Shall we turn in our Bibles now to
the Gospel according to John, chapter 20.
The first day of the week cometh Mary
Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, under
the sepulchre.
And she saw the stone was taken away
from the sepulchre.
And then she ran and came to Simon
Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus
loved, and said unto them, They have taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and
we don't know where they have laid him.
Now, the other Gospels tell us that Mary
came with several of the women.
And there is no need to think a
discrepancy, nor to think that Mary did not
come with several women early to the sepulchre.
John makes mention of Mary because she is
the one that ran to his house and
brought Peter and him the news of the
empty tomb.
But notice what she said when she brought
the news.
They have taken away the Lord out of
the sepulchre, and we, not I know not,
but we know not.
Inferring indeed that the other ladies were with
her as the other Gospels relate, and they
came to the sepulchre and found that stone
rolled away.
And so this account is not contradictory to
the other Gospels as some people would suppose.
There are differences in the accounts of the
resurrection morning and of the events that happen,
which can all be harmonized very easily.
But some people see insolvable differences.
And of course, the Bible critics like to
play up the differences in the various accounts
that are given.
Instead of proving that the Bible is not
the word of God, it definitely proves that
the writers did not get together in collusion
and say, all right, now let's keep our
story straight, fellows.
This is the way we've got to tell
it.
And if every story was exactly the same
in all of the details, then there would
be great cause to question whether or not
there was not collusion in the writing of
the story.
But because we get it from different angles,
it precludes collusion.
So Peter therefore went forth and that other
disciple, who we know to be John, and
they came to the sepulcher.
Now, Mary, no doubt, was there at the
home of John when Mary Magdalene came with
the news because John took her to his
house, the 19th chapter, and she stayed with
him.
So Peter and John went running to the
sepulcher to find out just what had happened.
They ran both of them together, and the
other disciple did outrun Peter.
Now, I don't know that John needed to
add that to the record, but perhaps a
bit of boasting there.
He was a younger man, and so he
did outrun Peter, and he came first to
the sepulcher.
And he, stooping down and looking in, saw
the linen clothes lying there, yet he did
not go in.
And when Peter, following him, went into the
sepulcher, and he saw the linen clothes lying.
Now, the Greek construction indicates that the linen
clothes that were wrapped around Jesus were still
lying in a circular form as though a
body were in them.
And the napkin that had been about his
head was folded in a corner by himself
so that they could see that there was
no body within the linen wrappings.
This, of course, brings up the question of
the shroud of Turin as to whether or
not it was actually the shroud that was
wrapped around Jesus Christ.
And there are many who do believe that
it was indeed the shroud wrapped around Christ.
I have difficulty with that inasmuch as John's
Gospel tells us distinctly that the linen cloth
that was about his head was folded and
over in a corner by itself.
And in the shroud of Turin, it has
the entire form including the head.
And so, that it was indeed the shroud
that was around Jesus, I seriously question myself.
I think that the Lord has deliberately allowed
all of those relics that involve the life
and the ministry of Christ to be lost
in obscurity through the years, because he knows
that tendency of man to worship an object.
And God doesn't want us worshiping objects, he
wants us worshiping him.
And so, the silver chalice of Antioch, which
they say was the very cup that Jesus
drank from or the disciples drank from at
the Last Supper, Jesus did not drink from
it, I question its authenticity.
For years, they sold splinters from the cross.
And you could purchase little splinters from the
cross.
Of course, this was a practice that began
around the year 400.
When they had finally sold enough splinters to
put together, putting them together, you could have
built a good-sized house.
Someone was pointing out the fact that there
were enough splinters now to make a house.
And so, the church developed the dogma of
the miraculous multiplication of the cross, so that
they could continue to sell splinters.
And so, according to this dogma of the
miraculous multiplication of the cross, every time they
took a splinter out, a new one would
form, so that they could keep selling them.
It is tragic that man has such difficulty
worshiping the unseen God and needs an object,
which so easily becomes an idol or idolatry.
And that is the worship of any object
is idolatry.
And that is something that is forbidden by
the Scriptures.
But it is something that man is so
prone to do.
And because of man's penchant towards idolatry, I
do feel that the Lord deliberately just X'd
out all of the stuff that related to
Jesus Christ, things that he may have touched,
the coin that Peter took out of the
fish's mouth, and all of these kind of
things.
And I believe that the Lord just deliberately
has removed these artifacts to keep us from
idolatry.
Now, whenever a person begins to worship an
artifact, there is always a twofold revelation.
Number one, it reveals that that man has
lost the consciousness of the power and the
presence of God in his life.
The moment I am worshiping some artifact, it
means I have lost that vital consciousness of
God's presence.
It means that I am somehow longing for
that which I lost.
And so I have a reminder of what
God had done.
But idolatry, any idolatry always speaks of a
degraded state of spiritual experience.
So I, well, of course, just the very
way that the Shroud of Turin is treated
as a artifact of which great reverence and
all is placed upon is just a classic
indication of why the Lord, I think, allowed
all of the things to deliberately be lost
or discarded.
Now, the other disciple after Peter went in
also went in to the sepulcher and he
saw and believed.
So, John bears record of his own belief
when he saw the clothes lying there, he
realized that Jesus must have risen.
For as yet they did not know the
Scripture that He must rise again from the
dead, and the disciples went away again unto
their own home, probably back to tell Mary
what they had discovered.
That is Mary, the mother of Jesus who
was staying at John's house.
To me, it is interesting for they did
not yet know the Scripture.
And yet Jesus had told them that He
would rise again the third day.
Yet they just did not still fully comprehend
this.
But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping.
Now, John and Peter had run to the
sepulcher.
They went in, saw the grave clothes lying
there, and went on back to John's house.
Mary, after telling them that the sepulcher was
empty, made her way back again to the
sepulcher, this time alone.
And as she was there weeping, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulcher.
And she saw two angels in white sitting,
the one at the head and the other
at the feet where the body of Jesus
had lain.
And they said unto her, Woman, why weepest
thou?
