I have seen within myself what Jesus can do. He changed my heart.
Jesus didn’t give me wealth, or control, or special powers or anything of the sort. Jesus gave me “LIFE” and a promise that He’s coming back.
Tomorrow we’ll close the Book of John with some more…
John 20
The Resurrection of Jesus
The use of a wreath around the Chi Rho symbolizes the victory of the Resurrection over death, and is an early visual representations of the connection between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his triumphal resurrection, as seen in the 4th century sarcophagus of Domitilla in Rome.
1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.
3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.
4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher.
5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie,
7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed.
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
Stained glass of Resurrection with two Marys at a Lutheran Church, South Carolina.
11 But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
“For I am not yet ascended” – the meaning appears to be that the ascension was still some time off. Mary would have opportunity to see Jesus again, so she need not cling to Him.
Alternatively, Jesus may be reminding Mary that after His crucifixion she couldn’t have Him with her except through the Holy Ghost.
A rotunda in Church of the Holy Sepulchre, called the Anastasis (“Resurrection”), which contains the remains of a rock-cut room that Helena and Macarius identified as the burial site of Jesus.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Lit. “Those whose sins you forgive have already been forgiven; those whose sins you do not forgive had not been forgiven.” God doesn’t forgive people’s sins because we do so, nor does He withhold forgiveness because we do.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, or the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a church within the Christian Quarter of the walled Old City of Jerusalem. It is a few steps away from the Muristan.
Rather, those who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearers accent or reject Jesus Christ.
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
“They that have not seen, and yet have believed” – would have been very few at this time. All whom John mentions had seen in some sense. The words, of course, apply to future believers as well.
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
The Resurrection of Jesus Quick Explanation of “Fear the Lord your God” (Deut 6:13)
Every day more and more people are taking a look – for some, a 2nd look – at the historical person of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul wrote that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4)
Thus the death and resurrection of Christ were proclaimed as belonging together at the very heart of the gospel, forcefully placing “the full weight of faith on both the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ” by stating, “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith”(1 Cor 15:14)
In fact, Paul further claims that belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus is so central to salvation that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. [1 Cor. 15:17).Many wonder why Jesus Christ has been studied so extensively, has been studied more than any other person? The answer is simple, Jesus was not just a man, He is also God (Jn 1:14; 1 Tim 3:16).
When we hear the word, “God” a subliminal flag is automatically triggered and the message that enters the mind is “Fear!”
Four different types of fear:
1.Believer without a personal relationship with Jesus – fear as we understand the definition of it does not register with this person and he or she doesn’t understand why God tells us to fear Him (Deut 6:13; Prov 1:7, 8:13; Matt 10:28; etc.) because they are not afraid.
That message “Fear” is still in their mind and because they want to do right for God they cannot help but wonder why they are not afraid. It would be like putting a paintbrush into a can of blue paint and painting the wall, but the color on the wall is not blue.
Yet, as the believer spends more time with Jesus a personal relationship begins to form and slowly the wall starts to become blue.
2.Believer with a personal relationship with Jesus – the fear he or she has is not fear as we understand it, it is absolute awe; a complete feeling of protection that is a wonderful feeling, but also frightening.
3.Non-believer – nothing registers with them, not even the subliminal message because they are to ignorant to read.
4.The fool – this is the person that had been a believer and decided to that they preferred to be a part of the world. They live in total fear because they know how truly powerful God is. They are not only afraid of their own shadow, but their shadow is too.
Explaining Evidence
and Meaning of the Resurrection
Women at the empty tomb, by Fra Angelico, 1437-1446.
To begin with, everything about Jesus was unique: The prophecies of His coming. His birth. His life. His teachings. His miracles. His death. And especially His resurrection.
It is history’s most significant event.
The validity of Jesus’ claims about Himself rests on the Resurrection.
Many skeptics say that to believe in a risen Christ is nothing more than a blind leap of faith with little or no basis in truth.
When confronted with the facts, however, those who are intellectually honest have been forced to admit that the Resurrection is a historical event based on irrefutable proofs.
Evidence for the Resurrection
1.Christ predicted His resurrection.
Icon depicting the Emperor Constantine, accompanied by the bishops of the First Council of Nicaea (325), holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381.
“From that time Jesus forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised against the third day” (Matt 16:21).
Even though His followers did not understand what He was telling them at the time, they remembered His words and recorded them.
2.Jesus made numerous appearances to His followers. He comforted the mourners outside His tomb on Sunday morning. On the road to Emmaus, He explained things about Himself from the Old Testament. Later, He ate in their presence and invited them to touch Him.
Scripture records that Jesus was seen by more than 500 at one time. Some may argue that a few people could have agreed to a deception, but how can one explain the collaboration of 500 people?
3.The disciples who were once so afraid that they deserted their Lord now courageously proclaimed this news, risking their lives to preach. Their bold and courageous behavior does not make sense unless they knew with absolute certainty that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
4.The growth of the Christian church confirms the Resurrection. Peter’s first sermon, which dealt with Christ’s resurrection, stirred people to receive Him as their living Savior.
‘Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls’ (Acts 2:41).
The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist?
Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages.
And that group of believers has multiplied until now it reaches around the world. Today, there are hundreds of millions of believers, but there are more non-believers in the world.
5.The testimony of hundreds of millions of transformed lives through the centuries shows the power of the Resurrection. Many have been delivered from addictions. The destitute and despairing have found hope.
Broken marriages have been restored. The most conclusive proof for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that He is living within believers today in all of His resurrected life and transforming power.
Conclusion
The resurrection of Jesus Christ ranks as history’s most revolutionary event.
One cannot deny that He shook the world in His day. He was just a single man but the world feared Him to the point that they executed Him.
His life, His being, has shaped the course of history.
The Resurrection is the final proof that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be and if He would not have died and rose for us we would have no salvation.
I have seen within myself what Jesus can do. He changed my heart. 
Jesus didn’t give me wealth, or control, or special powers or anything of the sort. Jesus gave me “LIFE” and a promise that He’s coming back.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
