2024 ~ Matt Mitchell - Hot Orthodoxy

Sunday, December 01, 2024

“Peace Be With You!” [Matt's Messages]

12/01/2024 04:40:00 PM Life in Jesus' Name, Matt's Messages, Resurrection, The Gospel of John 0 comments

“Peace Be With You!”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

December 1, 2024 :: John 20:19-31

The title for this message just jumped off the page at me because Jesus says it three times in this one short passage. Verse 19, verse 21, and again in verse 26.

“Peace Be With You!”

In the Greek, John wrote, “Eiraynay humin.”

But that’s probably a translation of what Jesus said in the street language of the day. He probably said it in Aramaic, something like, “Shlama Alaykhu.”

Which is related to the Hebrew that Jews still use today all over the world, “Shalom Alaychem.”

“Peace be with you.”

Why don’t you say that to your neighbor, if you are so bold? “Shalom Alaychem.”

By the way, the traditional response is to say it the other direction back at them, “Alaychem Shalom.” "And with you peace.”

I think that when the Lord Jesus said these words, His disicples really needed to hear them. Because they were scared.

Now, remember where we are in the story. Jesus is alive again, but not very people know that.

Everybody knows that Jesus was dead. Everybody in Jerusalem knows that Jesus was crucified. He was arrested in the darkness, put to trial in a series of unjust courtrooms, sentenced to death by the Jews for blasphemy (because He claimed to be the Son of God and God the Son) and sentenced to death by the Romans for claiming to be a King. The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate had a placard nailed above His head on the Cross in three languages that proclaimed Jesus was the king of the Jews.

Everybody knew that Jesus was dead. He was killed by crucifixion.

His executioners made sure that He was dead. Not only had they nailed Him to the Cross, but they stuck a spear in His side, and there was no response. Blood and water came flowing out of his dead body.

He was buried. Like we said in the Nicene Creed this morning. Placed in a new tomb in a garden as it was getting dark on Friday evening. And then nothing happened on Saturday. Nothing but grief and mourning.

But then on Sunday morning while it was still dark, Jesus rose from the grave!

Last week, we read about how Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and the stone in front of it rolled away. And we read about her running to the disciples, and two of them running back to the tomb to see for themselves. Peter and probably John the gospelwriter. And John believed! And then Mary saw. Mary saw with her own two eyes that Jesus was alive!

But that’s a pretty small circle of people who know. Mary has run back to the disciples once again and said, “I have seen the Lord!” (v.18). But the rest of them have not.

And they are, frankly, scared! And you and I, I think, would have been, too. After what they have seen this weekend?! “After what they did to our Lord?! What’s to stop the Jews and the Romans from doing it to us? I know what Mary said, but what are the chances that it’s true?” Look at verse 19.

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’”

“Eiraynay humin.”

“Shlama Alaykhu.”

“Shalom Alaychem.”

“Peace be with you!”

They probably needed to hear that. Now, not just because they were afraid of the authorities out there, but now because there was a resurrected Man in their midst!

“What is going on?!!! Where did you come from? The doors were locked! You were dead!!!”

“Peace be with you! Don’t be worried. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. Have some peace. I am here.”

I’ve got three points to summarize our passage today, and they are all reasons to have real peace. Here’s the first one:

“Peace Be With You!”

#1. BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF PEACE IS ALIVE AGAIN.

The very first thing that Jesus does after bursting in on them and saying, “Peace be with you!” is show them His scars. Look at verse 20.

“After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

“See here? Look at my hands. Here’s where the Romans put the nails. Yes, it is me. I’m not a ghost. I’m not an apparition. This is not a dream. Look here at my hands. Look here at my side. This is where the executioners stuck that spear. You can still see exactly where it went in. I know that this is scary, but it is real. I am alive.

“Peace be with you!”

Because the Prince of Peace is alive again.

Just a couple of nights ago, Jesus had a lot to say about peace, didn’t He? He promised to give them His peace. Remember that? It was back in chapter 14 which we studied in July, but He just said on Thursday night. This is Sunday evening! He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn. 14:27).

And now He appears four days later and says, “Peace be with you!”

And that peace is possible because of His scars. I never thought about that until this week when I was studying for this message. He says, “Peace be with you!” and then shows them His wounds? He’s not just saying, “It’s me.” He saying, “Look! I have purchased your peace. Everything is okay...It is finished.” [Meditate on Isaiah 53:5 and how the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.]

“Peace be with you!”

Or how about memory verse right now? That same night right before His arrest. Last thing He said to them. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have [WHAT?] peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). And here is saying, “See! I have overcome the world!” You can have that peace now.

And what better response to that could there be than joy? V.20 again.

“The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”

I’ll bet! I can’t imagine. “He is alive. He’s really alive.” They are crying. They’re dancing. They’re shaking their heads. They go from the lowest of fear and grief to skyrocket to the highest of joys and happiness!

He predicted that, too, didn’t He? Remember that same dark night, He said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy...I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:20,22).

We can and will rejoice because the Prince of Peace is alive again!

That’s why we worship on Sunday mornings. Because every Sunday reminds us of the resurrection. And our eternal joy.

“You’re my Prince of Peace, and I will live my life for you!”

And that’s what He asks us to do in the next section. Jesus is going to send His disciples (and by extension you and me) on a mission. He starts by saying it again. Verse 21.

“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”

“Peace be with you!”

#2. BECAUSE THE SENT-ONE IS SENDING YOU WITH THE SPIRIT.

Now, there’s a lot packed into these three verses. I thought about just preaching them all by themselves. This is like the Gospel of John’s version, of the Great Commission. And it’s glorious.

First, He says again,

“Eiraynay humin.”

“Shlama Alaykhu.”

“Shalom Alaychem.”

“Peace be with you!”

And they need to hear that because the next thing He’s going to say is that they have to go out into the world on a mission. They can’t stay huddled up behind locked doors. They have to go out into the world, and they are going to have to speak up out there.

“I am sending you.” He’s come back from the dead, and He’s making demands. “I am sending you.”