And she said unto them, Because they have
taken away my Lord, and I know not
where they have laid Him.
And when she had thus said, she turned
herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew
not that it was Jesus.
Now, it is interesting to me how that
Mary wasn't interested in the angels.
These two men sitting there in white saying,
Why are you weeping?
Now, what would be your response if you
saw angels?
I'm sure we'd be very fascinated.
We'd be intrigued.
But you know, when your heart is longing
for Jesus, even angels won't do.
And she was longing for Jesus.
She was wanting Jesus.
And angels are not even a decent substitute
when your heart is yearning after Jesus.
And so, she turned away from the angels,
not really interested in angels.
I want my Lord.
And Jesus was standing there and she did
not recognize Him.
Now, it is interesting how that there did
seem to be a certain difficulty in recognizing
the risen Christ.
And the difficulty, it would appear, was on
the part of the beholder.
We read that the two fellows were on
the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined with
them, but they did not recognize Him.
It said, For their eyes were holden that
they could not see.
In other words, there was an actual spiritual
thing involved here where the recognition of Him
was something that was held back by God.
And it was not until He had broken
the bread and they probably saw the nail
prints in His hands that they recognized Him.
When we get into the next chapter of
John's Gospel here, when Jesus had prepared the
fish for them on the shore, again it
said, And none of them dared ask Him,
Who are You, knowing that it was Jesus.
So, there was probably a difference in His
physical appearance enough in His resurrected body that
He was not easily identifiable by just the
appearance alone.
Now, Mary did not know that it was
Jesus.
She thought maybe He was the gardener standing
there.
It is possible that it was early in
the morning and because she had been weeping
so much that her vision was distorted by
the tears in her eyes.
Though she did not recognize that physical form,
she sure did recognize the voice.
But first of all, He said unto her
the same thing that the angels had said,
Woman, why weepest thou?
Who are you looking for?
Now, I heard a fellow the other night
say that Jesus did not
know everything while He was in this body
on the earth.
Therefore, He asked questions, for He really didn't
know the answers.
I heard that on Channel 40.
And just be careful what you hear on
that channel.
It isn't always sound biblical doctrine.
The Bible says, Prove all things and hold
fast that which is good.
I think that it is very presumptive for
a person to make that declaration.
And I think that it borders on blasphemy
of Jesus Christ.
Do you think that Jesus said to Mary,
Why weepest thou?
Because He didn't know why she was weeping.
Of course He knew why she was weeping.
Questions are often used in teaching methods, not
so that the teacher can find out the
answer, but so that the person can find
out what they know or can express what
they know.
And it is a very common teaching practice
to ask questions.
Not because you don't know the answers, but
you want people to start thinking.
Our minds are lazy oftentimes.
And someone asks a question and they think,
Oh, well, what is that?
You know, and it starts you thinking and
it starts drawing out from you.
And it's a very common teaching practice.
In fact, I heard of a little kid
who went home from kindergarten and his mother
said, Well, how was your first day of
school?
He said, It was terrible.
I'm never going back to that place again.
That teacher is the most stupid person in
the world.
And the mother said, What do you mean?
He said, All day long, all she did
was ask questions.
What's one in one?
She doesn't know anything.
And to say, Well, Jesus asked questions because
He didn't know is absolutely wrong.
That is an assumption that is not correct.
In fact, it's unbiblical because John told us
that Jesus didn't need for any man to
testify to him about other men because he
knew men and he knew what was in
men.
And when Jesus the third time said, Peter,
do you love me?
Peter said, Lord, you know all things.
Yet Peter had just been asked a question.
Peter recognized that Jesus wasn't asking the question
for his own benefit.
He was asking it for Peter's benefit.
Lord, you know all things.
And so to suggest that Jesus was asking
questions in order that he might gain information
is unbiblical and manifestly wrong.
Woman, why weepest thou?
Who are you seeking?
He knew good and well why she was
weeping and who she was looking for.
But she, supposing him to be the gardener,
said unto him, Sir, if you have borne
him away from here, if you'll just tell
me where you have laid him, I will
take him away.
In this, I see the strength of love.
We're all familiar with the picture of the
little guy carrying the boy in his arms.
And he's looking up to the man and
saying, He ain't heavy, mister, he's my brother.
The power of love, the strength of love.
I imagine that Jesus was a fairly robust
person physically.
And a limp, dead body is hard to
lift.
But yet Mary says, Hey, and I don't
suppose he was that big.
She said, if you'll just tell me where
you've taken him, I'll carry him away.
And I'll bet she could have.
The strength of love.
Jesus said unto her, Mary.
Now, there were many Marys that followed Jesus.
There was his mother, Mary.
There was that other Mary mentioned at the
cross.
There was Mary Magdalene.
And with all of these Marys around, it
could get confusing.
In our household, it was confusing because of
Chuck Jr. So, someone called Chuck and oftentimes
both of us would answer.
So, I imagine that Jesus had a certain
way of saying Mary in a personalized way
for each of them so that when he
would say Mary or Mary, that they would
recognize from his intonation which Mary was talking
to.
And I imagine that he had a way
of saying Mary that was just specially and
specifically for Mary Magdalene.
This woman, out of whom seven devils had
been cast, who became a fervent disciple.
And he said, Mary, in such a tone
that she knew exactly who it was.
And she cried, Rabboni, Master.
And Jesus said unto her, touch me not.
Now, here again, the Bible critics have a
field day.
Because in the other Gospels, it tells us
that the women came and held him by
the feet and worshiped him.
And later on in this chapter, he is
going to say to John, take your finger
and put it into my hand.
See if it isn't me.
Put it there in the prints.
You say you won't believe until you see
the prints and the scar on my side.
Go ahead.
Do it, Thomas.
So, the fact that the one Gospel says
the women held him by the feet and
worshiped him.
And in John's Gospel, Jesus said to Mary,
touch me not.
Naturally, the Bible can't be the word of
God.
It's just the confused writings of men.
If you look more carefully at what Jesus
said in the Greek language, he said to
Mary, Mary, don't cling to me.
