Seeing and Believing

Seeing and Believing
John 20:1-10

Our text this morning is one that has been accurately attributed to John, who has referred to himself in a typically humble fashion throughout the book by the terms, "that other disciple" and "the disciple whom Jesus loved."
John understood that the most important of all realizations was that Jesus loved him.
It mattered not to him how he felt about himself or how any other human felt about him.
All that diatribe of secular humanism is subjective and apt to change.
What was important to John was that Jesus loved him because that will never change.
This was who he was, his identity was wrapped up entirely in who he was in Christ.

It is clear from a faithful study of the Gospel of John that he is the penman.
None other could fit the profile that the Scriptures provide.
One thing that is especially powerful in all of John's writings is his clear intent to instill faith in the reader.
All of John's writings have this constant theme, that the reader might believe as a result of having read John's testimony.
Part of John's method of instilling belief in the reader is to trace his own faltering steps into faith, and he does so to some extent in our text.

In order to prepare ourselves for the text this morning, let us recap the events of three days previous:
> In Chapter 13 John revealed himself as one of the disciples whom Jesus loved.
The setting was the day before Passover when Jesus sat to eat a special meal with His 12 disciples according to the Gospel record.
Jesus then said that one would betray him that night.
John, at the request of Peter had asked Jesus who this might be.
Jesus had responded by privately signaling to Judas that he knew it was him.
> Later that Tuesday evening Jesus walked in the garden and prayed while his disciples dozed.
Suddenly the band of men and officers from the temple, bearing torches and swords, rushed in and took Jesus into custody.
> As Wednesday drew on, Jesus was pulled from one hurried court trial to another.
From the high priests to Pilate, then drug before Herod and back before Pilate, Jesus was finally condemned to die on the cross.
> Jesus hung on that cross for six hours on Wednesday from 9AM to 3PM, until He finally gave up the Ghost.
His death was confirmed by a Roman soldier whose spear thrust into Jesus side resulted in the tell-tale flow of separated blood and water.
> Since Passover was quickly approaching, Jesus was hurriedly taken from the cross, wrapped in a linen cloth and put into a borrowed tomb.
The next day the tomb was sealed lest anyone might try to steal the body for the next three days.
> Imagine the disciples' consternation as they stayed in hiding for those three days and three nights that Jesus was in that grave.
They must have suffered tremendous sorrow and loss since their master was gone.
Wednesday Night and Thursday passed.
Thursday Night and Friday passed.
Friday Night and Saturday passed.
Finally, Sunday came, by Jewish reckoning this Sunday began at 6PM the previous evening.

As we read our text this morning, and John's account of the discovery of the empty tomb, pay special notice to John, "that other disciple" whose personal reactions are described in a powerful way.

READ TEXT
PRAY

John gives us some distinctive detail of the event that we can find in none of the other Gospels.
First we see Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb early in the darkness of the night.
She must have first been taken aback by the absence of a Roman guard.
Then she notices the stone is rolled away from the door of the tomb.

She immediately runs back to Peter and John with the suspicion that someone had stolen Christ's body away.
Peter and John reacted as one would suppose, by running to the sepulchre themselves to verify the story of the woman.

John gives even greater detail as the great scene unfolds:
He outran Peter and arrived first at the tomb.
For some reason he did not step into the cramped tomb but he did see the linen clothes lying where Jesus' body would have been.
While he caught his breath and waited for Peter to catch up John must have thought about why the linen clothes were lying there.
- If someone were to steal a corpse, why would they undress it first? Why would they strip it from the linens and leave them there?
While John stooped and peered into the tomb, he probably contemplated these things briefly.

Peter came up next and blew passed John and entered the tomb.
He also saw the linen clothes and then another item, the napkin that covered the face of Jesus.
The napkin was not thrown aside in a hurry, but neatly folded and set apart from the grave clothes.

When John entered in, he must have seen the napkin arranged as it was and thought about the significance of it.
- There could be only one explanation for this, Jesus had risen from the dead, carefully folded up the napkin to prove He had left the tomb under His own power and in His own timing.
No grave robber would have stopped to fold the napkin.

The impact of this sight was so powerful in John's heart that when he saw it, he believed. Verse 8

John saw folded grave clothes and believed.
He believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.

I want to pose a question to you this morning.

What will it take to make you believe?

In our text we have seen perhaps the first recorded believer in the resurrection of the Lord.
In contrast, Peter saw the same thing and did not express faith in the resurrection.

It seems that different people reach faith on different timetables.
One other disciple, heard the testimony of the others, saw the empty tomb, noted the folded grave clothes and still insisted that he would not believe unless he put his fingers into the nail holes and touched the scar where the roman soldier had thrust the spear.
Verse 24, 25:
John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

This same Thomas, confessed his belief in the deity of Christ just 3 verses later:
John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Finally Thomas believed!

What will it take to make you believe?

Are you waiting for something you can see?
Thomas’ early philosophy was as common then as it is now,
“I will believe it when I see it.”

Why is this such a popular view of religion?
Ø It doesn’t seem to apply to the world of science: The very smallest of the elements of matter are yet to be seen even with a microscope, and yet no scientist denies their existence. Some have even swallowed the hoax of evolution without seeing any real evidence of its processes.
Ø It doesn’t apply to relationships: My wife committed to a lifelong relationship with me without seeing a fraction of what she now knows of all my personality quirks.
Ø It doesn’t apply to the business world: Investors rarely see 100% solid proof of a sure return when they commit their investment dollars.
I submit to you that the Gospel is more sure than any investment.
A relationship with Jesus is more certain than any human commitment.
The veracity of John’s claims regarding the resurrection are more substantiated than any unproven scientific theory.

Jesus encourages us in His discourse with Thomas to place our faith in Him before we see.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Every person must believe in the resurrection of Jesus before seeing proof.

1.) Because Sight is Overrated.

2.) Because of the Testimony of John.

3.) Because of the Blessings of Faith.

John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

There is no greater thing than to believe.
It frees the soul from the bondage of sin.
It liberates the mind to accomplish what the faithless mind cannot.
It gives joy in the heart that comes from no other source.

Do you believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose again?
Would you like to hear more about why he died and what His resurrection means to you?
Come forward during this invitation hymn.