Turning now to the Gospel of John, chapter 20. The Gospel of John, chapter 20, beginning our reading at verse 1. Beloved here, the Bible says, 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 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. 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 have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. 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 have 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. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, peace be with you. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. And 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 them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Now Thomas, called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples 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. And 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. Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here and look at my hands and reach your hand here and put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. And Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Thomas, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have 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 by believing, you may have life in his name. Let's turn together in the back of our hymnals to Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 17. This Lord's Day on the resurrection. A very brief, just one question and one answer concerning the resurrection of Christ. But the answer, somewhat predictably, has three parts. As we read the answer to this catechism, I want you to see three different versions of the letters W-O-N, N-O-W, and O-W-N. That's as many different ways as you can arrange those three letters. And what we see here from our catechism, what our catechism teaches is that Jesus' resurrection won for us righteousness. Righteousness won for us. W-O-N. And what we also see is that in Jesus' resurrection we are already risen. Already risen now. N-O-W. in Jesus. And finally, we have the blessed assurance of our own, O-W-N, our own blessed resurrection. Let's see it together in our catechism. Our catechism asks, how does Christ's resurrection benefit us? Let's answer in unison. First, by his resurrection, he has overcome death so that he might make us share in the righteousness he obtained for us by his death. Second, by his power, we too are already raised to a new life. Third, Christ's resurrection is a pledge to us of our blessed resurrection. Beloved of God, in the risen Christ. What a thrill it is for me to address you this Sunday on the topic of the resurrection of the dead. On the resurrection of the crucified one, this is good news. This is the gospel. And by God's grace and Holy Spirit, the church proceeds and continues to grow from faith in this good news of the risen Lord. The apostles, in obedience to the Lord's command to preach the gospel to every creature, do indeed preach Christ crucified, but always also as the one whom God raised from the dead on the third day. And this is what Peter preached to the amazed multitude on Pentecost when he said, this Jesus God raised up. And of that we are all witnesses, Acts 2 verse 32. The resurrection was also the emphasis of the explanation given by Peter and John on the occasion of the healing of the lame man who routinely begged at the temple gate called Beautiful. Maybe you remember the occasion. When they explained, men of Israel, why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate. You killed the author of life. whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts chapter 3 verse 12 and following. When on the next day the rulers of the Jews demanded that the apostles give an account of what had happened, the previous day, then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, By him this man is standing before you and is well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has now become the cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts chapter 4 verses 8 and following. The Apostle Paul too, in all of his missionary journeys, had the very same message as we find in his address to those in the synagogue in Perga. When he said, And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us, his children, by raising Jesus. Acts chapter 13, 29 and following. And so you see how central always this message of Jesus' resurrection is wherever the apostles go. The message of the Christians, believe in Christ because he is the risen one. This proves that Jesus is the Son of God, Savior and Messiah. Anointed by the Holy Spirit of life, the author and giver of life, just as God promised He would be, the wonderful words of our text this Sunday, have been the experience of those chosen to eternal life, that by believing, you may have life in His name. Do you have that life tonight? Do you know that you are alive in Jesus? By believing, You may have life in his name. But what are we to believe? That's what I want to delve into with you tonight. What exactly are we to believe? We can talk about the resurrection of Jesus in kind of a broad kind of way and not really even know exactly what we're saying. We can even harbor all of our own opinions about what that might mean. We should not do that. We should believe what the Bible says about the resurrection of Jesus. What are we to believe concerning the resurrection of the Savior? We should all believe what the Bible says. And so first, believe the reality of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Our Lord and Savior, the Son of God, was raised bodily from the dead. Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb, finds the stone already rolled away. The body of the Lord she had hoped to find there is gone. is not there anymore. She's greatly alarmed by the discovery and runs to tell Peter and John. They've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. And Peter and John take off, of course, at once to check out the situation for themselves. John is faster, so he arrives first, but he's more timid, so having arrived, he doesn't enter. The Bible says, "...and stooping to look in, he saw the linen claws lying there, but did not go in." First mention of the linen claws. And it won't be the last. You know how it is the very first time you see something and don't quite know what to make of what you're seeing? These men were on a mission to solve a mystery. What actually happened to their master? And this may actually be a crime scene, the site of a grave robbery. They're looking around for evidence and what do they find? No body, no dead teacher, but what's that? Swaddling clothes lying in a tomb. The kind of linen strips the Hebrews used to wrap newborn babies or dead bodies with embalming spices. And John says it's like the very first thing he noticed, and stooping in, he saw the linen clothes lying there. And to get an image of what it looked like, some of you've seen pictures of Egyptian mummies, not the golden outside, but what's actually on the inside, embalming material in the shape of a body. That's what they saw. It's in the shape of the body, the linen claws lying there, not a mess of rags all in a heap or in several heaps, but no, the outline of a body, but the body, it's gone. The wheels were beginning to turn. Peter is bolder. And so he brushes right past the more cautious. John enters the tomb first, as the Bible says. Then Simon Peter came and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there. Notice once again the emphasis on those linen cloths. And the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. perhaps as though the risen one had removed it and just placed it there. Some commentators say that signifies in Hebrew culture that I will come again, I will return. And then John enters and sees everything that Peter saw and what does he tell us concerning himself? Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. In other words, we should understand they did not understand that this is a fulfillment of Scripture, but he believed, he believed that Christ was risen. Some have mistakenly understood this last phrase to mean that neither one of them believed at all that Jesus was risen from the dead. Others even go so far as to say that what Peter and John believed is Mary Magdalene's report that the body of Jesus had been stolen away. But I don't know about you, but that's not the way it reads to me. The way it reads to me is that he believed that Christ is risen from the dead. This is the way John speaks of it. What John is saying is that the linen claws were in such a perfect shape and outline as to match exactly Jesus' dead body. Grave robbers wouldn't take the time to do such a thing. There would be no point to it. Thieves would have taken everything altogether. And even if they had unwrapped the body, the linen claws would have been on various heaps all over the floor as it was. The linen claws were lying there on the body bench of the tomb like an empty cocoon or chrysalis after the caterpillar has turned into a butterfly. And so the linen claws were lying there like an empty shell. The body mysteriously evacuated, evaporated out of them. The body of Jesus, gone. The linen grave clothes left behind tells the story. John admits it's not because of their own great Bible knowledge that we believe that Jesus is risen. At this point it was simply because no other explanation made any sense. That and the fact that Jesus had told his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer and on the third day rise again. They had heard that from their Lord and Master. Yes, there was something about the position and the exact shape in which those linen claws were lying there that was so convincing and convicting. Oh, that God would give each one of us This Sunday, what Peter and John saw that first Easter, and seeing what they saw, and believing as they believed, Jesus is risen bodily from the dead. The physical body with which Jesus was crucified and nailed to the cross, with that body he is raised to a new life. And that is why Jesus' risen body bore the marks of his crucifixion. The nail scars in his hands and feet, the sword scar in his riven side. The Bible teaches that the dead body of Jesus is not inside the linen graveclaws any longer because the body of Jesus is alive again. For he is risen bodily from the grave. That is how the disciples could see him and touch him. And some even hugged him, and conversed with him, and share a meal with him. All this Jesus permitted them to experience to prove that he was not just a ghost, or an apparition, or a disembodied ethereal spirit, but that he was really risen bodily from the dead. And so we profess with the church of all ages again on this Sunday night, I believe in the resurrection of the body and in the life of the world to come. That is first, beloved, believe the bodily resurrection of Jesus. But we all know it gets more involved than that. And it's important that we go there. What we have said is foundational, and that is important, but there is really so much more. Which leads us to our second point tonight. Brothers and sisters, in addition to believing the bodily resurrection of Jesus, believe also the glorious transformational resurrection of Jesus Christ. Anyone who