I can imagine that when Jesus said, Mary,
and she cried out, Master, that she fell
upon him and grabbed him around the neck
in a chokehold.
As if to say, you got away from
me once, but you'll never get away from
me again.
I'm not letting go.
And thus, he said, Mary, don't cling to
me.
I've not yet ascended to my father.
But go and tell my brother and say
unto them, I ascend unto my father, unto
your father, unto my God and your God.
And Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples
that she had seen the Lord and that
he had spoken these things unto her.
Now, though Mary had come and told the
disciples that I've seen the Lord.
He talked to me.
He told me that, you know, to come
and tell you that he hasn't yet ascended
to the father.
I would imagine that they must have just
passed it off as the hysterics of an
excited woman.
At this point, Thomas was not the only
doubter.
They were all of them pretty much still
doubting at this point.
In fact, the two disciples you remember who
took off for Emmaus.
According to Luke's gospel and who were walking
on the road to Emmaus.
When Jesus joined with them and he said
unto them, hey, fellows, why do you look
so sad?
Oh, here he is asking questions again.
Doesn't he know anything?
What's wrong with you fellows?
They said, you must be a stranger around
here.
If you don't know the things that have
been happening lately in Jerusalem.
And again, Jesus asked questions.
What things?
You really think Jesus didn't know what had
happened in Jerusalem?
And they said unto him concerning Jesus of
Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed
and word before God and all the people,
both his deeds and words, a mighty prophet.
And how the chief priests and our own
rulers delivered him to be condemned to death
and have crucified him.
But we had trusted that it had been
he which should have redeemed Israel.
And beside all this, it's the third day
since these things were done.
Yes.
And certain women also of our company made
us astonished who went early to the sepulcher.
And when they found not his body, they
came saying that they also had seen a
vision of angels which said he was alive.
These ladies have visions of angels said he
was alive and certain of them which were
with us.
That is Peter and John.
They went to the sepulcher and found that
even so as the women had said, but
they didn't see him.
And he said unto them, oh, fools and
slow of heart to believe all that the
prophets have spoken, not the Messiah to have
suffered these things and to enter into his
glory.
See, they still hadn't believed, though the women
came and said, hey, we saw the angels.
They said he's alive.
Peter and John went, they found the tomb
empty, but you know, no one's seen him.
Of course, at this point they didn't have
Mary Magdalene story.
They'd taken off for a minute.
Now, that same evening now earlier in the
afternoon, he appeared the two disciples on the
road domains.
And it is interesting to me, the very
first person Jesus appeared to after his resurrection
was a woman and he appeared to her
who loved him so much.
Jesus said he who is forgiven much loves
much and his response to Mary's weeping, his
response to her love was that she was
the first one that he appeared to then
to the other women who held his feet
and worshiped him.
And then to the two disciples on the
road to a mass.
And now it's the evening.
Jesus made a quicker trip back from Emmaus
and the other two disciples, though I imagine
that they were pretty fast getting back.
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 came Jesus and stood
in the midst and said unto them, peace
be unto you.
The typical Jewish salutation of peace, Shalom.
And when he had so said, he showed
unto them his hands and his side.
Now, Jesus at this point still is bearing
the marks of the cross.
He showed them his hands, his side.
It's me.
When he is in heaven, he will still
be bearing the marks of the cross.
For in Revelation chapter five, when the scroll
is in the right hand of him who
is sitting upon the throne and the angel
proclaims with a loud voice who is worthy
to take the scroll and loose the seals.
And John is weeping because no one is
found worthy in heaven and earth under the
sea to take the scroll or even to
look thereon.
The elder said unto John, behold, weep not.
The lion of the tribe of Judah hath
prevailed to take the scroll and loose the
seals.
And John said, I turned and I saw
him as a lamb that had been slaughtered.
Still the marks of the cross.
Isaiah in chapter 52 tells us that all
that look upon him will be astonished, shocked
because his face has been so marred.
You can't recognize him as a human being.
In the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, he tells
us that we, as it were, hid our
face from him.
That idea being that his appearance was so
shocking that you can't really stand to look.
But then he goes on to say, but
he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for
our iniquities.
Now, when Jesus returns, he will still be
bearing the marks for they shall look on
him whom they have pierced.
How long will he bear these marks?
I don't know.
Surely not all of eternity for John sees
him in the book of Revelation in chapter
one, in that glory of the kingdom.
And he describes that glorious vision of Christ
in John in Revelation chapter one.
But for a time, and I'm sure as
a shocking reminder to us of just what
he was willing to endure in order to
bring us salvation, your first view of Jesus
is apt to be a very shocking experience.
Just be prepared for it.
So often we think, oh, to look upon
the face of Jesus and we behold a
perfect face, the rose of Sharon, the lily
of the valley, the bright and morning star,
fairer than 10,000.
But your first view is apt to be
very shocking.
As shockingly, you're reminded how much God loves
you as you see what he was willing
to endure to bring you salvation.
So Jesus showed them his hands in his
feet or his hands in his side, and
then were the disciples glad when they saw
the Lord.
Then Jesus said unto them again, Shalom, peace
be unto you.
As my father hath sent me, even so
send I you.
The father sent me to what?
To serve, to give my life for others.
So send I you.
How?
For what?
To serve and to give yourself for others.
I cannot abide that teaching that declares
that it is God's will that all of
us be prosperous and healthy and and, you
know, just if you're not driving a Mercedes,
it's because you lack faith, that it is
never God's will for his children to suffer.
God is never glorified by his children's suffering.
That is a denial of Jesus Christ and
the cross.
Surely it was God's will that he suffer
for our sins.
And Peter, writing his epistle, said, And those
who suffer according to the will of God,
just commit your souls unto him as a
faithful creator.
But he speaks of suffering according to the
will of God.
Such a thing is indeed possible.
And that doctrine that is being taught is
scriptural garbage.
As the father has sent me, so send
I you to give yourself.
To serve not the Lord over people.
But to give yourself.
