eight days.
SPEAKER_00: What do you think those eight days were like for Thomas?
SPEAKER_00: Seeing his friends rejoicing in the resurrected Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But him not being able to experience that for himself.
SPEAKER_00: I wonder if there's some of us who have that story.
SPEAKER_00: Or we see others who've encountered Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We see change in their life.
SPEAKER_00: We see peace in their life, but not on our own.
SPEAKER_00: In our own lives.
SPEAKER_00: And for some of us, it's been far longer than eight days.
SPEAKER_00: It's been a couple months.
SPEAKER_00: A couple years.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe our whole life.
SPEAKER_00: In disbelief.
SPEAKER_00: So what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: Verse 27, room filled with disciples, turns to Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: Then he said to Thomas, put your fingers here and see my hands, and put out your hand and place it in my side.
SPEAKER_00: Do not disbelieve, but believe.
SPEAKER_00: This is the third point we see here.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus pursues the faithless.
SPEAKER_00: So believe on him.
SPEAKER_00: Not only do we see Jesus supernaturally show up in the room, now he's repeating Thomas's words as if he heard them.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus was not there when Thomas said these words.
SPEAKER_00: And now Jesus is there standing in the room and he turns to Thomas and says, Look, you can touch them.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas didn't go looking for Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came looking for Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came directly to challenge Thomas' unbelief.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you why I think it, in my opinion, Thomas was faithless?
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think it was a lack of evidence.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about this.
SPEAKER_00: The people you know and trust the most for the past three years, all of them are saying they saw Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Eyewitnesses?
SPEAKER_00: And he hears this and he says, No way.
SPEAKER_00: They're all came together and said, hey, let's play a trick on Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: But they were what they all experienced that same fear.
SPEAKER_00: And he saw that fear vanish from them.
SPEAKER_00: He's hearing from their mouths, they saw Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And to me, it was more than just evidence.
SPEAKER_00: He should have believed them.
SPEAKER_00: So Thomas's struggle was not merely a philosophical issue, it was an emotional issue.
SPEAKER_00: And some of us are in that place with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We decide not to believe in him, not because there isn't evidence, not because the case for Jesus is weak, but because of something deeper.
SPEAKER_00: Because of disappointment, because of pain, because of failed expectations.
SPEAKER_00: We say, God didn't show up when I needed him the most.
SPEAKER_00: When the illness came, when I lost my job, when the people around me hurt me.
SPEAKER_00: And when those things happen, we allow the failed expectations to create faithlessness.
SPEAKER_00: Brothers and sisters, in your faithlessness, Jesus is pursuing you as he pursues Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: And just as Jesus can handle Thomas's unbelief, he can handle yours.
SPEAKER_00: And look at the response here, verse 28.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, would this be our response today?
SPEAKER_00: Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God.
SPEAKER_00: My Lord and my God.
SPEAKER_00: Notice his response.
SPEAKER_00: What did Jesus tell Thomas?
SPEAKER_00: Thomas said, Jesus says, Look, touch.
SPEAKER_00: What did Thomas say?
SPEAKER_00: Thomas says, unless I touch, I will not believe.
SPEAKER_00: But when we look at the text, does he touch?
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: He says, unless I touch, I will never believe.
SPEAKER_00: But once Jesus shows up, he says, I won't believe until I get to touch it.
SPEAKER_00: But when he sees Jesus, when he encounters Jesus, that changes instantly.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't need to touch it.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't need all the evidence.
SPEAKER_00: He has an encounter with Jesus and believes.
SPEAKER_00: And makes a confession.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss this.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 29.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me?
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' words here are a bridge for us today.
SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus was thinking about you and me today when he said these words, that there will be those who will believe not because of sight, but because of faith in response to the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: But get this, Thomas was not saved because he saw Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But because he believed in Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Look at verse 30.
SPEAKER_00: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.
SPEAKER_00: But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: We look to Thomas's confession.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas sees the wounds and he says, My Lord and my God.
SPEAKER_00: We need to understand the weight of this confession.
SPEAKER_00: This is the greatest personal testimony in the gospels of the nature of who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: Thomas does not say, My rabbi, my great teacher, my good friend, my prophet, my son of God, my my king.
SPEAKER_00: No, he says, my Lord and my God.
SPEAKER_00: And what does Jesus do?
SPEAKER_00: Does he rebuke him?
SPEAKER_00: Say, no, no, no, don't, Thomas.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not your I'm not your Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not your God.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just the Son of God.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm a man like you.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: What does Jesus say?
SPEAKER_00: He says, have you believed?
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, Thomas, you've got it.
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly who I am.
SPEAKER_00: I am the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I am the God, creator of all.
SPEAKER_00: When we understand this, this changes everything to this Easter message.
SPEAKER_00: Do you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: That when we understand, that the one who said to Thomas, touch my nail-pierced hands, those same hands form the foundation of the world.
SPEAKER_00: That the same Jesus who drew his final breath on the cross is the same creator, God in the beginning, who drew breath into Adam and Eve in the very beginning.
SPEAKER_00: The same one who is pierced on his side by a Roman guard has legions and armies of angels at his command in many moments.
SPEAKER_00: That's who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: That God himself came down to die for sinners.
SPEAKER_00: This is scandalous.
SPEAKER_00: Do we understand that?
SPEAKER_00: That God Himself He came and He died.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Why did He do it?
SPEAKER_00: He did it firstly for the glory of God the Father.
SPEAKER_00: To purchase for him a people to worship him.
SPEAKER_00: And he did it because he loves you.
SPEAKER_00: And he is pursuing you even now, in this very moment.
