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Fearful to Forgiven, Filled to be Fruitful

This morning I want us to consider what our message to the world is supposed to be. Well we are to preach the gospel. Yes, but what is about the gospel specifically that attracts people to God and calls them to repent and believe and be saved? In other words, what message can we take out of this place today, and give to our world tomorrow to draw them to Jesus Christ? And the Bible makes it clear that the central message of the gospel has to do with the forgiveness of sins. In this passage the risen Christ appears to His disciples, He commissions them for ministry, and gives them the Holy Spirit. Right after He commissions them for ministry He tells them what they are to say in vs. 23: “²³ If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” The central message of the gospel has to do with forgiveness. We’re going to talk about that today, but first let’s pray.

Just as a reminder, last week we saw Mary Magdalene at Jesus’ tomb, and we noted that she was responding to what she saw. The Bible says she was bent over, looking into the tomb, and weeping, wondering if someone stole the body. She’s thinking, “oh no, the tomb is empty” and she is weeping. And we suggested that there was another way for her to understand what was going on, and that was by faith. She could have believed Jesus’ words that He was going to die and rise again, and if she lived by faith she would understand that Jesus is alive, and she would have been rejoicing instead of weeping. “Oh yes, the tomb is empty! He’s alive!” And we said that in our lives we always have two ways of looking at things, either by sight or by faith. If we live by sight, often we sorrow because we don’t understand things correctly, but if we live by faith sometimes the very things that would cause us to weep give us reason for great joy as we see God working them out for His glory and for our good.

And today we come to our passage and again we see people who are not understanding things correctly. In vs. 19 it says “¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews…” now stop right there. Here are 10 strong men, hiding in a room with all the doors locked because they are affffraid. They are ssssscared of the Jews. This is “the Church of the Locked Doors”. And so we see these disciples as fearful.

But there is another way these men could have understood things. They could have believed Jesus’ words, that He would rise from the dead, and they could have believed Peter and John who said the tomb is empty. And then they would have thought, “Wow, Jesus overcame death. Satan bruised His heal, but Jesus rose from the dead and crushed Satan’s head. What do we have to fear? And living by faith would have empowered them to unlock the door and go witness to others that Jesus is alive. Please don’t hear me say we shouldn’t lock our doors at night.

I invite you to look with me at Colossians chapter 4. I want us to see how Paul responded differently than these disciples. Paul is in prison here, and he is facing death. He could have lived in fear. Notice vs. 3: ^“3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴ Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Instead of “lock the doors” he prays that God would “open a door” of ministry, so that He could proclaim Christ. He knows His purpose here, it’s to save the world, by proclaiming Christ.

And we can learn from this, too. Today our world is filled with fear. We have bio-terror threats, we have nuclear threats, we’re at red alert and orange alert and purple alert. Everybody’s on alert. And the language of fear is “lock the door”, what can we do to keep ourselves safe? But the language of faith, is “pray for an open door.” The man who lives by faith sees every situation as an opportunity to minister, to proclaim Christ, and seeks to make the most of every opportunity. If we get captured by the Muslims fine, pray for open doors to preach the gospel. Put us in a prison and we’ll have a captive audience, and we’ll pray for an open door of ministry. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, and power and a sound mind. David says in Psalm 56:11 “¹¹ in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Your God has overcome the world, has defeated the devil, has broken the bonds of death, has conquered the kingdom of darkness, has defeated evil powers and principalities of the air, what have we to fear? Instead, let’s pray that every day God would open doors of ministry for us.

So there they are in that room with locked doors, and they’re fearful, but notice the rest of vs. 19, it says, “¹⁹ …Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Notice, that He just came in right through the locked door. He walked right out of His sealed tomb, now He walks right in to this sealed room. I want to show you something we can learn from this. If you would, look with me at 1 Corinthians 15, and notice what Paul says about our resurrection bodies. Now when Paul here talks about the body being “sown” he means buried in the ground, like a farmer would sow seed by burying it in the ground. “⁴² So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” One day we will have imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual bodies that can never get sick, will never get old, will never die. This is what Jesus’ body was like.

As we go back to John 20, I just want us to notice the grace in Jesus’ communication to these men in John chapter 20. Now remember, these are the men who deserted Him, Who left Him in His time of need. Peter denied Him, the rest forsook Him. And they were now under shame because they had run away. Does Jesus tell them it’s all over for them, that they no longer have any part with Him? No! To these men He says “Peace be with you” or peace be on you. What grace, what forgiveness of their sin. Jesus here is removing their fear, easing their consciences.

And you know what? This is exactly how it will be when we meet Him face to face — if we are genuine Christians, even with all our miserable failures, with all our sins, with all our controversies, His greeting will not be “Shame on you” but “Peace be on you”. How do we know this? Because He is “The same yesterday and today and forever.”

And now notice vs. 20. “²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.” He showed them His scars, the wounds He received on the cross. And I want to suggest 2 reasons why He showed them His wounds so that we can understand what He is doing here.

1—He was proving that it really was Him. This was no imposter, no ghost, this was the same Jesus Whose hands and feet were nailed to a cross, and whose side was pierced with a spear. He is proving His identity to them by showing that even though His body is now spiritual instead of physical, it is the same body. He is the same Person. He has risen, just as He said. You remember Acts 1:3 says “³ After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.”  

2—But there is a second reason. Notice vs. 20 says “After he said this…” That connects us back to the previous verse where He said, “Peace be with you.” After He said “Peace be with you” He showed them His hands and side. He was showing the basis of our “peace” is His death on the cross. He’s saying, “Peace be with you, and here’s the reason why” as He reminds them of His death. What He really did here is to show that our enmity with God has been removed at the cross, Jesus made peace between God and man. Through Jesus’ death God has been pacified, and we have been reconciled. We now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  And Revelation 5:6 tells us that these marks are still on His holy body, John saw a Lamb looking as though it had been slain”. These marks our great High Priest shows to God as He prays for us.

Charles Wesley helped us to look up to heaven and see Jesus before God. Imagine the scene in heaven as Jesus prays:

Five bleeding wounds he bears, received on Calvary,
They pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me
“Forgive him, oh forgive” they cry
Don’t let that ransomed sinner die.

The wounds proved His identity, and they also are the basis for our peace with God, the basis of our forgiveness. These disciples were fearful, now they’re forgiven. They have peace because Jesus was punished.

Then vs. 20 says, “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” Oh their fears were all gone, their hopes and dreams had come true, they were filled with joy. Just like Jesus said. Look back to John chapter 16 and notice what He said. In vs. 22 Jesus said as He faced the cross: “²² Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Jesus made good on His promise as they were overjoyed when seeing Jesus.

But I want us to notice a distinction here this morning, and here is the secret to experiencing joy in our lives. Notice this distinction: first He said, “Peace be with you and He showed them His hands and His side” and then it says “they were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” So peace comes from Jesus’ work on the cross, and joy comes from seeing the risen Jesus Himself. Joy comes from seeing Him, being preoccupied with Him.

