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Please turn in your Bibles to 
John chapter 20. Actually, we'll start reading 
in John 19, beginning at verse 31. Lengthy portion this morning. But I hope it will set the stage 
and the context for what we study in terms of the empty tomb, beginning 
in John 19 at verse 31. Therefore, because it was the 
preparation day that the bodies should not remain on the cross 
on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked 
Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might 
be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke 
the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with 
him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, 
they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced 
his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And 
he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true. And 
he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that 
the scripture should be fulfilled. Not one of his bones shall be 
broken. And again, another scripture 
says, they shall look on him whom they pierced. After this, 
Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear 
of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of 
Jesus. And Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body 
of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, 
also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 
pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus and bound it in strips 
of linen with the spices as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden 
and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been 
laid. So there they laid Jesus because of the Jews preparation 
day for the tomb was nearby. Now 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. And 
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. And 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. And 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. 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. 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. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this wonderful account concerning 
our Lord Jesus Christ and the resurrection from the dead. We 
bless you, God Most High, that we get to remember this event 
each and every Lord's Day. Each and every Sunday we gather, 
we are testifying that He is risen. And in this, God, we greatly 
rejoice and we are glad. We pray now that you would send 
your Holy Spirit, that you would comfort our hearts. God, as Pastor 
Cam prayed this prior to the service, there are a lot of, 
or prior to the preaching, there are a lot of hurts and a lot 
of difficulties and a lot of trials in our local body. We 
know, God, that this lower world is a place of sorrows. It is 
a place of pain. It is a place of struggle. Yet 
God, help us to be encouraged at the reality that Christ is 
risen, that Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God Most 
High, that He ever lives to make intercession for His people, 
that He always saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through 
Him. May we be encouraged at the reality 
of Christ crucified and Christ resurrected. And as well, Lord 
God, may we rejoice in His current session. And our Father, we pray 
now that You would forgive us for all of our sins, that You 
would cleanse us in the blood of the Lamb, that You would wash 
us and purify us and cause us to receive with great joy Your 
Holy Word. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, two weeks ago in 
our studies in the Gospel in Matthew, we saw where Jesus Christ, 
when asked by the disciples of John the Baptist, why do we and 
the Pharisees fast often but your disciples do not fast? Jesus 
gave this reply. He said in Matthew 9.15, can 
the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom 
is with them? But the days will come when the 
bridegroom will be taken away from them and then they will 
fast. So last week we looked at the 
crucifixion of the bridegroom, the reality that he was, in fact, 
violently taken from them, crucified, and died. Well, this morning 
we're going to look at the resurrection of the bridegroom. You see, the 
Christian story, the gospel doesn't end in the tomb. The gospel does 
not end with the death of the Lord Jesus. Christ is not on 
the crucifix, but rather Christ is bolted from the tomb. He ascended 
on high, he led captivity captive, and he gave gifts to man. And 
we ought to imitate the disciples we see in this passage. Then 
the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Hopefully, 
that will be our response this morning. And as well, as we see 
this particular flow in the narrative, we see the death, as we looked 
at last week, we see the ultimate death in verses 31 and chapter 
19 that I read there. They didn't need to break his 
legs. They didn't need to make sure that he already asphyxiated. 
because he was in fact dead, so they pierced his side. And 
then he is buried in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb, again according 
to what was written in the scriptures. And then that brings us to consider 
the empty tomb, first of all, the appearance to Mary Magdalene, 
secondly, and then thirdly, the appearance to the disciples without 
Thomas. And then the chapter ends, the 
disciples with Thomas, That's something we studied not too 
long ago, so we'll just focus on those three blocks of narrative. 
First, the empty tomb, verses 1 to 10, the appearance to Mary 
Magdalene, verses 11 to 18, and then the appearance to the disciples 
without Thomas in verses 19 to 23. Let's just pick up in verses 
1 and 2. Notice the first day of the week. That's why we gather for worship 
on the first day of the week. It is the Lord's Day. In the 
Old Covenant, the seventh day, the Sabbath, or the seventh day 
was indeed the Sabbath rest for the people of God. I believe 
the theology in the book of Hebrews, specifically chapter 4, underscores 
the reality that this abiding commandment still applies but 
the day has shifted in terms of God's redemptive approach 
to his people. So we remember every single Sunday 
the great reality that Jesus is risen. We celebrate this recurringly. We ought to wake up on Sunday 
mornings with that thought in our hearts and in our minds. 
