"Are you a seeing and believing person, or a believing and seeing person?"
In John 20 we find the "Empty Tomb". It says that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Yet, as she found the stone rolled away to her amazement, she ran 'looking for a body'...
In verse 3, we find Peter goes with another disciple (John) to the tomb. He bends down, looks in, and sees again, 'no body'. Peter enters the tomb but John doesn't go in. I don't think that Peter was the 'folding laundry' type, so he sees that Jesus is gone, as it says in verse 7, "the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." Now Peter and John are also faced with the same dilemma as Mary.
In verse 10, the Bible tells us that, "the disciples went away again to their own homes." It seems that their seeing 'no body' didn't help with their believing either. They were as Mary, looking for 'the body' without thought of a resurrection. They just gave up and went home... If they had only heard and believed Jesus words as it says in verse nine, "For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead."
In John 20:11-13 we go on to see that, "Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping..." She was in the sorrow and grief of unbelief here as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb still looking for 'the body'. Then the Bible tells us, "She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now Mary is telling these magnificent angels at the resurrected tomb of Jesus, whom she has not recognized to be angels, that she is 'STILL LOOKING FOR A BODY'... They are definitely trying to get her attention that Jesus is not dead!
In verse 14 & 15 we find Jesus enters and reaches beyond Mary's 'seeing and believing' issues. It says, "she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Here we are again, she doesn't recognize even Jesus because she was looking for a body rather than a risen Savior. She was looking to see rather than believing at that moment on what Jesus had told them how He would be crucified, die, and resurrected. So, since she is still looking for the body, Mary supposes Jesus to be the gardener.
Because of this, she asks Jesus where the body is thinking He is the gardener and said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Here we are, still on this 'dead body' issue.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him,[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). And, finally, in verse 18 we find, "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had "seen" the Lord,[b] and that He had spoken these things to her." Mary, who walked with Him while on this earth and talked with Him, who witnessed His miracles first hand, finally believed as she was a 'seeing' and believing person in these moments after the crucifixion and resurrection.
That same day and evening, we find the Apostles are Commissioned by Jesus. In verse 19-20 , we see,
"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,[c] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord."
Here it took all the disciples looking and seeing to believe... Jesus tells them in verses 21-23,
"So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
As they are now the 'seeing and believing', Thomas is told too by them just as they had been previously telling each other and Thomas says he will not believe without seeing for himself. He's joined the disciples seeing and believing club! Now is Thomas really so bad?
John 20:24-25 ,"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Here Thomas is in the same boat as everyone else. He needs to 'see' the Lord and it isn't until 8 days later when 'he' saw for himself that he believed.
John 20:26-29 ,
"And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Looking at these scriptures we find that all of them had to 'see' Jesus to come out of their dis-'couraged' state after the crucifixion. Now, as we see that all of them were "SEEING FIRST THEN BELIEVING" we can find a specific purpose Jesus spoke to Thomas in verse 29 regarding everyone of them and a very important key for all of us to grab a hold of in our lives today. Jesus says,
“Thomas,[d] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The message is for those who now 'believe without seeing'! Here lies a blessing that Jesus tells the disciples about regarding our lives and being 'believing then seeing' Christians.
In verse 30 we see that Jesus also encourages the disciples as it says, "Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;". The disciples went before us experiencing and seeing the risen Lord personally in a physical manifestation of Himself after the resurrection as they conquered unbelief so that we may hear and believe. There are people today in this era who have also experienced a physical manifestation of Jesus too. The purpose for this is still the same as then. To be written through the lives of men, woman, and children that others may believe and have life.
"but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." John 1:30
The disciples are a witness to the resurrection by sight, that they may tell of and be a witness of Him to others who have not seen that they may believe also. Through their faith and encounters with Jesus we read His inspired word from them that we may believe without seeing.
1 John 1:1-4, tells us that Jesus is the Word of life they had seen and heard.
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our[a] joy complete."
Experience that complete joy and be a "believing then seeing" Christian as the disciples conquered the "seeing and believing" issues. In doing this for us, the disciples could be a witness of God's greatness, His power, His love, and His life for the world to see. As you first believe in your heart, that Jesus is raised from the dead, confess with your mouth His Lordship, then all His promises, blessing, abundance, and life will be yours to experience, (Romans 10:9-10). Not only in and through the experience of His salvation, but through salvation and these same principles of faith, you can experience every promise and blessing written in His word for us.