And when he had said this, he breathed
on them and said unto them, Receive ye
the Holy Spirit.
He breathed on them.
It is interesting to me that the word
for spirit in Hebrew is Ruach, which is
the same Hebrew word for breath.
The Greek word for spirit is Pneuma, which
is the Greek word for air.
Pneumatic tires means tires that you fill with
air.
Pneuma air.
But it is also the Greek word for
spirit.
So in the Old Testament, when God formed
man out of the dust of the earth,
he breathed into man.
Now, when the Hebrew scholars translated the Hebrew
Old Testament into Greek, which is known as
the Septuagint, it's a translation of the Old
Testament into Greek done by 70 scholars some
200 years before Christ.
When they made this Septuagint translation, the words
that the Greek word breathed into man and
he became a living soul is the same
word that John uses here.
And it's the only place it's used in
the New Testament.
Jesus breathed on them, even as God breathed
into that shell that he had formed out
of the dust of the earth.
And man became a living spirit.
But that spirit, you remember, died when man
sinned.
And man lost fellowship with God.
Now Jesus is restoring that which was lost
by Adam as he breathed in them and
said, receive ye the Holy Spirit.
That life of God, that spirit of God,
that spiritual life.
And so that which was lost by Adam
is now restored by Jesus Christ.
The life of God within man that God
had breathed into man in the beginning, now
restored.
Jesus had said to his disciples.
Just four nights earlier, but the comforter, which
is the Holy Spirit.
No, and I will pray the father and
he will give you another comforter.
Even the spirit of truth whom the world
cannot receive because it seeth him not neither
knows him, but you know him for he
dwells with you and shall be in you.
And I believe that when Jesus breathed on
them and they became.
At that point, once more living spirits restored,
as was Adam in fellowship with God in
the Garden of Eden.
And I believe that that was the point
when the Holy Spirit came into their lives.
Now.
Jesus is going to be telling them now
you wait in Jerusalem for in a few
days, the Holy Spirit is going to come
upon you.
You're going to be empowered now by the
spirit empowered for service unto your service for
God.
Now you wait until you get this endowment
of power for service.
But I believe at this point when he
breathed on them and said, receive the Holy
Spirit that there was the born again experience.
There was where God's life was again.
Placed into man, the spirit of God and
men came by that spirit into the union
and fellowship with God.
And then Jesus said, whosoever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them and whosoever sins
you retain, they are retained.
Does this mean that Jesus gave his disciples
the power to forgive sins when they had
brought to Jesus a man who was bedfast
as the result of palsy?
You remember they tore up the roof and
let him down in the in the midst
of the room in front of Jesus and
Jesus said unto him, son, thy sins be
forgiven thee.
And the Pharisees among themselves said, oh, that's
blasphemy.
Who can forgive sins but God?
They were correct in that statement.
Only God can forgive sins.
Jesus was only proving to them that he
was God.
They didn't recognize that.
But their assumption was correct.
Only God can forgive sins.
You remember in the 51st Psalm, that penitent
Psalm of David, after he had been faced
by Nathan, the prophet, because of his spin
of his sin with Bathsheba.
Have mercy unto me, O Lord, according to
the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
thy transgression and hide this sin from my
sight.
For against thee and thee only have I
sinned and done this great iniquity in thy
sight.
Against thee, O God, I've sinned.
Sin is against God, and thus God is
the only one who can forgive sins.
Then what did Jesus mean when he said
to his disciples, whosoever sins you remit, they
are remitted.
Whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.
I think one of the most joyful experiences
that a child of God has is to
lead a person through the sinner's prayer.
To me, it's always a joy to have
a person who has come and says, I
want to receive Jesus Christ.
And I'll say, all right, follow me in
this prayer.
And as we pray that God would forgive
our sins, and as we pray that the
Holy Spirit would come and begin to indwell
our lives, and that we might now have
this new relationship with God as we just
invited to come in and take over in
Jesus name.
When they say their amen, it's always a
joy to me to be able to look
them square in the eye and say unto
them, God has nothing against your account.
You're completely forgiven every sin you've ever committed.
Oh, how I love to say that.
What a thrill that gives to me to
be able to say that to a person.
Now, on what basis do I say that?
Because here I am, I have the power
to say, hey, it's all right.
Canceled, man.
No way.
I make that statement on the basis of
their confession by faith that Jesus Christ is
the Lord, and they've invited him to come
in and be the Lord of their life.
And upon the basis of what they have
confessed with their mouths and knowing that if
we ask God anything in the name of
Jesus, it will be done.
And because they've asked the Lord in Jesus
name to forgive them and cleanse them of
all of their sins, I can say, according
to the word of God, your sins are
forgiven.
Now, someone comes and says, well, I don't
want Jesus Christ.
I don't want to have anything to do
with him.
He might cramp my style.
I can't say to them, that's all right.
Your sins are forgiven.
Anyhow, I'm going to forgive them.
No way.
But to that person, I can say, friend,
one day, if you do not receive Jesus
Christ as your savior, you're going to have
to stand before God and answer for your
sin and your sins are going to condemn
you.
You're still in your sin.
And even if a person comes and says,
well, I've done so many good deeds.
Now I know that I did some pretty
bad stuff.
But I've made up for it for all
the good deeds that I've done.
I say unto them, look, all of your
good deeds cannot put away your guilt of
sin.
You're still guilty before God.
Well, I meditate and I, you know, go
through my little thing.
You're still guilty before God until you receive
Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior.
You're still guilty.
And so whosoever sins you remit, they are
remitted.
Whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.
But I only do that on the basis
of what they have done or declared.
Now, there's a lot of times that people
who have even gone through the sinner's prayer
are still reluctant to believe the word of
God.
Oh, but I'm such a horrible wretch.
I can't believe that God can just forgive
me just that easy, just that simply.
Surely there's something I've got to do, you
know, because I was so horrible.
But it's glorious to be able to just
say, no, there's nothing you can do except
what you've already done.
And that is just to believe in Jesus
Christ and confess him as your Lord.