It ought not just to be, you know, one Sunday in March or 
one Sunday in April. It ought not to just be on a 
good Friday that we remember His death. We remember His death 
every time we as the Church come together to celebrate the Lord's 
Supper. And we remember His resurrection 
every Christian Sabbath day that we gather together. The body 
of Christ is proclaiming that He is risen. And this is an affirmation 
of that reality. Now, the first day of the week, 
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early. Now Mary Magdalene, what 
was her case before the Lord Jesus had saved her? She was 
demon possessed. This woman had seven demons cast 
out of her by the power of the Lord Christ. This was a forgiven 
sinner. A sinner who was forgiven much, 
and certainly she loved her Lord much. So at his burial, she now 
comes to visit the grave. And she notices that the tomb 
stone had been taken away from the tomb. Or the stone had been 
rolled away from the tomb. Now grave robbing was very popular 
in that day. Popular, I don't know if that's 
the... the proper word, common. Grave robbing was a common offense. In fact, a few years later from 
this time, Claudius would make it a capital offense to rob graves. You see, she comes to the tomb, 
she sees that the stone is rolled away, and her immediate concern 
is with the body of Jesus. She doesn't begin to think that 
He has risen, she believes rather that they, people, had come and 
taken His body. So she reports this to Peter 
and John, and that's what we find in verses 3 to 10. We have 
Peter therefore went out and the other disciple. That's John. 
That's the beloved disciple. That's the apostle that is penning 
these very words. And in verses 3 to 10, what we 
see is an eyewitness account. What we see is eyewitness affirmation. What we see in these details 
is not something to speculate on. The fact that that John makes 
it to the grave or the tomb sooner than Peter. Some have hypothesized 
that there was a difference in the decision. No, John was probably 
a faster runner. Probably a younger man, so a 
faster runner. Peter enters the tomb first. 
Is that to show that the Petrine community was somehow more... 
No, it's to show that Peter, in acting and in keeping with 
his character, just jumps right into a situation. kind of man 
that we've met in these gospel accounts. But the details of 
verses 3 to 10 are given first and foremost to affirm, or to 
ground, or to confirm, and to satisfy that requirement in biblical 
law. On the basis of two or three 
witnesses, every fact is confirmed, or every fact is established. 
What we have in this account with these details are eyewitness 
narratives, things that could only come about by someone that 
was there. Notice in verse 3, 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. Again, probably a younger man, 
probably a faster man. It's weird how commentators get 
into some of these things and they speculate and they hypothesize 
and what is the symbolism behind it? There's no symbolism. John 
was a fast runner. It's okay. That's legit. You don't have 
to exegete the symbolic meaning. All John wants us to get is the 
account, the record, the events of that particular day. Notice. So they both, excuse me, verse 
five, and he, stooping down, Peter comes to the tomb first, 
and he's stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying 
there, yet he did not go in. This is John. 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. Now why this detail? Is John writing for good housekeeping? Does John want us to know how 
to preserve a tomb in the first century setting? What would be 
one of the allegations or what would be one of the challenges 
to the biblical doctrine of the resurrection? Somebody stole 
his body. Grave robbers perhaps were the 
ones that levered that stone, they rolled it away, they went 
in and they ravaged the tomb and took everything they could 
and left. I don't know about you, but we 
have had our house burglarized twice since living in Chilliwack. 
We lived in L.A. County for most of our lives 
and never had our home broken into. We moved to Chilliwack 
and we've been broken into twice. I gotta tell you, when we returned 
to our home, there were not things folded neatly and placed back 
on their shelf. Grave robbers would not take 
time to fold cloths and set them down neatly. Grave robbers take 
what they can, and they leave everything in a mess, and they 
scoot just as fast as they can. It's almost as if the apostle, 
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is heading off at 
the pass this potential objection that it was grave robbing. Have 
you ever met a robber, a burglar? I'm sure in their own homes they 
might be tidy and neat and recipients of a good housekeeping award. 
But when they go and steal from others, they do not spend the 
time to tidy up after themselves so that the persons they've ravaged 
are then happy that their homes are in order. As well, Herman 
Ritterboss made this statement. He says, now they lay there, 
these grave clothes, left behind in good order. each in its own 
place as discarded attributes that were no longer of any use, 
and also with the stone that had been rolled away as silent 
witnesses of Jesus' victory, not only over death, but also 
over the grave in which the body had been laid. He is risen. That's what's going on. That's 
what's being recorded. That's what's being displayed. 
