Believe
Notes
Transcript
The Resurrection Story
Mary Magdalen came to the tomb early.
Mary discovered the stone covering the tomb was taken away.
She told the disciples.
Peter and John ran to the tomb.
The tomb was empty.
Peter and John went back home.
Mary stayed at the tomb—weeping.
She saw two angels. They said: “Why are you weeping.”
She turned and saw a man - she thought he was the gardener.
The man said: “Why are your weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She asked him where Jesus was?
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
She held on to him.
17 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.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
Transition
The death of Jesus seemed so final.
The disciples and the followers of Jesus lost hope.
Fear, fatigue, and hopelessness obscured the reality that something incredible happened on that Sunday morning, nearly two thousand years ago.
At first Mary Magdalene could not even recognize Jesus—standing right in front of her.
When she told the disciples of her amazing experience of seeing and talking with the risen Savior, they seemed to only respond by hiding in a locked room.
19 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.”
The disciples were afraid.
The disciples were afraid.
They saw what happened to Jesus on the Cross—and so they reasoned that it could happen to them.
They were exhausted. Everything they worked for seemed to end in failure.
They were filled with hopelessness. Their Teacher, friend, and miracle worker was dead.
Point: For many of us, we are fearful, exhausted, and hopeless.
Result: Seclusion and a life of unfulfilled purpose.
Doubt.
Critical and bitter.
Vain imaginations.
Discouraged.
Jesus was alive.
Jesus was alive.
He miraculously invades our space!
He declares: “Peace be with you.”
Jesus uses a word that speaks of time—of an age.
It is more than peace between people.
It is an era of peace—of tranquility—of freedom from strife.
This word is used when the war is over—the battle has been won.
It is a peace that is ushered in by the authority and power of God.
It is a peace that strikes at the heart of the problem: a life lived without fellowship with God.
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The peace that Jesus brings is a peace that is centered on a biblical, spiritual relationship with God.
That peace is authenticated and demonstrated through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The One who died for our sins—is also the One who defeated hell and death—and was brought to life.
It is the resurrected Lord who is resurrecting me—resurrecting me out of the depths of fear, of brokenness, of pain, of anger, of regret, of loneliness, of emptiness.
The disciples of Jesus would never be the same again.
We will never be the same again!
Interlude
Now, one of the disciples of Jesus was not in the room that day. His name was Thomas.
25 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.”
The disciple refused to believe.
The disciple refused to believe.
“I will never believe!” What a statement!
When fear, discouragement, and disappointment take root, faith is choked out
Thomas was filled with disappointment. For Thomas, Jesus was the Messiah—the conqueror—the victor~!
Seeing Jesus dead on the Cross was just too much.
Some of us have experienced profound disappointment and loss. It has made it difficult to believe, difficult to trust, difficult to do life God’s way.
Maybe you have uttered those words: “I will never believe!”
But those words did not give you peace—it did not take the pain from your life.
Jesus did not forget.
Jesus did not forget.
Jesus did not forget Thomas, and Jesus will not forget you.
26 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.”
Jesus makes a powerful point! His death and resurrection ushers in to the life of His followers PEACE.
27 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.”
Jesus knew the heart of Thomas—he knew his struggle. It was time for Thomas to trust again.
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus’ response was not just to Thomas—it was to us.
Choosing not to believe is easy. It makes explaining difficult things unnecessary.
Believing in God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—is a decision that accepts the authority of God and changes the direction of your life.
Thomas came to the wonderful conclusion that the same Jesus that was a great teacher, a powerful healer, and perfect human being, is Lord and God (not just in general, but personal).
Conclusion
So how should we respond to the reality that Jesus died for us and rose to life.
A man by the name of Paul, a leader in the early church, recognized that Jesus’ death and resurrection has a powerful impact on our lives.
That without God, there is no hope—just fear and brokenness.
But that through Christ, there is power to change our life—and bring to us salvation, hope, encouragement, and faith.
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Prayer