Your sins are forgiven.
And many times that word of faith to
them is the thing that triggers their faith
and causes them to realize.
I went down one night to a lady
who had come forward to receive Jesus Christ,
and I said to her, how do you
feel now?
And she started crying.
She said, I still feel miserable.
I still feel all of my guilt and
all.
I still am miserable.
And so I went through.
Now, have you asked Jesus Christ to come
in your heart?
Oh, yes.
Did you ask him to forgive you of
your sins?
Oh, yes.
I said, then your sins are forgiven.
God has nothing against you.
Now, if I should just suddenly come and
give you a glorious, fabulous gift.
What would be your response?
So I would thank you.
I said, all right.
God has just given you a glorious, fabulous
gift of eternal life.
Don't you think you ought to thank him?
And as she started thanking the Lord, hey,
the old burden of sin rolled off and
the joy of the Lord and the power
of the spirit just came upon her life
in such a glorious way.
Your sins are forgiven.
I can declare that to a person on
the basis of the word of God and
the confession of their faith.
Now, Thomas, one of the 12, called the
twin Didymus's twin.
So Thomas evidently had a twin brother was
not with them when Jesus came.
Now, Thomas was a very practical sort.
He was never one to pretend to believe
something that he did not really believe or
to.
Uh, well, for instance, when Jesus was talking
to his disciples that final night, he said
unto them.
And if I go away, I'm going to
come again and receive you unto myself that
where I am there, you may be also.
And where I go, you know, and the
way, you know.
And Thomas said, wait a minute, Lord, we
don't know where you're going and how can
we know the way he's not never one
to pretend to know something he doesn't really
know or believe something he doesn't really believe.
When Jesus was with his disciples down at
the Jordan River.
And they received word of Lazarus's illness, and
finally Jesus said, let's go, you know, that
I might awake Lazarus out of his sleep.
And the disciples said, Lord, if he's sleeping,
he's probably getting better.
Jesus said, no, he's really dead.
But I'm glad for my sake, I wasn't
there that you might really see the glory
of God.
And Thomas said, well, let's go and die
with him, you know.
Now the disciples said, hey, we've seen him,
man.
He showed us his hands, his side.
We've seen him.
He's alive.
He's risen.
Thomas said, unless I see his hands and
the print of the nails and I put
my finger into the print of the nails
and thrust my hand into his side, I
will not believe.
I've got to see it for myself.
Now, you'd think that he would trust these
guys.
You've been around him for a long time,
but Thomas was just the kind that from
Missouri, you got to show me.
And after eight days, again, his disciples were
within and Thomas was with them.
Now notice after eight days, they had gathered
together on the first day of the week.
Eight days later, they were gathered together, which
would have been the first day of the
week again.
And it is believed that here is where
the practice of gathering together on the first
day of the week for worship actually began
right after the resurrection, that that's how early
Sunday became the day that the disciples gathered
to worship the risen Lord.
And thus the church meets today on Sunday
rather than the Sabbath day, which is Saturday.
The first two gatherings of the disciples were
on the first day of the week, eight
days later, be the Sunday again, the first
day of the week.
They were gathered together again.
This time the doors were shut and Jesus
stood in the midst of them and said,
peace be unto you.
Then he said to Thomas, reach hither thy
finger and behold my hands and reach thither
thy hand and thrust it into my side
and be not faithless, but believing this indicated
that when Thomas was expressing his doubts, Jesus
was right there listening to his expressions for
the first thing Jesus said, hey, Thomas, OK,
you want to do it?
Go ahead.
Now, what Jesus was actually seeking to train
the disciples at this point was that he
was present with them, even as he said,
Lord, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age that he was
present with them, even though they did not
see him.
And that is the consciousness he wants us
to develop the presence of Jesus with us,
though we do not see him.
He is with us always.
And he wants us to be aware, to
be conscious of his presence at all times.
And so he's training the disciples now in
this very way that they will realize that
he is present with them, though they don't
see him.
Thomas answered and said unto him, my Lord
and my God.
Thomas acknowledged Jesus as his God.
John acknowledged him as God.
In the beginning was the word.
The word was with God and the word
was God.
Paul acknowledged him as God, for we look
for the glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior, Jesus Christ, and even God himself
acknowledged him as God.
For in Hebrews, we read that God declared
him actually to be God.
Speaking of him, he said, but
unto the son, he said, thy throne, O
God.
Is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness,
the scepter of thy kingdom.
Now, the Jehovah Witnesses do not want to
acknowledge him as God.
But if Thomas.
Says, my Lord and my God and John
said.
He is God and Paul, the apostle speaks
to him about.
And if God himself calls him God, then
who am I to believe the Jehovah Witnesses?
I would rather believe God.
Jesus said unto him, Thomas.
Because you have seen me, you have believed.
But blessed are they that have not seen
and yet believed.
That's good.
You see, you believe that's all right.
But hey, blessed are they who believe without
seeing.
Now, many other signs truly did Jesus in
the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book, but these are written.
That you might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the son of the living God, and
that believing you might have life through his
name.
So John was writing his gospel with a
definite purpose in mind, and that is to
make believers out of people.
That's why this gospel was written that you
might believe that Jesus is the Christ or
the Messiah, the son of the living God,
and by believing might have life in his
name.
That is why the gospel of John is
the best thing you can put into the
hands of a sinner to read.
Encourage them to read the gospel of John.
Because God's word will not return void.
This gospel was written to convince people that
Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God,
in order that by their believing they might
have life through him.
Now, after these things, Jesus showed himself again
to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias,
and this is how it happened.
There were together Simon Peter and Thomas, called
Didymus or the twin, and Nathanael of Cana
of Galilee and the sons of Zebedee, James
and John, and two other unnamed disciples.
And Simon Peter said unto them, I'm going
fishing.
And they said unto them, we'll go with
you.
Now, here's a classic example of human leadership.
Simon was evidently a natural leader, and he
said, I'm going fishing.
They all said, we'll go with you.
In a sense, Simon is going back to
the old life.