“I’ve got a mission for you, and it is not optional.” They are going to need that peace. Because the world is not a safe place. And the world is not entirely receptive to their message. But regardless, they have to go.

And so do we.

Raise your hand if you are on a mission from Jesus. Every follower of Christ should be raising their hand. We are all missionaries in this room. We’re not all foreign missionaries. We’re not all supported missionaries like the ones whose pictures hang on our back walls. I’m praying that the Lord will raise up more missionaries like that from the folks in this room.

But all of us are here are sent. We have a mission. It’s called the Great Commission. We have a message. It’s the gospel. It’s our mission to make disciples through that message of the gospel.

“I am sending you.”

He’s sending you and me into our little mission fields. Whether that’s your workplace or your school or your neighborhood or wherever the Lord sends you each and every day, you are supposed to live on mission for Him.

“I am sending you.”

But notice that Jesus doesn’t ask us to do anything He’s not willing to do first. He’s not just the Sender. He’s been sent Himself. Did you catch that in verse 21?

“Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

Who is the great missionary there ever was?

Hint: It’s not Jim Elliot or William Carey or Hudson Taylor or Fred and Cindy or Peter and Deb or Abe and Jordyn Skacel or John and Becky or Chip and Kim or even the Apostle Paul! As wonderful and used of God as all of those missionaries were. Who is the greatest missionary there ever was?

It’s Jesus, right?

I love that we’re reading verse 21 as Christmas approaches. Because that’s what Christmas is. It’s a rescue mission.

The Father sent the Son.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn. 3:16-17). That’s the point of Christmas!

The Father sent the Son. Now, the Son is sending us.

Jesus predicted that, too, didn’t He? He prayed it to the Father that same night before Cross.

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 7 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world” (Jn. 17:15-18).

That’s dangerous. But He has gone before us and give us His peace. And more than that, He gives us His Holy Spirit to go with us and in us. Look again at verse 22.

“And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

Notice “and with that.” There’s a connection between “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you...” and Him blowing on them.

I know that’s weird. This is the only time that He does that in any of the four gospels. He does a lot of weird things, but this is the only time He blows on them.

The Greek word is “emphuseo.” You can hear things like “Emphysema” that are probably related words in English.

What was Jesus doing? There’s a lot of debate about that among Christian scholars, and there’s a number of possibilities including that this was the moment that these disciples first received the Holy Spirit to live in them permanently. That’s possible. [Read John 7:38-39 and think about it carefully.]

But I tend to think that it’s prophetic and symbolic of what Jesus is going to do in 50 days from right then. He’s promising to send the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and saying what it’s going to be like. A rushing wind.

A wind that gives new life like the breath of God breathing life into the first human in the book of Genesis (2:7) or in the book of Ezekiel blowing new life into the skeletons in the valley of dry bones (37:10). Same kind of use of language.

He’s prophesying of the coming of the Spirit that He also just promised on Thursday night:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17).

“Receive the Holy Spirit.” “You don’t have go out there on your own. I’m sending you, but I’m not sending by yourself. God the Spirit is going to go with you and in you.”

“Receive the Holy Spirit.” What a holy moment! The Risen Jesus promising the gift of the Spirit for the new missionaries. The Sent-One is sending them into the world.

And here’s their message–the forgiveness of sins. Look at verse 23.

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now, that almost sounds like He’s giving the disciples the ability to dole out personal forgiveness and it affect divine forgiveness, but we know that’s not how it works. I think He’s just saying that He’s giving the disciples the job of telling people about how to be forgiven through Him. He’s saying that the disciples have to take the message of the gospel to the world, and if they believe the message of the gospel, then they will be forgiven, but if they reject the message of the gospel, then they will not be forgiven.

And it’s our job to tell people! “If you forgive anyone their sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

If we keep the message of the gospel to ourselves, how can anybody be saved?!

That’s a big responsibility. And it’s not optional.

But we are not alone. Jesus has gone before us and He sends His Spirit with us.

Who should we tell? Who should we tell this week? Who are you going to tell? Don’t be worried. Don’t be scared. Jesus has given you the Holy Spirit. “Peace be with you!” Go and tell them Who Jesus is and what He’s done.

Jesus says it one more time.

He shows up again about a week later.

Which, by the way, I’m always wondering what Jesus did in between these appearances. We don’t know. That’s one to ask Him someday in the Kingdom. “What did you do on Sunday afternoon, Jesus? What did you do between the two weekends?”

We also don’t know why Thomas wasn’t there that first Resurrection Sunday. Perhaps he was running for the pizza. Had to take over the treasury now that Judas was gone. Don’t know.

We just know that he missed this whole thing we just read. Look at verse 24.

“Now Thomas (called Didymus [Twin]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ [It was awesome! We are so happy!] But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it’” (vv.24-25).

I don’t blame him. Thomas was a brave man who loved Jesus. Remember when Lazarus died, and Jesus wanted to go into dangerous territory to visit the family? Thomas was like, “You got it, Boss. I’m ready to die with you.”

And Thomas (I don’t know what his twin was like, but Thomas) asked good questions and wanted to know it straight. Just a few nights ago, Thomas had said, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (John 14:5).

And we know what Jesus said to that. But then they took Jesus away. And they killed Him.

And Thomas wasn’t there to see Him back from the dead. And he just wanted more proof. It’s not that he didn’t believe in resurrections. He saw Lazarus come back from the dead! But not from a crucifixion. And not with his own eyes.

“You guys might just be hallucinating. You want it too much. I will not believe unless I see it myself. Unless I touch Him myself.”

“Show me.”

I like to call him, “Missouri Thomas.” That’s my nickname for him because Missouri is the “Show Me State.”

"Seeing is believing," says, Missouri Thomas. I don’t blame Him. But he probably should have been believing his friends who were eyewitnesses. And he probably should have remembered that Jesus had promised to come back from the dead.

But Jesus was gracious to Missouri Thomas and showed Himself to him personally. Look at verse 26.

“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them [this time]. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’”

“Eiraynay humin.”

“Shlama Alaykhu.”

“Shalom Alaychem.”

“Even you, Thomas. Peace be with you!”

