Easter Sunday - Resurrection Faith

This sermon from Will Trump was preached on Easter Sunday, 5th April 2026, at Immanuel Church Brentwood.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Let me pray as we come to God's word. The psalmist says, The unfolding of your words gives light. It imparts understanding to the simple. Heavenly Father, this morning, shed light in our lives through your word as it is opened up and preached. Lord, give us understanding. We come to you acknowledging that we are simple and in need of your light, your revelation, your guidance, both for our heads and for our hearts, Lord. Amen. Well, it's uh Easter Sunday. I think that doesn't come as a surprise. But what is Easter all about? If you go down to Sainsbury's, they'll have you think it's all about chocolate, I guess, and bunnies. Uh, what else is Easter about? Maybe people would say it's about family, you know, a nice long weekend, really enjoyable time with the family, good food, maybe. Is that what Easter's about? Well, no, but I'm glad to say it does often involve those things. Um, or is it, as Keir Starmer said a couple of days ago, uh, Easter is a celebration of hope, new life, and renewal? Well, he's onto something, but of course we know that at Easter, Christians celebrate the central historical, core event at the heart of Christianity, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A historical event. But do you struggle to believe it's true? Do you struggle to believe it's true? I mean, a man who died and then came back to life. Do you struggle to believe that's true? Maybe you're a Christian here today, I guess that's probably the majority of us, but you maybe you still find that difficult to believe and have confidence it actually happened. Maybe it's in conversation with your friends or your colleagues. You think, gosh, it is a pretty big claim, isn't it? It's supernatural. Do I really have confidence it but it happened? Or maybe you're not a believer, you're not a Christian. Maybe you're here at church for the first time in ages. Maybe a friend or a family member brought you along. I think it's brilliant you're here. You're really welcome. And maybe you like Christianity. Maybe you think, you know, I like the bits about peace and love, and I like the bits about having meaning in your life, and I like the Christian community, that's all great. I feel like there's a lot of truth here, but that Jesus actually died and came back to life three days later, no, that's probably just a myth. Maybe that's your perspective. Maybe Christianity is just for gullible types, you know, like people back then who would believe anything. Do you struggle to believe it's actually true? Well, if you do, maybe you'll be surprised to hear that so did they back then. So did they. They struggled to believe at the time. It took a lot of convincing for them too. This Easter Sunday, why don't we go back to that first Easter Sunday and see the events through the eyes of those who were there at the time? And as we look at their reactions, I think it's going to teach us a lot about Easter, but it's going to teach us a lot about ourselves because it holds up a mirror to ourselves and it asks, which one of these reactions are we like? And we're going to focus on three reactions this morning. First off is Mary. Our first point this morning: Jesus is risen, but Mary's preconceptions initially blind her to the evidence. Jesus is risen, but Mary's preconceptions initially blind her to the evidence. Now we read about this a bit earlier, so please have your Bibles open and follow along. I think it's page 906, John chapter 20. What we read earlier was verses 1 to 18. Did you see there in verse 1 that Mary, she's the first on the scene early on that Easter morning? Now, Mary, she has seen Jesus die on a Roman cross two days earlier on Crid Friday. She was there when her his body was pronounced dead by the Roman authorities, and when his body was taken down from the cross, and she saw what tomb Jesus' body was laid in. And now what is she doing on Sunday morning at the earliest possible opportunity? She's kind of doing what she can to honour a dead body. She's getting up early, she's going to mourn at the tomb. But when she gets there, she gets a surprise, doesn't she? She sees that the stone has been moved and that Jesus' body is not there. Now what does she conclude? Well, look at her words to the disciples in verse 2. She says, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. What's her conclusion? Well, she's drawing the kind of the only logical conclusion from her perspective, which is someone's taken the body. So she tells Peter and the other disciple, and they run to the tomb, they find it empty as well. They look in, and it doesn't look like it's a grave robbery because everything's laid out in an orderly fashion. We'll come back to that in a minute. But after they've left, Mary she stays there. Look at verse 11. Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. Now we're told four times in five verses that Mary is weeping. So clearly it was an extremely emotional time for her. She's overwhelmed with grief. And in her grief, verse 11, she stooped and looked into the tomb. She wants to take another look. And now she sees two angels sat there. Do you see that in verse 12? Now you think this might make her stop and think, especially when they ask, why are you weeping? But no, did you notice that Mary dismisses anything supernatural? She sticks with her theory. She goes, They have taken my Lord, and we don't know where they have laid him. Her assumption still is Jesus is dead, he's a corpse. So the only question really is, where's the body? And then she turns around in verse 14. Who does she see? Jesus himself. She turned around and saw Jesus standing. But, verse 15, she assumed he was the gardener. She assumed he was the gardener. And again, she sticks with her theory. This person, this Jesus, this gardener, says, Why are you weeping? And she replies, Well, if you've carried him away, tell me where you have laid him. Now, do you see the picture we're getting of Mary here? It's not fair to call her a gullible type. It's not fair to say, as sometimes people say, that people at the time were desperately keen to believe in anything supernatural. No, it's quite the opposite. Three times Mary says, Where is the dead body? To the disciples, to the angels, to Jesus himself. And only when Jesus calls her name in verse 16, Mary, does she turn back to Jesus, which implies that she'd actually turned away from this gardener, this Jesus. She turns back to Jesus in verse 16, and finally she realizes it's him. Maybe it was something about the way he called her name. Maybe it was familiar, the tone. Or maybe I think more likely the act of calling her name was Jesus' way to powerfully break through, make her realize it was him. A bit like when he opened blind people's eyes. Because Mary the blind, if I can put it that way, she can now see. She can see clearly it's Jesus. And in that moment everything changes, doesn't it, for Mary? Her whole worldview is turned upside down for the better. Because it goes from Jesus is dead to Jesus is alive, from defeat to victory, from despair to joy. No wonder she's clinging on to him. Now, what do we learn from Mary? The label I'm giving to Mary is the blinded. I hope you don't think that's harsh, but do you see that the strength of the emotions Mary was going through, the disappointment, the dashed hopes, the pain, the sadness, it was overwhelming for her. And it blinded her, didn't it? It kind of overruled anything that Jesus had previously told her. After all, Jesus had said multiple times that he would die and then come back to life. But that was overruled in the moment by her emotions. Not only her emotions, I think we can say that her expectations, her predetermined views, blinded her to the evidence that was being provided to her. She basically saw what she expected to see. What she had decided was the case was in fact the case to her. I asked at the beginning, do you struggle to believe? Well, Mary struggled to believe. For her, faith was a struggle. And maybe you can relate to Mary this morning. Maybe you know deep down that you're in quite a similar situation to her. Maybe it's the strength of emotions that you feel, maybe experiences you've had in your life that are so strong, you know, if you're honest, that they tend to override what Jesus says or what the Bible teaches or what other Christians are saying to you. And what could that look like? Well, maybe disappointments in life, like Mary, dashed hopes, maybe failures in your own life, or hurt caused by others against you, maybe even hurt caused by other Christians against you, that was so strong and so raw that means you have closed your mind now to the possibility of it being true. Maybe it's emotions, or maybe like Mary, it's expectations and preconceptions, predetermined views that are so strong that even evidence, when it comes along, it can't challenge that. Now, what could those preconceptions be today? Well, maybe like Mary, it's a kind of a preconception against the supernatural. You know, her motto was kind of miracles don't happen in this moment. Maybe that's your motto too. And therefore you won't even consider the claims of Christianity. Or maybe another preconception is Christianity is boring. Oh, Christianity is out to ruin my fun, to restrict my freedom. Maybe your preconception is Christianity is something my parents believe, so obviously I'm not going to believe it. And it nothing that comes along will help, well, you'll be allowed to challenge that. Well, if that's you, like Mary, this morning, Jesus is calling your name. May have turned away from Jesus. He's calling your name. Will you turn back to him? Will you turn back to him? Now, if you are