Now don’t take this lightly, because this is a secret that many Christians do not know, and that we all sometimes forget. Many times we think if we’re in difficult circumstances we can’t rejoice. If we’re fearful we can’t rejoice. If we’re grieving a loss we can’t rejoice. But that’s not true. If we see Jesus in the circumstances we will be overjoyed. Notice Jesus did not change their circumstances, they were still locked in the room. But they rejoicing now. Because they saw Jesus in the midst of their circumstances, and He raised them above their circumstances, and they were filled with joy in seeing Him. This then is the great secret of joy, to be occupied with Jesus, to see Him in every circumstance.

I had a dear brother write me this past week, someone who is really growing in Christ; and this is what he said, “January 25th is said by scientists to be “the most depressing day of the year“. Something to do with the mid-winter gloom, and all that. Anyway, I thought: must I be doing something wrong? I wasn’t depressed like the “scientists” said I should be! What’s the “matter” with me?” What’s the matter with him is that he is in the Word of God, he is seeing Jesus and so he is filled with a joy in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Remember something: when Mary saw Jesus she was turned from a weeper to a worshipper. And now when the disciples see Jesus they go from fearful to joyful. This is the secret to experiencing joy in the Christian life.

And now we get to vs. 21 where Jesus gives these disciples their mission, their purpose, what they were here for: “²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” Their mission was the same as Jesus’ mission. They were to do what Jesus was sent to do. So let’s just examine what Jesus was sent to do, if you’ll turn to John chapter 3 we’ll see it. ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Now combine that with John 20:21, “as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

So if you look at the cross you see Jesus’ mission. He was sent to save the world. That’s what He is doing hanging there on that cross, He is saving men and women from their sins. Through His death He saved all who will repent and believe. When we believe, His pain becomes our gain. His punishment is our peace. His death is our life. He was sent to save the world.

And Jesus says, we’re sent just as He was sent. Now we can’t atone for the sins of people but we can proclaim the atonement. And just like Jesus we are called to suffer to promote the gospel, to die to ourselves in order to bring life to others. Look with me at Colossians chapter 1, and let’s notice Paul’s suffering in order to save the world. Paul says in Colossians 1:24 “²⁴ Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” So our purpose is just like His, to save the world by bringing them the gospel. Wherever we are, we are to engage people, we are to talk about Jesus, we are to speak about forgiveness for repenting sinners. Doug Eades has purchased a whole bunch of tracts for us to hand out, they’re over there on the table. Pick some up, give some out. Our commission is to reach people. As God sent Jesus, so Jesus sends us.

Now this, you have to admit is an impossible task for these men. They’re behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, and they’re supposed to go win the lost? So let’s notice what Jesus does next in John chapter 20. Vs. 22 says, “²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus entered His ministry anointed by the Spirit, and now He gives them the Spirit.

Now you can imagine Jesus breathing on them, and His Spirit coming into them, and this was a very intimate act. He breathed on them, giving to them what was His, His very life, His air, His Spirit, given to make them fruitful in ministry. When the Holy Spirit is given to you it is an act of love, of intimacy, of closeness, of union. And He comes by believing the Scriptures, according to Galatians 3:2. We receive of the same Spirit as Jesus, in an intimate encounter, where we place faith in Jesus, and He places His Spirit in us.

Of course by now you know there are several pictures of this in the Old Testament. Let’s look at the first one in Genesis chapter 2. This is after God made Adam. So here is this dust made into a body. And notice vs. 7. It says that God “⁷ …breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” God breathed into Adam and he came to life. Because of the Breath of Life Adam could fulfill the great commission God gave him in chapter 1 vs. 28: ²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” But he needed the spirit of life to be able to multiply and spread and conquer.

And so Jesus in John 20 breathes the Spirit of God into these disciples so that they might multiply and spread and that the gospel might go forth with power and conquer the earth and subdue it. So these disciples were fearful, then they were forgiven, then they were filled with the Holy Spirit, so that they might be fruitful in ministry.

And finally, the Holy Spirit filled them so that they could go out and proclaim one main message. This is the central message of Christianity. It’s in vs. 23: ²³ If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus gave them authority to proclaim the message of forgiveness, because this is the most important message ever. People come into the kingdom of God directly through the forgiveness of their sins. This is the greatest benefit we have is forgiveness. And so David writes in Psalm 103: “² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits– ³ who forgives all your sins…” In Romans 4 Paul picks up on this blessing and says, “⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” “⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7  This is the central message of the Bible, and if anyone ever becomes a Christian he does so because he receives the message of the forgiveness of his sins.

Now they had to be discerning because they were not to give forgiveness to those who would not repent, because they are not forgiven. Jesus said, “If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Those who stubbornly rebel against God, who refuse to submit to His requirements, those who will not embrace the Savior, who choose sin over Jesus, they will not be forgiven and we have no business telling them that they are. That would be speaking peace where there is no peace. But to those who enter through the narrow way, those who leave their own self-righteousness and their own works and who trust only in the cross of Jesus Christ, they are completely, entirely forgiven of all sins.

Now the Catholic church has misused this statement. They say that you must go to a priest to receive forgiveness, but they are forgetting that every Christian is a priest. Every Christian has authority to give the gospel with its central message of forgiveness.

And so look at these disciples. In the period of just one meeting with Jesus they have gone from fearful to forgiven, to being filled with the Spirit to be fruitful in ministry, using the message of forgiveness.

Now I want to see this as a picture of the entire life of a Christian. First, there is fear. We fear man and we fear our sins will keep us out of heaven, we fear that we are not in the family of God. And at some point Jesus comes. The risen Jesus comes to us through His Word, and says “peace be with you” and He shows us the cross and the scars He bears in His resurrection body. And we believe. And when we believe Jesus leans over very close to us and in an act of intimacy gives us His own Spirit to live within us. He breathes spiritual power into us for the purpose of us being fruitful in ministry. And it’s all done through the powerful message of forgiveness that we have authority to take to those who repent. That’s the whole life of the Christian.

Where are you in that process? Maybe you’re fearing the consequences of your sin, and are covered with shame because of them. Then you just need to look to Jesus and see that He died to remove your sins and make you new. You just need to believe the good news about Jesus. Or maybe you are a believer but you’re not being fruitful and multiplying. You need an infilling of the Spirit, and what you can do is just get alone with God and His Word, or come to church and hear it preached, and receive the gift of God’s Spirit so that you might be sent out to save the world. Or maybe you’re a Christian who has believed and been filled with the Spirit and you’re witnessing, but you have some other message that you’re presenting than forgiveness. Then it’s time for you to come back to the central theme in all the Bible, and simply tell people there is a way they can be forgiven if they will repent and believe.

Here’s our lives: from fearful to forgiven, filled to be fruitful, taking the message of forgiveness to the world.