He had been a fisherman before he ever
met Jesus.
That's the way he made his livelihood.
That's the life he knew and no doubt
enjoyed.
He was fishing when Jesus called him to
leave his nets and to follow him.
And I will make you to become fishers
of men.
Jesus had told the disciples, told the women
to tell the disciples to go up to
Galilee.
He would meet him up there, meet them
up there.
And they had no doubt come up to
the Galilee, but Jesus hadn't shown up yet.
Peter, being the impetuous, impatient person that he
was, when the Lord didn't show, he said,
well, I'm going fishing.
This is probably all over.
It was a great time.
It was a marvelous experience.
It was an exciting life.
But hey, we can't live forever in memories.
We've got to get on with living.
I'm going back fishing.
I'm going fishing.
They said, well, we'll go with you.
And so they got into the ship and
they fished all night and caught nothing.
But when the morning was now come, Jesus
was standing on the shore, but the disciples
didn't know it was Jesus.
And Jesus said unto them, did you catch
anything?
Typical question to ask fishermen.
And they answered him, no.
He said unto them, cast your net on
the right side of the ship and you
will find.
Notice how sure Jesus is.
They cast therefore, and now they were not
able to draw it in for the multitude
of fish.
And therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved, John
said unto Peter, it is the Lord.
And when Simon Peter heard that it was
the Lord, he girt his fishers coat unto
him for he was naked and dove into
the sea and swam the shore.
They were only about a hundred yards out.
And the other disciples came in a little
ship for they were only about a hundred
yards away and they were dragging the net
with fishes.
They had fish all night and got nothing.
They weren't going to let this catch go.
Dragging the net with fish.
And as soon as they were come to
land, they saw a fire of coals there.
And there were fish laid there on and
bread.
And Jesus said unto them, bring the fish
which you have now caught.
And Simon Peter went up and drew the
net to land full of great fish.
A hundred and fifty three.
And for all there were so many, yet
was the net broken.
Now, you remember the last time that Jesus
told them to cast the nets on the
other side, there were so many fish as
they tried to draw them in, the nets
began to break.
But now they draw it in and though
there were all of these great fish in
it, yet the net was not broken.
Now, why the number 153?
I'll leave Chuck Missler to deal with those
issues.
It is interesting how that the mystics always
look for some significance in the numbers.
And Constantine worked out, not Constantine, um, oh,
Augustine worked out a formula for the hundred
and fifty three.
And his formula is interesting in that he
puts together 10 as a number of something
and seven is a number of something.
So you get 17 and you take all
of the numbers from one to 17 and
add them up and you get 153.
And, you know, you can play with numbers
all kinds of ways and get all kinds
of ideas out of them.
But just why 153, I personally don't know.
And I don't really put much stock into
this, you know, juggling of numbers and say,
now the real mystery here is, you know.
I leave that for other fellows.
I'm just too practical.
I just say 153, that's interesting.
I wonder why they counted them.
Someone has suggested that that is the symbolic
number of the church.
Now we do know that there are symbolic
numbers.
That seven is the number of completion, seven
days in a week, seven notes on the
scale.
And seven is called the perfect number, the
number of completion, whereas eight is the number
of new beginning.
Because if you come to a complete seven,
then the next note would be the eighth
note, but you're beginning a new scale.
Or you come to seven days, a complete
week.
And the eighth day is the beginning of
the new week.
So you come to a new week.
And so the number of new beginning is
the number eight.
Now, significantly, because Jesus is a new beginning
for men.
Every name of Jesus in the Greek language,
when the numeric value of the letters of
the name are totaled, they are always divisible
by eight.
The Christos, the Kurios, the Jesus and all,
when you total the numeric value of the
letters, they are always divisible by eight.
We know that 13 is the symbolic number
for Satan.
And all of the names for Satan in
the New Testament, when you add the numeric
value of the names, they are always divisible
by 13.
There are those who have written some very
interesting books on this particular subject.
One of them is Biblical Numerics by Pannon.
And more recently, Jerry Lucas has written one
called Theomatics.
But again, I leave it to others to
get involved in these number kind of things.
But there aren't...
40, for instance, is the number of judgment.
12 is the number of human government.
12 apostles, the 12 tribes, though there were
actually 13, but always referred to as 12
tribes, the number of human government.
Six is the number of man, imperfection.
And the numbers do have a symbolic meaning.
In 153, they say, is the symbolic number
of the church, which I find to be
interesting, that the net was full and yet
it didn't break.
Jesus said, all that the Father hath given
me are mine.
No man can pluck them out of my
hand.
Now, in the earlier net breaking thing, you
have maybe the evangelism, where you're gathering in
all kinds and you don't hold on to
them all.
But once they are truly in, no man
plucks them out.
The net, no matter, yet for its number
of great fish, yet it didn't break.
I find it interesting that what they could
not all do in their own efforts out
in the boat when they tried to pull
the net into the boat, Peter was able
to do by himself because Jesus told him
to do it.
Jesus said, now go draw the net.
And Peter, because Jesus had commanded it, was
able to do it by himself, though all
of them weren't able to do it earlier.
The strength of the commands of Jesus, the
very fact that he has told me to
do it.
If I will just endeavor, I can do
it because he gives me the ability to
obey any command that he gives to me.
And so service offered to the Lord.
You see, we can sometimes go out and
try and do things on our own and
are totally unsuccessful.
I'm going fishing.
We'll go with you.
Human energy, human effort.
They knew how they knew how to throw
the nets.
They knew where the fish usually were.
But going out on their own, they were
totally unsuccessful.
Jesus comes along and says, hey, cast it
over on the right side and you'll find.
Now there's services directed by the Lord and
notice the difference.
When you're doing something that the Lord is
directing you to do rather than just doing
something out of your own impulses.
Service directed by the Lord is so totally
rewarding.
You can't even pull in the nets.
And I often when I go out and
talk to people who want to hear about
what God has done here at Calvary Chapel,
I say to them.
Look, when the nets get so full, you
can't pull them in anymore.