And then He gets in a little dig. In love. But a rebuke nonetheless. Verse 27.

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’”

An even better translation would be, “Stop unbelieving and believe.” He’s not telling Thomas to stop asking questions or examining all of the evidence. He’s telling Thomas to stop making excuses, stop being an unbeliever, and to put His faith in the Truth. “Stop unbelieving and believe.”

“Because it’s all true! I am alive. And now I’ve proven it to you. Don’t make excuses. Start believing now.”

And Thomas does. Verse 28.

“Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

What a moment! I don’t think Thomas even touched him. When he saw Jesus with his own eyes, he hit the floor!

“My Lord and my God!”

Notice that Thomas is saying that He believes everything that the Jews and the Romans killed Jesus for. He is a King. He’s the Lord! And He is divine. He is God! It’s not blasphemy if it’s true.

“My Lord and my God!”

Notice, also, that Jesus does not try to stop Thomas from worshiping Him. He’s not like, “Oh, oh, oh, Tom, Tom, Tom. No. Stop! I’m just a man. Stop with the ‘my God’ stuff.”

No, Jesus just receives that worship as due Him. That is Who He is. That is His name. And Thomas believes in His name.

Jesus says that believing with seeing is good, but there is something better. Look verse 29.

“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

“Peace be with you!”

#3. BECAUSE YOU ARE BLESSED IF YOU BELIEVE.

Especially if you believe without seeing first. One day, we will see Jesus. And we long for that day. John says in his first letter we will become like Him when we see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

Jesus wants us to see Him in all of His glory (John 17:24).

But right now, we don’t see Him. Nobody in this room has seen Him yet. And yet we believe in Him and “...are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for [we] are receiving the goal of [our] faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

That’s blessing. So the believing people in this room are more blessed than Missouri Thomas. Isn’t that wild? I would think that Thomas was more blessed than I am. (And he was in some ways.) But there is a special blessing during this age for those of us who have not yet seen yet have believed.

Is that you? Do you believe?

Believing is seeing and seeing blessing.

Because you know what happens when you believe? You get life. Verse 30 and 31 which we studied before the very first Sunday of this series.

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (vv.30-31).

I love how John starts talking directly to us in this purpose statement for the whole book. He says, “I have written this so that you may believe.”

Believe in Jesus. Believe that that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Promised One who came that first Christmas. Believe that He is the Son of God. “My Lord and my God.” That is His name. And that by believing in that name, you will have life. Life abundant and life eternal.

That’s blessing!

If you believe that without yet seeing with your own eyes, but just believing what you’ve been told by reliable eyewitnesses like Mary Magdalene and Missouri Thomas and John the Gospelwriter then you will have life.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If you do not believe, you will not have life. And you will not have peace. Because peace is found only in Jesus.

“Peace be with you in Him!”

***

Messages in this Series

01. "That You May Believe" - John 20:30-31
02. "In The Beginning Was the Word" - John 1:1-18
03. "John's Testimony" - John 1:19-34
04. "Come and See" - John 1:35-51
05. "The First of His Miraculous Signs" - John 2:1-11
06. "This Temple" - John 2:12-25
07. "You Must Be Born Again" - John 3:1-15
08. "God So Loved The World" - John 3:16-21
09. "Above All" - John 3:22-36
10. "Living Water" - John 4:1-26
11. "Ripe for the Harvest" - John 4:27-42
12. "Your Son Will Live" - John 4:43-54
13. "Pick Up Your Mat and Walk" - John 5:1-18
14. "To Your Amazement" - John 5:19-30
15. "Testimony About Me" - John 5:31-47
Christmas Eve Bonus: "The Astonishing Gift" - John 3:16 Again
Christmas Eve Bonus: "We Have Seen His Glory" - John 1:1-18 Again
16. "Enough Bread" - John 6:1-15
17. "You Are Looking for Me" - John 6:16-36
18. "I Am the Bread of Life" - John 6:35-71
Vision Meeting Bonus: "As I Have Loved You" - John 13:34-35
19. "At the Feast" - John 7:1-52
20. "I Am the Light of the World" - John 8:12-30
21. "Your Father" - John 8:31-59
22. "Now I See" - John 9:1-41
23. "I Am The Gate" - John 10:1-13
24. "I Am the Good Shepherd" - John 10:14-21
25. "I And The Father Are One" - John 10:22-42
26. "I Am the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:1-53
27. "Expensive" - John 11:54-12:11
28. "The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26
29. "Father, Glorify Your Name!" - John 12:27-36
30. "Believe In Me" - John 12:37-50
31. "Do You Understand What I Have Done For You?" - John 13:1-17
32. "I Am Telling You Now Before It Happens” - John 13:18-38
2024 West Branch Baccalaureate: "The Way, The Truth, and The Life" - John 14:6
33. "I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life” - John 14:1-6
34. "Show Us the Father" - John 14:7-14
35. "If You Love Me" - John 14:15
36. "I Will Ask the Father" - John 14:16-24
37. "My Peace I Give You" - John 14:25 -31
38. "I Am the True Vine" - John 15:1-11
39. "You Are My Friends" - John 15:12-17
40. "If The World Hates You" - John 15:18-6:4
41. "When He Comes" - John 16:5-15
42. "After a Little While" - Joh 16:16-24
43. "Take Heart!" - John 16:25-33
44. "Glorify Your Son" - John 17:1-5
45. “Holy Father, Protect Them" - John 17:6-19
46. "That All Of Them May Be One, Father" - John 17:20-26
47. "Who Is It You Want?" - John 18:1-27
48. "Here Is Your King" - John 18:28-19:16
49. "It Is Finished" - John 19:17-42
50. "While It Was Still Dark" - John 20:1-18

Advent Candle #1: "The Light of Hope"

12/01/2024 07:00:00 AM Advent, Lanse Free Church, The Gospel of John 0 comments

LEFC Family Advent Readings

“The Light of the World”

John 8:12 :: December 1, 2024

Week #1: “The Light of Hope”

“Advent” means “coming.” Christmas is coming. Jesus has come and is coming again.

