You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching we may present everyone mature in Christ. Father, we thank you for another evening that we could gather together in your name, in a building that has been dedicated and set apart for your glory and for your honor, that we, your sheep, might gather together and hear from our great shepherd, by your Spirit, through the Word, that we might be encouraged and strengthened, that we might be drawn closer to you and to each other. May this be a night, O Lord, where we see Jesus. We ask you, O Lord, to bring glory to your name. We thank you, Lord, for our children and grandchildren. We ask tonight that as Andrew and Grace teach them, that they would be encouraged, strengthened, and that their hearts would be strangely warmed, that they would be drawn in their affection to you. O Lord, save them, we pray, by your grace. Thank you for this evening, O Lord. May we bring you glory and honor in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. We're in the gospel according to John. Chapter 20. How many Gospels are there? One Gospel. Amen. Amen. One gospel, four narratives, the gospel according to Matthew, the gospel according to Luke, the gospel according to Mark, and the gospel according to John. So this evening we're going to begin in John 20 verse 11. I'm not going to read it as I normally do. I'm gonna try to save my voice. So I'm just going to drop in on verse 11 and begin teaching. We've just seen the The crucifixion of Jesus in the last chapter. We saw Jesus on the cross. He declared, it is finished. He completely fulfilled the will of the Father in obedience. He gave up His life on behalf of His sheep. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came, took His body, brought the spices and the wrappings, linen wrappings. They placed him in a tomb, in a grave, an unused grave. And then we read the story of Mary comes to the grave and he's not in there. She looks in the, he's not there. She runs and tells the disciples, Peter and John, make a run for the graveside, graveside, the tomb, and they get there. He's not there. They find the linen clothes. in a bundle, the face covering, folded up neatly, and they go back home. That's where we're at in the narrative. They watched their Lord die. They saw his body, the women, saw his body taken down from the cross and placed in a grave. We pick it up in verse 11. But, that contrasts with what we just read in verse 10, then the disciples went back to their homes. But, contrast, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head, and one at the feet. Does anything jump into your mind when you read when she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet? Two angels, one at the head, one at the feet. There you go, the mercy seat, yep. Let's go over to Exodus 25. I don't know if this is what the intent was in telling us there were two angels or just declaring there were two in Genesis, Exodus 25. But it sure brings to mind when I read this, the first thing that jumped into my mind was the two cherubim, the two angels at the mercy seat. Chapter 25, verse 10 of Exodus. instructions, detailed instructions on how to make the Ark of the Covenant. They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two cubits and a half shall be its length, the cubits approximately 18 inches, so it's not a big and two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it, and you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length and a cubit and a half its breadth, and you shall make two cherubim of gold A hammered work shall you make them on the two ends of the mercy seat. Verse 19, make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubin on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another toward the mercy seat, shall the faces of the cherubim be, and you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people. of Israel. So, a beautiful picture of what we now see here at the tomb. The body is not there. They probably were there keeping guard. These two angels, these two cherubim did not present themselves to Peter and to John. We saw in the last narrative they didn't observe, they didn't see these men. But it is Mary Magdalene, this woman, who we are told in the other Gospels that she had seven demons that Jesus cast out when he first met her. So she was in a bad way when she came to Jesus. So she saw two angels in Mark 16, five, let's go there, Mark 16, verse five. We see a parallel in the narrative. Verse one of chapter 16, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him, that is Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb and they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back. It was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him? But go tell his disciples and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him just as he told you. And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling in astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." So now we come back to John 20, 11, but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped, we saw that same thing in verse five up above, where, and stooping to look in, that is Peter, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. So, she stooped to look into the tomb, and she saw two, okay, angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head, and one at the feet. They said to her, Woman this is the same word woman good night that Jesus used of Mary back in chapter 2 if you'll remember It is a sign of respect Okay So he called her woman he said to her woman, why are you weeping? Think about that for a second she saw Christ crucified She saw the soldier stick the spear into his side. The water and blood flowed. She saw Joseph of Arimathea come and take him down. And then he and Nicodemus wrapped him and anointed him with spices, oils. And she's crying. She's weeping. She didn't find a body. Wouldn't that be good news? Not for her at that moment. She thought somebody came and stole the body. We look back at it and we say, wow, Jesus said he was gonna go, he was gonna go back to the Father, he was gonna resurrect, but don't forget, we're looking at it 2,000 years later, we've already read the narratives, and Mary's experiencing this firsthand. So she comes, she thinks someone took the body, watch. They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Flip over real quick to Luke 24, 16, and we see that at times when Jesus appears after his resurrection in his post-resurrection body, 24, 16, This is on the road to Emmaus, if you recall. We're walking along and Jesus comes up alongside of them and then in verse 16, Well, let's go 13. That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. Verse 16, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. So he prevented them from knowing who he was. We also see this go over to John 21, and look at verse four. Verse 21, chapter 21, verse 1. After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon, Peter, Thomas called a twin, Nathanael of Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, we will go with you. