Sermon Tone Analysis

*Personal, Pointed, at the Point of Need*

This resurrection Sunday we will both be deviating from our sermon series while at the same time remaining within.

We have been studying the Book of John since the beginning of the year but today we will jump foreword in the book to chapter twenty and the story of Jesus’ resurrection where we will be looking at three of His eleven post-resurrection encounters that are recorded in Scriptures.

Something that all of us should realize is that when Jesus appeared to people after His resurrection, He always appeared to believers – His elect.

Sometimes the believer’s faith was weak such as we will see this morning, but they were believers nonetheless.

For some of you who are sitting before me this morning this may be the only week out of the year that you come to church.

For you, this morning’s message may seem simplistic, mythical, or even foolishness.

The story of Christ, and furthermore the Bible as a whole, will either drive you to faith and hope, or cause you to stumble.

Jesus only shows Himself to those who are able to hear His voice, those whom the Father has given Him.

Jesus never showed Himself after His resurrection to the Pharisees and Scribes, the religious people who placed greater faith in their ability to be religious, or the masses that were still present in Jerusalem after the Passover.

For you who have joined us this one week out of the year, we are glad that you are here this morning and you are always welcome to join us.

Here at GCF Batangas the coffee is free-flowing, so please help yourselves.

For those of you who are visiting us but are indeed interested in knowing the risen Lord, and for you the Greenhills Batangas church body, what we will discover this morning is how our Lord and Savior will show Himself to you; He will comfort you, He will empower you to be bold in ministry, and He will meet with you at your point of doubt to give you the strength to press on in your personal callings in life.

One of the greatest benefits to us as Christians regarding the resurrection of our Lord, and His subsequent ascension, is how the truth builds hope into the lives of believers.

God, in His wisdom, has deemed that we must live lives in a sinful body and fallen world.

This life can rob us of all joy and meaning, yet that is not what God has intended for His children.

Several weeks ago, Deaconess Ann [Mayo], Alvin [Angles] and his wife, Brother Ariel, and I were at a Feeding Program in Calicanto.

At the site there were two small boys no older than six years old.

They were not washed and it appeared that they were not intending to join the program even though they did appear to be undernourished.

I asked if they were going to join us and I was told that they had not been present at the initial weigh-in and deworming.

We as a team decided that if there was excessive food at the end of the feeding that they could have some and that we will have the Barangay Health officials weigh them.

As Alvin was interacting with them it was discovered that their parents are gone [I’m not sure where] and that they just sleep at different homes throughout the community.

The older boy, who was only six years old, told Alvin that he no longer cares to live.

Six years old and already forming a mindset of having no hope in life.

We need to always be looking forward to the day that we unite with the Lord.

For the disciples of Jesus, they had their faith tested when Jesus was arrested and crucified.

They were left in despair as evidenced by the fact that they remained huddled together too fearful to be Christ’s leaders on whom He will build His Church.

Yet the Lord rectified this situation by showing Himself to them.

Let me share with you that story so that we may see together how it all unfolds.

In the first nine verses of John chapter twenty we discover that Jesus was indeed resurrected.

Mary Magdalene discovered the stone rolled away and that the body of Jesus was missing; after which she reported her findings to Peter and John.

The two disciples investigated the claim and found it to be so.

Prior to His crucifixion Jesus taught the disciples that He would indeed resurrect.

This they knew!

Not long before His arrest Jesus taught of the resurrection when He resurrected Lazarus.

Now on the morning of His resurrection they discovered evidence that collaborated His claims.

They saw the large stone, which had been sealed by the Romans, rolled away – no easy task in and of its self.

Then they also saw the linen wrappings present and still folded in a manner consistent with Him passing through the garments.

Grave robbers would not have taken the time to unwrap the body, and if they, for some unknown reason, did so, they would have piled them the same way we pile our dirty clothes.

Notice if you will that in John 20:8 the evidence was adequate enough to cause John to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, as presented in John 20:9.

At this time the two disciples left the scene and Mary was alone, sobbing.

As Mary wept, she looked into the tomb and saw two angels who asked her rhetorically why does she weep?

As Mary was the only person present, and in view of the fact that John recorded in his gospel that the two beings inside were indeed angels, this knowledge must have come from Mary.

Thus Mary did indeed realize that she was seeing angels, and this astonishing event should have caused her to realize that something out of the ordinary was taking place.

