Happy Resurrection Sunday morning to you. We miss you all and look forward today that we can gather back together and we hope that that will be very soon. I hope that you've enjoyed the singing this morning. I'm very thankful for Tanner and for Claire and for Robert and Dennis and their hard work to put together the video and the singing for us to enjoy in our homes today. I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles to John chapter 20. As we gather virtually again this morning, we know that God, even through this time of pandemic in our nation, that where we are not gathering as a church, that God is still working all things together for the good for those who love him. And that God is still working to complete that which he has begun in our lives. And that God is faithful no matter what is going on around us. So with that in mind, we come to God's word today, expecting to hear from him, expecting to be changed by the word of God and to rejoice maybe afresh today in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 20, as you know, we always like to be in one of the resurrection accounts on a resurrection Sunday morning. And we find ourselves here today as we've been working our way through the gospel of John. If you would join me at verse one, I'll read the first 18 verses, and then I will only refer to the remaining verses, verses 19 through 31 in the message. So if you would please read, follow along as I read aloud in verse one. Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early. while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple who Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. Verse 11, but Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they've taken away my Lord and I do not know where they've laid him. Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Verse 15, Jesus said to her woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She supposing him to be the gardener said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him, Rabboni, which is to say teacher. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. And may the Lord bless on this resurrection Sunday morning, the reading of his word to our hearts. Today, I'd like to share with you the hope of the resurrection. And really the hope of the resurrection is a hope in God, as we see in scripture. I wanna share with you three things from this passage of scripture. The resurrection, that the resurrection is fact, the resurrection is foundational, and finally, the resurrection is future. The first thing we'll see is the resurrection is fact. We see that it is fact in three different ways. We see the resurrection is fact because of the expectation of the disciples. There's nothing about the resurrection accounts, whether you're reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, that would cause us to think that the disciples or any of the followers of Jesus, any of the women who came to the tomb, came there expecting to find Jesus alive from the dead. As a matter of fact, the women brought ointment that they might anoint the body of Jesus. for his burial as was in the custom of that day. The disciples were not even coming there that morning until they heard word from the women that the stone had been rolled away and someone had taken the body. And then Peter and John ran to the tomb to find out what was going on and to see it for themselves. And if you look down at verse nine there in chapter 20, we see that even after these events had unfolded, in verse nine it says, for as yet they did not know the scriptures. that he must rise again from the dead. They did not know the scriptures, meaning they did not believe them yet, that Christ would rise again from the dead. Over in Luke's gospel in the 24th chapter, here we find Jesus as he was speaking to some disciples. After his resurrection, he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things? and to enter into his glory. So the first thing we see is the expectation of the disciples was not to find a risen savior. Number two, though, is the emptiness of the tomb. When Peter and John ran there to the tomb, they looked in and then Peter ran in and we see that they did not find a dead body laying there. When the women went into the tomb, they did not find a dead body laying there. But as a matter of fact, what they found was the grave clothes that Jesus had on. And it was as if the body had been lifted out of them and the clothes had just fallen flat, but not the handkerchief that was around the head. That had been folded and placed neatly at the head of where the body laid. So we see here that this wasn't the work of grave robbers. This wasn't man's work. This was something that was beyond that. The emptiness of the tomb is proof that Jesus rose again from the dead. The resurrection is fact. Number three, we see this, the exhibition of the resurrection. The exhibition of the resurrection. That means that the appearances of Jesus we see in this chapter. First of all, Mary Magdalene was appeared to, and then we find that in verses 11 through 18. Mark's gospel also tells us that Mary was the first one to see Jesus alive from the dead. She was the first one to have the honor of seeing him. And it was this one whom Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. Jesus appeared to her in this passage. And we see also that Jesus appeared to his disciples. If you look at verses 19 through 23, though we didn't read these earlier, we find him here appearing to his disciples as they had assembled together after going to their homes. And then later that day, they assembled back together. And in verse 