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Nothing. Verse four, just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore. Now look, yet the disciples did not know it was Jesus. So whether they couldn't see him or he prevented him like he did in Luke 24, we don't know, but there were times when Jesus was in their midst and they did not know who he was until he revealed himself. So this seems to be what's going on here with Mary. So she did not know that it was Jesus. Verse 15, Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? So two questions. Is the why a mild rebuke? It could be. Whom are you seeking? Well, he knows she's seeking him. Is that asking what kind of Messiah are you seeking? A dead Messiah? Or are you looking for the risen Savior? We don't know. So supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. Okay. Tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away. Let me know where he's at, that I might get him. Verse 16, Jesus said to her, Mary, She turned and said to him in her Aramaic, Rabboni? Which means teacher. So she recognized his voice. What did John tell us in John 10 verse four? My sheep will know my voice. Think about it. I haven't heard my dad's voice 30 years, 40 years. But I tell you what, if I heard it, I'd know it, right? So she had an affection, a love for Jesus. Remember, she knew him as a man, a person. He revealed himself as Savior, as Lord. How much she understood, we don't know. But here she says, Romani, which means teacher. Verse 17, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Now. Yes, this is a tough one, huh? Yeah, that was the question that was asked last week. So this week we'll, Look at it. One of the things I think that causes some confusion on this passage was the King James Version translated this as, Mary, don't touch me. Okay, do not touch me. The word that's used here, the Greek word, can be used for touch. It's used as touch in other places. It also could be used to hold onto or to cling to. Now, unfortunately, this is one of those cases where the Greek doesn't really give us a lot of help because it's contextual. It's just basically the word means what it says. But I think the duration of the word is what's going to help us. What he's saying is, the grammar is me, mu, me, me. Up to, now that doesn't mean a lot to you unless you know Greek, but the may is what we call a negative. So the may is no, and it's an imperative. When you have may with an imperative, with this no, and an imperative verb, it means stop doing something. So he's not telling her don't touch me, he's saying stop holding on to me, stop clinging to me. Stop what you're doing. Okay? Now, if we say it's not, don't touch me, we're gonna have a problem when we get over to chapter 20, verse 27. Drop down to verse 27. If we say Jesus can't be touched in this body, we have a problem because he invited Thomas in verse 27, then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe. So he invited him to touch him. So it's not something where he's in this body that can't be touched by human hands. To further emphasize that, we need to go over and look at Luke chapter 24 and verse 39. Look at that. Luke 24 and verse 39. Let's look at verse 36. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you, but they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and marveling, He said to them, Have you anything to eat? They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it before Him." So, whatever the body of Jesus is in its resurrected state, okay, it appears that He could walk through walls. I don't know if He walks through them, but He can appear. where he wants to appear and he can eat and he can be touched and apparently he still looks like what he looked like before he was resurrected in his resurrected body and he still has the scars and the wounds that were given to him during his crucifixion. So, Paul has a little bit to say. Let's go over to 1 Corinthians 15. Paul has a little bit to say about a resurrected body. Oh, one more passage before we leave. Matthew 28, 9. Let's look at that first before we go to 1 Corinthians. I forgot this one. Matthew 28 and verse 9. This is the women. who when they come, verse one, now after the Sabbath toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb and behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. So that's how did the stone get rolled back, that's how. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen. As he said, come see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. "'There you will see him. "'See, I have told you.' "'They departed quickly from the tomb, "'with fear and great joy, "'and ran to tell his disciples. "'And behold, Jesus met them and said, "'Greetings!' "'And they came up and took hold "'of his feet and worshipped him. "'Then Jesus said to them, "'Do not be afraid. "'Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, "'and there they will see me.'" He said to Thomas and the other disciples, you could touch me, put your hands in my wounds. The women came and embraced his feet and were worshiping him. It's not something that, man, if I read some goofy things, I'm not even going there with you, but there's so many weird things that people have taught over the years. All right, let's, what does the text say? All right, I love that. 1 Corinthians 15, let's look what Paul says about the resurrected body. This is just to show you that there is a difference in a resurrected body, but yet there's similarities. 