Victory over Cancer Through Jesus Christ

Dear friends,

Walking with Jesus Christ and living by faith in Him changes our entire lives. Below is a the story of a precious lady who works in our ministry with us, who was diagnosed with cancer. What a joy it is to share this with you, and is once again proof that “faith overcomes the world” (including cancer, and depression, and everything else).

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on 26 November after feeling a swollen gland under my arm. I didn’t think there was anything to be concerned about but when investigated the consultant found the gland to be cancerous and discovered 3 lumps in my breast.  Much to my shock he told me I had to have my left breast removed and also all glands in my left arm. I felt quite numb from that Thursday until the Sunday when my husband and I decided to ask our Pastor to tell the Church so we could be covered in prayer.  He brought me up to the front and I broke bread with the whole church praying for me as my Pastor anointed my head with oil.   From that instant the fear and shock lifted off me. Everyone I met was crying, except me! I was patting them on the back, saying it would be okay, all the time with a huge smile on my face. I came home amazed at my reaction as it seemed crazy in the light of my recent news, but I know it was not me, it was supernatural. The Holy Spirit, my Comforter, was working in me. 

I had my mastectomy on December 9th, smiling as I went under the anaesthetic (asked the surgeon just to double-check the area before using the knife just in case God had healed me before the op). I know God is my Healer and that sometimes we have to go through “stuff” to strengthen our faith or to help others. I know people saw Jesus shine in me at the hospital ward and I had the opportunity to give out “The Fathers Love Letter” to unsaved women. I felt like the whole thing has been a dream and God has protected me in like a bubble or something. I got out of hospital on the Sunday and a few hours later I was in Church, literally bouncing, worshipping and praising God for His goodness to me. Some people thought I hadn’t had my op yet.  Again not on my own strength, but supernatural  strength.  

I love God so much and know He has plans to prosper and not to harm me. I love the Book of James and believe that if we speak positive loving words, we shall bear fruit. What we say can bring blessings or curses. I read the healing scriptures every day and trust in God’s promises, this is how I know I am healed. I will be starting chemotherapy in a couple of weeks time and the Bible says that Jesus bore the curse for me and so am trusting in Him to take all my sickness and pain. The Life of God is within me, flowing through me, and will strengthen my immune system. The Bible doesn’t lie!

God led my husband to Setting Captives Free, He entirely set him free from sin, restored our marriage, and healed my broken heart. He has blessed us with 3 beautiful daughters to train as they should go, He came to give abundant life and the devil will not kill, steal or destroy any of these things. “I will not die, but live to proclaim the works of God!”.

I could go on and on and on, as I get so passionate when I start talking about God’s love for me.  I hope I have given you enough information and that you will still be able to use it to help others.

Love and God Bless you all

Janice

From Weeper to Worshipper

John chapter 20. If you have lived any length of time at all, you have discovered that sorrow and disappointment are a normal part of life. We lose our jobs, or our life savings is stolen, or our child is in a car accident and left paralyzed, or we watch someone we love with lay on a bed of sickness, and then despite our prayers they die. And sorrow and disappointment set in thick around us, like a darkness that can be felt.

As we look at Mary Magdalene in John chapter 20 what we see is a woman whose heart is absolutely breaking. From her history we know that only one man has ever really loved her. His name was Jesus, and He cast 7 demons out of her. And she came to believe that He was the Messiah, the hope of Israel, the King.

But something went horribly wrong. He was arrested and was put on trial at night and by the time she heard about it He was dragging His cross through the dusty streets of Jerusalem, to the taunts and jeers of the crowd. She was in the crowd and she watched Him fall under the cross, and her heart fell with Him. She was there and watched as nails were pounded into His hands and feet, she heard Him cry Eloi, Eloi, Llama Sabachtini, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” and as He died she felt that her own heart died right along with Him. The only one to ever truly love her hung dead on a cross. Her only hope lie lifeless in a tomb.

But even after He was dead Mary wanted to be with Him. She knew the truth that “love is as strong than death” and so she is at his tomb early Sunday morning. And as if His death weren’t enough disappointment, she can’t even find His body. In vs. 2 she thinks someone has taken the Him out of the grave, and she doesn’t know where He is now. And so Vs. 11 says “¹¹ Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” And the Bible uses two words to describe crying, one is “dakruo” and it means to cry silently. But that is not the word used here, the other word is “klah-io” and it means to wail loudly, to sob openly. It has to do with “gut wrenching” sobs! It’s the same word used of Peter after He denied Jesus 3 times and Jesus looked at Peter, and it says “Peter went outside and wept bitterly.” And so here is Mary standing outside the tomb of the only Person who has ever truly loved her, she’s bending over to look in and get a glimpse of His body, and He is gone, and she is in total broken-hearted agony, sobbing openly and weeping loudly.

And anyone who has buried a loved one or gone through one disappointment after another knows exactly how she feels. Maybe you’ve stood looking over the grave of a parent or a child or maybe you’ve been extremely disappointed by another person, or you have fallen in some way like Peter, and now all you can do is sob from a broken heart.

Well this morning, we will see that there is a Solution to the sorrow and suffering that we go through. There are some things we can learn from Mary’s story today. Let’s pray.

So notice vs. 11 “¹¹ but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” According to vs. 2 she thought somebody had taken the body. And so she looks at the empty grave and begins weeping. Now it’s important to see that Mary here is responding to what she sees. Vs. 11 she’s looking into the empty tomb and she’s weeping. Now there is another way that Mary could have understood what is happening: and that’s by faith. Had she just remembered Jesus’ Words, that He would die and rise again, and believed them, she would be rejoicing that the grave is empty. So contrast for a moment what living by sight vs. living by faith would have done for Mary. Instead of crying she would be rejoicing.

Let’s learn from this, that in our lives we can view what happens to us or the things going on around us either by sight or by faith. And if we live by faith, the very things that could make us weep can be the very things that give us joy, if we live by faith instead of by sight.

You might consider living by sight as represented by two words in vs. 11: “bent over.”  It says “¹¹she bent over to look into the tomb.” She’s bending over, she’s stooping down, and as long as her focus is down, and focusing on the grave she will continue to weep.  What a contrast this is to what David said in Psalm 123:1. Let’s look there if you would, in Psalm 123. David does something opposite to what Mary does here. He says in Psalm 123:1 “¹ I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. ² As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” As long as we focus on our disappointments, our discouragements, what we have lost, or our hurts, we will weep. But if we lift up our eyes to the Lord and look to Him He will show us mercy, and we will see everything in a different light. So “bent over” is the life of sight, and “eyes looking up” is the life of faith. Living by sight always brings weeping and sorrowing, living by faith enables us to rejoice in all things, because we know God is working out all things for our good.

Luke tells us that… ²⁶ Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:26-28 When everything is shaking to pieces around you, lift up your head, look up, Christ is near.

