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[0:00] Christ is risen. Hallelujah indeed. Some words from John chapter 20.

[0:12] ! So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

[0:44] 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 cloth lying there, but he did not go in.

[0:55] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloth lying there, and the face cloth which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the other linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.

[1:11] 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.

[1:31] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

[1:50] 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.

[2:03] Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?

[2:14] 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.

[2:26] Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher.

[2:38] Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my 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.

[2:52] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. And that he had said these things to her. We turn again to John chapter 20, and we pick up the reading from verse 19.

[3:16] 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.

[3:33] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you.

[3:44] As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

[3:56] If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

[4:10] 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 marks of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.

[4:27] 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.

[4:41] 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.

[4:54] Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen me, and yet have believed.

[5:11] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. 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.

[5:33] Well, amen. May God bless his word to us. Well, good morning, friends.

[5:44] Very good to see you all here. And good morning also to those at Queen's Park and Bath Street, who I think will be joining us just now. If you can open your Bible at John's Gospel, chapter 20, we'll be looking closely at the passage, and I think you'll find that helpful in following what's going on.

[6:03] Now in this chapter, chapter 20, John the Evangelist, the writer, John one of the 12 apostles, gives us his account of the glorious resurrection of Jesus.

[6:14] Now we need to understand that John is a man with a mission. He has a distinct purpose, and he expresses it in words that we will look at very shortly.

[6:30] It's a mistake to think of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as mere recorders of history. What they record is, emphatically, history, true history.

[6:42] But they're not just telling us that one thing happened after another. They're explaining not only what happened, but also the significance of the events. Events need explanation.

[6:56] For example, if you happen to see a man falling over in the street, you've witnessed an event. But you don't immediately know why it happened. It could be that a paving stone hadn't been properly set, and he tripped over it.

[7:10] But it could be that he was suddenly taken ill. You don't know at first glance. You've seen the event, but you don't know the explanation. Now in John chapter 20, John is detailing an event, in fact a series of events, that took place in the course of one day.

[7:29] He's explaining here that Jesus was truly raised from the dead, and that he appeared, startlingly, shockingly, to a number of different people during the course of that day, who testified to having seen him, thus establishing the fact of his resurrection.

[7:47] But John is also pressing his readers to understand the significance of this event, and to understand how they should respond to it. And if you look with me at the very last verse of the chapter, verse 31, you'll see John's purpose towards his readers is expressed very clearly in four words in the middle of that verse.

[8:09] That you may believe. John is not writing up the great events for the sole purpose of recording what happened. Not at all.

[8:19] He's very concerned for his readers. John is a persuader, not merely a chronicler. And he wants to persuade his readers to believe, because whether they do or don't is a matter of life and death.

[8:33] What this believing means is something which I'll try and explain a little bit later. Well, let's begin by walking our way through the chapter and getting a feel of what actually happened.

[8:45] We have here a mixture of drama, trauma, astonishment, and joy. Well, actually, we'll start with the final paragraph of chapter 19, if you just look back.

[8:55] I won't read it out, but just glance through that final paragraph there. At verse 38, you'll see that two disciples, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, courageously go to Pontius Pilate on the Friday afternoon, just after Jesus has died.

[9:11] And they ask for permission to take away the body of Jesus so that they can give it decent and proper burial. Pilate allows them to do this. So, verse 40, they take the body of Jesus.

[9:24] They prepare it for burial. They take it to a brand new cave tomb in a garden nearby. And then in verse 42, they reverently lay Jesus there.

[9:37] Now, John's main point in this last paragraph of chapter 19 is to let us know beyond any doubt that Jesus really was dead.

[9:47] The word body, meaning corpse, is used three times in the paragraph. Twice in verse 38, Joseph asked to take away the body of Jesus.

[9:58] So, he took away his body. And then verse 40, so they took the body of Jesus. So, why should John want to stress the fact that Jesus was really dead?

[10:10] Surely for this reason, that if there was not a real death, there could not be a real resurrection. If Jesus had merely fainted through pain and loss of blood, and then had somehow revived in the coolness of the tomb, and somehow had managed to summon the strength to push back the huge stone which sealed the mouth of the tomb, the resurrection would be no such thing.

[10:35] It would be merely an unlikely resuscitation. John is squashing that idea immediately. Jesus was dead. It was a thoroughly lifeless corpse that the two disciples laid to rest in that tomb.

[10:50] Well, let's wind on at 36 hours or so into chapter 20. It's now Sunday morning, still dark, maybe 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock in the morning. Mary Magdalene was still in the dark in more ways than one.