During this year’s Advent Season, each of our readings will reflect on the fantastic claim that the Lord Jesus made about Himself in the Gospel of John chapter 8, verse 12.

[READ JOHN 8:12]

Jesus is the “The Light of the World.” He shines like no one else.

Light is such a powerful metaphor because it reveals so many aspects about our Lord.

For example, light means hope.

[LIGHT FIRST CANDLE.]

Jesus came into a world full of darkness. The darkness of sin, the darkness of despair, and the darkness of death.

But Jesus’ birth brought new hope. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Isaiah prophesied of His coming, “The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (See Isaiah 9:2 and Matthew 4:16!)

May our first candle remind us that the darkness will not last. Hope shines forth.

As the carol sings:

"O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death's dark shadows put to flight."

Jesus is the Light of the World.

***

Photo credit: Jonas Von Werne.

“While It Was Still Dark” [Matt's Messages]

11/24/2024 11:45:00 AM Life in Jesus' Name, Matt's Messages, Resurrection, The Gospel of John 0 comments

“While It Was Still Dark”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

November 24, 2024 :: John 20:1-18

Jesus was dead and buried.

For the last several weeks, we’ve been reading how our Lord Jesus was betrayed in the darkness, arrested in the darkness, interrogated, denied, slapped around, drug around from court to court, mocked, scourged, shamed, and executed.

Our Lord was crucified. Jesus was made to carry His own cross and then was nailed to it and then suffocated on it. Excruciating pain and thirst and agony.

And Jesus cried out, “It is finished!”

And then He died. No more breath. No more brain waves. No more beating of the heart. Jesus was dead.

And then He was buried. We just proclaimed it in the Apostles’ Creed. His corpse was placed in a tomb.

A couple of His followers went from secret to public. Joe and Nick took His dead body and wrapped it in 75 pounds of spices intertwined in linen strips. Even though He died with nothing and was treated as less than nothing as He died, in His burial, He had been treated as royalty.

There was a little garden near Skull Hill where Jesus had been killed, and in the garden was a newly dug, unused tomb. And that’s where they put Him. Jesus was dead and buried.

But that was not the end of the story!

If this was anybody else’s story, the next chapter, if there was one, would be about the effect of that dead person’s life on the people who lived after them. But that’s not what this chapter and the next is about! Because something amazing happened...“While It Was Still Dark.”

I thought this week, “God does some of His best work in the dark.”

Darkness has almost been a character in this book all along. Judas slipped out into the darkness to betray Jesus. “And it was night.” Nicodemus came at night to question Jesus. John has said that humans love darkness because their deeds are evil.

But John has also said that the darkness will not win (1:5).

Jesus has been dead and buried for two days. Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. And now it’s early early on Sunday (the first day of the Jewish week) when we open chapter 20. Look at verse 1.

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.”

By the way, this is the reason why most Christians now worship together on Sunday mornings. Maybe we should start meeting at 6:00am!

It was still dark. The sun was slowly creeping over the horizon. Mary was one of the women who was there on Friday and had to watch that monstrous thing happen to our Lord. She went to the tomb, the other gospels tell us, with some of those other women to finish the rush job that Joe and Nick had done on Friday evening as the Sabbath fell.

I like to get up while it’s still dark and go for a walk. I wear a “high viz” reflective vest and carry a flashlight. I wonder if she had any light with her? Probably not.

I’m sure she felt the darkness. The special Passover Sabbath was over and all that’s left is grief. Her Teacher and Lord had died. And with Him, all of her hopes and dreams. All of that talk about the Kingdom coming. All of what He had said about Himself.

It was over. Because Jesus was over. The story was over. Jesus was dead and buried. “It is finished.”

But the story was not over. The story was not finished. Even Jesus was not finished!

And when Mary reached the tomb (v.1), she “saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” There must have been enough light to see that. No stone!

And what did Mary think? Does she think, “Hooray! Jesus is alive again!” No. She thinks, “Oh, rats, grave robbers. Joseph and Nicodemus put 75 pounds of expensive spices in that tomb. Myrrh and aloes. Somebody has made off with the body. I better go tell Peter.” Verse 2.

“So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!’”

She might think that culprits are the Jewish leaders. They might not want Jesus to be celebrated as a martyr, so they have stolen His body so the tomb doesn’t become a rallying point.

All Mary knows is that the tomb is empty. And she’s distraught. Not only is Jesus dead, but His body has been stolen. Can it get any worse?

So she tells Peter and the other disciple, who I am pretty sure is John the gospelwriter himself. He can’t get over how beloved he was. And so he was filled with grief, as well.

Peter and John take off running. There’s a lot of running here. Mary runs to Peter and John run to the tomb, leaving Mary behind. And John is faster. Verse 3.

“So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)” (vv.3b-9)

I love that detail that John was faster. He doesn’t actually say his name, but he’s got to get in that dig.

It definitely has the ring of truth to it, doesn’t it? What interesting details to remember! John gets to the tomb first, but Peter goes in first (classic Peter!). And apparently, there is now enough light that he can see inside of the tomb. Maybe he has a torch. We don’t know.

Peter sees the layout with his own eyes but doesn’t know what to think. The other gospels tell us that he went away marveling over this and trying to figure it all out.

This does not look like the work of grave robbers, does it? They left the strips of linen. That’s where the spices were. That’s where the money was. And the head cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, it was folded up and carefully set in another place. Grave robbers folded up the head cloth? I doubt it! Anyone that raided that tomb. Who would do that?

It’s more like Someone sat up and pulled off the strips of linen and folded up the head cloth and dropped it aside. Like Someone had started breathing again. Someone had started using His heart and brain and lungs again. Someone had started using his arms and legs again. His hands and feet again. That’s what it looks like.

And at that moment, John “got it.” He understood. Verse 8 says, “He saw and believed.”

You can just about see the realization cross John’s face. “He’s alive, isn’t He?! That guy! Look how He neat He is. He folded up the face cloth and put it over there. Jesus is alive again. I believe!”

I have three points of application for us this morning, and that’s the first one. It’s been the main application for the last 50 messages as we’ve studied the Gospel of John together: Believe!