has celebrated more than a few Easters knows that there is more to it than just simply a bodily resurrection. And to make the point, I remind you of Lazarus. You remember Lazarus? Whom Jesus called forth from the tomb, who also experienced a bodily resurrection. But he emerged from the tomb still so wound up in the grave clothes, stumbling around all captivated by that Jesus had to say, take off the grave clothes and let him go. You see the difference in their resurrections? All other previous resurrections that occurred by the power of God, those resurrections of those whom Jesus had healed, the high priest's daughter, the widow's son, all other previous resurrections that occurred in history, occurred by the power of God both prior to and as part of the ministry of Christ, all these were the resurrections of mortals who became alive again still as mortals. which means they did not rise to immortality. No, they rose to be mortals again, which means in so many years, they all had to die again. That's what it means to be mortal, to be subject to mortality or death. And this is where the resurrection of our Lord Jesus is so different, so glorious, and so transformational. You see, when our Lord Jesus arose, something new and something transformational, something truly glorious, occurred. And this is why the Catechism calls it a blessed resurrection. For when Christ arose, his mortal body took on immortality. For the very first time, humanity took on immortality. And that which was corruptible became incorruptible. It couldn't die anymore. And that which was fleshly became mysteriously and wonderfully spiritual. And the man from earth whose body he was given in the virgin's womb became the man from heaven. This is what the Bible teaches both in precept and by practical account as we are given the record of what happened that first Easter and the days and weeks that followed. On Easter morning, having just conversed with the angels inside the empty tomb, Mary turned and saw Jesus. But the Bible says she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And Mary, supposing Jesus to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. And at that point, Jesus says to her, Mary. As she says to him, Rabboni, which in Aramaic means teacher. You see, beloved, how all this is recorded for us as it happened, complete with the instruction of Jesus to Mary not to cling to him because he had not yet ascended to the Father. which initially seems very mysterious to us, but in effect just means, Mary, don't get too used to having me back, for I have not risen to return to you, but I have risen that I might return to my Father in heaven. I have risen that I might return bodily back to heaven. That's what this glorious transformational resurrection is for. And the Gospel record records many other amazing appearances of Jesus. To the woman returning from the grave, to Simon Peter, to the two travelers on the road to Emmaus. The passage we read records Jesus meeting with his disciples on the very evening of the resurrection. The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, and Jesus came and stood among them. And you notice how He did that. He didn't need to walk through the door. They didn't need to unlock or open the door for Him. He was just suddenly there. His glorified risen body could just go right through walls, right through locked doors. Peace be with you. And when he had said this, the Bible says he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And eight days later, Thomas, one of the twelve, not with the disciples, the first time and refusing to believe that Jesus could possibly be alive again, insisted, unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger in the mark of the nails and place my hand in his side, I will not believe. Well, Jesus provided the proof, Thomas demanded. Once again, the Bible tells us the doors were locked. And suddenly, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. No wonder he said that, how frightened would you be? But once the Savior says peace, all is peace and still. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands and put your hand here and place it in my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing. How do you think Thomas felt when Jesus' invitation suddenly informed Thomas in the presence of the rest that Jesus had heard every doubting word of his previous visit with them? And how do we feel tonight knowing that Christ, the risen Christ, the gloriously risen Christ, knows all? These words of the risen Christ are for us today. Beloved, do not disbelieve, but believe. Do not be unbelieving, but be believing. But what are we to believe? Precisely this. Believe the glorious, transformational resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is finally the firstfruits of God's new creation. That's how glorious His resurrection is. He is the firstborn from among the dead. And because we belong to Him, we will rise like Him and be like Him. Jesus is the very first one to be raised with a glorified body that is not hindered by walls and doors, and yet is a body that can be seen, touched, and related to. And we just sung it tonight, didn't we? Made like him, like him, we shall rise. For we shall be like him, for the Bible says, for we shall see him as he is. And when he sees us, He will recognize us for we shall be like him at that time. Thomas answered Jesus, my Lord and my God. And each one of us to do the very same again this Sunday night. Jesus said to Thomas, have you believed because you have seen me? Yes. Well, blessed are those who have not seen and have yet believed. So beloved, believe the reality of Jesus' bodily and glorious transformational resurrection. It's amazing that the Catechism assigns two benefits to this glorious transformational resurrection. The first benefit is communicated righteousness. You realize Jesus' resurrection, all that it is, is a glorious sign of the approval of God the Father. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. It is a sign of God the Father's approval of Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice. And so, by the power of the endless life of the divinity that is His, He is raised from the dead and now has the power to share his righteousness with all those who believe in him. And once we are made righteous in the sight of God, death no longer has any mastery, no power over us, but we are alive forevermore, even though our earthly bodies will yet expire if Christ tarries. And further, the Catechism says, there's a third benefit our Catechism mentions, and that is that Jesus' glorious resurrection guarantees our own glorious resurrection, as we said, we too will be raised like him in bodies that will far transcend what these bodies presently are. Thirdly, and very quickly to the end, beloved, also believe the miracle of the spiritual resurrection of Christ in you. And this is where we live right now. We are the risen ones. Right? And I hope that as you relate together, you know you can see the risen life of Christ in each other. That's part of the joy of meeting Christians who you hadn't known before. It's part of the wonderful joy of meeting Christians you've known for a lifetime. The joy of reunion, of family reunions, of church fellowship reunions. You can see the life of the risen one in each other. This is where we live. This is how we live as God's congregation from day to day and week to week. Believe the miracle of the spiritual resurrection of Christ in you. And the Bible, of course, speaks of Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is why Christians are full of the things that remain faith, hope, and love. and the greatest is love. It's a love inspired by the living life of Christ. Blessed are those who have seen, who have not seen, and yet have believed. This is the promise of the risen one of what does this blessedness consist. Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen and have yet believed. And we hear this and right away we feel ourselves included, right? We weren't there then. We see these things by faith in the written word of God and yet we hear this and it's like this is a blessedness for us. The Bible speaks of this spiritual resurrection which every Christian has in fellowship with Jesus Christ, our risen head. Jesus spoke about this miracle of spiritual resurrection during the days of his earthly ministry already. Recall that Jesus said, For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into 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. Of course that has two meanings. Those dead and trespasses and sins are suddenly made alive in our lifetime and we hear the gospel, the voice of God. And also at the end of the age, those who are dead and buried will hear the voice of God and live also. There's a double meaning in Christ's words. But it's that first one that causes our hearts to rejoice. For we were once dead before God made us alive in Christ. The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans about the moral change in the Christian lifestyle and describes the Christian as having undergone a resurrection. It says, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6 verse 4 and following. And to the Ephesians Paul writes of similar resurrection blessings which are personal and positional and permanent. Remember these amazing words, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive. together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." And Paul wrote in the same way to the church at Colossae when he said, You have been raised with Christ. Seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. This is exactly what our catechism teaches. When it says that the second benefit is that by his power we too are already now raised to a new life. Let me ask you this Sunday evening, have you been raised with Christ? These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, that is to say the Messiah. the promised and the empowered one, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Christian, live the risen life you have in Jesus as you serve a risen Savior. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God in heaven, we thank you for speaking to us of wonderful realities, of miraculous things. Lord, we thank you for taking away the fear of death, though all of us are afraid of places we haven't been before, afraid of the unknown. But Lord, we thank you for the peace that passes all understanding. And we thank you, Lord, that we believe by your grace in the resurrection of Christ, his bodily resurrection, his glorious transformational resurrection, that we believe in a new creation and that Christ is the firstfruits of all who have fallen asleep. We thank you, Lord, that we are already raised to new life in him, that we experience the resurrection life in Jesus from day to day. And we pray that this risen life may break through the surface, may break through the aging, may break through the breaking down of our bodies, may break through all the consequences of sin that we still live with and that are trials for us. We pray that this may be an endless inspiration for joy and strength and victory. Lord, cause us to go from victory to victory as we are more than conquerors in the risen one. In Jesus we pray. Amen.