Relating In A New Way!
After Jesus' resurrection he relates to his people in a new way.
John(84) (Part of the Easter(7) series)
by Stuart Johns(233) on March 31, 2024 (Sunday Morning(337))
Easter(3), Relationship with God(5), Resurrection(5), Sacrifice(16), Sharing Your Faith(2)
EASTER SUNDAY 2024
Relating In A New Way!
(John 20:10-23)
INTRODUCTION
Piercing Word video of John 20:1-31.
BODY
ME
Relating to my parents as an adult
WE
Relating to our spouse (levels of intimacy)
Boyfriend and girlfriend
Engaged
Married
Relating to fellow employees
If you’ve ever been promoted to a supervisory position within the same company
The people you worked beside on the same level now relate to you differently
Jesus was going to be relate to His disciples and followers differently
It all started after His resurrection
Let’s pray
The First Witness (John 20:10-18)
Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb
Peter and John had returned home
She looked into the tomb again while she was crying
She saw two angels in white
They are seated where Jesus’ body had been
One at the head
One at the foot
It is a picture of the ark of the covenant with the angels like the cherubim
Notice Mary’s reaction to the angels
She didn’t seem to be startled, concerned, or fascinated with them
We’d probably be taking out our cell phones and either taking a picture or video to post on our social media accounts
She had a single focus – Jesus!
The angels asked her a question
Why are you crying?
Mary gives her answer
They have taken MY Lord away
She uses the word “my” here, because she is fully committed to Him
Jesus had freed her from multiple demons
She has given her life to serve Him and had followed Him to Jerusalem and was at Golgotha when He died
PRINCIPLE #1 – God is pleased when we are fully committed to Him.
Can you say today, like Mary, that Jesus is your Lord?
If so, that is wonderful! It means you are fully committed to Him
If not, what is holding you back? (there will be an opportunity at the end of the message to make a commitment concerning Jesus)
Maybe you were once fully committed to the Lord, but you have stepped away
He is patiently waiting for you to return to Him, just like the father of the prodigal son
He is watching and looking for you every day
#1 – My Next Step Today Is To: Return to the Lord and be fully committed to Him.
In the midst of her grief and despair, Jesus was there
We can also have confidence that in our grief and despair, Jesus is there
Mary sees Jesus
She did not recognize Him
Skiing – dressed in full camo – Judy didn’t recognize me
Stories of men who shaved their beard – children start crying
Debbie Frost didn’t recognize her grandson, Nathan, after haircut
Jesus asks her the same question, but goes further by asking who she is looking for
Mary thinks he is the gardener
She is willing to carry His body away
“Her words reveal her devotion. She never paused to consider how she would carry the corpse of a full-grown man or how she would explain her possession of it.” [Tenney quoted in Guzik’s commentary]
Mary had a single focus of finding Jesus’ body
Jesus revealed Himself
He only said her name, Mary
Judy recognized me when I spoke to her (dressed in camo)
Debbie recognized Nathan when he spoke
John 10:3-4, The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
However Jesus said her name, whether it was with the same tone or flexion that He had said it before, she recognized that it is Jesus speaking
She calls Him teacher
Jesus gives her a warning
Don’t cling to me
“Actually, the ancient Greek construction of this phrase ‘means to stop an action already begun rather than to avoid starting it.’ (Tenney)” [Guzik]
So we see that Mary is already on her knees clinging to Jesus’ feet
Why did He say, “Do not cling to Me?”
He would be relating to her in a new way
“Jesus’ correction is a spiritual redirection away from Jesus’ physical presence, a preparation for the Spirit that is about to be given.” [Burge, 557]
She had been able to minister to His needs and take care of Him during His earthly ministry
But, He had to ascend to the Father so that the Holy Spirit could come
Also, she had a job to do – witness about His resurrection
She was to tell the disciples what she had seen and heard from the Lord
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been given the same job to do
PRINCIPLE #2 – God is glorified when we tell others about Him.
We need to share with others what we have experienced through the transforming relationship we have with Jesus Christ
Our personal testimony is something that is undeniable
Another person cannot deny that it happened
Even if they try to say that, it does not negate the fact that it did
Matthew 28:16-20, Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
#2 – My Next Step Today Is To: Witness about the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in my own life and how it transformed me.
Jesus did not want her to cling to Him, because He had a job for her to do
He gave her some specific instructions
Jesus gives her instructions
Go to my brothers
He doesn’t call them servants or friends anymore, but brothers
John 15:15, I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
That was before His resurrection
John 1:12-13, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor a human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Tell them I am returning to heaven
Mary obeys
Mary goes to the disciples
She tells them that she has seen the Lord and what His message was to them
There was doubt about the fact that Jesus had risen and that Mary had seen Him
Mark 16:10-11, She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
If something happened like that today, we would probably be skeptical too
In the 1st Century women were marginalized
They were not allowed to be called as witnesses in a court of law
Rabbi’s taught this, “It is better that the words of the law be burned than to be entrusted to a woman.” [Courson, 595-596]
Jesus gives the gospel to a woman and entrusts her to share it with His disciples
The disciples doubt was about to change
The Disciples Saved (John 20:19-23)
Jesus appeared to the disciples
It happened on the same day they found the empty tomb
The disciples are all together
They were behind locked doors, because they were fearful of the Jews
Jesus encourages them
Shalom! – Peace be with you!
He does not condemn them for running away in the garden or for being absent at the crucifixion (although John was there)
He offers this same peace to us
Romans 5:1-2, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
He proved that He was alive
He showed them His hands and side
He encouraged them to touch Him and asked for something to eat
Luke 24:38-43, He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
The disciples are overjoyed
Jesus saved them
Jesus again pronounced peace to them
He is sending them just as the Father had sent Him
He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
“At this point, the disciples are born again. Although they were already following Jesus, they were not yet regenerated because He had not yet died for their sins.” [Courson]
God had created Adam, but he did not have life until God breathed into him
Jesus would be relating to His disciples in a new way
We know that Jesus taught His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection, before ascending into Heaven (Acts 1:3)
Jesus related to the disciples in a new way at Pentecost
Acts 2:1-4, When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
He states about forgiving and not forgiving sins
We know that only God has the right to forgive sins, so what does this verse mean?
“Jesus gives His disciples authority to announce forgiveness and to warn of guilt, as authorized by the Holy Spirit.” [Guzik]
CONCLUSION/ACTION
We know from the book of Acts that the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to share boldly about Jesus. Jesus related to them in a new way, through the Holy Spirit
Jesus wants to relate to you in a new way today
“Historical faith says, ‘Christ lives!’”
This is knowing factually that Jesus came alive
It’s knowing that Jesus exists – that God exists
It’s having a head knowledge
“Saving faith says, ‘Christ lives in me!’”
This is taking your head knowledge and applying it to your heart, which is the center of your emotions
It’s saying to God that you recognize your rebellion against Him – that you don’t want anything to do with Him, because you want your own way and not His
It’s repenting of your sins and turning to Jesus Christ as your Savior – recognizing His perfect sacrifice for you on the cross (Hebrews 9:22b)
It’s accepting God’s offer to become a part of His family (John 1:12, Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God)
The moment you receive Jesus into your life, you receive the Holy Spirit as a part of your life
You will experience just what the disciples experienced – Jesus relating to you in a new way
My Next Step Today Is To: Believe that Jesus died, was buried, and came alive again to take my punishment for sin, so I can be a part of God’s family.