15, what'd I say, 35, 1535. But someone will ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come, you foolish person? What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as He has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable. What is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. Thus it is written, the first mad Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and is the man of heaven. So also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable meets, excuse me, when the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? Isaiah 25, eight. And then from Hosea, O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. So, we have earthly bodies, physical bodies, and spiritual bodies, all right? So, he's told Mary, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, right? So, the ultimate, the final and decisive ascension, we find in Acts chapter one. and he rises up into heaven, all right? So there is, I'll leave it alone. All right, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, right? Luke 24, 51, let's look at that. I have not yet ascended to the Father, Luke 24, 51. This is at the end, the last few verses of Luke. Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven, and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, blessing God. Now flip over to Acts chapter one. Remember Luke wrote, the gospel according to Luke as the first installment. The second installment is, the first installment is the life and times of Jesus. The second installment is the life and times of the church, okay? So in Acts chapter one, No, let me read verse 1. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me, nor John baptized for, excuse me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, verse six, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And When he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up and the cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Okay. So, step back into chapter 20 again. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, stop holding on to me, stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Okay? Jesus had promised in John 14, 2, that he was going to go and prepare a place for them, and that he would not leave them as orphans, but that he would return for them. He also said in John 16, 7, that he would send the Comforter, the Paracletus. So, now is the time. Mary, here's my understanding of this paraphrased. Mary, stop holding on to me in the physical relationship we had as teacher and disciple. Because of the death, burial, and resurrection, I am now the resurrected Lord of glory. We now have a different relationship. Stop holding on to, stop clinging to that old relationship. That's my understanding. Then he says, I have not yet ascended to the Father, so stop clinging, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, and then he gives her a job to do. But, a milded verse, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Okay? The fact that Jesus was resurrected must be linked to his ascension. They are intimately integrated, connected. You can't have one without the other. Jesus had promised that he was going to return to the Father. But in order to do so, he also told them that he was going to ascend. Remember when he told them it'd be like Jonah, in three days he would raise up? So all of these, what we would call Christ events, are intimately connected and cannot be pulled apart. But Mary is struggling to fit it all together. I'm sure we would have too. Now, one of the interesting things when he said, I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers, go over to John 15, 15. In John 15, 15, Let's go to verse 12. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, all right? You are my friends. A unique position. You are my friends. if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, actually doulos is slaves. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask the father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you so that you will love one another. So they went from slaves to friends. who were knowledgeable of the plan and what Jesus was going to do. Now, now he's calling them not only his friends, but after his death and resurrection, he now becomes brother. Let's go over to Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews chapter two. Look at verse 10. For it was fitting that he, that is Jesus, for whom and by whom all things exist and bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them, what? Brothers. saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise, and again, I will put my trust in him, and again, behold, I and the children God has given me. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring, the seed of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. So he became a man and fulfilled the will of the Father that we might be made his brothers. And brothers is a position, okay? And it includes both men and women who are believers, all right? Just like sons, the sons of God, okay? Very infrequently do you find daughters, it's sons, why? Because the position of a son in the adoption process. But it includes both men and women in that we are the sons or the children of God. Now, let's look at John. Chapter one, if you'll recall when we looked at the prologue of the gospel, I said that almost every verse in here will find its way threaded and expanded and explained throughout the gospel. So when we come to chapter one, let's look at verses 12 through 13. Let's go to 9, the true light which gives light to everyone, all men that is, was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people, that is the Jews, did not receive him. But to all, here we go, but to all who did receive him, who believed, the believing ones, in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So, chapter five, verse 19, let's look at that in relation to this, 519. We are his brothers. We have been adopted through the sacrifice, the life of obedience, and the sacrifice of death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. We are now in Christ. We are his brothers, positionally. Verse 19 of chapter five. So Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing. For whatever the father does, that the son does likewise. For the father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the son gives life to whom he will. For the father judges no one. but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not commit to judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice. and come out those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." We are His brothers and He says, I am ascending then back in John 20, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Verse 18, Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her. So she was obedient. She was the first one to see the Lord in his resurrected