#1. BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS ALIVE AGAIN!

Because He is. That’s a fact. It’s not a myth or a fable or a fairy tale. It’s not just a metaphor or a nice little story that we tell the children. No. It is reality. It is a historical fact, and it changes everything. Jesus Christ died and was buried and has risen from the dead!

And, I know that it’s Thanksgiving, but we just have to do this:

Christ Is Risen!

He Is Risen Indeed!

John believed. And that’s why He wrote this book because He wanted you and me to believe, too. Because when you believe this, what happens? You get life. Right?

At the end of this chapter, John is going to proclaim that “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God [risen from the dead!], and that by believing you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31).

The lights were coming on for John. Now, he didn’t yet understand how the whole Old Testament had predicted this. Verse 9 says, “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”

But John did understand that it had happened!

He might have all of a sudden thought of all of the ways that Jesus had predicted it.

Like when Jesus tossed the tables in the temple, and He said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (Jn. 2:19). John might have been like, “Wait a second. Was His body the temple?”

Or when Jesus had said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....I know my sheep and my sheep know me..and I lay down my life for the sheep...only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (Jn. 10:11-19). John’s like, “Wait a second. What if He meant that He was going to take it up again?!”

Or when He said that He was the “Resurrection and the Life.” What if He is the Resurrection so much that He doesn’t just have the power to raise Lazarus, but to raise Himself?!

Or when He said just the other night, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” What if He is so much “The Life” that He can’t stay dead?!

Eventually, John would go back and read His Old Testament in the light of the resurrection and see it all over the place. Jesus had to rise from the dead. You see that in verse 9? Jesus had to rise from the dead.

That’s what He meant by, “It is finished.” Sin is paid for. The mission is completed. Jesus can’t stay dead because He was victorious! Passages like Psalm 16, verse 10 and Isaiah 53, verses 10 through 12 predicted it most clearly.

Jesus had to rise from the dead. John didn’t understand that yet, but he believed that Jesus did. Do you?Do you believe that Jesus is alive again?

I do. Our church does. And we invite you to put your trust in Him today. We believe that He is everything He ever said He was. And that He had to rise from the dead. Death could not keep Him.

He paid for our sins, and He promises us eternal life.

John says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).

Believe!

I love how John has not yet seen the Risen Jesus and yet he already believes. Because that’s like you and me, right? Have you seen the Lord? It would be wonderful to see the Lord with our own two eyes, and one day we will.

Somebody is just about to in the next part of the story. And her name is Mary. Mary did not yet believe. She didn’t understand what had happened. Apparently, she had made her way back to the garden and missed Peter and John and everybody else. And she just stood there outside the tomb and cried. V.10

“Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.”

By the way, I never thought about this before yesterday, but I realized that John probably went home and told Jesus’ mother that the tomb was empty! She had just moved in with him on Friday. They adopted each other. We don’t know, but in verse 10 John might have gone back to his home, and told Mary that he believed that her son was alive again.

But it’s a different Mary that is crying at the tomb. This was a follower whom Jesus had rescued from demonic oppression (Luke 8:2). We don’t know much more about her than that she had loved and followed Jesus and was there at the crucifixion.

Now she’s crying. “Crying” is a weak word for it. “Wailing” is more like it. It’s the same word for the weeping that the family of Lazarus was doing in chapter 11. She was full of grief. She was sobbing. She was overwhelmed by emotion. Confused and dismayed.

And then she saw something she didn’t expect. She saw two angels. Look at verse 12.

“As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. [These are the only two angels that appear in the Gospel of John.] They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don't know where they have put him.’”

It feels like the darkness has won. “My Lord is dead, and his body has been stolen.” She doesn’t ask, “Who are you?” She’s just done. She just feels done.

And then she senses that there is someone else there. V.14

“At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”

I’m not 100% sure why that is.

Could be because it was still so early and dark.

Could be because she was looking through tears.

Could be because she was somehow kept from recognizing Him.

Could be because He looked different after having been tortured, either worse because of the torture or more likely better because His body had been glorified.

We don’t know.

I tend to think it’s just because was beside herself and just didn’t expect to see Jesus. Jesus was dead.

And then He speaks. Verse 15.

“‘Woman,’ he said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’”

I see a twinkle in His eye. He can see what’s going to happen when the light dawns for her. She is seeing what she expects to see. She’s in a garden, she expects a gardener. But He was not what she expected. Verse 16.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ [Just like He always did.] She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).”

What a moment! This is the first believer to ever see the risen Lord!

Can you imagine? Can you imagine what she felt like? His sheep know His voice (John 10:27).

It was Him!

It was the Teacher!

It was the Lord!

Jesus is alive again.

In my mind, Mary falls at His feet and grabs Him around the knees. She has never been this happy before!

The darkness has not won. The Light of the World has come. The story wasn’t over. And it’s not going to be!

Jesus says, “Okay. Okay. Let me go.” Big smile on His face. Verse 17.

“Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her” (vv.17-18).

I don’t think that Jesus is saying that Mary can’t touch Him. He’s going to invite other to touch Him.

But to not cling to Him because this is a special and unique time between His resurrection and His ascension. He is alive, but He’s not staying. He’s still going.

And Mary has a job to do. Instead of holding onto Jesus, she’s supposed to bear witness to Him.

#2. TELL OTHERS THAT JESUS IS ALIVE AGAIN!

Jesus is telling Mary that she has a mission to fulfill. She’s supposed to go to Jesus’ brothers (I think that’s His disciples in this context) and tell them that He is alive and He will be ascending soon. He’s going to be returning to His Father.

But notice that He’s not just Jesus’ Father. He’s “your Father.” The disciple’s Father. Mary Magdalene’s Father!

“Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Even though He’s Jesus’ God and Father unlike anyone else’s because He’s the One and Only (monogenays), He is now also their God and Father.

Through adoption! Because of what Jesus has done on the Cross and now that the Tomb is empty, the Father has adopted the disciples through faith in Jesus. It’s John 1:12, isn’t it?