Pastor Rick
Posted from an excerpt from one of Pastor Rick's sermons.
In verse 3, we find Peter goes with another disciple (John) to the tomb. He bends down, looks in, and sees again, 'no body'. Peter enters the tomb but John doesn't go in. I don't think that Peter was the 'folding laundry' type, so he sees that Jesus is gone, as it says in verse 7, "the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." Now Peter and John are also faced with the same dilemma as Mary.
In verse 10, the Bible tells us that, "the disciples went away again to their own homes." It seems that their seeing 'no body' didn't help with their believing either. They were as Mary, looking for 'the body' without thought of a resurrection. They just gave up and went home... If they had only heard and believed Jesus words as it says in verse nine, "For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead."
In John 20:11-13 we go on to see that, "Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping..." She was in the sorrow and grief of unbelief here as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb still looking for 'the body'. Then the Bible tells us, "She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now Mary is telling these magnificent angels at the resurrected tomb of Jesus, whom she has not recognized to be angels, that she is 'STILL LOOKING FOR A BODY'... They are definitely trying to get her attention that Jesus is not dead!
In verse 14 & 15 we find Jesus enters and reaches beyond Mary's 'seeing and believing' issues. It says, "she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Here we are again, she doesn't recognize even Jesus because she was looking for a body rather than a risen Savior. She was looking to see rather than believing at that moment on what Jesus had told them how He would be crucified, die, and resurrected. So, since she is still looking for the body, Mary supposes Jesus to be the gardener.
Because of this, she asks Jesus where the body is thinking He is the gardener and said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Here we are, still on this 'dead body' issue.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him,[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). And, finally, in verse 18 we find, "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had "seen" the Lord,[b] and that He had spoken these things to her." Mary, who walked with Him while on this earth and talked with Him, who witnessed His miracles first hand, finally believed as she was a 'seeing' and believing person in these moments after the crucifixion and resurrection.
That same day and evening, we find the Apostles are Commissioned by Jesus. In verse 19-20 , we see,
"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,[c] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord."
Here it took all the disciples looking and seeing to believe... Jesus tells them in verses 21-23,
"So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
As they are now the 'seeing and believing', Thomas is told too by them just as they had been previously telling each other and Thomas says he will not believe without seeing for himself. He's joined the disciples seeing and believing club! Now is Thomas really so bad?
John 20:24-25 ,"Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Here Thomas is in the same boat as everyone else. He needs to 'see' the Lord and it isn't until 8 days later when 'he' saw for himself that he believed.
John 20:26-29 ,
"And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Looking at these scriptures we find that all of them had to 'see' Jesus to come out of their dis-'couraged' state after the crucifixion. Now, as we see that all of them were "SEEING FIRST THEN BELIEVING" we can find a specific purpose Jesus spoke to Thomas in verse 29 regarding everyone of them and a very important key for all of us to grab a hold of in our lives today. Jesus says,
“Thomas,[d] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The message is for those who now 'believe without seeing'! Here lies a blessing that Jesus tells the disciples about regarding our lives and being 'believing then seeing' Christians.
In verse 30 we see that Jesus also encourages the disciples as it says, "Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;". The disciples went before us experiencing and seeing the risen Lord personally in a physical manifestation of Himself after the resurrection as they conquered unbelief so that we may hear and believe. There are people today in this era who have also experienced a physical manifestation of Jesus too. The purpose for this is still the same as then. To be written through the lives of men, woman, and children that others may believe and have life.
"but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." John 1:30
The disciples are a witness to the resurrection by sight, that they may tell of and be a witness of Him to others who have not seen that they may believe also. Through their faith and encounters with Jesus we read His inspired word from them that we may believe without seeing.
1 John 1:1-4, tells us that Jesus is the Word of life they had seen and heard.
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our[a] joy complete."
Experience that complete joy and be a "believing then seeing" Christian as the disciples conquered the "seeing and believing" issues. In doing this for us, the disciples could be a witness of God's greatness, His power, His love, and His life for the world to see. As you first believe in your heart, that Jesus is raised from the dead, confess with your mouth His Lordship, then all His promises, blessing, abundance, and life will be yours to experience, (Romans 10:9-10). Not only in and through the experience of His salvation, but through salvation and these same principles of faith, you can experience every promise and blessing written in His word for us.
Pastor Rick
Posted from an excerpt from one of Pastor Rick's sermons.
posted by Pastor Rick @ 11:06 AM
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