And in vs. 12 it says that she “¹²…saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” Now again, Mary this ought to be a clue, when you see 2 angels sitting in the empty grave it ought to let you know that nobody has taken Him, nobody has stolen the body, He is risen.

Now this is the first time in Scripture where it mentions angels sitting, and when you read this you see the exact description of where they are sitting, one at the head of where Jesus’ body had been, and the other at the foot. So you’ve got 2 angels, one on both ends of where Jesus’ body had been. That should remind us of something in the Old Testament. Look with me at Exodus chapter 25. And in Exodus 25 God is giving instruction on how to build the furniture of the tabernacle. And notice the instruction He gives about the atonement cover, or the mercy seat. Exodus 25: ¹⁷ “Make an atonement cover of pure gold–two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Exodus 25:17-20

You see, Jesus is our Mercy Seat, He is our “Atonement Cover”. See the atonement cover is where the High Priest sprinkled the blood that forgave sins. Jesus shed His blood to forgive our sins. The mercy seat is where God showed mercy to man. In Jesus God has shown mercy to us, forgiving all our sin, taking all our guilt and shame upon Himself, and shedding His blood as full payment for our wrongs. And look at vs. 22 “²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” Jesus is not only our Mercy Seat He is our Meeting Place. If you want to meet with God you must come to Jesus, our Mercy Seat, because that’s where God is.

So there are 2 angels, one at the head and the other at the foot of where Jesus had been. It reminds us of Psalm 91:11 “¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” And there they are.

And in John 20 vs. 13 they ask Mary a question. And this question could be asked to every believer whenever they are sorrowing. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” Stop and think. “Do you really have any reason to be crying?” Shouldn’t the fact that Jesus is not here be grounds for rejoicing instead of crying? Why are crying? Don’t you know that God is in control of all things, and that God works all things out for the good of those who love Him, why are you crying? Don’t you know Jesus has died to forgive you, that He purchased your eternal life, and that He has risen, and so He is mighty to save, and Why are you crying? The very thing that makes you sorrowful could be the thing that makes you joyful if you understand it by faith. See our our unbelief, our sorrowing over so many things in life, makes the angels surprised. What are they doing crying?  

And Mary replies in vs. 13 ¹³ …”They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” Isn’t it amazing that she answered so quickly to the angels, instead of being awe-struck at their presence? She answered as though they were nothing more than men. She was so swallowed up with her grief, that she didn’t even stop to look at these heavenly messengers. Grief can blind us to spiritual realities all around us.

But I just love her language. “My Lord.” They’ve taken away “My Lord.” This is the language of love. Every believer can truly say, “He is My Lord.” “The Lord is my Shepherd…” “The Beloved is mine, and I am His.” “Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

And now, look at vs. 14 “¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.” Mary’s deep deep love for Jesus is going to be rewarded. In fact, all who long to see Him, to be in His presence, He will reveal Himself to. “Those who seek Me, find Me.”

But even though He is standing right there, for some reason she can’t recognize Him. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus is walking right with them and they can’t recognize Him. I mean, if you think about, the entire solution to her problems is right there, and she can’t see Him. I want to show you a picture of this, if you would turn to Genesis chapter 21, there is a story that closely parallels this. If you’ll remember Sarah sends Hagar and Ishmael away, and they go out into the desert, and they run out of water and Hagar doesn’t know what to do and she begins weeping. Look at vs. 15: “¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. ¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? (why are you weeping?) Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” Oh, there was a well of water right by her the whole time, but she just couldn’t see it, so she wept. And this is similar to Mary Magdalene, Jesus is there, her living water, the answer to all her problems, and she can’t see Him until Jesus opens her eyes.

I wonder how many of us have the solution to our every problem is right near us. And some of us have gone off looking to this professional, or that expert to help us. But wait a minute, Jesus is right here, the answer to all our problems is Jesus, and He is not far from any of us. Romans 10:8 “⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”. The Word was near Mary.

Then notice in John chapter 20 the very first words of the Risen Savior. John 20:15 are the first words of the resurrected Jesus. He says ¹⁵ “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying?” And isn’t this just like Jesus? When He first came to this earth He came to people who were brokenhearted. He says “I came to bind up the brokenhearted”, meaning He came to heal those who are brokenhearted over their sin. And what does He do at the end of the world, when all His people are brought in, Revelation tells us He “wipes away every tear.”

And then He asks another question, “Who is it that you are looking for?” And Mary thinking he was the gardener, said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Notice how her thoughts were consumed with Christ here. Him, Him Him she says. She’s thinking of nothing but Him. She wants to know where they put Him and she’s going to go get Him. But her thinking is all wrong and so…

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Here’s Jesus revealing Himself to her. He knows her by name. God said to Moses in Exodus 33:12: ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ Jesus said earlier “³The Good Shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

And John 20:16 says “¹⁶ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).” John 10:4 says ⁴ …his sheep follow him because they know his voice” and here was one of His sheep responding to the call of His voice. He spoke one word and Mary was transformed from a weeper into a Worshiper. That’s the power of the Word. Notice that now that He called her by name, she turns her back on the tomb and falls at His feet — it is only as we know Jesus, through His Word that we are delivered from the power of death!

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). John 20:16 and apparently she’s clinging to Him, not letting Him go because He says in vs. 17 ¹⁷“Do not hold on to me.” She had found Jesus and she just clung to Him. She was apart from Him for 3 days and she never ever wanted to be again. “⁴ I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…” Song of Songs 3:4  

But Jesus says in vs. 17 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.” Now a week later, in John 21, He’s going to tell Thomas to touch Him, so between here and John 21 He returned to His Father. Because He was completing the work of atonement. On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest had sacrificed a lamb, He had to bring it into the presence of God, He had to sprinkle the blood. And so Jesus went to the Father and presented His wounds, the proof of His sacrifice that we might be accepted by the Father.

And then Jesus says, “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17 Now this is the first time Jesus has ever called His disciples “brothers.” See when He died on the cross and rose from the dead, human beings could now enter the family of God, and become the brother of Jesus. The Bible says He is the “firstborn among many brothers.” The prophecy is Psalm 22 was that the Messiah would “declare God’s Name to His brothers.” Just like Joseph after he suffered and was raised to a position of authority, he was not ashamed to call his family “brothers.”

And notice the grace He gives these men. After these men sinned horribly in deserting Christ, running from Him in His time of need, they might wonder, “Have I sinned my way out of heaven? Am I now an outcast of the family?” and Jesus says, He “you are my brothers, and my God is your God and Your Father.” What amazing grace. When we fall, when we sin and we wonder if we are part of God’s family, these words can bring comfort to us too.  

And I want us to see that this whole story with Mary is a picture of redemption. There she is, bent over, looking into a tomb, and weeping. She doesn’t have correct spiritual understanding right now. She has seen angels and Jesus and doesn’t recognize either one. But then Jesus comes and He calls her by name, and she turns to Him, and she clings to Him and just wants to hold on to Him for the rest of her life. This is exactly what redemption is.