19, he appears to them and he says, peace be with you. And then in verse 21, he says to them again, peace to you. As the father has sent me, I also send you. So Jesus appeared to his disciples. Number three, we see him appearing to Thomas. In this first time when he appeared before them, Thomas was not in their midst. And because he was not there, Thomas being who Thomas is, he would not believe that Jesus Christ had risen. And he said, as a matter of fact, down in verse 25, Thomas said there, unless I see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And Jesus graciously, in verse 26, appears to them again. It was eight days later. And he appears to them for the sake of Thomas in verse 27. Rather, in verse 26, he says to Thomas, peace to you. And in verse 27, he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and touch my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. So we see the exhibition of the resurrected body of Jesus Christ. He appeared to Mary, he appeared to the disciples and he appeared to Thomas. We find that it goes further than that as we look over to the book of first Corinthians chapter 15. Jesus in his resurrection as the fourth tenant of the gospel, we find that he appeared to Cephas and then to the 12 and then in verse six of first Corinthians 15. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, he was seen by James and then by all the apostles. So Jesus Christ, appeared alive from the dead is the exhibition of Jesus's resurrected body. So we see the facts of the resurrection. The resurrection was not the expectation of the disciples. We see it in the emptiness of the tomb, and we see it in the exhibition of the body. John Adams is one of my favorite characters from history. and he was a wonderful statesman, attorney, diplomat, and founding father of the United States. He also served as vice president and as the second president of the United States. As he defended the British soldiers, really, after the Boston Massacre, he said this about facts. He said, the facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion. They cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. And in the resurrection account of Jesus, it is very much the same. You may be an unbeliever. You have not believed in the gospel. You've not received Jesus Christ as your savior. You've not believed the testimony of God, that God through Christ gives eternal life to those who believe in him. You may not have received that yet, but I want you to know that if you have not, and if you continue to refuse to, you are in essence saying, I don't care what the facts say, I am not going to believe it. Because the facts of the resurrection point to only one explanation, and that is that Jesus Christ literally rose bodily from the dead and that tomb is no longer empty. You see, you can go to the graveyard and you can visit where friends or relatives may lie dead, but you cannot go to a place where Jesus lies dead and visit his grave. You may visit the grave or the suspected graves there around Jerusalem, but you will not find the man lying there. He has risen from the dead. That is point number one. The resurrection is fact. Point number two is this. The resurrection is foundational. The resurrection is foundational. Number one, it is foundational for our rejoicing. Mary Magdalene went back to the tomb. And she had been there early that morning. She saw the stone rolled away. She may have seen some of the other angels who were there. Because in Matthew's account, we find an angel sitting on top of the stone that had been rolled away. In Mark's account, we find an angel inside the tomb, sitting. And then in Luke's account, we find two angels on each side of the women talking to them. And all three of the angels are all four of those angels that the women encountered had the same message. He is not here, he is risen. Go and look where they've laid him, or come and see where they have laid him, or see where they have laid him. Over and over again in these gospel accounts, they ask these same questions and make these same statements. Now, As we look here to see Mary's encounter where Jesus appears to her, we see that her sorrow is turned to joy. Thus, we see that Jesus or the resurrection is foundational for our rejoicing. Mary encounters Jesus after seeing two angels. And, you know, most of us, when we would have seen those angels sitting there, we would have been looking around, we would have wanted our friends to come and see those angels too. If it was 2020, Mary would have grabbed her cell phone and tried to take a selfie with them. Hey, everybody in the shot, okay, let's take the picture. But that wasn't the case. As a matter of fact, she seemed very disinterested when it come to the angels. She paid them hardly any mind. What she was most interested in was finding out where Jesus was, even though at this point, she didn't think he was alive. And then Jesus comes to her She thinking him to be the gardener and asked him, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And she supposing him to be the gardener said, sir, if you have, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I will take him away. In other words, she's saying, I will, I will pick him up and I will take him away. I will take care of him. verse sixteen, Jesus said to her Mary and as soon as she heard those words in an all familiar voice, Jesus and Jesus said, hasn't he in John chapter ten, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and here Mary hears her name and she turned and said to him, which is which is translated teacher. So Jesus here is paid the highest form of respect that