20:1 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’1 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,2 “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,3 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,4 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.
Footnotes
[1]20:7Greek his [2]20:16Or Hebrew [3]20:19Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4]20:24Greek Didymus
20:1 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’1 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,2 “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,3 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,4 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.
Footnotes
[1]20:7Greek his [2]20:16Or Hebrew [3]20:19Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4]20:24Greek Didymus
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Joel Brooks:
If you would go ahead and turn your bibles to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, We're gonna begin reading in verse 1. Now on the 1st 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. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.
Joel Brooks:
Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there. But he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth which which had been on Jesus's head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.
Joel Brooks:
Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw 2 angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, 1 at the head and 1 at the feet.
Joel Brooks:
They said to her, woman why are you weeping? She said to them, they've taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
Joel Brooks:
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him. I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to the father.
Joel Brooks:
But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her. I ask that you would give us a glimpse of your glory in this place. I pray that you would invade this room with your power and your glory, that our worship for you would deepen, That we would be full to overflowing as we leave this place. I ask that my words would fall to the ground, that they would not be remembered anymore.
Joel Brooks:
But Lord, let your words remain, and may they change us. And I pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. What we celebrate today, the physical, historical resurrection of Jesus is the absolute center of our faith. If you take away the resurrection of Jesus, we have no faith.
Joel Brooks:
We have no Christianity because Christianity is not like the the teachings from other religions, or religions that are based on teachings. For Christianity is not so much based on what Jesus taught, it is based on what he did. And and that's utterly unique among the religions which which don't focus so much on what their founder did, but really focus in on what he taught. Now we believe Jesus taught some great things. We we hold to those things, but our faith rests in what he has done, not in what he has taught.
Joel Brooks:
We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. We're not ashamed of that. A lot of times when I'm trying to get to know somebody, I ask them somewhat of a silly question. I say, alright, I want you to admit something to me. What song is it that you like, that you're ashamed to admit to other people you like?
Joel Brooks:
You know, when you're in the radio or you're in the car and you're driving now listening to the radio, this song comes on and you're embarrassed about it, but you listen to it anyway. You belt it out because nobody's around. What song is that? And and usually, I get a lot of Nickelback. You know, I I get, I get a lot of Creed, arms wide open.
Joel Brooks:
People are saying I am belting that out, arms wide open. And and always have to confess to people. It's like, well, for me, and it's embarrassing, it's it's Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. For some reason, that comes on the radio, and and I and I crank it up, and I sing to it. The the resurrection has actually become like this to a lot of Christians.
Joel Brooks:
It's something we believe in, but we're just slightly embarrassed about. We're just slightly embarrassed about it. I mean, we want this to remain personal. We want this to remain private, something I can just enjoy by myself. I mean, it's really embarrassing this day and age to tell other people that you believe that the Son of God actually came, He walked around as a man, He was a man, He died, and He was raised from the greatness.
Joel Brooks:
I believe it, but it's kind of embarrassing. And I agree that it's pretty amazing. If I had any argument against the resurrection, I would say it's almost too good to be true. Too good to be true. But it is true, and we're not ashamed of it.
Joel Brooks:
We boldly proclaim this as loud as we can. We say in our hope in this life, and in the life to come is completely based on the historical resurrection of Jesus. Because we believe Jesus was the first fruits, that he's the one who was raised before us, and we're gonna follow behind him. That when we look at what happened to Jesus, we see our future. We see our glory would awaits us.
Joel Brooks:
And if Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, our faith is worthless. If if you don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead, If you don't believe that, I'll respect that. But I don't want you ever to come up to me, pat me on the back and say, I'm happy for you. I'm I'm happy for you that, you know, you can believe this, and and that it makes you happy, and that it's good for you. I don't want you to ever say that to me like what I believe is a subjective truth.
Joel Brooks:
I don't If you believe that, I do not want you to be happy for me. I want you to weep for me. I want you to have pity for me. Because of all of the people in the world, I should be pitied because I have based my entire life on this. And Christians have based our entire life on this.
Joel Brooks:
And we don't want people to pat us on back. Say what's Well, if if it's good for you, if it's true for you, believe that. No. If you don't believe it's true, pity us. Or most people to be pitied, because we've based everything on this.
Joel Brooks:
If Jesus did not physically rise from the dead, our faith is worthless. Now you need to understand something about the first followers of Jesus. The resurrection for them was no less difficult for them to believe in as it is for us. It wasn't any less difficult. You We tend to look at those people and, you know, live in the 1st century, you know, you're primitive, you're superstitious.