We are bent over, fixed on things of this world, focused on the grave, weeping in our sin, we don’t have correct spiritual understanding, and then Jesus comes to us and He calls us by Name. That is, He speaks to us personally in His Word. And we turn around, that is, we repent, and see Jesus, and He tells us we are His. Look at Isaiah 43:1 “¹ But now, this is what the LORD says– he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” This is redemption, when God calls us by name to come to Him and tells us we are His.

And the weeper becomes a worshipper. And so we’ve seen today that Jesus is the answer for all the Christian’s weeping. Turning away from whatever is causing our sorrow and turning to Him is the solution in all things. Looking at every circumstance we are in with the eyes of faith is the solution to all our discouragements, sorrows and troubles in this life.

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

 People say I am always smiling, even when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December (had a mastectomy and glands removed) I kept smiling because I know God has healed me.

The Resurrection of Jesus

Acts 1. I want us to consider this morning what the following things have in common: Santa Clause, Elvis being seen alive, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now if you asked your neighbor, or your friend or your unbelieving relative, the answer is that they’re all fairy tales. That is precisely what most people believe. Jesus rising from the dead is a myth, it’s folk lore, it’s a fairy tale, just like Santa and Elvis being spotted at the mall.

And what these people don’t understand is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historically proven fact; it was one of the most witnessed events in history. Notice Acts 1:3 “³ After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” There are many convincing proofs, much evidence (facts, data, support) for the resurrection of Jesus. I mean, if we don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that puts us in the same category of people who say there was no holocaust. They simply don’t believe history.

And then there are people who are almost Christians, who have examined some of the evidence for themselves, who have seen some convincing proofs, and have come to believe that Jesus did rise from the dead. But it has absolutely no effect on their lives whatsoever. I mean, to talk about the resurrection of Jesus just has no meaning for them; they just want to talk about real life, something that matters to me today. Not some religious event that happened 2000 years ago.

And what these people don’t understand is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most impacting and life-changing event that could ever happen for any person, because the Bible says believers rose with Him. So there we were dead in our coffins of unbelief and rebellion against God, enslaved, entombed in sin, and then God because of His great love for us, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in sins. So the resurrection of Jesus totally changes the life of everyone who truly believes. That’s how we know if we truly believe, we’ve risen out of our sins. The title of my sermon is “Jesus rose, and we rose with Him.” Let’s pray.

Well we are continuing in our study of the Book of John, and as a reminder, we’ve just finished chapter 20 where we saw Jesus, the only sinless man to have ever lived, arrested, put on trial at night, declared to be innocent 3 times, and then He was brutally beaten and finally crucified on a cross and buried in a tomb. And if you remember, Jesus had foretold His death, and the manner of His death, for years. “When I’m lifted up, I will draw all men to me.” “The seed must fall into the ground and die in order to produce fruit.” He continually foretold His death. But not only His death, but also His resurrection. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in 3 days.” “I have authority to lay down my life, and power to take it up again.”

Let’s turn to Matthew chapter 20, and let’s see just one of the places where Jesus foretold His death and resurrection. Matthew 20: “¹⁷ Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ¹⁸ “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” So Jesus foretold exactly how He would die, and also that He would be raised to life on the third day.

And Jesus is just one in a long line of prophets and prophecies pointing forward to His resurrection. Take just a second and remember some of these. In the beginning the Bible says the earth was in darkness, it was buried under the water and it was empty, but on the 3^rd day the waters separated and up came the earth out of its watery grave. So on the very first 3^rd day there ever was, there was a resurrection. Then you have Isaac who was under the death sentence for 3 days as they walked along toward the hill called Golgotha where he was going to die. But on the 3^rd day the father received his son back, and the Book of Hebrews tells us he received him back “as from the dead.” The promised son received back on the third day as from the dead. And then you have the nation of Israel, and they escape from slavery in Egypt through the death of the Passover Lamb, and the Bible says that on the 3^rd day after the death of the Lamb they walked through the Red Sea on dry land. Where they should have been entombed in a watery grave, instead they were alive and on dry ground. This is a picture of believers being raised with Christ and set on solid ground. And then we have Jonah running away from God, ending up on a boat, and a horrible storm comes up, and Jonah knew God was angry and he said, “throw me overboard and the storm will stop.” He volunteered to die in order to save the lives of those on the boat, and he sunk down to the depths of the sea where he wore a crown of thorns; but through a miracle of God he was raised on the 3^rd day. Everywhere the Bible connects new life and resurrection on the 3^rd day. And look with me at Hosea chapter 6, because here is a very clear prophecy of resurrection on the 3^rd day. Hosea was written hundreds of years BC. Notice Hosea 6 verses 1:2: “¹ “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. ² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” Here it is shown that God’s people were in Christ when He was torn to pieces and injured on the cross. But we were also in Him on the 3^rd day when He rose from the dead to live in God’s presence. And so when Jesus said that He would be crucified and raised on the 3^rd day He was simply repeating what was written in the Old Testament thousands of years earlier.

So with that background let’s begin our study of John chapter 20 together.  It’s now the third day after Jesus died, and vs. 1 says “¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” And so let’s notice how perfect it is that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week —teaching us that there is now a new beginning. Jesus rose on the new day of the new week indicating that there is now a new beginning. The full requirements of the law had been met; the shadows and prophecies had all been fulfilled, the curse had been removed, the old covenant had been nailed to the cross, the Sabbath had ended. It was now the “first day of the week”, the new day, the new week, the new life. Jesus is Head of the New Creation, and as such He rose on the new day. The day of “new beginnings.”

So it’s early in the morning, still dark out, the dew is still on the roses, and notice who the first one to the tomb was, it was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom Jesus had cast out 7 demons. And this Mary got up before the sun came up, everybody else was sleeping, and she was the first one to the tomb. See love drew Mary to the place where Jesus was laid. The one who has been forgiven much loves much. She just wanted to be near Him, whether He was dead or alive. People who have been forgiven and have experienced the love of our Savior, just want to be near Him. I remember reading the story of an older man who had a heart attack in his home. And days had passed since his grown children had heard from him and they got worried. So they drove to his house to check on him, and when they got there, they discovered him lying dead on the kitchen floor, but sitting there with him was his German Shepherd dog. The dog hadn’t left his side, he just wanted to be with his master, whether the master was dead or alive. And that’s Mary. Oh how God’s grace and forgiveness draws people like a magnet to Jesus.

And we could apply this to ourselves today. Have you ever just longed to be with Jesus so much that you got up ahead of your alarm clock, and just got alone with Him? The benefit that Mary had by getting up early and going to the tomb is that she got to see Jesus and hear His voice. Starting at vs. 10 she sees Him, and in vs. 16 He calls her name, “Mary.” Oh she knew that voice. Here’s the risen Lord in all His glory, speaking her name. That’s intimate communication with the Son of God. I can picture Mary writing these words one day:

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The son of God discloses.