[11:04] We don't know why she came to the tomb. Perhaps to bring more spices and aromatic herbs. But, shock. The great stone had been pushed back.

[11:16] She becomes aware that the body of Jesus has vanished. Could it be thieves? Could it be grave robbers? 75 pounds weight of myrrh and aloes was worth a great deal of money, even if you sold it in the back room of the pub.

[11:30] So, she runs. She runs to Simon Peter and John. John is the other disciple of verse 2, described as the one Jesus loved. And she says to Peter and John, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb.

[11:43] And we don't know where they've laid him. Now, she hasn't a scooby about a resurrection. She's only looking for a corpse. But it's not there. So, verses 3 and 4.

[11:56] Peter and John shelve their breakfast plans, and they run out into the Jerusalem dawn. They don't pause to listen to the cocks crowing or the blackbirds singing. They head straight for the tomb.

[12:07] Verse 4 tells us that John outran Peter. John might have been a lad of only 18 or 19 at the time. Peter could have been 30 and maybe two stone heavier.

[12:19] You lose a bit of speed between the ages of 18 and 30. If you haven't got there yet, trust me, it's true. So, anyway, John gets there first. And, verse 5, he stoops to look in.

[12:31] Now, a cave tomb would have quite a low entrance. And inside would be a broad stone ledge, a couple of feet off the ground on which a body would be laid. So, John looks in.

[12:43] He sees the linen cloths, that is the burial garments, lying there. But he doesn't go in. Peter arrives a few moments later. And being a more impulsive person than John, he ducks his head and goes straight into the tomb.

[12:58] And he sees the linen garments and the cloth which had covered the head, lying there, slightly removed from the larger garments. Everything is neat and tidy, well-ordered.

[13:11] So, John, emboldened by Peter's example, also goes inside. Now, look carefully at the final phrase in verse 8. He saw and believed.

[13:23] Now, what does that mean here? After all, he was already a devoted follower of Jesus. He was one of the 12 apostles. So, belief at a certain level had been forming in his heart for some time already.

[13:37] So, what does he mean by that phrase, he saw and believed? He means that that was the moment when he believed, when he realized that Jesus had been raised.

[13:47] That was when the penny dropped. What he saw was not Jesus, but the absence of Jesus. And that's when he knew that Jesus had broken the power of death. And verse 9 is very telling.

[14:01] The scripture, that is the Hebrew Old Testament, contains clear prophecies that God's Messiah could not be held by death. But Peter and John had not yet grasped that strand of Old Testament teaching.

[14:14] Their Bible knowledge was not well developed. The thing that forced John to believe that Jesus had been raised was the evidence of his eyes. He saw and believed.

[14:27] It was what he saw that made him realize that in Paul's phrase, death had no more dominion over his master. Seeing is believing.

[14:38] And that is the theme of this whole chapter. Then verse 10, Peter and John return to their homes. But Mary, verse 11, doesn't go with them.

[14:50] She's not realized what John had realized. Her concern is still with the corpse. She had expressed that concern back in verse 2, when she said to Peter and John, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they've laid him.

[15:05] She wanted to recover the body, so as to make sure it could be properly buried. She was very upset. She was tearful. So what does she do?

[15:16] Well, she stoops, verse 11, and she looks into the tomb. And lo and behold, what she sees is not the grave clothes, but two angels dressed in white.

[15:29] And they say to her, Woman, why are you weeping? What a question to ask. Didn't they know why she was weeping? Well, of course they did. But what they really mean is, if you knew what we know, your tears would soon become tears of joy, not grief.

[15:47] You will realize in just a moment that you have no need to weep. So she replies, just as she had said earlier to Peter and John, they've taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.

[15:59] She's going to know in just a moment what has happened to the so-called corpse. So she turns round. There's a man standing there. Oh, it must be the gardener.

[16:10] City parks and gardens and cemeteries usually have a well-organized workforce to cut the grass and sweep the paths. And the gardener says to her, Woman, why are you weeping?

[16:22] That same question. Well, I'm distraught. I'm bereaved. And to top it all, somebody's been messing with the corpse. Then he says, Whom are you seeking? And she thinks that he might have taken Jesus's body away.

[16:37] He might be the culprit. So she repeats her sad request. Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you've laid him, and I will take him away. Now, she's a pretty resourceful woman.

[16:49] She's not a limp lettuce leaf. She's willing to organize a few volunteers to move the body if necessary. But it's rendered unnecessary by one word.

