I would invite you to turn with me in your copy of the Holy Scripture to the New Testament Gospel of John, as was read just a moment ago, John chapter number 20, John chapter number 20 this morning. You know, the timing of the Easter holiday has always been confusing to me. Last year, Easter fell on March 31st. This year, of course, today, April 20th, And I wondered about why that is always the case, and so I did a bit of research. And I found that the Easter holiday is celebrated on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere, when the sun crosses the celestial equator. Does anybody understand what I just said? Evidently, what I just said is that the Easter holiday can fall anywhere from the middle of March near the end of April. Okay, but you say, isn't it connected to the Jewish Passover holiday? We know that Jesus' death on the cross was in conjunction with the Jewish Passover, and he then rose from the grave the third day after the Jewish Passover. Shouldn't the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter observance be on the very same weekend? That makes sense to me, right? Well, biblically, according to Leviticus 23 verses four through eight, the Passover is set for the 15th day of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. The problem with the Jewish calendar is that it is a lunar calendar that incorporates a leap month seven times every 19 years. Whereas we function according to the Gregorian calendar, which is not a lunar calendar, it's a solar calendar. Therefore, the short answer is that every year is different. Sometimes Passover and Easter are together. Sometimes they are weeks apart. Last year, the Christian Easter holiday came before the Jewish Passover holiday, which means, and I don't mean to be funny, but it means that we celebrated Jesus' resurrection before he died, you see. How confusing is that? Of course, that didn't even occur to me until after it was over last year. And if I were king for a day, and I often wish that I were king for a day, but if I were king for a day, I would make Easter to always and only be celebrated following the third day after the Jewish Passover, meaning on Sunday after Passover. Passover being our Good Friday. Good Friday and then Easter or Resurrection Sunday on that Sunday. But never mind the complicated and confusing calendars. Never mind the religious traditions. What do we know? We know that Jesus died as the Paschal Passover Lamb of God on Passover. We know that he then rose the third day, which became the first Easter, the first resurrection Sunday. In fact, John chapter 20, verse number one, which is where we are this morning, gives us that first and formal timestamp. It says, John chapter 20 verse 1, on the first day of the week. There's no confusion about that. And because Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the week, New Testament believers began meeting together on Sunday to commemorate his resurrection. By the time we get to the end of the first century, the first day of the week, or Sunday, became affectionately known as the Lord's Day. Revelation chapter 1 verse number 10. So more important than all of the calculations according to different calendars, What happened on that day and why we are here on this day to celebrate is because Jesus died and he rose again. And Jesus' resurrection from the grave is so fundamentally important to the Christian faith that I would declare with the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, if Christ is not risen, then our faith is futile. We might as well pack it up now and go home. If Christ is not risen, we have no hope in Christ, and we are of all men most pitiable, 1 Corinthians 15. Rather, the Bible tells us in Romans chapter number 10 that we must confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. And it is then and only then that we are saved. I hope that's your testimony here this morning. I hope that you are a believer in the cross work and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Never mind the formality of religious holidays or the formula for why we celebrate them when we celebrate them. Never mind the confusion of religious traditions. We must confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord. and believe in our heart that God raised them from the dead if we are to have forgiveness of sin and everlasting life. So this morning, on the first day of the week, I would like us to remember that first resurrection Sunday morning from John chapter 20 from a message I prepared simply titled Resurrection Appearances of Jesus. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll study the scripture together. God in heaven, we thank you so much for the occasion that has brought us here this morning. Lord, we recognize that because of calendar complications that the holiday gets moved forward or back each year. But Lord, ultimately, on this first day of the week, we gather in celebration of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful for that. I pray, God, that you would teach us now from the scripture. May your spirit grant us understanding and the faith to believe. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. The end of John chapter 19 tells us that after Jesus' crucifixion, two secret disciples of Jesus, that is Joseph of Arimathea, one, and Nicodemus, two, these two men prepared Jesus' body for burial and they laid him in a tomb near the place where Jesus had been crucified. Then at the beginning now of John chapter 20, we are told that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb on the first day of the week. The Synoptic Gospels, that is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, also record that other women came to the tomb on that same Sunday morning as well. But evidently, Mary Magdalene was the first to come while it was still dark. And when Mary arrived at the tomb, she found that the stone had been taken away, fearing the worst, she immediately turned around and ran back to report what she had found. Look with me, John chapter 20, verse number 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 whom Jesus loved, we know that to be John, and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. The report alarmed Peter. and John, the other disciple whom Jesus loved. So Peter and John ran to investigate in verses three and four. And although Peter was the impulsive disciple, John was the faster runner and arrived at the tomb first. Look at verse number three. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together and the other disciple, John, outran Peter and came to the tomb first. Verse number 5 tells us that though John came to the tomb first, he stopped before going in, he stooped down to look into the tomb, and seeing the linen cloths lying there, if you're looking at verse number 5, The word translated look or looking in verse five is the Greek word blepo. It simply means to see. He simply saw the facts. John saw the physical grave clothes of Jesus. Let me read verse five. And he's stooping down, looking in. saw the linen claws. This is just the word blepo, lying there, yet he did not go in. Verse six tells us that when Peter arrived at the tomb, he went straight inside. Peter also saw, in verse number six, the linen claws lying there, but in this case, the word translated saw, in the Greek language, is the word theoreo, from which we get our English word theater. Peter saw the grave clothes in a dramatic way. The grave clothes were a prop, if you will, that told a story. Peter saw the grave clothes in a different way than John saw when he looked inside the tomb. Look at verse number six. Then Simon Peter came in following him and went into the tomb. He saw Oreto, 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. Verse eight tells us that when John entered the tomb and saw in this dramatic way, he believed in verse number eight. The word translated saw in verse number eight is another, a third Greek word, orao, which means to see with understanding. John understood the significance of what he saw there. Let me explain. The burial practices of the Jews was unique and distinct from other people groups. In that time period, the Egyptians embalmed their dead. The Romans and the Greeks cremated their dead. However, the Jews wrapped their dead in strips of cloth and decorated the body with spices to mask the odor of the decaying flesh. The body was then placed on its back and it was entombed in a cave. And this is what was done to Jesus' body by Joseph of Arimathea and by Nicodemus. The end of chapter 19. This was the custom of the Jews according to chapter 19, verse number 40. The end of chapter 19, verse 40. And so for Peter and John now to see the grave clothes present, but the body gone meant something to Peter in verse number six. It was dramatic. And then it meant something to John in verse eight. He understood and believed. If the body had been removed or relocated as Mary Magdalene suggested up in verse number two, then the grave clothes would have gone with the body. Or if the body would have been stolen by grave robbers who didn't want the strips of cloth for some reason, they would have strewn them about in their haste and their disregard. So in either case, the strips of cloth created a straight jacket of sorts that prevented a body from moving itself. You remember back in John chapter 11 when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the Bible tells us that the people had to loose him and let him go for he was bound head and foot with grave clothes, John 11 verse 44. And so Peter saw the drama in those grave clothes in verse number six, and John saw and believed He believed what? He believed that something supernatural, something had happened here. The only explanation is that the body of Jesus passed through and out of the grave clothes that bound him. Look at verse number nine. For as yet they did not know the scripture that he might rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. What scripture didn't they understand? You see it there in verse number nine. What scripture might that have been? It might have been Psalm 16, 10 and 11. It might have been Psalm 11, verses one and four. It might have been Isaiah 53, verses 11 and 12. They were not connecting the dots, knowing and understanding the scripture. And I get it, it's hard to understand or believe something unnatural or supernatural when you've not seen it with your eyes. For that reason, so often in vernacular, we say, I'll believe it when I see it, of course, right? But according to Hebrews 11, the very definition of faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We must believe in that which we have not seen. Yet as I've written there at the top of your notes, in his grace and kindness, Jesus, that is the resurrected Jesus, appeared to many people so that they could see that he was risen. John 20 records three of those post-resurrection appearances so that we who haven't seen might also believe. And that's what I want to present to you here now for the balance of the time that remains. After Peter and John left the tomb and returned to their homes in verse number 10, Mary remained at the tomb, verse number 11. Evidently, she had followed Peter and John back to the tomb, and now she became so overwhelmed with a flood of grief and loss, it was as if the wounds she suffered from watching Jesus' crucifixion were opened again, and now she imagined his body being stolen away. And as she looked into the tomb, verse 11, presumably now for the first time, she saw two angels, though she did not recognize them as angels. And their question was a gentle rebuke in verse number 13. Why are you weeping? Look at verse 13. Then they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord. They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him. Verse 14, now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. and did not know it was Jesus. It's been suggested that perhaps the angels gestured to Mary to look over her shoulder, right? To, hey, look there. And when she did, Jesus was there. But she didn't recognize Jesus in the same way that she didn't recognize the angels as being men. Jesus had been crucified. The soldiers had even pierced his side to confirm his death. Jesus' body was wrapped in grave clothes and had been buried for three days. She had come to pay her respect and to present burial spices. Verse 15, Jesus asked her the same question the angels asked her, why are you weeping? Whom was she seeking? Does she have to restate the obvious again? She's in the fog of her grief, and she's being asked these foolish questions, and her grief is now frustrated by, or compounded by frustration, and she says, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him, I