“[Jesus] came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” (vv.11-12).

It’s happened! It’s worked! Because Jesus is alive again, everyone who believes in Him gets adopted into God’s family.

So, we need tell people!

Mary did. She ran to disciples and with the good news (v.18), “I have seen the Lord!”

The first eyewitness of the Risen Jesus was this woman. But she should not be the last. You and I are called to go and tell others that Jesus is alive again.

While it was still dark, Jesus stood up once more. The stone was rolled away, and He has made our way to the Father. So that the Father is our Father.

This week, I was thinking about this, and I had the thought: “I’m so glad we’re studying this section of John at Thanksgiving. What could be greater for us to be thankful for than that “It is finished”? That Jesus died for us on the Cross. And then I thought, only one thing and that is that Jesus is alive again today. He came back to life to give us life.”

While it was still dark, the Son rose!

Let’s tell others. Who could you tell this week? When you go around the table and say something you’re thankful for, how about the resurrection? How about the fact that because Jesus is alive, everything has changed?

#3. GIVE THANKS THAT JESUS IS ALIVE AGAIN!

We’re going to spend at least two more Sundays in the Gospel John thinking about the implications of the resurrection.

Because Jesus is alive again, we can take heart. He has overcome the world and even death.

And that makes all the difference for us today, tomorrow, and forever.

“Because He lives, [we] can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because [we] know He holds the future,

Life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!” [Bill and Gloria Gaither, #213]

***

“It Is Finished” [Matt's Messages]

11/17/2024 11:45:00 AM Life in Jesus' Name, Matt's Messages, The Gospel of John 0 comments

“It Is Finished”

Life in Jesus’ Name - The Gospel of John

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

November 17, 2024 :: John 19:17-42

I have good and terrible news for you this morning. And this is it:

An innocent man was murdered.

And that sounds terrible, and it is. But it is also good for you and me.

You know whom I am talking about. This whole church is about Him.

It’s Jesus.

We’re drawing nearer, nearer to Him and His precious bleeding side. His back is bleeding because He’s been scourged.

The last few weeks, we’ve read about our Lord Jesus being betrayed, arrested, interrogated, slapped around, mocked, denied, rejected, judged, tried, convicted, and sentenced to execution. Execution of the most unspeakably horrible kind–Roman crucifixion.

Even though the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, could find no basis for a charge against Jesus, he still handed Him over to be crucified.

An innocent man was killed by the authorities. And that’s is good news for you and me.

We’re studying the part of the Gospel that we often focus on during a different holiday season than this one. But it is completely appropriate to focus on it now during this holiday season because, as we’re going to see, this is why Jesus came in the first place, at the first Christmas, and this is what we have the most reason for which to be thankful.

These last moments of His life and His death and His burial. This is why He came, and this is why His last words were (v.30), “It is finished.” That’s our title for today. “It is finished!”

In Greek, “tetelestai.” “It is completed.” Or “It is accomplished.”

Jesus didn’t say, “I am finished.” These are not words of despair, though I know that’s what would be on my lips! His are words of victory even as Jesus was killed as an innocent man. “It Is Finished.”

This morning, I want us to see just what was finished in those final moments before His death and the first few moments after His death and to reflect together on what good news that is for us today. We sometimes call these things “Good Friday.” Every good reason we have here to be thankful.

Starting with this. I have four points this morning, and here’s the first one.

#1. JESUS HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED THE TRUE KING.

Let’s start where Keagan kicked us off. In verse 17.

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle” (vv.17-18).

It’s amazing to me how little the gospelwriters describe the crucifixion for us.

There are is very little description in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or here in John about what crucifixion was like. Did you ever notice that? It’s almost matter-of-fact.

I think that one of the reasons for that is that everybody who read the Gospels when they first came out, knew what crucifixion was. You didn’t have to explain it in all of it gruesome details.

Another reason is so that we don’t get to glory in the gruesome. It is possible to take a sick pleasure in bloody gore even when talking about our Lord.

But I also think that one of the reasons why the gospelwriters say so little about what it was like is that it is nearly too terrible for words. They just couldn’t bring themselves to talk too much about what was done to our Lord!

He had to carry His own cross. Remember, His back and shoulders are torn up from the scourging. Now, He has to pick up probably the horizontal beam across His shoulders and carry it out of the city limits to “Skull Hill.”

That’s where they liked do to these crucifixions. There were probably permanent vertical stakes there to mount these beams and these men nailed to them.

John says, “Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle” (v.18).

That means they nailed Him to these pieces of wood and hung him from those poles in the air. “Lifted up.” He was “lifted up.”

And his ankles were nailed, too. And His knees were bent. So that he push up on the pole to breathe a little. And then when He got tired He would sag down and start turning blue. And then He’d push up some more. We invented the word “excruciating” to describe this kind of pain and suffering. It’s got the “cruc...” word sound in there of crucifixion, cross-killing.

And He’s not alone. He’s got actual bad guys on either side of Him. They are not innocent, but He’s dying with them.

It’s hard to talk about. It’s terrible. There’s nothing right about it.

And, yet, it’s good. And we should be so thankful for it.

Here’s one reason, as He was dying, He was being proclaimed the true king of the world. Look at verse 19.

“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, ‘Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written’” (vv.19-22).

Pilate was a weak little man with a lot of power. We saw that last week as the Jews manipulated him into executing Jesus.

But he did get in this one shot. Kind of a practical joke on his Jewish pests. He put up this placard over the head of Jesus that proclaimed Him as the king of Jews. Now, Pilate didn’t mean it. If anything, it was a list of Jesus’ crimes. Here’s why this man is up there on that cross! Sarcasm, dark gallows humor.

But it sure bothered the Jews! They wanted that sign revised. They were rejecting Jesus as their king. And Pilate said, “No way. It stays how I said it.”

But you and I know that it was true. Jesus was the Messiah, the promised King of Israel. And we’ve seen how He acted like a king all the way through this trial. His shoulders back, His head held high. It felt like He was in charge of His own trial. And they were the ones really arrested, really interrogated, really judged and found wanting.

He was the true king!

