Title: Touch Me - Resurrection
Touch me (John 20:24-29)
What is the greatest incurable disease, difficulty, and misfortune of mankind? It's not cancer, it's not pollution, it's not poverty, it's not war. That is unbelief. Unbelief is the greatest problem of mankind, the cause of all unhappiness, and the essence of all sins. The Bible says that anything not done by faith is sin. “Everything that is not according to faith is sin” (Romans 14:23b). This unbelief was evident even when Jesus was resurrected.
Jesus is God the Son, equal to God the Father. But He, who is God, came into this world to save sinners. The Lord who came to this world suffered poverty, sorrow, hatred, shame and suffering, and was crucified and died. All the sufferings and death of the Lord were on our behalf and were for us. The Lord paid for all our sins, suffered, and died on the cross. The Lord suffered and died to save us. And he opened the way for us to be saved.
Before He died on the cross, Jesus told His disciples that He would suffer and die several times, and that He would rise again on the third day. But the disciples could not understand the words and did not listen to them. Finally, three days after Jesus was nailed to the cross, He rose from the dead. But none of the followers of the Lord believed that Jesus was resurrected.
The women who went to the tomb the next day after the Sabbath found the tomb empty and met angels who told them that Jesus had risen. But no one believed that Jesus was resurrected. Mary Magdalene was left in the tomb, crying that the body of the Lord was gone. The two disciples on their way to Emmaus heard the news that Jesus had risen, but they did not believe at all and were returning home with resignation and despair. When the disciples heard the words of the women who had been to the tomb, they considered it nonsense and did not believe it. Among them, Peter and John did not believe that Jesus was resurrected even though they went to the tomb to confirm. On the day of victory and joy when the Lord was resurrected, those who followed the Lord were still in sorrow, despair, and darkness. It was because of unbelief.
The Resurrection Lord who came to the disciples
The disciples, who did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus, hid because they were afraid of the Jews. But the resurrected Lord came to the disciples who had been hiding in fear. “On the evening of this day, the first day after the Sabbath, when the doors of the place where the disciples had gathered were closed for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the middle and said, “Peace to you!” When he had said this, he showed his hands and side. ” (John 20:19-20)
The disciples, who had been hiding because they could not believe in the resurrection of the Lord, believed and rejoiced that Jesus was risen. But when the Lord appeared to the disciples like this, Thomas was not there. And they could not believe what the disciples said that they had met the resurrected Lord. “Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with him when Jesus came. The other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas said to him, “I saw the marks of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the marks of the nails. “Unless I put my hand in it and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (verses 24-25).
The Lord was resurrected and appeared to the disciples, who were still in despair, in fear and hiding in unbelief. Nevertheless, Thomas said he could not believe it because he had not seen it himself. Because he did not believe, Thomas was still alone in his sorrow and despair.
The Lord Appears to Thomas
The resurrected Lord came to the disciples again for Thomas, who did not believe in the Lord's resurrection and was still in despair. “Eight days later, when the disciples were in the house again, Thomas was with them, and the doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood in the middle, saying, “Peace be with you.” told you to touch it. “He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and reach out your hand and put it in my side; so that you may not be unbelievers, but believers” (verses 26-27).
Did Thomas feel the scars on the Lord's hand and side? It wasn't. When Thomas saw the risen Lord standing before him and speaking, he cried out: “Thomas answered and said, My Lord and my God” (verse 28). When he saw the resurrected Jesus in person, his doubts and unbelief completely disappeared.
Blessed are those who believe without seeing.
It was only after seeing the resurrected Jesus that Thomas gave up his unbelief and gained absolute confidence. But the Lord rebuked Thomas for this. “Jesus said to him, “Do you believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and believe” (verse 29).
What was wrong with Thomas? Like the other disciples, he wanted to see the risen Lord in person. Is this wrong? That's right. If the other disciples saw it clearly, wouldn't they believe it? But there is a more important reason than that. The Lord had already said many times that He would rise before He died. Had he believed those words, Thomas would have believed that the Lord had appeared to the disciples. Jesus is more pleased to believe according to the Word than to believe with our eyes. And that belief is the right belief.
The resurrected Lord also appeared to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. But when he spoke to them about the resurrection of the Lord, he did not ask them to see the resurrected figure of the Lord, but opened the Bible to them. “Then he said to them, “You foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, is it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” So, beginning with the writings of Moses and all the prophets, he explained in detail what was written about himself in all the scriptures. ” (Luke 24:25-27)
Today we have the Lord's Supper in the body and blood of the Lord on this blessed Sunday when He rose from the dead. As the Lord said to Thomas, at this time the Lord is telling us to ‘touch me’ through this bread and cup. How can we touch the Lord? When we believe the word of the Lord and partake of this bread and wine, we will experience meeting the Lord more vividly than touching the Lord.
When I eat this bread and drink this cup while remembering the word of the Lord at this time, I hope that I will experience the Lord who is coming to me today passionately and vividly. I hope that by meeting the Lord in this way, all our unbelief will disappear and our lives will be completely new.