That's what's being testified. And then notice, they enter into 
the tomb, and notice their response at the empty tomb. Verse 8, Then 
the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also, 
and he saw and believed. Now, let's just parse that for 
a moment. Of course he believed on the 
Lord Jesus. He spent three years with this 
man. Of course he loved the Lord Jesus. He had spent three years with 
this man. In fact, John was the apostle, 
the beloved disciple, who laid his head upon Jesus' bosom. When 
it says he saw and he believed, he believed this reality, that 
he's risen. You see, when Mary saw the stone 
rolled away, the first thing that popped into her head was 
that grave robbers had come and stolen the body away. We know 
not where. But you see, when John looks 
into that empty tomb, when John surveys the situation, when he 
sees those cloths neatly folded and lying there, he believed. It was true. Christ is risen. He's no longer here. John did 
not feel suspicious of grave robbers. John rather had it underscored 
in his heart of hearts that this man whom he had seen crucified, 
this man whom he had seen died, this man whom he had seen put 
into this grave was now risen from the tomb. Notice he doesn't 
elaborate on that. Notice he doesn't report Peter's 
frame of mind. Luke tells us when Peter went 
away, he marveled at the reality of this empty tomb. And then 
verse 9 is very intriguing. Verse 9, it says, for as yet 
they did not know the scriptures that he must rise again from 
the dead. So John surveys the tomb, he 
sees the clothes, he knows this of a truth, that he is risen. 
But he didn't understand the redemptive historical record 
of the Old Testament. He didn't understand all the 
particulars that Jesus had spoken. It's as if he is giving us a 
step-by-step bit of progress into his maturity. He's telling 
us and he's teaching us how his eyes grew, how his understanding 
flourished, how he progressed. It is a remarkable thing. He 
knows that Christ is risen, but as yet he hasn't reflected upon 
Daniel 9. He hasn't reflected upon Isaiah 
53. He hasn't put the two and two 
together with reference to Psalm 16. Psalms 2 and Psalms 110, 
at this particular point, not that he was ignorant of them, 
but how they had found fulfillment in this Jesus of Nazareth. So 
he sees and he believes, but as of yet, they did not know 
the Scripture. Notice how John refers to the 
Scripture, this standard, this authoritative guide, this document 
that gives meaning and interpretation to historical events. It is the 
Scripture to which we go. It is the Scripture that we base 
our faith upon. And then he says, then the disciples 
went away to their own homes. Let's pick up secondly with Jesus' 
appearance to Mary Magdalene in verses 11 to 18. Verse 11, 
but Mary stood outside by the tomb, weeping. And as she wept, 
she stooped down and looked into the tomb. Her weeping is consistent, 
right? The days will come when the bridegroom 
will be taken away from them, and then they will mourn. She had witnessed this tragedy. 
She had witnessed this one whom she loved, this one who had the 
power, the authority, the majesty of God Most High to cast the 
demons out of her. She had seen Him with this crown 
of thorns put into His brow. She had seen Him spat on. She 
had seen Him mocked. She had seen Him exalted, not 
on a throne, but on a cross, and she had heard the crowds 
mocking Him. She had seen and witnessed all 
these things. The bridegroom had been violently 
taken from her, and now she is weeping at the tomb. That is 
consistent with what Jesus teaches with reference to his removal 
from their presence. So 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? What's the matter? What's the 
deal? What's the reason? Why are you 
weeping? going on. You notice he's not 
here. There's two angelic beings here. Beasley Murray says their position 
in the tomb, one at the head and the other at the feet where 
Jesus had laid, is a reminder of the silent testimony of the 
grave clothes, but of another order. It witnesses that God, 
not robbers, had taken Jesus for a purpose yet to be revealed. Verse 13, she said to them, because 
they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they 
have laid him. Verse 14 is interesting. Now, 
when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing 
there. Why do you think that is? I mean, he could have stepped 
on a twig and made a noise to alert her to the fact that he 
was behind her. Probably the angel stood up. When the angels are in the presence 
of their God, they don't remain seated. When the angels are in 
the presence of the one that they cry, holy, holy, holy to, 
they don't sip their frappuccinos. They're marked with reverence. 
They're marked with fear. They're marked with respect. 
The angels more than likely stood up in his presence. She turns 
around and she sees him and supposes him to be the gardener. Now, 
there are a lot of reasons why people speculate as to why she 
didn't immediately understand who he was. It was early in the 
morning. Some say her eyes, the darkness 
was such that she couldn't make out his particular form or face. You know, when Jesus is walking 
with those two men on the road to Emmaus, He is teaching them. He is speaking to them. And it 
wasn't until the end that He opened their understanding to 
behold that it was Him. They later report, did not our 
hearts burn while He spoke? There's continuity between the 
pre-tomb and the post-tomb. There's continuity in terms of 
the same Lord Jesus but there is some discontinuity as well. There are some differences. D. A. Carson explains it this way. 