And vs. 1 tells us the stone was rolled away from the grave. Matthew 28 tells us an angel rolled it away.  And this stone was rolled away, not so that Jesus could get out, He was already out, but so that the disciples could look in, and see that it was empty. They could go there and look in to that chamber of death, that tomb where Satan had raised a victory flag, and they could see that death had been conquered, the Galilean King had triumphed over death. He had won the victory. And all believers can by faith look into that empty tomb and we can ask, “oh death, where is your sting? Death is dead. Love has won. Christ has conquered.”  

But Mary is bewildered and confused, so in vs. 2 “² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Poor Mary, because while she was full of love she was not full of faith. Jesus said over and over that He would rise on the third day, but she’s thinking someone stole the body. And lack of faith brings confusion. Look at her statement, “they have taken the Lord.” Which is it? Is Jesus the Lord, or have “they” thwarted the will of God?

And we often experience times of confusion when we go through huge disappointments in life, when grieving the loss of a loved one. Mary had just lost her Lord, her Savior, and her hope. Her faith is small and she is confused. And the answer to this confusion during times of great disappointment is to do what Mary did; she ran to the body of Christ, to fellow believers. Vs. 2 says she came running to Peter and John. Sometimes we’re tempted to avoid the fellowship when going through disappointments and trials, and when we’re confused and our faith is failing, but that is the time we need each other the most.

And I want us to notice something important about vs. 2. Notice that Peter and John are together. That’s important, because John had witnessed Peter’s fall, had seen Peter’s open public denial of Jesus, and he witnessed him crying in godly sorrow about his fall, and John stayed with him, and John’s with him now. Proverbs 17:17 says “¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Peter fell, and John was right there with him. Of course, Peter didn’t run off either, he didn’t break fellowship even though he was ashamed of his fall.

So Peter and John started for the tomb and vs. 4 says “⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first”. And vs. 5 says he bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but he didn’t go in. Then Peter got there and of course burst right in to the tomb, and he saw the strips of linen lying there. Vs. 7 says he saw “the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen,” thereby proving that nobody had stolen the body. Because grave robbers typically don’t tidy up after themselves; they don’t come in and fold the linens, and straighten up the grave. They just take the body, wrapped in the linens and leave. This body was not stolen.

But look at these linens for a moment. They were wrapped around His head and body, as if He were death’s prisoner. But now these linens are laying on the ground, as trophies of His victory over death. These are the signs that Jesus has power over death.   

Vs. 8 says that John then also went in, and it says he saw and believed. The word “saw” here means that he “perceived with understanding”, as if to say “oh I see.” He believed that Jesus had actually risen from the dead. It was a logical conclusion, an irresistible one, based on the evidence: the body was gone, the clothes were left behind. The obvious conclusion is that Jesus rose, and left His grave clothes behind.

There is a picture of this in the Old Testament that I want us to notice. If you would, turn with me to Genesis chapter 41. We know the story of Joseph: through no fault of His own he was put into prison. An innocent man in prison, and he was put right between two criminals. But he wouldn’t stay in prison forever, he was going to be raised up and brought into the presence of the king. Joseph’s place of shame and suffering was exchanged for one of dignity and glory. But notice what Joseph did before he came into the presence of the king. Vs. 14 says, “¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.” He left his prison clothes behind as he was going to the king. And just like that, Jesus changed his burial clothes, and was clothed in immortality and glory.

One day we, too, will leave behind everything connected with our old selves. Philippians 3:21 says God “ ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” We will leave behind our grave clothes, that is, our flesh, and be transformed into His likeness! We’ll wear what He wears.

And this section ends with vs. 9 that says ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Now this is amazing; they believed based upon the physical evidence, but they did not believe based upon the Word of God. Look with me at Psalm chapter 16 and let’s see what they should have believed. David is writing Psalm 16, and in vs. 9 he says, “⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. ¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Now Peter tells us in Acts that David’s tomb was in Jerusalem and his body was in that tomb fully decayed. Decay sets in after the 3^rd day. So this passage is talking about the Messiah, that He would die, but would not be abandoned to the grave but would rise and sit at the right hand of God. But the disciples did not understand this. But when Jesus walked with disciples on the road to Emmaus, “he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”

Well, Jesus rose from the dead, just as He said He would. What does the resurrection mean to us? I just want to close with these few things that it means to us today, and how it should affect our hearts today:

First: Christianity is right! Go look in the grave of Mohammed or Confucius or any other religious leader. Their bodies are still in the grave because they could not overcome the grave. The grave holds them prisoners, helpless captives. But not Jesus, He’s alive!

Two: It means God accepted Jesus’ payment for sin. So His resurrection means that we really are forgiven, we really are free from the guilt of our sin. See if we were still guilty Jesus would still be in the grave paying for our wrongs. But He rose, and when He did we were entirely justified from all our sins. Romans 4:25 says…“²⁵ He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” “¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17 But Christ was raised, and so we are not in our sins.

Last week I read about the release of a bank robber from prison. He had done 24 years for his crime. The newspaper said, “he paid his debt to society”, so he was released. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead tells us that our crimes have been paid for. We did the crime, He did the time and we’re released. “When God raised Jesus from the dead, it was because He was satisfied by Jesus’ sacrifice, and had accepted it as payment in full for the sins of His people. Jesus’ death had satisfied the demands of His justice.”

Three: All believers have new life. Look with me at Romans chapter 6, and we’ll see how Paul connects the resurrection of Jesus with new life for all believers, “⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (vs. 4). You see the resurrection of Jesus is about power, power to overcome sin so that we live a new life. That’s what a Christian is, one who is living a new life because Jesus is living in us, and He conquered sin.

Look at Ephesians chapter 1 and notice the power we have as believers. “¹⁹ and his incomparably great power (dunamis) for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty (is-khoos, meaning forecefulness and power) strength(kratos, meaning vigor, dominion, power strength), ²⁰ which he exerted (energheo, meaning to energize) in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms…” This is 4 different Greek words that describe God’s power that works in the believer. Then Paul illustrates it by saying the believer has the same power working in Him that rose Jesus from the dead. Wow! That power is to ¹⁸ opens their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins.’ Acts 26:18

I want to read to you what one of my very best Twitter friends wrote just yesterday. This lady is in her eighties. She said, “Many Christians do not know the powerful energy that is at the heart of the believer’s new life.”A Christian is one who has powerful energy and new life. We are no longer under the wrath of God we are under the grace of God. We are no longer under the power of sin and shame, we are under the power of forgiveness and grace.

Finally: We have a living hope. Look at Jesus risen from the dead and you’ll see your future if you’re a believer. See if Jesus had remained in the grave it would have been the death of all our hopes. But He rose and our hope rose with Him. And nobody can take our hope, Jesus is alive. The only way we wouldn’t have hope is if Jesus could die again.

