How Can I meet the Jesus who offers the Hope of the Resurrection?
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’
-John 20:19b-21
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ 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.’
-John 20:24-25
1. Be willing to examine the evidence concerning Jesus.
Christ always distinguished between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can’t believe; unbelief is won’t believe.
-Henry Drummond
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ 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.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’
-John 20:26-28
Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
-John 20:29
2. Have the integrity to make an intelligent & intentional decision.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
-Luke 24:15-16
He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him…’
-Luke 24:17-20
‘The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him… but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.’
-Luke 24:20b-21a
‘In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.’
-Luke 24:22-24
3. Expect that Jesus will walk beside you when you’re in pain.
He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
-Luke 24:25-27
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.
-Isaiah 53:5
Never let Satan put a period where God has chosen to place a comma.
4. Know that when you invite Jesus in, He will always say Yes.
When he was at the table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
-Luke 24:30-31
Jesus Himself purposely restrained their vision…so they might see the resurrection of Jesus in the Scriptures before they saw it in reality.
-J.W. McGarvey, The Fourfold Gospel, p. 749
They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’
-Luke 24:32
God doesn’t ask us to take a blind leap of faith into the darkness, but he does ask us to take a step of faith into the light.
-Norm Geisler
What are your main takeaways from this message?
Make a Decision