body. She was the first one to see the Lord risen from the dead. Now, many people make a a deal, a big deal out of this because normally if you were going to falsify something, you would not have a woman be the first testifier to an event. In fact, a woman in this culture at this time, both in the Jewish, the Roman, and the Greeks, were not permitted to be a witness in a court of law. Only the men were. So it is something that the gospel writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, use Mary Magdalene, okay, A woman with a tainted past, who the Lord loved and has forgiven, she is the one whom the Lord comes to and reveals himself to first and foremost. It is amazing. Also thinking about the angels, it just occurred to me that when we look at the birth of Christ, we see angels present, angels we have heard on high. They announced his birth to Mary and Joseph. They were involved all throughout throughout the life of Jesus when he was tempted He was ministered afterwards right by angels. So we see angels who the writer of Hebrews calls ministering spirits So we do see them Active throughout the life and ministry of Jesus and especially here at the end when he's in his tomb. They were there All right, any comments or questions on that section before I move to the next? So, I mean, Jesus being the Son, that's like a legal term or something. We know that he's speaking to the Father in all things. Yes. Just like the Holy Spirit. So, as far as us being brothers, I mean, I'm not saying we're stepbrothers, but there's no mother involved. We're adopted brothers. We're adopted brothers. Yes. Yes. I think it reveals the familial, the family aspect of God's adopting, caring love, that it's not a cold, formal adoption. You're brought into a family, you're brought into the Trinitarian family, where God has loved, the Father has loved the Son, the Son has loved the, you know what I mean? The three persons in one being have loved each other for all eternity. Speaking of that, there's a book, is it called The Delightful Trinity? delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves. It's a paperback book. It's a thin book. It can be read in a few evenings. It is an amazing book. And one of the things he points out in there is the difference between our Trinitarian God of the Bible and the God, so-called God, little g, Allah of the Muslims, is that the Father has eternally loved the Son so that that He could share that love with us. And He really goes into a great depth of explaining how that works. And it really, I've never thought about it in that aspect. So, it's not a one monadic divinity, God, who needed someone to love. God didn't need us. We see that. God chose to create us for His glory and for our good. All right, but he has always had a love relationship eternally with the son. So therefore, when God pours out his love upon us, it's not a selfish love. Hey, look at me, look at what I'm doing for you, but it's a giving love. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And I just, some of the stuff he brings out and I'm not doing it justice. So if you, Amazing little book, if you could get it, by Michael Reeves, The Lighting in the Trinity. Is that what it is? Okay, I keep saying it wrong, but man. Yes. I have it if someone wants to borrow it, I've already read it. Michael Reeves, R-E-E-V-E-S. but he just explains the Trinity in such a wonderful way, scripturally, of course, but just things I've never put together in my own mind. Verse 19 then, let's go to verse 19 of chapter 20. On the evening of that day, that is the first day of the week, that would have been Sunday, The first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. So Jesus has just been brutally crucified. His body has been put in a tomb. The disciples, the followers of Jesus, remember when it said they will flee? It was prophesied they did flee. They hid, now they're hiding behind locked doors. We also see the same thing in verse 26. If you drop down, they were gathered again the second time and the doors were locked. So these guys, they're looking for security. They're afraid. Why? Because if they could kill the shepherd, what will they do to the sheep? So on the evening of first day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you. Now, an amazing statement when you consider that they had all ran and fled at the time of the Lord's greatest need. He appears to them. He doesn't give them grief. He doesn't tell them what a disappointment you guys are to me. You let me down. How could you fail me? What does he say? Shalom Aleichem. Aleichem Shalom. Peace. Only Jesus can bring peace in this sense. So peace be with you. Let's look at John 14, 27 real quick. John 14, 27. He said, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. So he gives us a different piece than the world does. John 16.33, let's look at that one. 16.33. Lost my place. Verse 29, his disciples said, well, verse 28, I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I'm leaving the world and going to the Father. I pointed this out before, how many times has he said this? I was sent into the world by the Father, now I'm going, I'm leaving. And they're all going, yeah, yeah, sure. And then when it happens, they're like, what? Okay, like us, they don't pay attention. And now I'm leaving the world and going to the Father. Verse 29, his disciples said, ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech. Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you. This is why we believe that you came from God. Jesus answered them, do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you that in me, join to me. You may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Now, peace be with you. Peace, how could he give peace? Well, he has propitiated the wrath of God, he has crushed the head of the serpent, he has absorbed the sting of death, and he has opened the gates to eternal life. Therefore, in Christ, to those who are in him, he can say, peace be to you. Only Christ can bring peace. Amen. Did you have a question, Janice? Janice, I'm sorry. Okay. No, it's before. Yes. In their presence. Now, whether they remembered it at that point, because Jesus said the Holy Spirit's going to come and bring all things to your remembrance, did they understand it? Maybe not. Okay? Then he said, peace with you, okay? And then when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Luke 24, verse 39, he adds his feet. He says his feet. So showed them his hands, his sides, his feet. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord, just as he had promised, okay? Look at 1418. 1418, we read this earlier. 1418. He said, I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you, yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live, you also will live, all right? And then also look at chapter 16, verse 20. Truly I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. Okay, that's at his crucifixion and his death. You will be sorrowful, but then he says, but your sorrow will turn into joy, and he goes on to explain. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. So, they were sad. He comes into their presence. He's alive. He says, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. This is the great commission of John compared to Matthew, okay? He says, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even now I am sending you. We saw that back in chapter 17 in the prayer, verse 18. Let me read that for you real quick. Chapter 17, the great high priestly prayer. He said in verse 17, 18, as you sent me into the world praying to the Father, so I have sent them, that is his disciples, into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth. So he's sending them into the world to do what? To share the gospel. Then listen to what he says. And when he said this, When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. Then if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. Now, this is one of those verses too, and he breathed on them. Well, there's no on them in the text, first off. It could be, and when he exhaled, or when he had breathed, Right? He said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. Now, you want to read some commentaries, there's like 582 interpretations of this section. And I'm not saying I understand it fully, to be honest with you. because we have a outpouring of the Holy Spirit that is given to the church in Acts chapter two. Some people say that John was confused when he wrote this, and he kind of messed up a little bit, and he should have waited for Acts chapter two. Well, the Holy Spirit inspired these words, and the Holy Spirit doesn't make mistakes. So the problem is ours in understanding it, right? Not in what John wrote, it's how do we interpret it, how do we understand it? In John 16, seven, Jesus promised the helper, the parakletos, the comforter. He said when he went away, which was what? Ascended to the Father, okay? And we know that this promise was fulfilled for the entire church in Acts chapter two, right? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. So what is going on here? Well, here's a word for you, two words. Hapax legomena. A hapoxlegomena is a word that is only used once in a body of literature. This word is only used once. for he breathed on them. It's only used once in the entire New Testament. It's used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament several times, but this word is only used once in the New Testament. So we can't go and look for that word and see how it is used elsewhere in the New Testament. The best we could do is go and look at the Septuagint. And it seems that every time it's used in the Septuagint, it always has he breathed on them, and I think that's why they added it here. There's a direct object, okay? There's a subject, a verb, and a direct object. Something takes action on something else. Well, in this context, there is none. It just says he exhaled or he breathed out. Now, The Father has sent me, so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. Now, some people have tried to avoid the issue here and say, well, he didn't say you're going to receive it today. Now, he just said receive the Holy Spirit, which could mean that they had to wait until Acts chapter two. That's a possibility. Right? Yes. Another view is that if they received the Holy Spirit in the way that the church received the Holy Spirit in Acts, it doesn't seem like the lives of these disciples were impacted like it was after Acts chapter 2. When you look at the disciples, what are they going to do? They're going fishing. Right? They don't know what to do. So there's no great force of the Holy Spirit in their lives to tell them to go forth and proclaim the gospel. They don't have that burden at this point. I'm not saying I understand all this, by the way. I'm just pointing out some different views. I'm struggling in understanding this too. Okay, but whatever it is, what he tells them, receive the Holy Spirit, and then look what he says in verse 23. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. Then if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. Okay, this is an apostolic authority that is given to these men that as they proclaim the gospel, all right, The gospel has a liberating result in the forgiveness of sins, or it has a hardening result in that men and women reject the gospel. It hardens their hearts and makes them worse off than they were before. Do the disciples, do the apostles have the authority to forgive sins? They have the authority to proclaim the gospel, that God forgives sins, but they have no power within themselves to be able to forgive sins. All right? Now, let's look at Matthew 16, 19. We're gonna close down here pretty soon. Matthew 16, 19. We see this somewhat same kind of language. Mm-hmm Verse 13, now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah, one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Listen, "...I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. Okay? What are those keys? It's a proclamation of the gospel. They hold no power within themselves to forgive sins. Drop back to Matthew 18, 18, and we see this then in the sense of church discipline in 18, 18. 15, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother, but if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Verse 18. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you lurse on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them." So that is in the case of church discipline. Father, thank you for another night. that we might open your word and be humbled under the authority of your word. Thank you for the graces that you have poured out upon us as a church, that we might live in the land where we are free to open our Bibles without fear or repercussions. Thank you, Lord, for bringing us together this evening. May you be glorified. Protect us as we leave. Keep us safe, we pray, until we gather again in Christ's name. Amen.