[17:00] Mary. Mary. John knew back in verse 9. Now Mary knows in verse 16. Rabboni, she says.

[17:11] And she naturally moves towards him to hug him. But he says, Don't, don't. Don't cling to me. Because I shan't be with you for long. You must get used to me not being around.

[17:22] I shall soon be ascending to my father. But I've got a commission for you. I want you to go to my brothers now and say to them, The father I am ascending to is also your father.

[17:35] The God that I am going to is also your God. In other words, every believer is part of the same family. Jesus is saying, My father is your father.

[17:47] My God is your God. You are my brothers. You are my siblings. Now he's clearly not talking about his own half brothers, The sons of Mary and Joseph, When he speaks of brothers there.

[17:58] We know that because in verse 18, Mary goes straight to the disciples, That is the apostles. And she tells them not only that she's seen Jesus, But that he has said these amazing things to her.

[18:10] So she becomes the herald of the worldwide family of Jesus. The one Jesus speaks of throughout John's gospel as my father is also our father.

[18:22] Jesus, therefore, is not only our savior and Lord. He is our brother. Now, if you've recently become a Christian, Let me say this, Welcome to the Lord's family.

[18:34] It is a huge and wonderful family. And belonging to it is an amazing privilege. We're now on to verse 19, Where we wind the clock forward by about 12 hours.

[18:48] It's the evening of the same day, Still Easter Sunday. And the disciples, And that really means the 12 apostles, Less Judas Iscariot. They're gathered now behind locked doors.

[18:59] And you can understand why they're afraid. A Jewish mob, after all, Has just put to death their own leader. So how safe can the followers be? But Jesus comes to them, Despite the locked doors.

[19:14] He materializes. Now, his body is entirely physical. We're going to see that in just a moment. But it's also different. It has supernatural powers. It is, after all, His resurrection body.

[19:26] And he says to them, Peace be with you. He's echoing his own words that he spoke back in chapter 14. My peace I give to you, Not as the world gives.

[19:39] Let not your hearts be troubled, Neither let them be afraid. So having encouraged them, With his word of peace, He then shows them his hands, Bearing the scars of his crucifixion.

[19:53] And he flicks up his tunic, And he shows them his side, Where the soldier had speared him. He's saying to them, It really is me. I'm not some lookalike, Who's faking it.

[20:04] You are looking at your friend Jesus. Well, how do they react? Verse 20, They're glad. They're glad. In Luke's account of this moment, Luke says, They still disbelieved for joy, And were marveling.

[20:19] So Jesus said to them, Have you anything here to eat? Whereupon they give him a piece of broiled fish, And he eats it as they look on, To demonstrate his physical solid reality, That he was not some ghost, Or figment of their imagination.

[20:35] Now back to John chapter 20. In verses 21, 22, And 23, Jesus then commissions, The disciples, The apostles. He repeats, Peace be with you.

[20:48] And then he says, As the father has sent me, So I am sending you. The great missionary movement, And power, That sent Jesus to the world, To bring salvation to the world, Is now extended to the apostles.

[21:04] Jesus himself, Is about to leave the world, So they are to be sent out, With the message of the gospel. And they will set out across the world, Filled with the Holy Spirit, Who will give them the courage to preach, And will teach them what to say.

[21:20] And it will be a divisive message. It was then, And always has been. Look at verse 23, Some will respond to it gladly, And they will be forgiven, By God.

[21:31] Others will reject it, And for them, There will be no forgiveness. Verse 23, Really sums up the heart of the gospel. It's about forgiveness.

[21:43] As the gospel, Grips a community, Or a nation. Ultimately, We'll bring great benefits, To that community. For example, It will lead to enormous improvements, In education, In health care, In law and order, In social behavior.

[21:59] But the heart of the gospel, Is about forgiveness. Always there. It's about ruined men and women, Being reconciled to God, Through the forgiveness of their sins, By the death of Christ.

[22:13] So Jesus delivers two commissions, Here in this chapter. First of all, Mary is commissioned, In verse 17, To announce the worldwide family. Jesus is God and Father, Is also our God and Father.

[22:26] And then in verses 21 to 3, The apostles are commissioned, To take to the world, The gospel. The gospel which turns the feet, Of those who accept it, From the road to hell, To the road to heaven.

[22:40] Well, What have we seen so far, In the chapter? We've seen the transforming power, Of the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdalene is transformed, From a grief stricken woman, To a woman who now has joy and purpose.