a believer, you know something of that joy of Jesus is risen, it changes everything for the better. Then maybe Jesus' next words are also instructive. Look at where it continues in verse 17. Jesus says to Mary, don't cling to me. Don't cling to me. Go and tell the other disciples. Isn't that quite instructive? Don't keep this purely to yourself. Obviously, she was going through a kind of a huge emotional turnaround. She's clinging to Jesus. Jesus says, No, no, there are other people who are also hurting. They need to hear this. Maybe that's an instructive word for us today. Don't just keep this for yourself, share it with others. But look, we've skipped over Peter and John. That's who we know the other disciple is in verse 2 when it says the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's kind of code for John. So Peter and John, let's look at them next. Our second point this morning. Jesus is risen. John investigates the available evidence and believes. That's our second point this morning. Jesus is risen. John investigates the available evidence and believes. Now, John and Peter, they've been woken up very early that morning by Mary, telling them that a stone has been moved. So what do they do? They run to the tomb in verses three and four. And this detailed account contains all kinds of eyewitness details, some of it quite funny, that I think just strengthen the credibility of this story. You know, the fact that one of them ran faster than the other, I don't think anyone would make that up or add it in, unless it was just what happened. That the one who got there first was actually kind of more hesitant and didn't go in, he just sort of peered in. But that Peter, who got there second, he didn't hesitate and he walked straight in. Now, what did they see? Well, look at verse six. They saw linen cloths lying there. These are the cloths that would have been wrapped around Jesus' dead body. And they also see in verse 7 the face cloth lying separately folded up. Now, if Jesus' body had been stolen, are we to believe that robbers would have taken the time to unwrap Jesus' body, let alone fold up the face cloth neatly and lie it there? I mean, if anyone's seen the aftermath of a robbery recently, you know that it's chaos, isn't it? It's mess everywhere. No, the tomb is empty, and it's an orderly scene. What might that mean? What might that mean? Well, John seems to weigh it all up. That's what verse 8 tells us. John goes in, he sees it, he's weighing it up. What might this mean? I wonder if in that moment Jesus' words are ringing in John's ears. What if what Jesus had actually told them would happen? He told them multiple times, I will go up to Jerusalem, die, and then come back to life. What if that had actually taken place? Well, that's actually what John concludes, isn't it? Look at verse 8. He went in, he saw it, and believed. He went in, he saw, and he believed. That's what verse 8 tells us. And the lesson we get from John is that assessing the available evidence in the light of Jesus' words leads to belief. Assessing the available evidence in the light of Jesus' words leads to belief. Now, a few weeks ago, uh I went up to London actually with Archie for a prayer breakfast that was going on in the city. And at that event, uh a guy got up and who shared a bit about his story, his testimony. He said he was from a Muslim background. He said his personality was always to challenge everything and push back. He said that was actually not encouraged in his culture and his family, but he found himself wanting to really investigate it. Is it actually true what I've been told? He investigated the basis of the Muslim faith. He said he found it deeply unsatisfactory. Particularly, he said he found the life of Muhammad to be morally flawed, and he did not believe this could be God's prophet. And at that point, he rejected Islam and he rejected any notion of God. He became a hardened atheist. I think this was in his 20s, he was now in his 30s, so about 10 years, rejected it all, walked away from any faith of any kind. Then he thought in his 30s, I really should investigate other faiths. He looked into Christianity. Bear in mind, this is a guy who's who's told us he likes to challenge everything. He said that he found the life of Jesus and his teaching to be supremely attractive morally and ethically. And then he investigated the death of Jesus and the accounts of the resurrection, and he just said he found no reason, no basis to reject it. So in his words, he said this I had no choice but to believe and become a Christian, a follower of Jesus. Now that's not a very sort of fluffy, warm story, is it? But it's refreshingly matter-of-fact. Just follow the evidence where it leads, investigate it. A bit like John, the investigator. But back to our passage this morning. John believed. That's what verse 8 says. What does verse 9 add? It seems actually contradictory when you