You know, there's only one reason for it.
Like John said, it's the Lord.
It's just service directed by God and it
is always fruitful.
It's always productive.
It's the Lord.
It isn't man's genius.
It isn't some fancy program that we have.
It isn't our great and glorious organ that
we paid $500,000 for that has the
largest pipes in the world.
It isn't our marvelous choirs.
It's the Lord.
People have a difficult time understanding this.
But it's God directed service.
Jesus is the head of the body, the
church and directing the activities.
They are fruitful.
And then Jesus said to them, come and
eat.
And none of the disciples dared to ask
him, who are you?
Knowing that it was the Lord.
And then Jesus came and he took the
bread and he gave it to them and
the fish.
Likewise, he had done this before divided bread
and fish among them.
Now, this is the third time that Jesus
showed himself to the disciples after that he
was risen from the dead.
So, John records the first three times.
Jesus did appear on other occasions after this,
but this was the third time in order.
So, when they were through eating, Jesus said
to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me more than these?
The word love here is agapas.
It is a Greek word of deep love
used of God's divine love.
It is a supreme love.
It is a giving love.
Lovest thou me agapas, divinely, fervently more than
these?
What were the these?
Maybe the 153 fish still flopping in the
nets over there.
You love me more than your livelihood.
Do you love me more than the greatest
success in your chosen profession?
Having the height of success in your chosen
field.
Do you love me more than that, Peter?
How much do you love me?
Do you love me more than these?
Or the these could be referring to the
other disciples whom Peter had avowed that he
loved the Lord really more than them in
an offhanded way.
For Jesus had said to his disciples, all
of you are going to be offended tonight
because of me.
And Peter said, Lord, though they may all
be offended, I will never be offended.
In essence, saying, Lord, I am more faithful
and I love you more than the others.
And Jesus said, Peter, before the cock crows,
you'll deny me three times.
Impossible, Lord.
If they would slay me, I would never
deny you.
But he did.
And Jesus could be recalling that failure when
he said, Peter, lovest thou me more than
these?
And he could be referring to the other
disciples there.
We don't know the these because we weren't
there to see what Jesus was looking at
or beckoning or motioning towards.
Peter said, yes, Lord, you know that I
fillet you.
Now, he did not use Jesus' word for
love, but he used another Greek word, which
is a word of fondness or affection.
Lord, you know, I am fond of you.
Jesus didn't say, Peter, are you fond of
me?
He said, Peter, do you love me divinely,
fervently?
Peter said, Lord, you know that I am
fond of you.
And Jesus said unto him, feed my lambs.
You're not to be out here fishing, Peter.
I told you to leave your nets and
to follow me.
I'll make you to be fishers of men.
Now feed my lambs.
The Lord is interested that his lambs be
fed.
Jeremiah said that the Lord will give them
in that day pastors after his own heart
who will feed them with knowledge and understanding.
That would be the knowledge and the understanding
of God.
When I read that passage in Jeremiah, after
having been a pastor for many years, I
realized my failing and I repented before God.
And I determined from that day on, I
wanted to be a pastor after God's heart
who would feed the flock with the knowledge
and the understanding of God.
Feed my lambs, Jesus said.
You love me?
Feed my lambs.
The second time Jesus said unto him, Simon,
son of Jonas, love us, using the same
Greek word he did before, agapos, lovest thou
me divinely, deeply, fervently.
And he said unto him, yes, Lord, thou
knowest that I flail you.
I am fond of you, Lord.
And he saith unto him, feed my sheep.
The word feed here is a different Greek
word, and it literally means to tend my
sheep or to watch over my sheep, to
be a shepherd over my sheep, take care
of my sheep.
And he said unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
And this time Jesus used Peter's word, phileo,
Peter, are you fond of me?
And Peter was grieved because this third time
Jesus used his word and said, are you
fond of me?
It hurt Peter deeply that Jesus had to
reduce himself to Peter's level.
God will always meet us on whatever level
we will meet him.
But it is tragic when we bring God
down to our level rather than our rising
to his level.
But God will meet us on whatever level
we will meet him, and he will do
his best for us on that level.
I am convinced that we often limit that
work of God in our lives because we
won't rise to the level that God wants
us to dwell upon.
God made concessions for the children of Israel.
God wanted to be their king.
He wanted them to be unlike all of
the other nations in that they would not
have any visible king, but the world would
know that God ruled over these people.
But they didn't want that.
They came to Samuel and they said, appoint
a king over us like the other nations.
And Samuel was grieved.
And the Lord said unto Samuel, don't grieve
because they haven't rejected you.
They have rejected me from being king over
them.
And now you anoint the one that I
will show you to be the king.
You see, God is now making a concession.
He's coming down to their level.
Sad though when we bring God down to
our level rather than rise to his level
because we're not living then on the highest
plane and God would have us to live
life in the highest plane.
He draws to his level if we would
only but do so.
But Jesus came down to Peter's level.
Peter, are you fond of me?
And Peter was grieved because the Lord had
to come down to his level.
And he said, Lord, you know all things
despite what TV preachers say on Channel 40.
And you know that I am fond of
you.
He wouldn't come up because he couldn't come
up.
He would love to, I'm sure.
But Peter was always guilty of speaking impulsively
and getting rebuked for it.
When Jesus said, who do men say that
I am?
Peter said, well, thou art the Messiah, the
son of the living God.
And Jesus said, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,
flesh and blood.
Did not reveal that unto you, but my
father, which is in heaven.
And I'm sure Peter puffed up and said,
hey, fellas, you hear that?
Revelation.
I'm tuned in.
You heard that, didn't you, fellas?
And Jesus at that point began to tell
his disciples how that he was going to
go to Jerusalem and be turned over to
the hands of sinners.
And they would crucify him and slay him.
And on the third day, he would rise
again.
And Peter said, oh, Lord, never, never be
that far from you.
And Jesus said, get thee behind me, Satan.
You're an offense unto me.
You can't tell the difference between what comes
from God and what comes from man.
Hope you guys didn't hear that.