[22:56] John and Peter, Though ignorant of the Old Testament's teaching, Are utterly persuaded, That Jesus has been raised. And now the apostles, Are transformed, From a place of fear and cowering, To a place where they have a mission, To take to the world, Underwritten by the power, Of the Holy Spirit.

[23:16] And there, John's account of Easter Sunday, Ends. But he hasn't finished with us yet, Because in verses 24 to 29, He launches, A great torpedo, Against atheism, Agnosticism, And every form of dithering and dallying, About the truth of the gospel, That ditherers and dallyers can fabricate.

[23:40] Verse 24, Thomas, One of the twelve, Called the twin, Was absent on that Sunday evening. Where was the errant apostle? Was he in the chippy?

[23:50] Was he visiting his mother-in-law? We don't know where he was. But the very fact, That he was not with the others, Suggests a slight drifting apart, As if his heart, Was beginning to turn away, From Jesus, And his band of followers.

[24:06] So the other disciples, Find him. Verse 25, And they tell him very bluntly, We've seen the Lord. Now how would you have responded, If you'd been in Thomas' shoes?

[24:20] Would you have cartwheeled down the street, Singing glory, hallelujah? Well Thomas did not. I love the county of Yorkshire.

[24:31] It's a big, beautiful county. I don't know if you know it. It's a lovely place. And its people are full of character. And part of the Yorkshire character, Is a kind of stubbornness. You may know the old saying, You can always tell a Yorkshireman, But you can't tell him much.

[24:49] Now I think Thomas, Would have made a very good Yorkshireman. He is so stubborn. He's not going to be told by anybody. Look at his words here in verse 25.

[25:00] He says, Unless I see in his hands, The mark of them nails, And place my finger into the mark of them nails, And place my hand into his side, I will never, As true as I was born in Uddersfield, Believe.

[25:14] Now I am so grateful, That we have Thomas in John's gospel, Because he focuses up the issue so clearly. He is not doubting Thomas.

[25:25] That's a total misnomer. He's unbelieving Thomas. Look at the final words of verse 25. I will never believe unless... Well on to verse 26.

[25:40] Eight days have now passed. Eight days of Thomas sulking and skulking and scowling. But he's with the apostles this time, And they're still behind locked doors. Jesus comes again, And again he says, Peace be with you.

[25:55] Then he looks at Thomas. He knows Thomas better than Thomas knows himself. Come here lad. Doesn't actually say that, But that's what it feels like.

[26:06] So Thomas comes to him. Jesus then rolls up his sleeves. Put your finger here. See my hands. Look at my scars. Touch them. Then Jesus lifts up his shirt flap, To display his ribcage.

[26:21] Put out your hand. Place it now in my side. Feel that dinge. That scar tissue. That's where the spear went in. So Thomas looks, And Thomas touches.

[26:33] It doesn't take a moment. And then he says it. My Lord and my God. And in verse 28, We see the moment, When a stubborn unbeliever, Capitulates.

[26:47] And becomes a believer. Now just look again at verse 31. These things are written, So that you may believe. Verses 30 and 31, Are John's summary of the whole book so far.

[27:01] His purpose in writing, Is so that the reader, May become a believer. He's just shown us, The critical moment, When one particular unbeliever, Has become a convinced believer.

[27:13] And what is it, That has convinced Thomas? Well it's the evidence, Provided by his eyes, And his fingers. He has seen, And touched. There's only one conclusion, He can draw.

[27:25] And he draws it instantly. Before the resurrection of Jesus, We can be sure, That Thomas found Jesus, An attractive and compelling leader, And teacher.

[27:36] After all, Jesus had chosen him, To be one of his twelve, Some three years previously. And Thomas had stuck with Jesus, Over those three years. Swept along by his powerful miracles, And his masterful teaching.

[27:48] But if you had asked Thomas back then, Who he thought Jesus was, He might have been guarded. Well, A wonderful Bible teacher, A leader of men, Perhaps the one who's going to, Throw the Romans out, And restore the country to the Jews.

[28:05] Don't you think he was anything, More than that Thomas? No, Probably not. But here at verse 28, Thomas is overwhelmingly convinced, My Lord, And my God.

[28:19] So how did that change of view, Come about? Jesus puts his finger, Straight on it, In verse 29, He says to Thomas, Have you believed, Because you have seen me?