Let’s now read a portion of text to glean the first resurrection encounter that we will reflect on this morning:

John 20:14–16 (NASB95) — /14 “When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.” 15 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be 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.””

16 “Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!”

(which means, Teacher).”/

It is interesting to note that when Jesus did appear to Mary, He revealed Himself in a manner that portrayed Him as being a common man.

The timeline of this event is after the work of the cross had been completed.

He was clothed, and this was not the case when He was suspended on the cross.

After His death, He was wrapped in burial cloths, but those were shown to still be in the grave.

Somehow, unknown to us, He now appears clothed.

He had full right at this time to be donned in His kingly robes, which I suspect will be a common site we’ll see after we are united with Him.

Yet here He was ordinary, He was approachable.

Jesus asked Mary the same question that the angels asked; “why are you weeping.”

Yet He expands the query to also ask her whom does she seek specifically.

Mary did not recognize Jesus, and this is understandable as the last time she saw Him not only was He dead, but likely looked like He should have been dead, after enduring His beatings.

Yet here was Jesus, appearing common, approachable, and asking the questions ‘why weep’ and ‘whom do you seek?’

For all of us who are children of God, at some point in time, Jesus likely approached us and asked us why we were weeping.

For some of us we were weeping over some vice or addiction such as alcohol and drunkenness, drug abuse or gambling.

For others we were weeping over the fact that our false religion or false god has failed us.

The love of money has failed many of us, or the love of material possessions, or our education and degrees that have not satisfied; for others we are left with a hollowness after engaging in our religious works.

We have just passed through a season where the homes to the right of my home have hired a religion to chant the gospels in a mournful fashion, yet the next night the homes to the left of us hired those same chanters.

Yet at this very moment those who engaged in such religious activities, so as to uphold their self-righteousness, are left hollow as they, the religious activities, provide no merit in appeasing the anger of God, anger spurned on by those very sins of self-justifying religious activities.

Jesus also asked each of us at some time “whom do you seek?”

For many of us we have found Him; but for some of you He still asks “whom do you seek?”

As Jesus was willing to reveal Himself to Mary, He is willing to reveal Himself to you as well.

Jesus called out her name, and she recognized the Lord.

Jesus maybe calling out your name, are you too willing to recognize Him?

In John 20:17 we see a very interesting encounter: /“Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’”/

When I first read this passage I was left wondering why Jesus seemed so cold to Mary; it appeared to me that He was pushing her away.

But that is not what is actually taking place here.

For Mary, she actually knew Jesus the man.

She was Galilean as was Jesus.

Jesus cast seven demons from her.

She had a real personal and interactive relationship with Jesus, as did all those who followed Him while He was in His earthly flesh.

Yet Jesus is seen here in John twenty reminding her of His teaching that He will indeed leave them and ascend back to heaven to be with the Father.

What none of the disciples of Jesus were able to comprehend prior to the resurrection was that it was not the will of the Father for the Son to remain; Jesus had to return.

Here in John 20:17 Jesus was simply reminding her of what He previously taught.

Though she wanted to be with Him, He had to return.

This now brings us to the second post-resurrection encounter recorded by John the Beloved.

In John 20:19-23 we find the disciples locked inside a room because of their fears.

They abandoned Jesus while He was in His greatest time of suffering and now they feared the same torment for themselves.

Yet Jesus comes to them and the first thing He offers are words of comfort; “Peace be with you.”

After Jesus offered them His words of comfort He then offers them proof that He was indeed Him.

The disciples did not need proof that He was resurrected as He was standing before them.

Yet what they did need was proof that it was indeed Jesus that was in their midst, thus He shows them His scars from being nailed to the cross and the puncture from the sword piercing.

Once the evidence proved that it was indeed Jesus, the disciples rejoiced for His predictions regarding His resurrection were unfolding before their eyes.

Let’s take a greater look into the story:

John 20:21–23 (NASB95) — /21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.””

22 “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.””

23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.””/

In verse 21 Jesus gives the disciples an overview of their upcoming marching orders and that is they are going to be sent out.

They have been told previously that they were going to be instrumental in founding the Church.

They were not completely clear as to what the Church was going to be, but they did at the very least hear the term.

But then Jesus does something noteworthy in verse 22 and that is He breathed on them and then stated “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

He blew on them, like blowing on a candle.