The resurrection is the high point to the cross. John gives his witness of this central event of history. Praise the Lord for resurrection power and authority. Christ’s first message to His frightened and confused disciples is “Peace be with you”. May that be the case for you today.
John 20: The Resurrection
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."
3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.
4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,
7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.
12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."
16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"---and that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."
Jesus and Thomas
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."
28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
The Purpose of This Book
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 21: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
1 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way.
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" They answered him, "No."
6 He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.
7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish.
14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus and Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."
16 He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go."
19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me."
Jesus and the Beloved Apostle
20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?"
21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"
22 Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"
23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?"
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
Things to think about…
1. It is interesting that when Mary came to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away her first response after running back to Peter and John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) was to say “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb”, John 20:2. She is speaking of the Romans. The Romans were the ones called to guard the tomb and the Jewish hierarchy sent them because they believed the disciples would take Jesus and hence promote a resurrection deception. All this points to more evidence for the miracle that it was, Christ rose by the power of the Holy Spirit. John was a faster runner, but Peter was more bold, as such Peter enters the tomb first. Peter is the one who needs to believe so a full transformation can take place in the heart of the man who had said three times “I do not know the man”.
2. If only Peter and John had hung around, they would have experienced first-hand the resurrected Christ. But this privilege was given to Mary Magdalene who lingered at the tomb, John 20:11-18. He calls her by name “Mary”. What an honour. Jesus calls us by name and bestows the blessing of His presence. The trouble oftentimes is that we do not want to wait for Him to appear. In your prayer time today – linger, wait until He visits you and gives you a personal word of encouragement.
3. Look at these words in John 20:19-23. Jesus’ first words are “Peace be with you”, He says it twice, vss 19 & 21. Jesus not only wants us to have His peace but that we also have full assurance of His resurrection. One week before Thomas sees Christ’s hands and side Jesus shows the disciples His hands and side, John 20:20. They believe and then He blows on them to receive the Holy Spirit, John 20:22. Remember this is before Pentecost, so the disciples received the Holy Spirit directly from Jesus. The first blessing of the Holy Spirit is that they believe in Christ. This is the same for us.
4. What is the reason John is writing His gospel? The answer is found in John 20:31 “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”. May this be enough for you today.
5. The miracle of the net full of fish in John 21:1-11 is well known. When we travelled to Tiberias in 2014 we had what are believed to be these same fish called ‘St Peter’s fish’. They are actually a species of Tilapia. I am sure the fish Jesus had cooking on the charcoals were better tasting than the fish we had – Tilapia are quite muddy tasting. Anyway it was a great reminder that our Lord provides even more than we ask, and He does so directly without our need to be involved. What are you fishing for today? Have you found it? Perhaps you are fishing in your own strength with your own understanding. Go to the risen Lord for your supply, he promises to provide for your every need, even more than you ask.
6. Peter was asked 3 times “Do you love Me?” in John 21:15-19. He betrayed Jesus 3 times and is asked to affirm his love of Jesus 3 times. Christ restores us, but only through a conformation of that restoration through a response from the heart. Peter would then go on to fulfil his role of establishing the church through his bold proclamation of seeing Christ as the risen saviour.
7. Peter is restored John 21:15-25 and is called to follow Jesus. But what of John. We know that he had to receive further revelation from Jesus. This is recorded in the book of Revelation. I am glad the Lord had more work for this disciple whom Jesus loved. John finished his gospel and said more could have been written, but his whole focus is that we believe and be saved through knowing Jesus as our saviour from sin. Rejoice in your salvation.
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “Jesus prays for His disciples” came from John 17:1-26 by Ps Jay.
1. Have you ever had anyone pray for you where their prayers for you have been answered? In John 17 Jesus prays for believers. What are some of the things He is praying for? Have they been answered in your life?
2. Jesus doesn’t pray for the world, but only those who would believe in Him, why? Doesn’t God love the world, Jn 3:16. Why wouldn’t Jesus pray for all people?
3. We are told that Jesus is praying for us right now. He is interceding for us before the Father, Rom 8:34 and Heb 7:25. If we are saved because of what He did on the cross, why does he need to still intercede for us?
4. Ask the Lord to give you focussed prayers, praying for His will in your life and in the life of the church. Give thanks for His salvation.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for those who heard the gospel on Sunday. Pray for Christ to grant them salvation.
2. Pray for Queensland that we do not see any more Corona virus cases as restrictions are lifted. Pray for Victoria and NSW as borders are closed, but virus cases continue to rise. Victoria has grown in numbers even while in lockdown.
3. Pray for our church services now meeting together and our streaming that both can continue to be done well every Sunday.
4. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
5. Sunday’s fb live messages and for Kids church. The message this week – “Look out for your bro” Gen 4 – Pr Jay.
6. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
7. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors on Sunday. New folk have been following us on fb over quarantine, now attend our church.
2. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
3. Mallacoota fire donations. Praise God for the help we have been able to give.
4. Finances being maintained and donation to Café roof. Thankyou!
7. Praise God for worship and technical team – amazing individuals.
Announcements
1. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed. No hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we will have an overflow into the café.
2. Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