The resurrection accounts provide a certain tension. On the one 
hand, Jesus' resurrection body can be touched and handled. He 
bears the marks of the womb inflicted on the pre-death body, and not 
only cooks fish, but eats it. On the other hand, Jesus' resurrection 
body apparently rose through the grave clothes, appears in 
a locked room, and is sometimes not, at least initially, recognized. The closest we are likely to 
come to an explanation is found in 1 Corinthians 15.35 and following. Again, that idea of continuity 
versus discontinuity. When we go into the grave on 
that final resurrection day, when we are united body and soul 
back together again, there'll be continuity. We don't become 
something other, but there is something discontinuous. The 
Spirit indwells us in such a powerful manner. We are fit for communion 
with the living and true God in a specific manner. There is 
something different in terms of that glorified state, and 
that's what we, and that's what the creation is groaning toward 
even now. You see, when a believer dies 
and his soul goes to be with the Lord, that's the intermediate 
state. The Christian hope is always 
the bodily resurrection. The Christian hope is not Gnosticism. The Christian hope is God's purposes 
in creation realized through the second Adam. It is a blessed 
and wondrous thing that we look forward to. The aches and the 
pains of this world, the sorrows and the trials of this world, 
the discouragements and the difficulties of this world do not enter in 
to the new Jerusalem. God will wipe away every tear. 
He will wipe away every sorrow from our eyes. He will fit us 
specifically for communion with himself forever. It's an amazing 
reality. So Jesus sees her and he asks 
the question, woman, why are you weeping? And there's a gentle 
reproof here. She should have believed that 
he would rise. He told them he would. She should 
have believed the prophets and the Psalter. She should have 
understood those things. So there's a gentle reproof in 
his words. And then when he says, whom are 
you seeking? There might be a little bit more to this. I don't want 
to get all symbolic and strange, but what kind of a Messiah are 
you looking for? What kind of a champion did you 
expect? What kind of a victor come from 
God? Did you anticipate? Did you anticipate 
the earthly, ruling, majestic monarch that would subjugate 
the Roman Empire and put them down? You weren't looking for 
one who came to suffer and die for his people's sins and to 
rise again. Whom are you seeking? What manner 
of Messiah is it that you are looking for? And then notice. 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. This is that moment where the 
lights came on. This is that moment where she 
saw. This is that moment when her heart leaped. I don't want 
to read too much into this rabboni, but here is the master, here 
is the teacher, here is the Messiah that cast those seven demons 
out of me. Here is that one that I saw scoffed 
at, mocked, ridiculed, and ultimately tortured to death. Here he is! When he says this word, when 
he speaks this word, Mary, John 10.3 comes to pass. My sheep 
know my voice. They hear me, they follow, they 
respond. It's at this particular point 
in her history that hermeneutics became proper. She understands 
the truth. She turns, she says, Rabboni, 
and he says to her, do not cling to me. The translations have, 
do not touch me. brings a bit of tension with 
what he tells Thomas to do. I think, do not cling to me is 
better. Do not grab hold of me. Do not latch on to me. My task 
is not completed. Do not fear that I'm going to 
go away again in the manner that I did. There'll be no more bloody 
assault upon my person. There'll be no more crucifixion. 
There'll be no more calvary. There'll be no more man of sorrows. 
There'll be no more away with him, away with him. Crucify him. Do not cling to me because I'm 
going to ascend to my father. In other words, understand the 
reality of my redemptive work. Do not cling to me, for I have 
not yet ascended to my Father. And then notice what he says. 
It's the first time in the Gospel account. Go and tell my brethren. Isn't that beautiful? Who's his brethren? His disciples. The believers. The apostles. us. He is not ashamed to call 
us brethren. That's what the book of Hebrews 
tells us. Does that make you happy? You have a Lord, the Son of God, 
the Son of Man, the creator of the universe, the governor of 
all things, who's not ashamed to call you brother. Isn't that 
beautiful? I just think we can lay our heads 
down in this verse and be content for the rest of history. Jesus 
is not ashamed to call us brethren, not because of virtue in us, 
not because of good works in us, but because of His virtue, 
because of His good works, because of His grace, because of His 
mercy. He cleansed us, He purified us, He washed us, He brought 
us into this realm of salvation, and as a result, He is not ashamed 
to call us brethren. Paul tells us we are joint heirs, 
co-heirs with the Lord Christ. We have God the Father as our 
Father. Again, there is a distinction. 