Foot in his mouth.
Speaking impulsively.
All of you are going to be offended
this night because of me.
Oh, Lord, though they're all offended, I'll never
be offended.
Peter, before the cock crows, you'll deny me
three times.
Though they kill me, I'll never deny you.
Speaking impulsively.
Having to eat his words.
Now, Jesus had said.
He that hath my commandments and keeps them.
He it is who loves agapas me.
With the divine fervent love.
How is it shown?
By keeping his commandments.
Peter wasn't keeping his command.
I'm going fishing.
Jesus didn't say, Peter, go fishing.
He said, wait in Galilee.
I'll meet you there.
He said, leave your nets and follow me.
And he was in the very act of
disobeying the command of Christ going back to
the nets.
And therefore, when Jesus said agapas, do you
love me divinely fervently?
He could not say yes, because Jesus would
then have said, then what are you doing
out there in that boat leading these other
fellows on this fishing venture?
When I didn't tell you to.
And Peter knew that he was trapped and
he knew that he couldn't say, I love
you divinely fervently.
And so he had to use that lesser
Greek word.
I'm fond of you and tragically had to
bring Jesus down to that level.
And it hurt.
Jesus said, feed my sheep.
This is the word feed again.
So you have feed my lambs, take care
of my sheep and feed my sheep.
You love me.
This is what the Lord would have you
to do.
This is his command.
Feed the sheep.
And then he said unto him, I tell
you the truth.
When you were young, you girded yourself, you
dressed yourself and you went wherever you wanted.
But when you are old, you will stretch
forth your hands and another will gird you
and they'll carry you where you won't want
to go.
And this Jesus was speaking, signifying by what
death he should glorify God.
He was telling Peter that he's going to
be crucified.
When you were young, you dressed yourself, you
went where you wanted.
But one of these days, others are going
to dress you and they're going to take
you where you don't want to go.
They're going to take you to a cross.
And sure enough, in years to come, when
Peter was in Rome, he was sentenced to
die on a cross.
And Peter said, I have one request.
Please crucify me upside down.
I'm not worthy to die as did my
Lord.
And he was crucified upside down.
But it is interesting to me that Jesus
here tells him by what death he's going
to die.
And immediately after telling him what death he
is going to die, he said, follow me.
You can go back fishing, but follow me.
You're going to it's going to be tough.
It's going to be a cross.
You're not going to drive a Rolls Royce.
You're not going to live in a fancy
mansion.
It's not going to be easy, Peter, but
follow me.
Then Peter turning about, seeing the disciple whom
Jesus loved following.
He said to him, what about him, Lord?
Peter back in the same old position, speaking
out of turn again.
What about him, Lord?
What shall this man do?
And Jesus, in essence, said, Peter, that's none
of your business.
I'm talking to you about you.
You worry about yourself.
Don't worry about him.
If I should will that he lived until
I come again, what difference does that make?
He just told me you're going to be
crucified.
Oh, but what about him, Lord?
Jesus said, hey, look, Peter.
You take care of yourself, your relationship with
me.
If I will that he should live until
I come again, what's that to you?
What difference does that make to you?
You follow me.
Now, the Lord always wants to deal with
each of us personally and that personal relationship
with us.
The Lord will talk to me and tell
me about me.
And the Lord will talk to you and
tell you about you.
I put very little stock in people coming
up to me who say the Lord told
me to tell you.
I wonder when he forgot my number.
What about him, Lord?
You know, Peter, I'm talking about you.
It doesn't matter what I've intended for John.
You follow me.
Now, because Jesus said, if I will that
he remain till I come, many picked up
that statement and misinterpreted it.
And they said Jesus said that he was
going to come before John died.
But John is careful to correct that misunderstanding.
And John points out that is not what
Jesus said.
Jesus only said, if I will, that he
should tarry till I come.
And so John seeks to correct that common
mistake that had gone up within the early
church.
Oh, the Lord is going to come before
John dies.
John said, no, no, that's not what he
said.
He said, if I will that he tarry,
but he didn't say he will tarry.
But if I will that he tarry, what
is that to you?
Now, John tells us that he knows the
things that he is writing are true because
he witnessed them himself.
And then he goes on to tell us
that there are so many other things that
actually happened that could have been related.
As he said earlier, many other things did
Jesus, which are not written in this book.
And now he says there are a lot
of other things that happened and I suppose
that if you would write down everything that
could be written about Jesus, that the whole
world could not contain the books that should
be written on the subject.
It's a subject that is so vast that
we will never fully comprehend it on this
side of eternity.
But it is a subject that is so
vast, it'll take all eternity to comprehend it.
I look forward to eternity as a growing
experience, a learning experience.
As Paul tells us in Ephesians, and God
through the ages to come shall be revealing
unto us what is the exceeding richness of
his love and grace and mercy towards us
in Jesus Christ.
God's love for you and his mercy towards
you is so vast, it's going to take
all eternity to reveal its fullness.
Throughout the ages to come, we'll be learning
of how much God does love us.
So impossible to write it all in a
book or in books.
The world isn't big enough to contain the
libraries that should be written on the subject
of Jesus Christ.
It's an ever enlarging revelation to our own
hearts, that work of God's spirit, that work
of God's love in our lives.
So we pray.
Father, we thank you for all that you
are and all that you've done.
We thank you for sending your son who
died and rose again and who lives tonight
making intercession for us.
Lord, bless us we pray as we learn
of thee and as we learn of your
love and as we grow in this grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ in whose name we pray.
Amen.
May the Lord be with you and give
you a beautiful week.
May you just sense his presence to such
an extent that you won't need any kind
of an artifact or relic to remind you
that the Lord is with you.
May you come to that consciousness and awareness
of his presence by the things that he
is doing in your life.
May things happen in such a way that
you realize, ooh, the Lord is here with
me.
That's always a neat flush when you get
that, ooh, you know, the Lord is here.
May you experience that this week as you
walk with him in an ever deepening and
an enriching fellowship.
Through his Holy Spirit.