Joel Brooks:
You know, of course, you know, believing somebody rose from the dead. That's not a problem for you. You could believe that just as easily as you would believe the sun is gonna rise tomorrow. I mean, you're just a superstitious people. That that is not the case at all.
Joel Brooks:
Don't ever view the people from the 1st century like that. They had huge obstacles to overcome if they were to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. If they were gonna believe in something so incredible, and we see some of this in this story. You know, if you go through the gospels, you're gonna hear over and over Jesus saying, hey, I'm going to go to Jerusalem. I'm gonna be killed.
Joel Brooks:
I'm gonna rise from the dead. And then he says it again, and then he says it again. He says, I'm only gonna give you one sign, the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of a well for 3 days, the son of man is gonna be in the earth for 3 days. And he looks at the temple and he says, destroy this temple.
Joel Brooks:
I'll build it up in 3 days. And he says, I'm talking about me. And over and over again, he tells people, He will rise again from the dead. His enemies understood this. Because once Jesus died, they went to Pilate, and they're like, you know, we've heard Jesus say numerous times.
Joel Brooks:
He was on a comeback on the 3rd day. Post guards there, because somebody's probably gonna come, try to rob the body, and say he rose from the dead. So at least they got it that Jesus said on the 3rd day, he was gonna rise again. But his followers, despite healing 1,000, casting out demons, Feeding thousands of people with just a few biscuits and fish. Even raising people from the dead.
Joel Brooks:
When it came Easter morning, there is not a single person waiting for Jesus. Not one. No one believed him. Nobody believed that resurrection was possible. I mean Jesus, He had to be speaking metaphorically.
Joel Brooks:
You know, had to be just talking maybe about heaven or or just like, you know, being warm in the heart, or a spiritual resurrection. That's what Jesus had to be talking about because nobody is there at the tomb despite all Jesus has said, all he had done. You do not find a friend. You do not find a casual relative. You do not find a disciple.
Joel Brooks:
You don't even find a curious person waiting outside the tomb for Jesus to come forth. Nobody believed it. The obstacles that they had to believe the resurrection were just as great as the obstacles that we have here in the 21st century. Yet, something overcame those obstacles. Something overcame their unbelief.
Joel Brooks:
Something destroyed all their objections. There were a lot of objections. For the Greeks living during this time, the the notion, the mere thought of a physical resurrection was repulsive to the Greeks. They would never ever want to believe in a physical resurrection because after they died their hope was to escape the body, not keep the body. They thought of the body as being corrupt and and evil, and and their whole goal was to one day finally flee it and to leave it.
Joel Brooks:
And if you were to tell them, oh, the king has come and he he's been risen, and is in this new body, they're like, that's gross. No. That's repulsive. At best they would have laughed at you when you said it. At worst, they would have called you evil for believing it.
Joel Brooks:
It was a huge obstacle for them. The resurrection would have been just as unbelievable for the Jews. Jews like Mary and the disciples we read about. Now most Jews, not all Jews, but most Jews in this day believed in the resurrection. They did, they believed in the resurrection.
Joel Brooks:
It's just that they believed everybody would be raised on one day for judgment. Everybody would be raised. The the thought that just one person would be raised never crossed their mind. They never saw it in scripture. They would have called it absolute total heresy, that one person would be raised apart from everybody else.
Joel Brooks:
It would have been blasphemous. Another obstacle they had was the whole expectation of the Jewish Messiah. There was a lot of messianic expectations at this time, but nobody thought the Messiah would be raised from the dead because no one thought the Messiah would be killed. That wasn't gonna happen. If you claim to be a Messiah and you were killed, that just proved you were not the Messiah.
Joel Brooks:
And no one, no one invented a resurrected Messiah. It wouldn't have crossed their mind to do so. For 1, it would have been heretical to have somebody come before everybody else. And 2, there were so many other options that were easily open to them. If you study anything about the century before and after Jesus walked this earth, there's a number of Messianic movements there.
Joel Brooks:
And sometimes the the the this Messianic hopeful leader, he'd be caught, he'd be arrested, and just like Jesus was, they would parade him through the town, they would beat him, they would scourge him, and then they would execute him, and people would say, end of the Messianic movement. But occasionally, some people would think, no, we really want it. We really believed in that cause. So they would pick somebody else to carry the torch, and usually it was a relative. Let's pick a relative, let's pick a close friend, they can carry the torch.
Joel Brooks:
If they wanted to continue the movement, although most just went back to their jobs, thankful they weren't killed as well. But this never crossed the followers of Jesus' minds, it never did. You have his brother James, he's one of the leaders in the church, but never ever does anybody go, He's the Messiah. Well let's make Him the Messiah, Jesus's brother. No, they didn't say that because Jesus is there.
