EASTER 2015 A Reason To Believe 4/5/15

To truly understand the significance of this Easter season we must better appreciate who is.

The apostle John traveled and ministered with Jesus for 3 years. He heard Jesus’ claims. He witnessed Jesus’ . He saw the resurrected . Of all the things that he saw and heard during those 3 years John selected 7 descriptions of Jesus, 7 claims of Jesus, and 7 to include in his so that we might come to faith in Christ. :31 . . . these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. 1. Seven Descriptions of Jesus 1:1-4,14,18 Word of God Jesus is the self-expression and revelation of God. Jesus is the Creator of the universe in human flesh. 1:29 Lamb of God 1:41 1:49 Son of God 1:49 King of Israel 4:42 Savior of the world 20:28 Lord and . . . God 2. Seven Claims of Jesus :35 “ the bread of life” 6:25-29, 35-36 :12 “I am the ” 8:14, 21-24 :9 “I am the door ” John 10:11 “I am the ” :25 “I am the resurrection and the life” :6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life ” :5 “I am the vine” 3. Seven Miracles of Jesus 2:1-11 Turning water to wine 6 water pots of 20-30 gallons each 4:46-54 Curing the nobleman’s son 5:1-18 Curing the paralytic • Sick for 38 years 6:6-13 Feeding the multitude 5000 men plus women and children from 5 loaves and 2 fish 6:16-21 Walking on water 9:1-7 Giving sight to a man born blind 11:1-45 Raising Lazarus from the dead After being the tomb for 4 days John recorded 7 descriptions, 7 claims and 7 of Jesus John ends with the resurrection as the ultimate proof that Jesus is all that He claimed to be. 4. A Reason To Believe 20:1-31 a. The convinced John. 20:1-10 • What happened to Jesus’ body? ♦ Neither the Roman nor the Jews had any good reason to steal the body. ♦ Besides this didn’t look like the work of grave robbers. ◊ Thieves would not have unwrapped the body. ◊ The linen wrappings were laying there together rather than being scattered around the tomb. ◊ The face cloth was carefully rolled and set off to one side by itself. 8 John saw (understood-oida) and believed. The empty tomb changed John from a frightened follower into a believing apostle. b. A conversation with the resurrected Jesus convinced Mary. 20:11-18 Mary had returned to the tomb and stayed on after Peter and John had gone. 11-16 As she was weeping she bent down and looked into the tomb and saw two . She mistook Jesus for the gardener Tears? Darkness? Darkened by God? cf Lk 24:16 17-18 Jesus asks her to stop clinging to Him No need to panic This is not the last time you will see me. You have a job to do. Go and tell “ my brethren ” Seeing The Resurrected Jesus Caused Mary To Go From Weeping To Rejoicing and Telling Others What She Had Seen. 2 c. The appearance of Jesus convinced the frightened disciples. 20:19-20 19 Note Jesus’ supernatural entry 20 He showed them the evidence that it was really Him. He showed them the marks of the crucifixion Luke tells us that He had them touch Him to demonstrate that He wasn’t a spirit or an apparition. :39 He also ate with them. Lk 24:41-43 d. Their encounter with the resurrected Jesus turned the fearful disciples into bold missionaries . 20:21-23 22 Jesus provided them with the Holy Spirit to empower them during the 50 days until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would universally and permanently empower all Christians. 23 They can’t grant forgiveness. ♦ Only God can forgive sins. Mk 2:7 ♦ Greek perfect, not future tense ◊ Those the apostles announce have been forgiven have already been forgiven by God. ◊ The apostles can assure people that they have been forgive After being commissioned by the resurrected Christ the apostles became bold and faithful missionaries. They experienced rejection, contempt, torture, and martyrdom. ◊ James was beheaded in ◊ Peter was crucified upside down in Rome ◊ Andrew was crucified in Greece. ◊ Paul was beheaded in Rome. Their willingness to die for their faith provides some of the strongest evidence for the resurrection. Their willingness to die demonstrates that they hadn’t stolen the body. They had nothing to gain and everything to lose, including their lives The Resurrection Transformed Jesus’ Disciples Into Bold And Faithful Missionaries. e. Touching the resurrected Jesus convinced Thomas. 20:24-29 Thomas was a doubting, disillusioned until he saw and touched the resurrected Jesus. He recognized Jesus as both Lord and God. He believed. Thomas went on to become a missionary in what are now Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. He died a martyr’s death when he was thrust through with a lance in India. It was the resurrection that changed Thomas from a skeptic into a willing martyr. As we have seen, the resurrection transformed: 3 ♦ A weeping woman into a joyful witness ♦ Fleeing disciples into rejoicing believers ♦ Trembling cowards into bold and faithful missionaries ♦ into believing Thomas f. John wrote so that we might believe . 20:30-31 John recorded 7 descriptions, 7 claims and 7 signs (miracles) of Jesus John ends with the resurrection as the ultimate proof that Jesus is all that He claimed to be. John’s ultimate goal was to bring you and me to faith in Jesus Christ so that we might enjoy eternal life. DO YOU BELIEVE? :10-12 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, :16,18 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. . . 18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. :24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies

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