SPEAKER_00: He had to do it.
SPEAKER_00: There was no other way.
SPEAKER_00: See, there is a holy God.
SPEAKER_00: And our sin separates us from that holy God.
SPEAKER_00: And there is nothing that we can do to get to Him.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, Easter is about love.
SPEAKER_00: But it's also about wrath.
SPEAKER_00: It's about judgment.
SPEAKER_00: If we just talk about the love, we miss the weight of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: That there is a holy God who has to judge sinners.
SPEAKER_00: And that judgment is eternal death.
SPEAKER_00: That when Jesus was in the garden and he said, Pass this cup from me, when he is sweating drops of blood, he is not scared of a cross.
SPEAKER_00: He is not scared of mammals.
SPEAKER_00: He is not scared of the beating.
SPEAKER_00: He is not scared of the mocking.
SPEAKER_00: There are disciples who summon praise and persecution.
SPEAKER_00: And you think our savior can't do that?
SPEAKER_00: The weight was in that moment.
SPEAKER_00: He would have the full wrath of God on him.
SPEAKER_00: The punishment that we deserved was placed upon him.
SPEAKER_00: The judgment that belonged to us for our sins.
SPEAKER_00: He took upon himself.
SPEAKER_00: And only God could pay that price.
SPEAKER_00: He was not afraid of a cross.
SPEAKER_00: But he was afraid to say, Father, why have you forsaken me?
SPEAKER_00: In that moment of becoming sin on our behalf.
SPEAKER_00: See, I'm gonna do this.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna get this chair over here.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe some of you have heard this analogy before.
SPEAKER_00: But I think it is so prevalent to where so many of us are here in this room.
SPEAKER_00: See, this chair looks pretty sturdy, right?
SPEAKER_00: Looks like it can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: For a lot of you, this same design chair is holding a lot of you up.
SPEAKER_00: And I can go and believe and say, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: This chair can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's holding some of you up.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you have said this chair can hold you up.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: And I could read books about how this chair can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: I can look at the blueprints of the chair, the factory it was built in and study how the chair can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: I could gather with people once a week and we can sing songs about how the chair can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: We can do a deep dive into the manual of how the chair was built and study how the chair can hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: But unless I sit on it, I will never know whether the chair can truly truly hold me up.
SPEAKER_00: Do you see this?
SPEAKER_00: Because we can come here and we can sing praise to Jesus of his death on the cross, we can say that we believe in it, but if we have not believed on it, put our full trust in him, it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: And there's so many of us today.
SPEAKER_00: You believe the chair, but you've never sat on it.
SPEAKER_00: You believe Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You grew up hearing about him.
SPEAKER_00: You went to church when you were younger you heard your grandmother praying to him.
SPEAKER_00: But you have never for yourself believed on Jesus to be saved.
SPEAKER_00: And to do what Thomas does here, to say, my Lord and my God, and today you have an opportunity to do that.
SPEAKER_00: That there'll be people down here who want to pray with you and talk with you.
SPEAKER_00: You need new life in Jesus, and he can offer you that.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is here and you can receive him.
SPEAKER_00: And just close with these final thoughts.
SPEAKER_00: Why does Jesus still have his wounds?
SPEAKER_00: Why in his resurrected body did he just get rid of those?
SPEAKER_00: You know, Revelation 5, 6.
SPEAKER_00: John says this, and between the throne and the four living creatures among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain.
SPEAKER_00: This is a picture of Jesus, and John is saying, I see a lamb, I see this person, and this person looks as if he's been slain.
SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus carries those wounds.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because it is a reminder to us of his pursuit of us, of what he was willing to do to prove his love toward us.
SPEAKER_00: And he's deserving of worship and glory.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to be up there with me one day in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: When Jesus says, Feel the hope.
SPEAKER_00: And our faith will turn into sight.
SPEAKER_00: And I wish you could feel the whole thing.
SPEAKER_00: But I know the Holy Spirit right now can reveal that to you.
SPEAKER_00: The weight of your sin against the Holy God and the peace that can be offered unto you if you would trust in Him.
SPEAKER_00: Who else is worthy but you?
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit of God, I pray for every single person here.
SPEAKER_00: That they would not be like Thomas and hear of the eyewitness accounts that he is risen.
SPEAKER_00: That they would not go and isolate themselves in fear and faithlessness.
SPEAKER_00: Being forsaken.
SPEAKER_00: Oh my God, they would not do that.
SPEAKER_00: They would believe the words of John in this book that they may have life.
SPEAKER_00: Holy Spirit, come.
SPEAKER_00: And the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: Spirit, we ask you to do the same now.
SPEAKER_00: And move in this room into the hearts of every person and bring life.
SPEAKER_00: To the follower of Jesus, would we respond as well to whatever you're calling us?
SPEAKER_00: It's in Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: I'd ask you to stand in this moment as we get ready to sing and worship and respond to the word of God.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss what's about to happen here in this moment.
SPEAKER_00: Don't move on.
SPEAKER_00: Right now, there's some of you, you need to come down and you need to say, you know what?
SPEAKER_00: I believed in the chair, but I've never sat upon it.
SPEAKER_00: I believed in Jesus, but I've never truly called out to him to save me.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have people to come down and talk with you how to do that.
SPEAKER_00: To pray with you.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're in here, you're a follower of Jesus, but guess what?
SPEAKER_00: You've lost your peace.
SPEAKER_00: You've lost your purpose.
SPEAKER_00: And you want to come down and say, I need that again.
SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be people here to pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss it.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is pursuing you.
SPEAKER_00: Would we respond in worship?