Joel Brooks:
They don't pick Peter, or they don't pick John, because Jesus is there. They boldly proclaimed His resurrection. Something that have been repulsive to the Greeks, thought to be against scripture for the Jews, went against all Messianic expectations of the day, would have brought severe persecution if you proclaimed it, when all you had to do was take an easier route that was readily available. But they still proclaimed resurrection. And so if you if you are here today with doubts about the resurrection, let me ask you a question.
Joel Brooks:
What would it take to overcome those doubts? What would it take for you to believe? As and as you're thinking, you're probably just, Gosh man, thinking. It'd have to be something huge. I mean it'd have to be something huge.
Joel Brooks:
Something no less huge had to happen to these people, because they had just as many barriers. Just as many obstacles to the resurrection, yet they believed. People saw Jesus, they talked to Jesus. They got to talk to people who had seen Jesus, which is what we're doing when we read the scripture, and we look at these testimonies. Let's look at this story we read about Mary Magdalene.
Joel Brooks:
She goes to the tomb early in the morning because she wants to put spices on the body of Jesus. She believed him to be the Messiah, she had seen him do numerous miracles, she had experienced one of those miracles, yet she didn't believe he was coming back from the dead. She wasn't waiting for him, she was just going to pay respects and to show her love. She gets to the tomb, the stone's been rolled away, it's empty. So she runs to get Peter and John, and they come back.
Joel Brooks:
And and and they look into into the tomb, and they they see something has happened. Something miraculous has happened. It looks like the body has just gone up through the the cloths, and then it looks like after that happened, the person just took off their head covering, and I love it, just kind of slowly, methodically folded it, like a person was slowing down and relishing the moment, and then just placing it back down. This is not the work of a grave robber. And they see, and and they run back to their house.
Joel Brooks:
I'm sure John, who has Jesus's mother living with him, knows she's got to be anxious to hear about this. And so he runs back to tell, and so now Mary Magdalene is there alone. She's there alone. Now, all 4 Gospels mentioned Mary as being the first witness to the resurrection. And this is something that no 1st century Jew would ever make up.
Joel Brooks:
If you were writing a story about how you wanted Jesus to rise from the dead and be the Messiah, you would never ever have as your primary witness a woman. Because a woman in this day, her testimony was not even admissible in court. It had to be 2 men, not a woman, and if you were to pick a woman, you certainly would not pick Mary. Mary, the one who used to be that crazy woman. The woman who used to run up and down the street talking to herself and screaming at other people.
Joel Brooks:
The only other mention we really have of Mary comes in in Luke chapter 8, and it describes her as having 7 demons inside of her before Jesus cast them out. And that word 7 is simply just meaning it's complete. She was completely demonized. There was not a part of her that was not possessed. She no longer had any control over what she did, who she was.
Joel Brooks:
She was utterly possessed by demons. And the only other time we see that in scripture is in Mark when Jesus goes to that island and He finds that man who has a legion of demons in them. And that man was so crazy. He was living in the tombs. He was so out of control.
Joel Brooks:
People put chains on him, but he would break them apart. He was completely possessed, just like Mary. And so Jesus, or or all the gospels, they write as their first witness. A woman who nobody would would have a woman testify, and not just any woman. You know that crazy woman.
Joel Brooks:
That absolutely crazy woman who used to go around yelling and just was out of control. She's the one, all 4 gospels attest to that. Nobody would have done that if they were making up a story. It's there because it happened. You find later Mary kind of being weaned out of the resurrection stories.
Joel Brooks:
You know, Paul in 1st Corinthians 15, he explains the gospel, and he says, For I deliver to you a first important importance would also believe, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the 3rd day in accordance with the scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the 12, then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time. Most of whom are still alive. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and then finally, he appeared to me. Does anybody see, you know, can you notice anybody missing in this? The very first witness, just kind of jumps right over her.
Joel Brooks:
And a lot of the early Christians just jumped right over her because they were slightly embarrassed that she was the one. God's not embarrassed. He chose her for a reason, but at least all the gospels kept it, and they never thought about removing it because it happened. Absolutely happened. And they also wanted to be sure to preserve this original first encounter with the risen Lord, because it is crucial when we want to understand how we can encounter the risen Lord as well.
Joel Brooks:
2 angels appear to Mary, they ask her, why are you weeping? She says, they've taken away my Lord. Jesus walks up behind her, she turns around, and He says, woman why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? Whom do you seek?