Jesus is the one and only. Jesus is the only begotten. He 
is the unique Son of God who has, by eternal generation, has 
always been We are the adopted sons and daughters of God Most 
High. I wonder if while Mary was running to tell the other 
disciples, she was saying, did he just call me brethren? Did 
he just call me sister? Did he just call me family? It's an amazing reality that 
somebody that at one time had seven demons in her is now called 
a sister of the living God. It is a blessing. He tells her, 
do not cling. He tells her to go and report 
these things to the disciples. Mary Magdalene came and told 
the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken 
these things to her. And that brings us thirdly and 
finally to the appearance to the disciples without Thomas. This is amazing. This is what's important for 
Jesus. If you died and you came back 
from the dead, let's just say if you died in a violent, horrific, 
criminal manner, and you came back from the dead, you'd probably 
go to the FBI. You'd go to the RCMP. You'd go 
to whoever it was that was responsible for bringing malefactors to justice. And I'm not against that. In 
fact, that's probably my first stop. 911. You'll never believe what these 
guys did to me. You can tell a lot about Jesus, 
what's important to him, when after the tomb he visits his 
disciples. First thing he does is he pronounces 
peace upon them. Peace. Verse 19, 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. Remember that with Jesus this 
isn't a cheap wish. With Jesus this isn't, I really 
don't care if it happens or not. You ever been guilty or indicted 
in your own mind when you've asked somebody, how are you doing? 
And then a few minutes later, you kind of think, I really don't 
care. It's not the case with Jesus. I actually do care when 
I ask you. Don't think that every single 
time. But I gotta say, if I'm bumping into people that I haven't 
seen for a long time or I don't know, you know, how's it going? 
Do we really want to know how's it going? Really? Every single 
time? These are conventions, these are things that we say, 
and I think at times we can read the scripture that way. We can 
read a greeting from Paul that says, grace and mercy and peace 
be upon you, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
put it in the category of convention. Or we can hear the Lord Jesus 
say to his disciples, peace be with you. Well, you know, that's 
just a greeting. That was common. That's just 
the way you did things. Jesus really means it. Jesus 
conveys peace. Jesus gives peace with God. He 
gives peace with men betwixt one another. He is fitting. He 
is preparing. He is getting his disciples ready 
for the mission that will mark their lives. Peace, he says, 
to them. Notice in verse 20, when he had 
said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the 
disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So he shows them 
the wounds. He shows them the marks. Not 
just the ones in his hands, but in his side as well. Remember 
that the side wound wouldn't be consistent with all persons 
crucified. The side wound was unique to 
the Lord Jesus. Remember that when the victim 
of crucifixion was hanging there, they put the block of wood at 
the bottom of his feet so that he could press on that block 
of wood so that he could fight asphyxiation. Well, if the crucifixion 
was going on too long, they'd break his legs so that he couldn't 
prop himself up and that he would asphyxiate. when these men who 
knew how to kill people. You see, that idea, the swoon 
theory, the idea that Jesus was just really hurt, or Jesus was 
just really traumatized. So they put a living man into 
the tomb, and after three days when he regained his health, 
he left there. He rolled this big stone away, and then he left. 
That just does not hold up to scrutiny. What did a Roman soldier 
do? Not kill people? not know how to end someone's 
life, not know how to determine whether the chest was rising 
and falling with life, they didn't need to break his legs because 
he was dead. He wasn't mostly dead, he was 
completely dead. And that's when they pierced 
his side. So when Jesus comes and he shows his hands and he 
shows his side, that is unique to him. Carson again says, others 
who had been crucified, if somehow they had been raised, could have 
shown their feet and hands. Only he could show his side. 
The disciples were forced to grasp what became a central confession 
of the church. The risen Lord is none other 
than the crucified sacrifice. Remember the idea of continuity 
and discontinuity? Continuity is seen when he says, 
see my hands and see my side. Continuity is seen when he says 
to Thomas, reach out your hands and place them in my wounds. Ryle makes this observation. 
Calvin strongly holds that our Lord's use of the wound was only 
temporary until the apostles were fully convinced and that 
his glorified body is without them." So Calvin says, when we 
get to the New Jerusalem and we see our Lord, there will not 
be those wound marks. It was a temporary situation 
for the good of the apostles. I side with dear brother Ryle. 