will take him away. Verse number 16. And it was then in verse number 16 that Jesus spoke her name. If you're looking there, verse 16, Jesus said to her, Mary, She turned and said to him, Rabboni, Rabbi, which is to say teacher. Can you imagine this moment? This moment overwhelmed with emotion. And Mary here then instinctively and impulsively clings to Jesus. He's alive. This past week I sat in my office for a time at my desk trying to think of a way to illustrate the euphoria of this moment. And every illustration that I could think of just really paled in comparison to what is happening here, but if you'll allow this feeble effort, I have seen, you have seen the video clips of deployed soldiers who return home to surprise their family on a special occasion. Have you seen these? It's so fun to see the faces of those family members when that surprise reunion happens and that soldier is home from deployment and surprises them. I read of one soldier who was granted special permission to return home for the birth of his baby. When he arrived, his wife was in the delivery room of the hospital, in labor, giving birth in real time. And he walked in. Can you imagine the complexity of emotions there? I'm having a baby and my soldier husband comes in at that very same time and do you laugh, do you cry? It's just overwhelming. Perhaps in a small way that compares to Mary's surprise, but nothing can compare to the emotion that Mary experienced in this moment. in verse 16 when he calls her name. If I were Mary, I would have wanted to stay right there with Jesus, hear all about it. Jesus, this is unbelievable. Tell me what happened, the arrest and the trials and the beatings and the crucifixion and the burial and the, you're alive. What was it like? How did it happen? Who moved the stone from the tomb? But that isn't what Mary did. Look at verse 17. 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. Here's what I would offer you in your notes. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. And he said to her, go and tell, go and tell. That's exactly what Mary did in verse number 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. You see, in fact, this is what Mary did back in verse number two. When she first approached the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away, she went and told her family and friends. But on this occasion, she knows not only is the body gone, but Jesus is risen, he's appeared to her. Here's a point of application for us. Folks, what do we do with what we know? If we know that Jesus has risen from the grave, why don't we go and tell? Why don't we celebrate that with euphoria and tell everyone we know it was earlier in the Gospel of John that Jesus met another woman, a Samaritan woman, at a well, remember? When she recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, John chapter four tells us that she went into the city and she told all the men that she met. I've found the Messiah. It's Jesus. Jesus made an appearance to Mary Magdalene. He says, go and tell. There's another appearance. Look at verse number 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week. This is still Sunday. This is now Sunday evening. Never mind if it's March 31st or April 20th or lunar calendars or solar calendars. It doesn't matter. This is the first day of the week after Jesus' death on Passover. When 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, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be with you. Jesus' disciples were huddled up. They were gathered together behind closed door, perhaps in the very same upper room where they had shared the last Passover supper with Jesus just a few days earlier. They were assembled there for fear of the Jews. If the body of Jesus is missing and presumed to be stolen, Who are the first suspects? The first persons of interest, of course, are the disciples. The temple police would come and arrest the disciples and charge them with taking Jesus' body from the tomb. But then something happened that was maybe more frightening than the temple police coming and beating down the door. Jesus appeared to them without opening a door. Look there at the end of verse 19 again. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood in their midst. Luke's gospel says that they thought that they had seen a ghost. But Jesus spoke with them, verse 19, and Jesus showed them his hands and his side. Verse number 20, when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Luke records even further how that Jesus invited them to touch his resurrected body and Jesus then ate with them in his resurrected body. And whereas Jesus told Mary to not cling to him but to go and tell. Jesus, in appearing to these disciples, told them to come and rejoice. Secondly, Jesus appeared to the disciples and said, come and rejoice, be glad. Verse 20 says the disciples were glad. I think that's a bit of an understatement, the biggest understatement, perhaps, in the history of mankind. Can you imagine the excitement of the disciples crowding around Jesus to touch his wounds and to watch him eat? perhaps even pinching his flesh. He rose bodily from the grave to hear him talk. And so once again, I sat at my desk this past week trying to think of an illustration to explain the euphoria of this moment. And I thought to myself, perhaps, of children at a petting zoo, crowding around to see the animals, reaching out to touch the animals. Maybe that's what it was like. Thought no, perhaps it's like opening a birthday gift and finding it's what you've always wanted. Or perhaps it's like discovering a hidden treasure. My mind worked through all of these illustrations. Perhaps you could come up with a better one. But how do you illustrate or understand what took place in this moment when the risen Savior appeared to the disciples and invited them to come and see? Come. Touch my scars, my wounds. Hear my voice, watch me eat. Come and rejoice. John records one more appearance of the resurrected Lord. Let me pick up in verse 24. Let me pick up in verse 24. Now Thomas called the twin. One of the 12 was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciple therefore said to him, we have seen the Lord. So he said to them, 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. Then after eight days, his disciples were again inside. And Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, peace to you. This is like deja vu all over again. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here, look at my hands, reach your hand here, put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Thomas called Didymus, or the twin, was not with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them back in verses 19 to 21. And Thomas refused to believe the report that Jesus was alive. For eight days, all week long. Can you imagine the disciples insisting, Thomas, trust me, we saw him, we met him, we talked with him, we ate with him, we touched the prince of the nails and his wound in his side. And Thomas refused to believe if he could not see Jesus with his own eyes. Now, For this reason, we call Thomas Doubting Thomas, right? However, let's not be so hard on Thomas, for the other disciples rejected the initial reports of Jesus' resurrection. In fact, I've projected here on the screen, Mark chapter 16 says, now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, and they mourned and wept, and when they heard that he was alive, and that he had been seen by her, they did not believe. It wasn't only Mark's gospel record, but also Luke's gospel record. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the 11 and to the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like idle tales. And they did not believe them. Poor doubting Thomas gets a bad rap. But it wasn't only doubting Thomas, it was doubting everybody. It was doubting Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, and Philip. All of the disciples were not only doubting, they were unbelieving. Because they hadn't seen with their eyes. So here now in John chapter 20 verse 26, Jesus appears to the disciples again as he had done the week earlier and invited Thomas to touch his wounds as he had allowed the other disciples to do. And it was then and only then that Thomas acknowledged and believed. Verse 28, and Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. I would offer you number three, Jesus appeared to Thomas And Jesus said, see and believe. And Thomas did. My Lord and my God, that ought to be the confession of every one of us. But there are many who have heard the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, but refuse to believe. You say, but Pastor Matt, If I were there at that time, or if I also could see and with my own eyes and touch with my own hands, then I would believe. Okay, maybe. But folks, here's the problem. We are not afforded the luxury of seeing with our eyes or touching with our hands. We cannot experience what Mary Magdalene and the disciples or Thomas experienced in seeing Jesus' resurrection firsthand. How can we ever believe if we have not seen? We are now 2,000 years removed. We can't even figure out what day to celebrate this event on. How are we supposed to believe if we haven't seen? Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The testimony of God's word is sufficient for our faith. The written record of these things is what compels us to receive it and believe it. In fact, look at verse 29. Jesus said to them, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book, but these are written. that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. Never mind the supernatural, the sensational, the ecstatic, the miraculous. Never mind an experience. It is the written word of God that gives record and testimony of these things that is sufficient for our faith. And the invitation for us this morning, this Easter Sunday morning, or resurrection Sunday morning, is that the hearing and the reading of God's word is enough for us to believe. What does God's word tell us? God's word tells us that we are all sinners. There is none righteous, not even one. In fact, the Bible says that unless our righteousnesses exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, we will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Why not? Because if we keep the whole law, but break it in one point, we are guilty of all. The Bible tells us that we are sinners. The Bible tells us that consequently, we need a savior from our sin. And the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, shed his blood and died in our place as our substitute, hanging on a cruel cross for our sin. And then finally, the Bible tells us that Jesus rose from the grave. that he defeated death, that he's alive. That's what the Bible says. And that's sufficient for me to believe. I've not seen the risen Christ, but there is credible testimony of it. In Jesus' appearances, if we were to read 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus appeared to many, many others. And in any court of law, eyewitness testimony is enough to establish fact. We don't just see the facts, though we understand by the Spirit of God the drama, and we believe. This morning I declare to you on the authority of God's holy word that Jesus is alive. He is our only hope in life and in death, and I call you to believe in Jesus Christ this morning, the Son of God, so that believing you may have life in his name. John 20, verse 31. I would invite you to just bow your heads with me just briefly for a moment of meditation, reflection, introspection. I would ask that you examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Has there ever been a time where you have called on the name of the Lord in faith, believing? repenting of your unbelief, and saying, my Lord and my God, please forgive my sin, save my soul, for I accept the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. If that is not your testimony this morning, I would invite you to pray even where you're at. Just call on the name of the Lord. Be happy to talk with you further after the service so that you can know the gospel and so that you can have hope in life and death. Let's pray. God in heaven above, thank you for the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lord, we have not seen like Thomas or the disciples, but yet we trust your word. God, I pray for the one under the sound of my voice this morning that is not yet believing that you by your grace would grant them the faith to believe to save their soul. Lord, for the rest of us who have named the name of Jesus Christ in faith, I pray that we would continue to be witnesses of the risen Lord, our hope in life and death. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.