³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33

New Life at the Cross

You know the cross of Jesus Christ is where people find new life. It is where their lives are entirely changed, transformed, renewed, and this change can be described as a resurrection from the dead. “When we were dead in our sins…God made us alive with Christ.” This is what a Christian is, a resurrected one. Matthew 27 tells us that when Jesus died on the cross many dead people came to life and went into Jerusalem. Can you imagine at the very moment Jesus said “It is finished” tombs burst open all over the country and dead people were given life and came out of those tombs. You can see many people who used to be dead, not walking along the road to Jerusalem. And surely this is designed to teach us about the power of the cross to give new life, resurrection life. And today one of the things we will notice is two people whose lives are entirely changed; both were secret disciples until the cross happened, and now they are have become transformed; the Bible calls this being “born again”, and Jesus says unless we are born again we will never see the kingdom of God. So keep a watch out for these two people and notice the transformation that has happened to them.  

So far in John 19 we’ve seen the Jews hand Jesus over to Pilate who declared Him innocent three times and then sentenced Him to be crucified. He was beaten and mocked and scourged and flogged and then crucified between two criminals. And last week we noted that He became like us in every way. On the cross He was naked, in darkness, and thirsty which describes the spiritual condition of every human being by birth.

Possibly you saw this past week where Prince William spent a freezing night, sleeping on a cardboard box out on the streets of London, because he wanted to visit the homeless and know what they were going through. And that was wonderful, I don’t know if a prince has ever done something like this. But one night by the prince pales in comparison to the life of King Jesus, Who didn’t just visit us but became like us in every way. Hebrews 2:17 says: “¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way…that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” In other words Jesus became naked in order to clothe us in His righteousness, He entered our darkness to rescue us out of darkness, and He became thirsty that He might quench us eternally. This would be like Prince William coming to where the homeless were and not just seeing how they live but putting on their torn clothes for the purpose of rescuing them out of their pit and taking them to his palace to live with him forever.

And having made full atonement He said “It is finished”. And we looked last week in Daniel 9 and saw that what Jesus finished was transgressions. That is, He made an end of sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness. He also made an end of Satan–crushed that serpent’s head, and He paid the price for our salvation. And then, having finished the work God gave Him to do, vs. 30 says He bowed His head, it doesn’t say “His head fell”, no, in a deliberate act of worship He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.

Today what we see from this passage is that there were three prophecies fulfilled, there were two disciples changed and there was one Body prepared.  

Now there has been much written about what day of the week Jesus died on, and I’m not going to get into that, but rather say, according to vs. 31, the day after Jesus died was the Sabbath. In fact, it was a special Sabbath because it was Passover week, and that Sabbath began the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.

The Jews didn’t want the bodies left on the crosses overnight because it would defile the land and pollute their Sabbath day. So in an act of blatant hypocrisy vs. 31 says “they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.” Look at these hypocrites. They were so careful to observe the details of the law, while at the same time killing the Author of the Law; they were very concerned that the land not be defiled, but were not concerned at all about their own defilement from murdering the Son of God. And we have to watch out for legalism, and focusing on the minutia, so that while we are being careful to strain out the gnat, we swallow a camel.

Now as I said, these Jews were focused on the Law here, and I’d like to look with you at the Book of Deuteronomy chapter 21. This is the law that the Jews were following when they requested to have the bodies taken down before the Sabbath. Deuteronomy chapter 21 vs. 22: “²² If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, ²³ you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” So the Jews, in obedience to the Law, requested to break the legs of the criminals, to get those bodies off the cross, because those three people on those three crosses were all under God’s curse: two for their own sins, and one for ours. 

John 19:32 tells us about the soldiers who were assigned to break the legs. It says: “³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”

Now this is extremely important, the soldiers noticed that Jesus was already dead. It was their business to make sure about these things, and they were sure He was dead, so they disobeyed a direct order from Pilate, and didn’t break Jesus’ legs. Why? Vs. 36 gives us the answer: ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” You see, if the soldiers broke Jesus’ legs, you could just take this Bible and throw it away, for not only would they have broken His legs, they would have broken God’s Word. And the Scripture can never be broken. These soldiers could not have broken His legs, the whole Roman army couldn’t have broken His legs.

Now John is quoting two Scriptures here. The first one is Psalm chapter 34 if you’d look there with me. Psalm 34 talks about a righteous man, and God’s protection over the righteous. It says in Psalm 34:19 “¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; ²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” And so look at that righteous man, Jesus, hanging on the cross: He has been brutally flogged, whipped so that His flesh was torn away from His bones, beaten on the face with a rod, nails pounded into His hands and feet and a Sword is about to be thrust into His side. Now an adult human has 206 bones, yet not one of His were broken, thereby perfectly fulfilling the prophecy.

 But there is another passage that is being quoted here, if you would turn with me to Exodus chapter 12. This is the story of the Passover, when God sent a destroying angel to judge the Egyptians. And He told the Israelites to kill a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts, and when the destroying angel saw the blood on a certain house, He passed over that home. So the Israelites were taught that they were saved from death by the blood of the Passover Lamb. And in Exodus chapter 12 God gave the regulations for the Passover. Starting in vs. 43 “⁴³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover: “No foreigner is to eat of it. ⁴⁴ Any slave you have bought may eat of it after you have circumcised him, ⁴⁵ but a temporary resident and a hired worker may not eat of it.” ⁴⁶ “It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house.” There’s only safety in the house, under the blood, surrounded by the family.” You go outside the house of God, and away from the family of God there is no safety, we will be destroyed. And finally, “Do not break any of the bones.” And so for 4,000 years the Jews celebrated the Passover and were careful not to break any bones of the Passover lamb.

Isn’t it amazing to think of Jesus, hanging on the cross, and from up on the hill called Golgotha, Jesus could look out over Jerusalem, and He would see the smoke rising from the Passover sacrifice, because He died at the very hour when the Passover Lamb was being sacrificed. And as they were careful not to break the bones of the lamb, so they did not break the bones of Christ, our Passover Lamb Who was sacrificed for us. And the first prophecy was fulfilled.

But the soldiers in John chapter 19, not only disobeyed the command to break His legs, they also did something they were not commanded to do. You can see it in John 19 vs. 34. It says “³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” Wait a minute, the soldiers had already found Jesus was dead, and they weren’t commanded to pierce Him with a spear, but notice vs. 37 “³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.” This was the second prophecy they fulfilled.