He says, I cannot, however, agree with him. After a great victory, 
the scars of a conqueror are marks what he intended. And then the 
disciples were glad. Isn't that beautiful? See, when 
the friends of the bridegroom are with the bridegroom, they 
can't help but rejoice. But the days are coming when 
the bridegroom will be taken away, and then they will mourn. 
No doubt there was a lot of mourning in these three days. No doubt 
there was a lot of tears on this Friday and Saturday. No doubt 
there was a lot of anguish and a lot of wet pillows because 
they cried over the Savior who had left them. But now, He has 
risen. Now they are glad. You see, brethren, 
I think there is a lesson for each of us here. As I mentioned 
already, there's a lot of bad news that affects us in this 
world. There's a lot of horrible things that happen in this world. 
There's a lot of trials. There's a lot of heartaches. 
There's a lot of pains. There's a lot of suffering. But 
this one thing continues to be true. That tomb is empty. That 
Savior is risen. That Lord is reigning. And He 
will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. He will 
right every wrong. He will vindicate every evil, 
or every Christian, or every righteous man that has suffered 
evil for His cause. The Lord God Most High reigns. He has stationed His Son at His 
right hand, and we, like the disciples, ought to be glad. And then notice what Jesus does. He commissions His disciples. 
You see, remember what I said, if we came back from the dead, 
our first call would be to the FBI, you need to right this wrong, 
these guys murdered me, these criminals, these crooks. Jesus 
says, I want you to do something. You have a task, you have a particular 
job, you have a particular mission. Verse 21, so Jesus said to them, 
again, peace to you. As the Father has sent me, I 
also send you. not to be a sacrifice, not to 
be a propitiation, not to die and be crucified for the sins 
of others, but to proclaim Christ. This is what we see in Matthew, 
called the Great Commission. This is what Jesus enjoins on 
his disciples. As my Father has sent me, I also 
send you. Your lives are radically altered. 
Your lives are radically changed. You are now apostles of the gospel 
ministry. Your task is to preach. Your 
task is to teach. Your task is to go out to the 
known world and to the farthest parts of the world and to proclaim 
the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. He equips them for this 
particular task. He breathes on them and they 
receive the Holy Spirit. Now this is one of those passages 
that we scratch our heads at and wonder what's going on. It 
is an anticipation of the Pentecost event. It is Christ giving the 
disciples his spirit to equip them and to enable them to go 
about their task in preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. And then he highlights that primary 
emphasis that is to be theirs. The Church foremost is not to 
be an institute for political change. The Church foremost is 
not to be an institute for social change. The Church foremost is 
to be an institute that preaches the forgiveness of sins. That's 
where the stress lies. That's where the emphasis falls. 
Now, I'm not saying politics and social ethics and all those 
things are irrelevant, but when it comes to the pulpit ministry 
handed down by the Apostolic Church, it is to proclaim Christ 
and Him crucified. That's what Christ says. Receive the Holy Spirit. Verse 
23. If you forgive the sins of any, 
they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, 
they are retained. Now a lot of Weird things have 
emerged as a result of this passage. Let me just tell you, this text 
was not given to promote the confessional. It was not given 
to promote the indulgence system. It was not given to promote Roman 
Catholic priesthood or priestcraft. It was given to emphasize that 
the Church of Jesus Christ is the healer in terms of the spiritual 
realm. We preach the gospel of free 
and sovereign grace, where it's Christ that's the healer through 
the Church. When the prophet Jeremiah is 
given his mandate to raise up and to tear down nations, how 
does Jeremiah do that? He does it through his preaching. 
You see, God alone forgives sins. Christ alone forgives sins. When 
we turn to the book of Acts, what do we find? Do we find the 
confessional? Do we find the indulgent system? 
Do we find a few men that wear funny hats and have the ability 
to forgive sin? No, we see Paul, we see Peter, 
we see John, we see each and every one of them stand before 
men and say that God is holy, you're a sinner, and believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be forgiven. That's 
the emphasis in the church. Again, let me just qualify. We 
ought to preach the whole counsel of God. We ought to preach every 
jot and tittle. We ought to be those from Genesis 
to Revelation. We ought to preach the glory 
and the beauty of God's holy law. That's why we meet on Wednesday 
nights and we study the book of Deuteronomy. We ought to preach 
the law throughout the scripture, but we must preach forgiveness. We must preach the cross. We must preach the empty tomb, 
the risen Lord, the one alone in whom is the forgiveness of 
sins. You see, when Jesus raises from 
the dead and he comes to his disciples, he says, peace, and 
he says, go, preach, teach, proclaim the glories of the Christian 
gospel so that sinners can come and have everlasting life. It 
is beautiful where the emphasis falls in our Lord's post-resurrection 
account. If you forgive the sins of any, 
they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, 
they are retained. The prophets were said to do 
through proclamation. The apostolic practice was not 
to set up confessionals, but to proclaim forgiveness through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. He is risen. Well, brethren, 
just a couple of thoughts in conclusion. The first is the 
fact of the resurrection. Just a couple of things for you 
to consider about the resurrection in terms of its veracity, in 
terms of its truthfulness, in terms of its historical accuracy, 
Consider the scriptural testimony in the words of Jesus Christ. 