And notice that it was universally proclaimed.

Pilate whipped out His Google Translate App and made sure that everybody who passed by knew what it said.

Aramaic. That was the local dialect spoken by the Hebrews in that place.

Latin. That was the official language of the Roman empire. All official documents had to be in Latin.

And Greek. That was the international language that everybody spoke and had in common. The “lingua franca,” as we say. Like English functions in so many parts of the world.

Anybody who could read, knew what that said.

“JESUS OF NAZARTEH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

And that’s true! And you and I should recognize the Kingship of Jesus over ourselves and proclaim it to the world.

Let me ask you a question. Do we live like Jesus is our true King? What was the last thing you did because King Jesus told you to do it and not because you already felt like it? What was the last thing you did because King Jesus commanded it of you and not because you already felt like doing it?

Now, of course, it’s best when we want to do what the King tells us to do. But when there is a difference between my desire, and our Lord’s commands, which one wins?

Like for example, what Jesus says to do with our finances? With our mouths (which extends to our phones)? With our relationships? Jesus commands us to forgive as He has forgiven us. Is He our true King? Do we act like it?

Pilate was joking that Jesus was the king, but He is. Sometimes we say Jesus is the king but act like we are.

The truth will come out. When Jesus was dying, the truth was being broadcast right there above His head.

Number two. Here is what was finished and that we can be thankful for today:

#2. JESUS HAS FULFILLED THE ANCIENT SCRIPTURES.

Look at verse 23.

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.”

Yes, they took His clothes. When you were crucified, you were left with nothing. And it was the privilege of the four soldiers on this execution squad to get to take the victim’s things.

Jesus didn’t have much. He had no money. Just the clothes on His back. And one guy took the cloak off His back, one guy took His belt, one guy took His sandals, and the other guy got Jesus’ hat.

That just left His “tunic” which was under those other things and went from neck to knees. It was woven in one piece, so the most valuable piece of clothes He had and worth a lot more in one piece than torn into strips.

And the soldiers are like, “I’ll flip you for it.” Verse 24.

“‘Let's not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let's decide by lot who will get it.’ This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.”

Did you get that? The worst thing ever is happening. Jesus is struggling to breathe while probably bleeding out. And below Him, these guys are playing dice for His clothes.

It’s terrible! And yet, it’s not outside of God’s plan. It’s inside of God’s plan.

In fact, it was prophesied! These Romans executioners probably never read Psalm 22. King David wrote it 1000 years before this moment. But here are they are doing it!

John says, “This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled...”

Nothing stops Jesus from fulfilling all of the marks of the Messiah. Everything promised in the Old Testament will come true through Jesus. Even the stuff that doesn’t seem possible! Like the Messiah dying and coming back to life!

So that whenever you read a promise in the Scriptures, you can take it to the bank. You and I don’t ever have to worry that Jesus won’t fulfill all of the promises of Scripture.

We’re coming into the Advent season when the Church has traditionally thought deeply about how all of the ancient scriptures of the Old Testament find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. I think our youth group is going to start an advent Bible study tonight. If you are a teen and haven’t yet been coming to the Youth Group, this is a great night to get started.

In verse 25, we find that there are a number of women standing near the cross. And they are grieving, with good reason.

I’m glad that John tells us about this. One of those women is Jesus’ mother. Look at verse 25.

“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

I think that’s three women named Mary. It was a popular name. We’ll learn more about this Mary Magdalene next week, Lord-willing.

But we know some things about Jesus’ mother Mary already from chapter 2 of this book. Remember the wedding at Cana? How she wanted Jesus to help the groom out when the wine ran low?

Well, now her baby boy is being killed before her eyes.

And Jesus sees her and has compassion on her. Verse 26.

“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (vv.26-27).

I love that little detail. This little adoption (running the both directions mother to son and son to mother) to especially make sure that His mom was taken care of. Remember, “the disciples whom [Jesus] loved” is probably John the guy writing this gospel. He was tasked with caring for Mary after Jesus died.

What amazes me is how Jesus can be thinking about anybody else at this moment! I get a headcold, and all I can think about is me, me, me, me. If I have a tummy ache, I have a hard time thinking about my wife much less my neighbors. If I were nailed to a cross, I wouldn’t be thinking about Mary and John!

But Jesus’ mind is on His people. Jesus’ heart is caring for those who are in His heart. And you know that’s more than John and Mary! He was taking care of you me. On the Cross, Jesus was arranging for our new family, too.

And He’s making it all happen. Jesus is intentionally making all this come together. Even as He dies. Especially as He dies! Look at verse 28.

“Later, knowing that all was now completed [same root word for “finished,”] and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’”

He knows what He’s doing! He knows He’s bringing this whole thing to completion. He knows He’s landing the plane.

He knows that He is fulfilling ancient Scripture like Psalm 69, verse 21 and Psalm 22, verse 15.

That’s why He says, “I am thirsty.” He is thirsty! But He’s saying it here and now to fulfill ancient Scripture. The Messiah was going to thirst. And so they bring Him a drink. Verse 29.

“A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.”

Now, I’ve always thought that was compassion. They had a little pity on Him. But it’s also possible that this was to get a little more suffering out Him. Keep the victim going for a little bit longer so that we can watch Him die a little bit longer. Prolong the pain.

But Jesus has other plans. He’s used that little bit of moisture to loosen his lips and His tongue so that He can yell out His famous last word:

“Tetelestai!”

Look at verse 30.

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

King to the end! He decides exactly when He is going to die. Until this moment, His head was unbowed. But now He bows His head and willingly gives up His spirit to His Father. And before He did that He said, “It is finished.”

#3. JESUS HAS COMPLETED HIS SAVING MISSION.

How many times has He said in the Gospel of John that the Father has sent the Son? He’s been on a rescue mission all this time. Reveal the Father. Show the Father. Make the Father known. And save those who believe.

And now, Jesus says, “Check! “Mission accomplished. I’ve done it. I’ve completed the work. I’m declaring victory. It is finished!”

Just a few hours before this, Jesus taught His followers our memory verse. John 16:33.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

And here’s the moment when He did just that! “It is finished.”