[28:31] Well, The answer is, Yes. That is the whole point. Thomas knew full well, That Jesus had died, About ten days previously. He didn't need to be convinced of that. But when he was presented, With the indisputable evidence, That the dead Jesus, Had been raised, He realized with full force, That he was not looking, As an ordinary man.

[28:52] He was looking at God incarnate. So he says, Not only my Lord, But my God. As Paul puts it in Colossians, In Jesus, All the fullness of God, Was pleased to dwell.

[29:06] That's what Thomas saw so clearly, When Jesus confronted him. Now it's remarkable, That throughout this 20th chapter, John is telling us, Again and again, That seeing, Is believing.

[29:20] That's the theme. Just run your eye back, Over the chapter. Verse one, Mary saw, That the stone had been taken away. Verse five, John stooped to look in, And he saw, The linen cloths.

[29:35] Verse six, Peter saw, The linen cloths. Verse eight, John saw, And believed. It was the seeing, That caused the believing.

[29:46] Verse eleven, Mary looked into the tomb, And she saw, Two angels. Verse fourteen, She turned around, And saw, Jesus standing. Verse eighteen, Mary announced to the disciples, I've seen the Lord.

[30:02] Verse twenty, Jesus showed them, His hands and his side. In other words, He's asking them to look at him. Then they were glad, When they saw the Lord. Verse twenty five, We have seen the Lord, But Thomas said, Unless I see, Dot, dot, dot.

[30:20] Verse twenty seven, See my hands, Verse twenty nine, Have you believed, Because you have seen me? Yes, It's the sight, That causes the belief. And John is saying to us all, The eyewitness testimony, Is decisive.

[30:38] But we need to look at the whole of verse twenty nine. Have you believed, Because you have seen me? Then Jesus says, Blessed are those, Who have not seen, And yet, Have believed.

[30:52] So how do we compute, What Jesus is saying? Does the second sentence, Of verse twenty nine, Completely undermine, The first sentence? If belief, Is created by seeing, How can we believe, Without seeing the risen Jesus?

[31:07] Well, Let's take a moment, To think this through, Because it's critically important. The only people, Who were able to see, The risen Jesus, At the time, Were a very small number, Who were alive and conscious, During the six weeks or so, Between his resurrection, And his ascension.

[31:25] Paul tells us, About this in one Corinthians fifteen. He says, He appeared to Peter, Then to the twelve, Then he appeared, To more than five hundred brothers, At one time, Then to James, Then to all the apostles, And last of all, He appeared also to me.

[31:43] Now Jesus never appeared, To people who were not, Believing Christians, But he did appear, To over five hundred, Christian people, Including the apostles, And Paul, Who was writing there, About his Damascus road, Encounter with Jesus.

[31:58] And then Jesus ascended, Into heaven, And has not been seen since. How then, Have people living, Since the ascension of Jesus, Come to be believers?

[32:10] If you're a Christian, On what basis, Has your belief in Christ, Has been created. By definition, It has not been created, By the testimony, Of your own eyes.

[32:22] And yet, And here's the thing, To get hold of, Our faith, Is based, On eyewitness testimony. The eyewitness testimony, Of John, And Peter, And Mary Magdalene, And Thomas.

[32:36] This is why, John emphasizes, So strongly, Throughout this chapter, That they saw Jesus, They saw the grave clothes, They saw the empty tomb, They saw the marks, In his hands and side.

[32:47] John is saying to us, Our eyewitness testimony, Is true, And can be trusted, And you can build, Your faith on it. I'm a Christian, Not because I have seen, The risen Jesus, But because John, And Peter, And Mary, And Thomas saw him, And their account of seeing him, Has all the hallmarks, Of honesty, And integrity.

[33:08] Look again at verses, 30 and 31. Now Jesus, Did many other signs, Many other displays, Of supernatural power, In the presence of the disciples, Which are not written, In this book.

[33:23] John of course, Has had to be selective, He couldn't record everything. But verse 31, These are written, So that you may believe, That Jesus is, The Christ, The son of God.

[33:34] So John is telling us, That our belief today, Rests on two foundations. First, The eyewitness testimony, Of those who saw the risen Jesus.

[33:48] And second, The written testimony, Of John, Which accurately records, The eyewitness testimony, Of Peter and John, And Mary and Thomas. So it's a belt and braces approach.

[34:01] Eyewitness testimony, And written testimony. But why has John, Gone to the trouble, To write this fairly long book, About Jesus?

[34:14] It's thought that John, Lived to be a very old man, Perhaps 80 or even 90 years old, In the city of Ephesus, Where he was much valued, As a leader and a preacher. And it's fairly certain, That he wrote this gospel, In his old age, Towards the very end, Of the first century.