first read it. He believed, then verse 9, for as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. What does that mean? Actually, I think the point is a very reassuring one for us today. He basically means he hadn't figured it all out yet. He hadn't understood those Old Testament prophecies that meant this had to happen. He hadn't got that yet. The penny hadn't dropped, they hadn't fitted it all together, and yet they believed based on what they did understand. Maybe that's a relief for you here this morning. Because it's okay if you haven't figured it all out yet. You don't need a PhD in Bible studies to become a Christian, a follower of Jesus. Just look at the available evidence and ask yourself: did Jesus die and did he come back to life? Okay, so so far we've seen the reactions of Mary, we've seen the reaction of John. And now we need to come to another character in the Easter story, maybe the most famous one, Thomas rather, doubting Thomas. Now let's continue reading to see what happened. So it's worth having your Bibles open. I think it's page 906 still, and we're reading on to see what happened next, from verse 19 to 29. 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. 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. 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 marks of the nail, 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. Now let's focus in on Thomas here. You see that in verse 24, he wasn't there on that first Easter Sunday when Jesus came to the disciples. But his friends were. They had all seen Jesus in the flesh. You see that in verse 20. He had shown them his hands and his side, proof that it was definitely him, the same Jesus who was crucified, was the same one who was alive again. And like Mary, this had changed everything for the disciples. They've gone from fear and despair. And now we're told in verse 20, they were glad when they saw the Lord. I think that's a bit of an understatement. They were glad. I think they were extremely glad when they saw the Lord. But Thomas wasn't glad. He hadn't been there, and he won't believe. Now he's known as doubting Thomas, isn't he? I'd like to rename him Stubborn Thomas. That's our third point this morning. Jesus is risen with proof that makes even the most stubborn rejection crumble. Jesus is risen with proof that makes even the most stubborn rejection crumble. Now ask yourself, if your ten closest friends, imagine your ten closest friends, or your ten closest, most trusted colleagues with whom you've spent the last three years, if they all told you the same thing, they assured you something, however unusual had actually happened, would you believe them? Well, not for Thomas. Does nothing to convince him. And he has a somewhat peculiar objection. Do you see his objection in verse 25? Unless I see the marks of the nail, place my finger, etc., I will never believe. Well, that's exactly what the other disciples had seen and witnessed. So what does Thomas actually want? I think it's fair to say he wants his very own replay of the same thing for him. Now that's quite instructive because I hear that quite a lot today as well. People who demand their very own miracle. That's what they want. And if they don't get that, they won't believe. It's got to be miracles, evidence, proof on their own terms. Well, eight days later, pretty much the identical event happens as a week earlier. The doors are locked again, the disciples are inside, and suddenly Jesus is there with them. But the difference is Thomas is there with them this time. And Jesus says to Thomas, put your fingers here, see my hands, see my side. And then the instruction, which is actually a rebuke from Jesus in verse 27, do not disbelieve, but believe. Now the word that Jesus uses here for disbelieve is actually a same word he's used elsewhere in the Gospels to condemn a faithless person per people, actually, a faithless people. So maybe a better translation here would be, don't be faithless any longer, believe. Now what's Thomas's answer in the face of this evidence? It's the climax of the story, isn't it? Verse 28. My Lord and my God. I can imagine Thomas falling to his knees. My Lord and my God. All the objections from the most stubborn guy out there have crumbled, haven't they? They've all disappeared. Now, what do we learn from Thomas? Well, I think one thing we learn is no matter how close you have been to Jesus, I mean, he'd followed Jesus around for three years, no matter the strength of the evidence, ten of his closest friends all assured him they had seen something, a person can still choose to reject it. Thomas did. And maybe you do too. Not so much a case of I can't believe, that was kind of Mary's motto, as I won't believe. That seems to be Thomas's motto. We asked earlier, do you find it difficult, a struggle to believe? Well, Thomas did, you bet he did. He was actually working very hard not to believe the evidence. Now, in his case, wonderfully. Jesus did appear to him. It's really compassionate of the Lord, isn't it? To provide him with that proof. But we do need to be careful here because the conclusion we should draw is not, well, that's good for him. I wish it happened to me too. That would be to display a kind of Thomas tendency ourselves, which is the very thing that Jesus does not commend. The whole point is that Thomas had enough to go on and he did not believe. Thomas is not commended. But if he's not commended, then who is? Well, look at verse 29. We see words that Jesus pronounces almost over Thomas's shoulder, directed at us today, those who will believe without seeing with our own eyes. Look at verse 29. Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. That is us today, isn't it? And let's be clear, it's not that Jesus is saying, oh, oh, they're blessed because I know they have to engage in some kind of blind leap of faith. No, they're blessed because people who don't see Jesus alive in the flesh, like us, we have enough to go on. We have the testimony that was rock solid and it was enough for Thomas to go on, but he did not believe it. And we can. So let the story of Thomas this morning boost your confidence. If Thomas, the supreme cynic, if he comes to faith, then so can we. That helps me a lot, by the way, this story. When I'm having a bit of a wobble about faith and the credibility of the story, I think of doubting Thomas, and I remind myself, he's actually not doubting Thomas, is he? He's ex-doubting Thomas. He's a recovering doubter. He came to believe as well. Now we've looked at Mary, looked at John, we've looked at Thomas. All that's left to ask is, what about you? What about you? The mirror has been held up. Three different types of reaction. What about you? Yes, of course, we can choose to reject or dismiss or continue to ignore Christianity, the eyewitness testimony of those who were there at the time and saw Jesus alive. But I would want to ask you this morning, why would you want to reject it? Because in this passage we see something wonderful that Jesus offers. Something wonderful that he offers is peace. Did you see that? His first words to the disciples, peace be with you. He actually says it twice to the disciples. And then when Thomas is with them, again, peace be with you. Isn't that remarkable? To people who have let him down or stubbornly refused to believe the evidence, Jesus pronounces peace. Peace be with you. Peace with God is available at Easter. A restored relationship with your Creator, despite all the things that you and I have done, it's available for us today for free if we turn to Jesus and trust in him. And that brings joy, doesn't it? Do you see all the way through this chapter, joy? Mary, the disciples, they were glad. I think the basic mood of Easter is joy. Now I asked at the beginning, do you struggle to believe? Do you struggle to believe? And if you do, you're not alone. You're not alone. Can you see that even in this chapter, Mary and Thomas, they really struggled to believe? It was a battle for them. Your emotions, your preconceptions, your unbelief, they're all pushing back against the facts. And however unlikely the resurrection of Jesus may seem to you, and I grant you it is unusual, it is extraordinary, will you consider the evidence? That's the question for you this morning. Will you consider the evidence? Be like John, be an investigator who looks into it this Easter. Because whoever we are, whether we're like Mary the blinded, like Thomas the stubborn, whether we're like the disciples who were fearful, Jesus can break through it all because he is the risen Lord Jesus of Easter, and he calls us today, each of us, by name. So I urge you this morning, turn to the one who calls you by name. Turn to the one who is your Lord and God. He has provided sufficient proof. He has. So don't disbelieve. And who wouldn't want what he offers? Peace. Peace with God and joy. Let me close now with a prayer, asking God that he will allow each of us to choose to follow Jesus and trust in him. Let me pray. This chapter ends with these two verses. Now Jesus did many other signs in 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, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Heavenly Father, thank you for the Lord Jesus. Thank you for his obedient death that brings us peace with you. Thank you for his victorious resurrection on that first Easter Sunday. Thank you for the eyewitnesses at the time who saw it and recorded it for our benefit. Thank you, Lord, that we can be confident it truly happened. Lord, help us if we are struggling to believe. Whether it's based on our experiences, our preconceptions, or our unbelief, Lord, please break through that all and allow us, enable us to turn to you and receive from you peace and forgiveness and life. For we ask it in the name of the powerful risen Lord Jesus. Amen.