Look with me at Zechariah chapter 12. Here Zechariah is seeing into the future, and He is seeing what is going to happen to the Messiah. And in vs. 10 he says “¹⁰ …They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him.” This soldier fulfilled the prophecy in every word. And again we can say that if the soldier had not pierced Jesus side, you could just throw this book away. So the soldiers didn’t do something they were commanded to do, and they did something they weren’t commanded to do, all so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

And as they pierced Jesus’ side, John 19:34 says it brought a sudden flow of blood and water. And this wasn’t just a little bit, the word here means “continuous flow” or “fountain.” The soldier opened up a fountain of flowing blood and water. And there are several things we can learn from this piercing of Jesus’ side. And some of the commentaries get really fancy, symbolic, metaphysical, in talking about the blood represented justification and the water sanctification, so that this fountain saves from wrath and makes me pure. And that is true, but there is one main thing we are supposed to learn from the blood and water flowing out of Jesus? Now I know this isn’t very deep, but what we are supposed to learn was that Jesus was really truly dead. I know it’s not very profound, but that’s the main point.

You see, later the enemies of Jesus would say “oh He just swooned, He fainted, He wasn’t really dead” thereby trying to do away with the doctrine of the resurrection. See if Jesus didn’t die then He didn’t rise from the dead, and if He didn’t rise from the dead we are still in our sins and we have no hope beyond the grave. But listen, that spear went right through the Pericardium, the sac of fluid around the heart and it went into the heart itself and brought out blood and water. Jesus said in Psalm 22 “my heart has melted like wax”. What the soldier said was true, Jesus was fully dead. That’s the first thing the blood and water teach us.

But there is something else that this flow of blood and water is supposed to teach us. That flow of blood and water is God testifying to us. So look at that fountain of flowing blood and water, and listen, do you hear it? God is testifying about something. Look with me at 1 John chapter 5 and let’s see what God is testifying to us through the flow of blood and water.

^“6 This is the one who came by water and blood–Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. ⁹ We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:6-12

This flow of blood and water is God’s testimony to us, that if we believe in the Son and if we have the Son, we have eternal life. In other words, the blood and water speak to us that Jesus died for us so that we can live with Him. This fountain speaks, it testifies to us if we will but listen. The blood of Abel cried out from the ground, crying for justice and revenge against the wrong-doer, but the blood of Jesus speaks a better word, testifying of forgiveness and pardon and eternal life for the wrong-doers who believe. So now the question is, having heard and seen God’s testimony, do you believe Him? No, I mean have you forsaken every other way of getting eternal life, turning from your own works and just trusted what God says is true?

Well we’ve seen two prophecies fulfilled: they didn’t break Jesus’ legs, and they pierced Him with a sword. And let’s look at the final one. In vs. 38-42 Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two wealthy men ask for the body of Jesus and bury Him in a new tomb in direct fulfillment of Isaiah 53:9 “⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Three prophecies fulfilled: His legs were not broken, His side was pierced through, He was buried with the rich in His death. Three prophesies fulfilled.

Next, let’s notice these two disciples. Notice what we learn about Joseph in vs. 38. “He was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews.” Well what a change, he’s not in secret anymore. He’s now uniting himself openly with the crucified Christ, caring for him, proclaiming his love for Him in very specific ways; showing publicly that he is a true follower and that he loves his Lord. If you read Mark 15 it says Joseph went into Pilate “boldly”, courageously, fearlessly. What a change from fearful to fearless, from timid to bold. Maybe he was listening when Jesus said, “if you are ashamed of me here I will be ashamed of you there”, and he took it to heart, or maybe he watched as Jesus prayed for those people who were crucifying Him, showing love for His enemies, and he felt the earthquake and saw the dead people raised to life, and he couldn’t contain it anymore. He just had to repent and submit to Jesus as Lord. Whatever happened, this much we know; at the cross Joseph was transformed, the old had gone, the new had come.

And how about Nicodemus? Notice in vs. 39 that Nicodemus had earlier come to Jesus by night, in secret, under cover of darkness. But not anymore. He’s now in the light of day! Look at the contrast between John 3 and John 19. In John 3 Nicodemus crept into the Lord’s presence under cover of night, and here, where he is not ashamed to openly show himself as one who loved the crucified Savior, who would give of his wealth to take care of His body! What a witness to the power of the Redeemer’s death to change and transform lives.

And how about us? Do we openly associate ourselves with the crucified and risen Savior? At work what do people know you for? Do they know that you are a Christian or are you under cover? When you pray publicly do you kind of wipe your brow and then start eating? Are you maybe a secret disciple for fear of man, coming to Him only when nobody can see you? Why not join the ranks of the bold Joseph and Nicodemus who were not ashamed of their Savior. Somehow the death of Jesus reached their heart and changed their lives. How about you? Can you honestly say that your life is changed through the cross? Because true Christianity is powerful and life-transforming.

And so we’ve seen 3 prophecies fulfilled, 2 disciples transformed, and now look at the 1 body prepared. It says in vs. 39 that “³⁹ …Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. ⁴⁰ Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” They were preparing His body for buriel. And notice what day it was that they were preparing His body, in vs. 42 it was “the Jewish day of Preparation”. The  Jewish Day of Preparation was when leaven was removed from the houses, symbolizing the removing of sin. And here is Jesus, covered in spiritual leaven being removed from the house of God. The leaven was removed on the day of Preparation.

And I do want us to notice that their service done for Christ has never been forgotten. The names of these two are engraved in the Bible, and the weight of the spices that Nicodemus brought is even recorded. Listen, service done to Christ, or in His name, is never forgotten by God. “¹⁰ God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6:10).  

And I just want to close by asking us to look at 2 Scriptures together that solidify what really happened here. The first one is Ephesians chapter 5. Paul is explaining how husbands and wives are to live together. And in vs. 31 he quotes Genesis 2: “³¹ “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³² This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church.” He’s referring to Adam and Eve, how Adam was put into a deep sleep and God opened up his side and brought Eve out of Adam’s rib. He’s teaching that man and wife are of the same body, they are one flesh. Eve was made of that which came out of Adam’s side. But the mystery is that this whole relationship between Adam and Eve is a picture of Jesus and us, the bride of Christ. And we are made His bride through blood and water, through forgiveness and cleansing.

Second Scripture. Please look at Zechariah chapter 12. Here is the prophecy that Jesus would be pierced, but I want us to notice the results, the effects of His being pierced. Zechariah 12:10 says ¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” But notice the effects. “¹ “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” Right after Jesus was pierced there would be a cleansing fountain opened. This fountain would wash sinners. The defiled could be cleansed. All the Naaman’s who have the leprosy of sin can dunk here and be perfectly clean. And so there is Jesus who was pierced for our transgressions, and what comes out of His side is a fountain of cleansing. And the way we get clean is just come to where the fountain is, and be washed.

So look at Him here on the cross, He died just like He lived, pouring out His very life for others. Here is the Last Adam, put into a deep sleep and His side is opened that He might have a bride. Here is the Rock that was struck, that the thirsty might drink of living water. Here is the fountain that was opened for sin and uncleanness. Here is the Rock of ages, cleft for me, and what pours out of the Rock saves from wrath and makes us pure.

So he died and was buried in a new tomb. In His birth He came from a virgin womb and in His death He is laid in a virgin tomb, showing that He was separate from sinners from His birth to His death.