[34:32] But why bother, When you're an old man, Don't you just want to sit, In a comfortable chair, And enjoy being looked after, By your granddaughter, Who brings you tea, And chocolate biscuits.

[34:45] Now John may have been old, But he was a man, With a mission. To him, Nothing was more important, Than to help people, To believe in Jesus. Look again at verse 31, These are written, So that you may believe, That Jesus is the Christ, The son of God.

[35:03] But why? Why should any person, Believe these things, About Jesus? Why should it matter? Isn't a person's life, Just a brief stab, At survival, With hopefully a bit of fun, And relaxation, A bit of laughter, Good food, Football, Holidays in the sun, And finally enough money, To pay your funeral expenses?

[35:24] Wasn't the philosopher, Bertrand Russell, Right, When he said, When I die, I shall rot? Not according to the Bible, And certainly not according to John, Look again at verse 31, He wrote these things about Jesus, So that by believing, You, My reader, May have life, In Jesus name, Life there means, Eternal life, It does not mean, Happiness in Pollock shields, John is writing about eternity here, Just as he did back in his famous chapter 3, Verse 16, Where he writes, God so loved the world, That he gave his only son, That whoever believes in him, Should not perish, But have eternal life, Not to have eternal life, Means, Eternal perishing, Each of us, Sooner or later, Has to make a decision, I became a believing Christian, When I was a teenager, I was a reluctant convert, When I began to follow Jesus,

[36:25] Because, I only dimly saw, The real issues involved, I'm not reluctant now, Because through reading the Bible, Over many years, I've come to see the reality, Of heaven and hell, And the great gulf, Fixed between them, A gulf that no one can cross, When the opportunity to choose, Has gone, It's eternal life, Or eternal perishing, John's mission, Is to persuade us, To believe in Jesus, Because John, Sees that gulf, So clearly, In his first letter, John writes, Whoever has the son of God, Has life, Whoever does not have the son of God, Does not have life, What then does it mean, To believe in Jesus, It means to lean, The whole weight, Of your confidence upon him, For eternity, To love him, To serve him, To devote yourself to him,

[37:26] To be identified, With his people, To be unashamed, Of the gospel, And of the ethics, That arise from the gospel, It's altogether possible, To believe in Jesus, In the way that you might believe, In Antarctica, You know it's there, You have no doubt, Of its real existence, But you don't want to get, Anywhere close to it, Now it can be like that, With the gospel, You can believe in the existence of God, You can believe, In the evidence of his creative power, That you see all around, You can believe that Jesus lived, That he died by, Crucifixion, You can believe the evidence, For his resurrection, You have no argument, With what John is saying here, In his 20th chapter, About the eyewitness testimony, But Jesus himself, Is as far from you, As Antarctica, You don't want to get close, Because, You rightly perceive, That if you were to say to him,

[38:27] With Thomas, My Lord and my God, Your life would come under new management, And you want to be, Your own manager, You can develop, An almost impenetrable skin, Like a rhinoceros, A skin that says to the Lord, Stay out, C.S. Lewis, Before he became a Christian, In his late 20s, Regarded God, As the great interferer, He rightly perceived, That if he let the Lord in, His life would be, Profoundly reordered, And so it was, And how glad Lewis was, In the end, Because he discovered, That not only was his life reordered, His thinking, Was clarified, And he became a great ambassador, For the gospel of Christ, So friend, Let me put it like this, If your skin, Has become almost impenetrable, Can I ask you to think again,

[39:27] Think of what is at stake, Jesus came to save us for eternity, And we shall all be stepping into eternity, Pretty soon, And it's a matter either of eternal life, Or eternal death, Could it possibly be a good bargain, To insist on managing your own life, For a few more years, If in doing so, You lose your eternal life, Jesus says, What does it profit a man, To gain the whole world, And yet forfeit his life, To lose his soul, John has written his gospel, 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, Well let's bow our heads, And we'll pray together, Amen, Our dear heavenly father,

[40:35] We thank you, That in sending your son, Jesus, To the world, You have sent salvation, To the perishing, By his death on the cross, And his glorious resurrection, You have opened the kingdom of heaven, To all who are willing, To believe, Have mercy, Upon each one of us, We pray, And help us, With believing Thomas, To say to our Lord Jesus, My Lord, And my God, We ask it, In Jesus name, Amen, Amen, Amen, Thank you.