2024-04-07 Sermon – We Have Seen Him
4-7-24 Easter 2
We have seen him
John 20: 19-29
Today is the second Sunday of Easter. Last week, I spoke about the first
Easter morning. Three women went to Jesus’ tomb and heard the news of the
resurrection directly from a young man. But because it was such an unexpected
thing, they were too afraid to say anything. The fact that they couldn’t say anything
saddened me deeply.
Karl Barth and Billy Graham, one of the greatest theologians and pastors of
the 21st century proclaimed that the third millennium would be the age of the Holy
Spirit. I hope that we all will experience and believe in the resurrection.
- The resurrected Jesus came to them
The risen Jesus came to his disciples. The disciples of Jesus did not do
anything before and after Easter. The risen Jesus came to his disciples. His
disciples did not anticipate or imagine his resurrection. What I find out again is that
the resurrected Jesus appeared among his disciples who were still prisoned by fear.
The disciples were unable to live a normal life because they were gripped by
fear. They lost hope because their rabbi had passed away. Let us read verse 19.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.
In the midst of disciples and their fear, the risen Jesus appeared. What did
the risen Jesus do? He greeted them with peace. We find that the resurrected Jesus
greeted them with peace in this morning’s lesson. He wished peace and comfort to
those trembling with fear. He showed them his hands and his side. The disciples’
hearts would have been relieved. Furthermore, Jesus repeated his greeting for
peace twice, soothing the hearts of the trembling disciples.
This morning, I wish for the peace of the resurrected Jesus to come upon
those who are trembling with fear. The risen Jesus deeply understood the emotions
and situations of the disciples and comforted them, enabling them to experience the
risen Jesus deeply.
The resurrection is still a subject that is not properly understood and
accepted. There are many people around us who cannot live a life of faith because
they do not believe in the resurrection. If the resurrection is not believed, Jesus
cannot be accepted as the Savior. It is very clear that the risen Jesus came to the
disciples and made them experience the resurrection. The resurrected Jesus
became one with them without any hesitation, deeply participating in their fear and
situations.
Preparing this sermon, I ask myself again and again whether I truly believe
in the resurrection or have experienced it. Do you believe in the resurrection? Has
the resurrection become an experience for you? If so, are you living a life that
testifies to the resurrection?
- We have to receive the Holy Spirit
I have to ask myself again about the resurrection. Have I truly experienced
the resurrection, and do I truly believe in it? One comforting thing is the fact that
even the disciples of Jesus did not easily believe in the resurrection from the
beginning. What’s important is that the risen Jesus came and met with them.
However, even though they met the risen Jesus, they did not realize Him. In this
morning’s lesson, what did the resurrected Jesus do for his disciples? Let us read
verse 22.
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
Why did he command them to receive the Holy Spirit? Without awakening
by the Holy Spirit, without enabling them to experience the resurrection, they
couldn’t realize or believe in the resurrection. It is very clear that experiencing and
believing in the resurrection is not achieved through our efforts but through the
awakening of the Spirit.
The Spirit frees us from the chains of sin. Jesus emphasized the importance
of receiving the Holy Spirit by demonstrating breathing on them. Without
receiving the Spirit, one cannot experience or understand the reality of the
resurrection.
The resurrection is not merely about a dead body coming back to life; it is
connected to the essence of salvation and life. The resurrection is the core and
foundation of our faith that helps us understand why everything of our faith is so
important. The disciples did not and could not understand what Jesus taught them
even after three years. However, the experience of the resurrection made them be
transformed and finally have the assurance of salvation. It is the Holy Spirit who
transforms our bodies and minds, and our consciousness to believe in the
resurrection.
What I find out in this morning’s lesson is that the resurrection became real
and concrete only through receiving the Holy Spirit and encountering the
resurrected Jesus.
- Thomas and we are not different
Thomas has been typified as the doubting disciple. Only those who truly
doubt can truly believe. Christianity is a great tradition to embrace all kinds of
doubts and sceptics. When the resurrected Jesus came, Thomas was not there.
Other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas could not
accept their saying this. He strongly told them that without seeing Him with his
eyes and touching Him with his hands, he would not believe. Yes, he definitely
said, “I will not believe.”
A week later, the resurrected Jesus came back and encountered Thomas.
Jesus directly challenged Thomas. Let us read 27.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out
your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
Did the resurrected Jesus hear Thomas’ saying a week ago? Reading this
part, I wondered whether Thomas really put his finger and hand into Jesus’ hands
and side? Let us read verse 29.
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Why did Jesus say that those who believe without seeing are blessed? Those
who believe in the resurrection of Jesus can only believe through faith. They can
only experience the resurrected Jesus spiritually. We cannot experience the
resurrected Jesus with our flesh and blood, our senses, our eyes and hands.
Thomas’ confession was one of the greatest confession. I think that it is a path we
all must take.
Resurrection cannot be believed solely through others’ testimony. We cannot
avoid going through the stage of confirming and verifying it like Thomas. When
Jesus appeared after his resurrection, his body was transformed. He no longer had
a physical body.
I wonder whether Thomas actually inserted his hand and finger into Jesus’
hands and side? The Bible is not clear about it. When Jesus invited Thomas to
insert his hand, he directly confessed, “My Lord and my God.” I have come to
realize that both the witnesses of the resurrection from the past and we are in the
same position. There was no one who directly watched the scene of the
resurrection of Jesus except the angels and God the Father in heaven. We confess,
“My Lord, my God,” because we have met the resurrected Jesus through reading
Thomas and the disciples’ stories in the Bible. That faith comes from Abraham,
through Moses, through David, and is completed through Jesus. It is not believing
with our senses but believing with spiritual faith. It is completed by eating and
drinking the resurrected Jesus’ body and blood through the Word and the Holy
Communion.
Those who were gripped by fear were able to proclaim the news of the
resurrection. What made them do that? The Holy Spirit had enabled them to
believe and experience the resurrection. Without the illumination of the Holy
Spirit, we would not be able to believe in and testify to the resurrection. Only
prayers and the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit make us believe in the
resurrection and become true disciples of Christ.
Covenant people, I wish that an amazing history of confessing “I have seen,
my God, my Lord” and living together with Him will be real for you and me.” We
are not different from Thomas, an apostles of Jesus Christ our Lord.
It seems that without the Spirit’s involvement in the lives of the disciples,
there would be no peace, faith, or courage. Jesus dispelled the doubt of Thomas
and the fears of the others by showing and giving them his hands, his nail-scarred
hands. It showed them that he was alive and real, and, therefore, that sins are
forgiven: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” May we
become the living hands and feet of Jesus so that His Word and Spirit may pierce
the locked doors of blind hearts. Living out our faith, may we show that Jesus is
alive, real, and therefore sins are forgiven. Touching others as Jesus seeks to touch
us, may we share a living Christ in a dying world.