Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 • Acts 10:34-43 • 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 • John 20:1-18

The theme this week is Grace = love no matter what, juxtaposing God’s loving acceptance with our human conditional love in celebration of Easter and the Resurrection of our Lord. The call to worship Psalm recounts God’s steadfast love and assures readers of God’s constancy even when circumstances are difficult and maybe even our fault. Acts 10 tells one of the times that God transformed Peter’s mind, helping him see that tradition had to be changed when love demanded it. 1 Corinthians 15 reminds us of Paul’s transformation from a murderer of God’s people to a leader and preacher of the good news. Finally, John 20 is our sermon text that takes us back to the empty tomb and encourages us to stick around even when things don’t make sense because love often shows up when we least expect it.

Visiting the Tomb

John 20:1-18

Today is Easter, and we know that we’re celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The book of John shares the story of the resurrection through the eyes of two disciples, and Mary. There are some interesting differences. Like he does so often, even at the tomb Jesus turns things around and chooses an unlikely person to be the first one to share the message, “He is Risen!” Let’s take a look:

Read John 20:1-18.

What can we observe about the text?

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. (John 20:1 NRSV)

Mary went to the tomb when it was still dark. In John’s Gospel, he uses the themes of darkness and light frequently. Remember that Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). The fact that it was dark, and that this information was included in John’s account, might be suggesting an unveiling of truth, as the gentle light of daybreak slowly begins the day.

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.” (John 20:2 NRSV)

Mary Magdalene noticed the stone was rolled away, but she didn’t go in. Instead, she ran to tell Peter and “the other disciple whom Jesus loved.” Many scholars understand this to be John, the author of the Gospel. In verse 2, Mary assumes, without having looked, that Jesus’ body has been taken or moved. Jesus had told his disciples that he would be raised, but they didn’t really understand it.

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who 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 returned to their homes. (John 20:3-10 NRSV)

So Peter and John ran to the tomb. John doesn’t go in, but he looks in and sees the linen wrappings. Peter goes into the tomb and sees that the cloth that covered Jesus’ head was rolled up and placed to the side. John apparently saw that as significant, and the scene caused one disciple to believe, although we are not sure how much he believed or understood. John explains that before this, the disciples had not understood what Jesus was talking about. Now the light was beginning to break through. What could it mean? Verse 10 says the two disciples turned around and went home. They were not searching the grounds for clues about who took the body, or where. They just went home, and whether they knew it or not, they were waiting for further instructions.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 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.” (John 20:11-13 NRSV)

Mary stays at the tomb weeping. Notice that in verses 11-15, it mentions weeping or wept four times. Her intense grief is part of our human experience. Jesus was a friend and teacher to Mary. Verse 13 tells that two angels appear and ask Mary why she is weeping, and without thinking it strange, she answers again that she is looking for Jesus’ body.

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because 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.’” (John 20:14-17 NRSV) 

Before Mary can realize that she’s talking to angels, she turns around and mistakes the risen Jesus for the gardener. Symbolically, the garden in the Bible is a reference to Eden, and in this case, Jesus is bringing forth new life into being again. When Jesus says her name, she is able to see him for who he is. In her joy, she embraces Jesus. To our ears, Jesus saying, “Do not hold on to me because I have not yet ascended to the Father” (verse 17) sounds cold. But Jesus was not telling Mary not to touch him, but that he couldn’t stay with her, that things were going to be different. Mary wanted life to go back to the way it was; Jesus was there to offer a new way of being and connecting with him.

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:18 NRSV)

As a result, Mary becomes an apostle or messenger to the apostles. Jesus honors women in the biblical patriarchal culture by showing himself first to Mary after the resurrection and sending her to tell them not just that he will ascend to the Father, but that his disciples have the same relationship as he does (i.e., “my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” in verse 17).

Application:

• Recognize we all have “stones” that need to be rolled out of the way because they inhibit us from seeing Jesus more fully in our lives. Like the disciples, we often do not understand everything right away. It takes time for the truth to sink in. We need to ponder these things in our heart, like Mary the mother of Jesus did. Consider the ways that you expect God to work in your life. Have you ever looked with fresh eyes at other situations where God might be working with you, and you dismissed them because they were outside your typical normal? Jesus chose to show himself post-resurrection to Mary in a culture that viewed women and children as unreliable witnesses. How do we limit God by the cultural views we hold?
• Remember that we can miss valuable lessons when we refuse to see hidden assumptions we make about how God works in the world. Just as the disciples and Mary initially thought Jesus’ body had been taken, so we also assume God works in our lives in prescribed ways, forgetting that he uses many methods and people, and experiences to teach us.
• Take the message Jesus offers us: we have been invited into relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. Like Mary, sometimes we are caught in grief and loss, and we don’t see how any life or resurrection could come out of a situation. Then Jesus appears and makes himself known through comfort extended by a friend, the peace of nature, or a gentle knowing that you’re not alone. Our lesson for today is knowing that we are pleasing to God, that this relationship is not based on us getting it right, but rather, it’s because humanity has been forever linked with God through Jesus Christ.

The resurrection story ends in a garden, but this time it’s not Adam and Eve being sent away from the garden. Instead, it’s Mary who is triumphantly leaving the garden as the messenger of good news: Christ is risen; he is risen indeed.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

Psalm 133:1-3 • Acts 4:32-35 • I John 1:1-2:2 • John 20:19-31

The theme this week is the God we touch, touches us. The call to worship Psalm talks about the miracle of God among us. His bringing us together is celebrated in all its healing reality. In Acts 4, God is present in the fellowship of the new church and the gritty reality of navigating relationships and generosity. In 1 John, John talks about touching Jesus himself, and then touching him again through the spiritual fellowship of the church. Our sermon is on John 20, and explores the kind of people Jesus chose to touch, revealing himself to weaklings, doubters, and cowards after the resurrection.