Joel Brooks:
Gotta know those words just bounced in her head for years years afterwards because she was seeking a Jesus who was so small. She was not seeking the Son of God. Whom do you seek? You know, she had loved Jesus with all of her heart, but not the real Jesus. When Jesus appears to her, Mary actually thinks he's the gardener.
Joel Brooks:
It's kind of comical. It's the gardener and she's she's either it's all of the tears and it's not quite light, and she's just hysterical and can't recognize Jesus, or more likely there's just a spiritual blindness there. But she asked this gardener, she says, have have you taken where have you taken them? Tell me so I can go and get him. And and she's hysterical at this moment.
Joel Brooks:
She's not thinking. I mean, how is she gonna lift up the body of Jesus and bring it back? But but she's beyond, you know, being, in any part controlled of what's happening. She's starting to lose it. Just think how desperate she is.
Joel Brooks:
With Jesus gone, what's gonna happen to me? He's the one who cast out the demons. He's the one who kept all the voices out of my head. He's the one who gave me life with him. Gone is it gonna happen again.
Joel Brooks:
And she's starting to lose control. Take a close look at her. I mean, her life, she thinks her life is falling apart. She thinks she is drowning in sorrow, and yet there's angels around. Angels around.
Joel Brooks:
I mean, she's desperately looking all over for for for Jesus. Jesus is right in front of her. Here here's a woman who probably loved Jesus more than any other person, believed Him to be the Messiah with all her heart. She was healed by Him, and she's now before an empty tomb. She has angels all around her.
Joel Brooks:
She has Jesus right in front of her, and yet she thinks the end of the world is coming. And she totally misses it. And what the author of John, what John is trying to say is, if she can miss it, we all can miss it. She's at the tomb looking for Jesus. Jesus is talking to her.
Joel Brooks:
Angels around her. Where is he? She misses it. Faith is a gift. When Jesus calls her name, she recognizes him.
Joel Brooks:
Calls her name and she recognize him. It reminds you of John chapter 10, when Jesus says, I'm the good shepherd. In my sheep, they will hear my voice, and when I call them by name, they will follow me. And he calls her by name, and when he calls her, her eyes are opened. And then she she gets up and she clings to Him.
Joel Brooks:
You can't, I mean He's just risen from the dead, and she's like squeezing the life out of Him. She's just clinging to Him, and it's somewhat comical. He has to say like, don't cling to, let me go. Will you let me go? And the reason that he tells her to to let me go is is not because, you know, like his new body is radioactive or something and you're gonna die, you know, nobody could touch me.
Joel Brooks:
It's I mean later he tells the disciples, touch me. What he is saying is, we no longer have this kind of relationship Mary. Things have changed. I need to go to my father, I need to ascend there. When I go, I'm gonna ascend my spirit, And when my spirit is inside of you, our relationship is gonna go to a new level, and it will be far beyond any clinging that you have of me.
Joel Brooks:
Let me go. And if you don't have this next verse underlined in your Bible, you absolutely should. When Jesus says, Now go and get my brothers. Go and get my brothers. Jesus does not say, go and get those scoundrels.
Joel Brooks:
Go get those deserters. Go get those people who didn't believe a word I said. Go get them. You bring them right here. He says, go get my brothers, and it's the first time Jesus ever calls his disciples brothers.
Joel Brooks:
A new relationship has been unleashed. They're family. And he says, you know what? We see here the purpose of the church when he tells Mary, let me go, so that you can go. Tell the people who don't know I'm resurrected.
Joel Brooks:
Go and tell them. That's our new purpose as a church. And then here we find our new identity, and that we're now family. We're brothers. We're sisters.
Joel Brooks:
There's a closest now that is ours for the taking. You know, Romans 829, Paul says that we are to be conformed to the image of God's son, that means when we look at the resurrection, conformed to the image of God's Son. That means when we look at the resurrection and the body there, that's what's gonna happen to us. We're gonna be transformed and conformed like that, in order that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brothers. What Jesus means is, what Paul means is, now that Jesus has been resurrected, we look at him, we know what we're gonna be like, he has gone before us, he is the firstborn.
Joel Brooks:
One day, we will be like him, and it will be family. A relationship you cannot fathom. That is the hope of the resurrection, that is why it is so important, that is why it's the center of our faith. Everything we hold to is bound up in that moment. Pray with me.
Joel Brooks:
Jesus, for those here who have not heard you call them by name, may they hear hear you say that. May you open up our eyes of blindness. May you give us hope in this life and the life to come. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.