It's not an isolated passage. All throughout the gospel accounts, 
Jesus foretold that he would die and that he would rise again. 
Consider the testimony of the prophets. Consider the testimony 
of the Psalter. Consider the fact that Psalm 
22 describes a practice that wasn't even in practice. It is a psalm of the cross written 
by David several centuries prior to cross, prior to the rise of 
the Roman Empire. I mean, you read Isaiah the prophet, 
Isaiah 53, and it's almost like you're reading somebody who was 
on our side of the cross. He highlights the reality of 
substitutionary curse bearing, substitutionary atonement. It's 
an amazing thing that people who want to discard the account 
of the resurrection never ask the Bible what it says about 
the resurrection. You see, that's quite common 
among the foes and the enemies and the opposers of Christianity. They don't want to ask the scripture. 
Oh no, we can't trust the scripture. That's what's under debate. That's 
like saying we're not going to ask the defendant to go into 
the box and to give his side of the situation. See, due process 
wouldn't function if men lived that way. Yeah, when it comes 
to Bible, no big deal. We don't have to ask the Bible. 
Have you ever met the experts in the Bible that haven't read 
the Bible? Oh, I know that Bible's filled with contradictions. Have 
you ever met those guys? Maybe I just used to work with 
them. I'm sure you work with them, too. Oh, how can you believe 
that? It's so full of contradiction. It's so full of lies. It was 
written by men. It was written by men. How could we ever trust anything 
written by men? And yet they'll take a math book 
and trust what was written by men. Right? There is a natural bent and tendency 
against the truthfulness of the scripture. You see, that math 
book doesn't rise up and say, you shall not commit adultery. We have within us a darkness 
and an inclination toward that which is evil. It's interesting, 
as Dr. Greg Bonson pointed out, there's 
not very many manuscripts of Plato still extend. In fact, 
there's probably only a couple. Plato, the philosopher that wrote 
many, many, many years ago. And yet the copy of Plato that 
you can purchase at the university bookstore, nobody questions, 
was this really what Plato wrote? How do we know that this is what 
Plato wrote? How do we know it wasn't a conspiracy? And yet 
we have over 5,000 extant manuscripts of the New Testament. Over 5,000. And there's no way it can be 
true. How do you explain it? John 3 
explains it. The light came into the world, 
but the darkness hated the light. You see, everyone practicing 
evil does not come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed. So at this time of the year, 
or whatever time of the year, someone says to you, how in the 
world could you ever believe that this Jesus of Nazareth rose 
from the dead? Because the Bible tells me so. That's it. Well, that's not going 
to gain us academic respectability. Who cares? Who cares? This happens in the realm of 
creation. You can't believe what the Bible says about creation 
because modern cosmology has taught us so many other things. The Bible tells us so. Consider 
as well, though, within the narrative, certain things woven into the 
text that are just amazing. Who's the first witness to the 
empty tomb? It's a woman. The Mishnah reports 
that the testimony of a woman was not admissible in court. Certainly the authors of the 
New Testament understood this principle, and yet they tell 
us that Mary Magdalene and the other women went to the tomb. 
See, the truth has nothing to hide. The truth doesn't have 
anything to cover up. The narrative, the difference 
in terms of report, the shades of meaning that you get or the 
shades of detail that you get from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
John show us this very clearly. These men didn't sit in a room 
and hatch a conspiracy. If they did, they did a very 
strange job. Consider that there was a lot 
of unbelief connected with the fact even among the disciples. Again, I have a perfect example 
of that in this sermon. When I said, I don't care when 
I ask you, I had to qualify that so I could look good to you, 
right? Don't think that next time I 
say, how are you doing, I really don't care. I had to qualify 
that to make myself look good. Do you actually think that the 
disciples of our Lord would put in there, that they didn't believe 
at first? No. We'll leave that detail out. Why would we include that? It 
makes us look like buffoons. Latch says, while it may not 
be flattering to the disciples to say that their faith could 
result only from some objectively revealed experience, this is 
exactly what the gospel records record. Liars in conspiracy together 
do not report unsavory details. They smooth off the edges. They 
fix the story. They cook it in such a way that 
no one will oppose or question. Four, consider the nature of 
his appearances. He appears to individuals. He 
appears to a pair of disciples. He appears to small groups. He 
appears to large assemblies. He appears to women and to men. 