An innocent man was murdered at that moment, and I’m so glad!

Because He was choosing it and using it to save us.

History tells us that this word "tetelestai" was often written on a business document or a receipt to indicate that a bill had been paid in full. There was no more payment required. Like that red stamp we put on a bill today. "Paid in Full."

"Tetelestai!" Jesus was saying that He had paid it all. That we don’t have to save ourselves or add to our salvation. That He had accomplished it all for us on our behalf.

We just have to receive it as the free gift it is! “Tetelestai”

Have you received it? Have you put your faith in what Jesus did and what Jesus did alone to save you? He’s done it all! He’s paid it all. It is finished! And you put your trust in His saving work, in His saving mission? If you have not, I invite you to do so right here and right now!

Some people have the idea that Jesus’ death only gets us so far. And we have to take it from there. His death was necessary but not sufficient. They sing the song, “Jesus paid it some....”

But we know that Jesus is not just the true king and the true fulfillment of all of the ancient scriptures, but the true sacrifice that is all-sufficient to pay for all our sins, past, present and future.

He is the true Lamb of God! Who has declared, “It is finished!”

And then He died.

Jesus flat-lined. His heart stopped beating. His brain stopped working. He turned blue, then white. His body began to cool. He was dead.

It was terrible. His mother saw Him die. His beloved disciple saw Him die.

The hero of the story isn’t supposed to die!

Unless the hero dies saving the people He loves.

“It is finished.”

Is He really dead? It’s the job of the execution squad to make sure. They had to verify their kills or they would be in major trouble. Look at verse 31.

“Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath [Passover Sabbath!]. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.”

Here they go again with their hypocrisy. Wouldn’t want to break the law of Moses by having an executed man still hanging out there in public on the Sabbath, especially if that executed man was the Messiah! So they petition Pilate to hurry things along. If they break their legs, then they can’t push up and they suffocate faster.

Normally, the Romans would just let them hang there for days. Even days after they died, to send a message. “See what happens if you fight with Rome. Want to end up like this guy?"

But Pilate knows that Jesus was innocent. And he agrees, probably out of a kind of mercy to let them break Jesus’ legs. [I can’t believe I have to say that.] Verse 32.

“The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (vv.32-34). He didn’t flinch. He didn’t jerk. No involuntary nervous system reaction. Instead, the spear poked the heart and fluid around the pericardium came out with the blood. The cleansing water and cleansing blood of Lamb.

He was dead. He was fully human, and He was fully dead. And John raises his hand to solemnly swear to it in a court of law. Verse 35.

“The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”

And you know what happens if you believe? You get life in Jesus’ name!

John says that this, too, was a fulfillment of ancient scripture. Look at verse 36.

“These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken,’ and, as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’”

Psalm 34, verse 20. Zechariah chapter 12, verse 11. Even while He’s dead, Jesus is fulfilling prophecy! He was the perfect Lamb of God without blemish or defect.

“[He] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).

The only thing left to do is bury Him. But who is going to do that? Mary can’t do that. Not on her on. She’s not up to that. Will John do it? Who will step forward and claim this corpse? You could get into a lot of trouble by identifying with this man. They just killed Him as a traitor to the nation and to the greater empire. Who wants to be known as His follower?

There is a guy named “Joe.” And a guy named “Nick.” Look at verse 38.

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night” (vv.38-39a).

This is big. I remember when I first saw this about twenty five years ago. At that moment Joe and Nick stepped out into the light. They went public as followers of Jesus Christ. Joseph already believed, but he was keeping it a secret. He hadn’t voted against Jesus’ death that night. But now, he’s asking for the body. Nicodemus had asked some big questions back in chapter 3. Remember “Nick at Night?” I think he was pretty hostile to Jesus back then. But something has changed. He’s now on board. And he’s going public.

Here’s our fourth and last point this morning:

#4. JESUS HAS ACTIVATED HIS FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS.

Even though He’s dead, He’s inspiring these guys to be bold!

And I love that because I want to be bold, too. We’re not supposed to be secret agents for Jesus. We are supposed to be faithful followers.

That’s part of what it means to be baptized. Looks like we’re going to have some more baptisms next month. If you have not yet gone public with your faith in Jesus and told the world that you are His disciple, why not? No time like the present!

Joe and Nick went public at this moment when Jesus was hanging there dead. Certainly you and I can go public when Jesus is alive again?!

I think the reason why they do this, is that they are convinced that Jesus is worth it. They came to believe that Jesus truly was the king. The placard of verse 19 was true. Look at what they did to show it. Verse 39.

“Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

How many pounds of spices? Does anybody know what that was in the Greek and Roman system? It says that it was 100 “litra.”

Anybody remember how many “litra” Mary of Bethany’s nard was?

Less than a week before this, Lazarus’ sister Mary had anointed Jesus with some pure nard. Remember that? Remember how many litra it was?

It was 1 litra. Now, that was expensive stuff. Pure spike nard. Extravagant all by itself. Maybe this stuff was much less pure and less exotic.

But there are 100 litra here. 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe to hide the smell of the decaying corpse. 75 pounds of myrrh and aloe to speak of the worth of the subject being spiced. Nicodemus must have had servants to carry all of that spice. 75 pounds! The great Rabbi Gamaliel was once perfumed at his burial with 80 litrai. This was 100 litrai! This was an anointing fit for royalty!

And His grave was a rich man’s grave. Every indication was that it was supposed to be Joseph’s grave. It was in garden near Golgotha. And it had just recently been dug out of the rock. It was ready for Joseph to die, and it was nearby, and the sun was going down, so they took the body there and buried it in that tomb. Another important garden in less than twenty four hours!

Even in His death, Jesus was activating His faithful followers.

Are we activated? Are we acting in public like we believe that Jesus is the true king? That Jesus has fulfilled all the ancient scriptures. And that Jesus has completed His Father’s mission? If not, what’s stopping us?

“It” might be finished, but we should just be getting started!

Because we have everything to be thankful for. An innocent man was murdered, and it’s terrible. And it’s the best news in the world.

***