a teacher could be given. And Mary's sorrow now suddenly is turned to rejoicing. This is exactly what Jesus promised in John chapter 16 and verse 22. Before he was crucified, he said, therefore, you now have sorrow, but I will see you again. and your heart will rejoice in your joy. No one will take from you." Not only did Jesus appear to the disciples, to Mary, but he also appeared to the disciples as we've already seen. And he said, peace to you, peace to you. We can see in the other accounts how the disciples eventually, even though they were so slow to believe that their sorrow was turned to joy. So we see number one, that the resurrection is foundational for our rejoicing. But we also see that the found that the resurrection is foundational for our reason, for our reason. What I mean by that is our reason for life, our reason for living, our purpose in life. It is our reason for being the people of God that he has called us to be. In verse 17, again, if you look there in chapter 20, Jesus said to Mary, do not cling to me for I have not ascended, not yet ascended to my father. but go. This is the point that I want to bring out here very quickly is that Jesus gives us reason. Mary now, because of the resurrection, had a reason to live. She had a reason to speak. She had a reason to go. And that's because Jesus Christ was alive and he had commanded her to do so. Now we see we could go down further and we could find that Jesus in verse 21, said to the disciples, peace to you, as the father has sent me, I also send you. All right, so Jesus there gives them reason for living. I want you to know today that you have reason to live too. In John 14, verse 19, Jesus Christ said, because I live, you also will live. That was a promise to his disciples, but it was also a promise to us. And he has told us that the thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, but he has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Our life, our reason for living is found in Jesus Christ. And if the resurrection were not true, if he did not live, then we would have no purpose for living either. The Bible says in Romans chapter 14, If we live, we live unto the Lord. If we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. And the scripture goes on to say, for to this end, Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and of the living. So the resurrection of Jesus is foundational for our rejoicing, It's foundational for our reason, but it's also foundational for our relationship. There in verse 17, you will find it. Jesus says to Mary, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God. Because of the resurrection, I would like to submit to you is because of the resurrection that we can now call out to God as father. It's because of the resurrection that we can relate to God and truly know Him as God. Because you see over in John chapter 17, the scripture tells us that this is eternal life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. So for us to know God, to have a relationship with God, for us to be able to call Him Father, That is only possible because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. Just like first John chapter three, verse one says, behold, what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. You see that love. That love that God has displayed to us is the love that allows us to be able to be His children, to know Him as Father. In the Old Testament, really, it's just a handful of times. I can think of maybe only about five times in the Old Testament where God is referred to as Father. But in John chapter 13, verse 17, just in those chapters, Jesus refers to God as Father 53 times. And it's over 100 times in the entire gospel. So Jesus, because of the resurrection, enables us to have a relationship with God as our Father. So the resurrection is foundational for our rejoicing, it is foundational for our reason, and it is foundational for our relationship. The last point I would bring out on this is that the resurrection is foundational for our redemption. The resurrection is foundational for our redemption. You see it in verse 23. Jesus has sent his disciples, and he said to them that they are to go, he has sent them. And then he makes a statement to them in verse 23 that is a little bit perplexing, and we won't get too caught up right now in trying to dissect it, but we can go to the basic understanding of it for sure. Verse 23, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now we know that men cannot forgive other men's sins. Now we may forgive them in the way that they trespass against us, certainly, but we cannot forgive their sins before God. And very simply in Ephesians chapter one, verse seven, the scripture says, in him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. So scripture isn't contradicting itself, because it's only through the gospel preached, through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that sins can be forgiven. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Now, what does this passage mean, though? It seems to mean this, just a basic understanding is the disciples have been sent, and they would go in the power of the Holy Spirit with the message of the gospel. And as they preach the gospel, those who hear that message, and believe it are forgiven of their sins. Just like Acts chapter two, verse 38 says, where the Jews first heard Peter preach. And they asked in verse 37, men and brethren, what shall we do? And what did Peter say? He said to them, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We see there that through believing the gospel, through obeying that gospel, that a person is forgiven of their sins. Their sins are remitted. Then in Acts chapter three, verse 19, just as a couple of examples. Here he is preaching after the lame man was healed. And in verse 19, it says, repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. and so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. See, the disciples never went forward and thought that they could inherently in themselves just forgive sins. But it was through the preaching of the gospel that they could be, that men and women, boys and girls could be forgiven. So that brings us to that point. The resurrection is foundational for our redemption. Were it not for the resurrection of Jesus, our justification and our forgiveness of sins and our redemption before God could never be sure. but because he's raised again, we can be sure of it. And we can go and preach the gospel to all the world. And we can know that through that gospel, God is going to save his people. So we've seen so far that the resurrection is fact. It's fact because we see in the expectation of the disciples, the emptiness of the tomb and the exhibition of the resurrected body. We see the resurrection is foundational. We see that is foundational for our rejoicing, for our reason, for our relationship and for our redemption. And the last point I would bring to you is this, that the resurrection is future. The resurrection is future. He appeared to the disciples and he appeared to Thomas specifically. But then in verse 29, after Thomas' reply to Jesus in verse 28, where Thomas said, my Lord and my God, in verse 29, Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. You see, Jesus here is talking about us. He's talking about people who in the future would not see the resurrected body, but yet they would believe in the resurrection. They would believe that Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. But to this point in particular that I would point out and bring to you is this, that the resurrection is future in that there is still a resurrection that is yet to occur. Jesus will not rise again from the dead, but he has promised that those who believe in him, whether you saw him in that day or whether it's in this day, maybe even today, you for the first time have seen the resurrected Christ by faith and you've believed in him. I want you to know that there is a promise of a resurrection that is awaiting you. In John chapter five, we've seen Jesus talk about this already. John chapter five, verse 24, he says, most assuredly I say to you, He who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Now we could drop down to verse 28. Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life. and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. You see, there is going to be a resurrection one day where the bodies that are in the graves are going to come forth and those who have done just to the resurrection of life, those, and then the unjust to the resurrection of condemnation, those who have done evil. And we may say there, well, that means I can just live and be a good enough person to receive that. And I would say to you, no, you can't, because if that's what Jesus is saying here, then he's contradicting what he said in verse 24, because in verse 24, he said, most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life. So I want you to know today that if you have not heard the words of Jesus, and if you've not believed in the words of Jesus, then it doesn't matter what good work you've done or what good you've done, all of your good is as filthy rags. Your righteousness is as filthy rags if you have not found yourself believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, this is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom he has sent. And if you haven't done that work, that work of believing in the Son of God, then you have no good works to offer before God the Father. None of them will count or help you on that day. As we conclude today, I'd like to read 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the last part. In verse 50, listen to the great promises of this passage. As we think about our resurrection being future. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption put on incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the Lord who has risen again from the dead. And because of his resurrection, we can have redemption. We can have eternal life. Today, I've shown you the resurrection is fact. I've shown you that the resurrection is foundational and I've shown you that the resurrection is future. And I want to ask you today, how are you living your life in light of these facts? Have you believed in the gospel? Have you believed that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the 12. Have you believed that? And if you have believed that today, are you following the Lord and believers baptism and doing what he has taught us to do in his word? Are you embracing him as Mary clung to him? Are you seeking him more than anything else in your life? Please ask yourself that question. But also we would see that the resurrection is foundational. You see, that's something that's been completed. So our rejoicing is settled. Our reason for living is settled. Our relationship with God is settled and our redemption is settled. And finally, we see the resurrection is future. Are you looking forward to that day as Paul was in Acts chapter 24, where there he preached the gospel and he said it's because of the resurrection that he seeks to have a good conscience. before God and before man because he knows on that day he will stand before the Lord and give an account.