Sermon Tone Analysis

SERMON NOTES ON JOHN 20:1-31

Title: Is Seeing Believing?

Opening

Have you ever heard the expression “Seeing is Believing”?

(Show Slides 1 & 2) Is the saying actually true?

Let’s put it to the test.

As we look at these next two images you decide which one is true?

(Show slides 3 then 4 on cue) What we see or experience shapes our reality.

Is seeing believing?

Not necessarily.

Visual illusions can distort our perception so that, what we “see” does not correspond with what is physically there.

That is why a lot of illusionists can trick their audience into thinking that what they are seeing is actually real.

I came across a video on Youtube and it was impressive to see the reaction of the people in the store as the man was levitating while shopping.

Have you seen this illusion?

You can check it online.

(Show slide 5) As many of you who are watching this picture, I was very skeptical and wanted to know the secret.

Do you want me to reveal it?

If we apply the law of gravity, in actuality it would look something close to this (Show slide 6).

In the history of mankind there have been many famous people who have done incredible things.

One such man was a Frenchman daredevil, a great circus acrobat known by the professional name of Charles Blondin.

He who would be the first person to cross the Niagara Falls on a tightrope in year 1859 (Show slide 7).

“…Blondin stretched a long steel cable across Niagara Fall.

During high winds and without a safety net, he walked, ran, and event danced across the tightrope to the amazement and delight of the large crowd of people who watched.” (Show slide 8 & 9 on cue) Charles Blondin was known for his amazing stunts on the tightrope.

“Once he took a wheelbarrow full of bricks and amazed the crowed by pushing it effortlessly across the cable, from one side of the falls to the other.

Blondin then turned to the crow and asked, “Now, how many of you believe that I could push a man across the wire in the wheelbarrow?”

The vote was unanimous.

Everyone cheered and held their hands high.

They all believed he could do it!

“Then,” asked Blondin, “would one of you please volunteer to be that man?”

As quickly as the hands went up, they went back down.

Not a single person would volunteer to ride in the wheelbarrow and to trust his life to Blondin.” (Rice, pgs.

206-207)

Some 25,000 people saw with their very own eyes the talent displayed, they believed he could do the stunt and still they failed to put their faith in action and get on the wheelbarrow.

Is seeing believing?

(Show slide 10).

Many of us think so but when it comes to faith in Jesus it’s totally different.

We are approaching the end of the gospel of John and for some time we have been looking at the life of Jesus from John’s perspective.

Today we find ourselves reading about the most important event in human history.

We have arrived at the pinnacle of it all…The Resurrection Story.

The Resurrection account found in John 20 and the other Gospels is the central doctrine of the Christian Faith.

It is an essential part of the Gospel message!

Without it the story of Jesus’ sacrifice would make no sense and the Gospel would be no good news at all! Prominent contemporary theologians and scholars have said this about the Resurrection…

“Gunther Bornkamm agreed that without the message of Jesus’ resurrection there would be no church, no NT, and no Christian Faith even to this day.

Jurgen Moltmaan clearly stated that Christianity either stands or falls with Jesus’ resurrection.”

(EDOT, p. 939).

The Apostle Paul, who was once a skeptic wrote this to the Christians in Corinth: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, our faith is worthless and we are still (lost/dead) in our sins” (1 Cor.

15:14-17).

Think about the last 2000+ years of history since Jesus’ death and all the people who have died for His sake.

We don’t have an actual number, but if there was no Resurrection they would have died in vain.

There would be no reason for us to meet here today and so we can just go home and live for the moment as Paul writes: eat, drink for tomorrow we die (v.

32)” There would be no hope for all of humanity!

However, Jesus did come back to life and because of this undeniable truth, we one day will be made alive because Jesus defeated the grave.

HE IS RISEN!

AMEN!

“Walter Elwell, wrote: Clearly, early believers such as Paul realized that this event provided the central claim of Christianity.

With it the Christian message of eternal life is secure, resting on the reality of Jesus’ victory over death.

Without it the Christian message is reduced to that of one of man’s philosophies.”

(EDOT p. 939) The Resurrection of Jesus separates Christianity from any other religions in the world.

See when Jesus said “It is Finished” on the cross, His perfect sacrifice, atonement and payment for everyone sin was completed, but His mission on earth was NOT yet finished!

As we look at the Resurrection of Jesus, we will unpack the truths that support it as we try to answer a few questions: Did it actually happen?

How did people respond to such news?

How did the event change their outlook in life?... and eventually this will lead us to a personal response.

What is my response to Jesus?

What do I believe about Him? Have I placed my faith in the totality of the Gospel message?

Today, we will look beyond the Gospel of John and see what the other Gospel authors had to say about such historical event.

The reason for this is that John does not include every detail of this account, so to get a better understanding we will refer to other writings in the Scriptures.

In John we find some differences in comparison to the other Gospels.

However, these minor differences do not discredit the resurrection story.

John wrote from his own perspective and thus did not feel the need to include every detail and every person.

My goal is not to go into too much depth for time’s sake but to provide some proofs that support the Resurrection of Jesus and show that the Biblical Account is indeed true.

Now, we cannot prove Christ’s Resurrection by “original” images, pictures or video footage.

We weren’t there when it first happened some 2000+ years ago.

The technology we have today did not exist, however, we do have an authoritative historical book (The Bible), whose historical writings and records help support the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

But, before we get to the Resurrection story, let’s quickly recap the death & burial of Jesus.

As we saw last week, Jesus was crucified and buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea.

His death on the cross and burial was witnessed by many and it cannot be disputed.

Who was there to witness such events?

The disciples, the women, Joseph of Arimethea, Nicodemus, the Jewish people & rulers.

Also, Roman authorities (Pilate, soldiers at Golgotha, Roman Centurion) all witnessed and heard about the death of Jesus on the cross.

The death is very important to note because it’s a prequel to the Resurrection story.

Jesus has to die in order to fulfill the Scriptures, in order to prove that He indeed is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God!

In John 19:31-35, we read that upon confirming Jesus’ death, Pilate grants permission for the body of Jesus to be taken down from the cross because it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath.

He is buried inside a rich man’s tomb and the very next day Matthew tells us that Pilate orders for the tomb to be sealed and guard to be put on duty to protect it.

This was to address the concern that the religious leaders had about the body being potentially stolen by the disciples (Matt.

27:62).

As we read the gospel accounts of Jesus on the cross, we can all agree that He died a gruesome death, a criminal’s death and that he was buried.

John reminds his original audience by writing this : “And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.”

(19:35) (Show slide 11).

John tells us about the death, burial and Resurrection because he wants his audience to believe who Jesus is.

He was a witness to all these events.

He shares his testimony of how he came to faith in the Resurrection of Jesus by providing undisputed evidence of those who saw the empty tomb and the eyewitness account of the disciples.

So, let’s address the first question: How do we know that the Resurrection of Jesus is True?

(Show slide 12)

Let me provide a few historical facts (proofs) that support such claim:

1.

The Stone was Taken Away (Show slide 13)

All the gospel writers record the removal of the stone at the tomb.

John in 20:1, uses a different Greek verb, airo, which means “to pick something up and carry it away.”

The women saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

This was impressive because the stone was very heavy, extremely large and out of position.

It would have taken a lot of man power to remove and lift the stone away from the original position.

This would have been a very dangerous task for the disciples.

The stone had been set in place and it was also sealed.

The seal represented the power and authority of the Roman Empire.