He appears in public and private. He appears at different times 
of the day and both in Jerusalem and Galilee. This is certainly 
not the testimony of a mass hallucination. It simply isn't. Fifth, consider 
the threat to both the Roman Empire and Judaism in the claim 
of Jesus' resurrection. Certainly, they both, as parties, 
would have a vested interest in promoting a body, producing 
a body, to try and kill this idea that Jesus of Nazareth rose 
from the dead. And then consider, subsequent 
to this, the apostolic prayer. Consider subsequent to the fact 
the apostolic interpretation. Consider after the fact the apostolic 
practice. These men went out preaching 
the gospel of a crucified and resurrected Savior. And that 
message, God be thanked and praised, has continued to this day. Christ 
will build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. We have the fact of the resurrection 
and then we have the significance of the resurrection. The Apostle 
Paul tells us very clearly that Jesus was delivered up because 
of our offenses. And he was raised up because 
of our justification. You see, in the death and in 
the resurrection of Christ, there is an interpretation. There is 
symbol, or not symbol, there is meaning. You see, there were 
other persons in the gospel accounts. Lazarus, for instance. Lazarus 
was dead and Jesus called him forth. But the resurrection of 
Lazarus does not result in our justification. It is the apostolic 
testimony, it is the apostolic interpretation, it is the Bible's 
commentary on this event that took place. That God made him 
who knew no sin to be sin for us. That we might become the 
righteousness of God. in Him. You see, this act was 
not example, this act was not just a proof of love, this act 
was not just a proof of an emotional feeling, but rather it was God 
and Christ reconciling the world to Himself through this bloody 
spectacle, through this resurrection, through the vindication of the 
Son of God at the resurrection on the third day. Warfield says 
that He died manifests His love and His willingness to save. 
that He rose again manifests His power and His ability to 
save. We are not saved by a dead Christ 
who undertook but could not perform and who lies there still under 
the Syrian sky, another martyr of impotent love. If we are to 
be saved at all, it must be by the One who did not merely pass 
to death in our behalf, but who passed through death. In one 
word, the resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the Christian 
hope and to the Christian confidence. All our assurance of salvation 
is suspended on this fact. Praise be to God for this indescribable 
gift. And if you have not believed 
on the Lord Jesus, that's the point. John says, I looked, I 
saw that tomb, and I believed. John undertakes to write this 
gospel so that you may believe, and that believing in his name, 
you might have everlasting life. If you are a sinner here this 
morning, and I know that sometimes offends people when we talk like 
that, but you are. All of us are. Every single man, 
woman, boy, and girl is a sinner against God. The difference is 
some are forgiven by God's grace through the blood of Jesus. Others 
are not. While there is breath in your 
lungs, while the gospel is being proclaimed, may I call upon you 
to look and live, to believe on Him, and to be saved. There 
is nothing greater, there is nothing more wondrous, there 
is nothing more glorious than the dying, rising love of Jesus 
Christ applied to your life through His precious gospel. And for the believer, it is based 
on this reality that Paul can say, so when This corruptible 
has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, 
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death 
is swallowed up in victory. Paul then makes this challenge, 
oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory? We're gonna have trials. We're 
gonna have difficulties. We're gonna have troubles. We're 
going to have pain. We're going to have sorrow. But 
you know what's on the other side? Jesus. Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Jesus Christ, the one who died. 
Jesus Christ, the one who rose. Jesus Christ, the one who saved 
us from our sins. Brethren, be encouraged on the 
Lord's day Think these thoughts. He is risen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word, and we thank you for this account, and we thank you 
for the record, the gospel concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't 
give good advice. We preach good news, and we know 
that those who believe will be saved, and I pray that all over 
the earth today We ask God in heaven that your gospel would 
run swiftly and that it would be glorified, that multitudes 
would turn from their useless idols to the true and living 
God, and they would know the joy of being found in Jesus Christ. God, encourage your saints encourage 
believers here, all of us, Lord God, may we look upward, may 
we look heavenward, may we see our Christ reigning and ruling 
at the right hand of the majesty of God on high. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.