A Woman, a Doubter, and a Coward

John 20 and 21

The resurrection appearances of Jesus are some of the most famous and most strange of the Bible stories. Jesus dies a brutal death at the hands of the authorities—absolutely no question what happened to him. He’s put in a donated grave and the mourning process begins.

…but it doesn’t.

First there are strange rumors. Somebody saw something, we’re not even sure. As Mark writes his last fragmented line:

So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8 NRSV)

Then Jesus is showing up in the middle of locked rooms. He’s walking on paths with people who’ve know him for years and they don’t recognize him. Then as soon as they pray over a meal, they do recognize him—then he disappears! Then he’s gone—he’s back—he’s cooking breakfast. He’s talking to hundreds of people—then he’s gone again.

They watched Jesus die and, just as surely, he stands there right next to them. How one thing is connected with the other, no one quite knows.

…but it happened.

And even the Gospel writers seem at a loss. These controlled, intricately woven narratives end in fragmentary stories that feel like someone is trying to describe a nuclear blast.

John goes into more detail for more time than anyone else. Typical of his narrative structure, he provides us with one-on-one conversations with Jesus. He interweaves these with the stories the rest of the Gospels give us after the resurrection.

Let’s look at three stories—Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and Peter. Let’s notice what kind of people Jesus chose to have these post-resurrection conversations with. Who did he get close to? What does that tell us about him?

 

Easter Day—Mary, the Woman

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. (John 20:1 NRSV)

Here’s a woman walking by herself in the dark to a tomb. Women by themselves in the half-light isn’t a good idea now and it wasn’t then. The atmosphere is already tense and lost—this small, sniffling shadow stumbling her way through the tombs on a cold morning.

We don’t know much about Mary, other than the fact that she was confused with a few other Marys in the story. No, she wasn’t Lazarus’s sister. No, she didn’t wash Jesus’ feet with her hair.

One of the only details we have about her is that “seven demons” had been driven from her (Luke 8:2). We have to frame that as well within the first-century mindset. They would have thought not only of demonic harassment (a very real thing), but also would have put physical and mental issues under this category.

Other than that, we know very little except that she was always there. Always. She shows up in many places as “also appearing.” No doubt she followed along with the growing entourage of Jesus and was determined to follow him despite all costs.

So we have a lady who has no great lines so far, and seems to have nothing else going on in her life other than following around this eccentric savior character from Nazareth.

Complicate this with her gender. As a woman she was nearly powerless and non-existent in the world at that time. In Jewish society she had some rights and some voice, but in Greco-Roman society she was hardly noticed. The acute irony for Mary, as we shall see, is that her testimony didn’t count in legal matters, the word of a woman was no good.

And yet, in every Gospel, she’s the first one to witness Jesus risen from the tomb…

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for? (John 20:14-15 NRSV)

Mary, a woman whose testimony would be dismissed out of hand, is the first witness of the most important event in history! Throughout history, Mary has been nicknamed “the apostle to the apostles”—she was the first to carry the message, the first to sound the alarm. “Umm….Peter, John—guys, you’re not gonna believe this…”

The slapstick exchange in which she mistakes Jesus for the gardener is one of the funniest moments in literature. Here’s Jesus grabbing the first clothes on hand which happen to be the landscaper’s apron and floppy sunhat, and he walks up to this woman. Here is the Lord in a world in which sin is defeated—playful, just out of the corner of your eye.

And just as the great tragedy of humanity was born of a conversation with the first woman in a garden, so the great rebirth of humanity begins in this garden. This time it’s with a woman who is anything but the perfect Eve, and who is alone and despondent and lost, and doesn’t even know who she’s talking to.

And then there’s the moment that she recognizes him:

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). (John 20:16 NRSV)

He says her name. The absolute intimacy of that moment as contrasted with the alienation of the Genesis story in which God says, “Where are you?” Here God is the one doing the seeking, even when he’s not being sought (he’s even the one doing the hiding for a moment!), and he speaks her name, and she knows him.

John can’t even help himself here but has to describe the exchange exactly as it was spoken: Rabbouni! She yells in Aramaic. Rabbouni! The one I know! The one who speaks my name!

This is the person that Jesus seeks out to show himself to first. This is the bell tone of the new world after the resurrection. No longer will people whom society deems a burden be left out of the party. They will be at the seat of honor. Their testimony will be heard.

A Week after Easter—Thomas, the Doubter

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. (John 20:24 NRSV)

Thomas wasn’t with them. This is an itchy, mysterious detail that John includes. We don’t know why Thomas was missing or where he was. His brief moments in the story previously show us a thin thread of character development.

Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16 NRSV)

Here we see the early Thomas. The man who says esoteric, emotional things about dying with this Rabbi. But the more he has to wait, the more Jesus’ kingdom doesn’t look like he wants it to, the more cynical he gets.

We see him again later:

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5 NRSV)

Some time has passed. Thomas the young idealist is a little more hesitant. His voice has an edge to it. We see this confusion much of the time through Jesus’ interactions with the disciples. But Thomas is the only one that seems to show some development, this hardening from innocence to bewilderment.

And that’s the Thomas we catch up to in the end. The one who wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples. Was he out somewhere on a drinking spree? Was he drowning his worries somewhere—watching his people lose yet one more Messiah?

And yet he’s back the next week.

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. (John 20:26 NRSV)

He’s gone, he’s back. He’s almost between two worlds, like Jesus himself. He’s confused and uncertain, doesn’t know what to think. One week he’s off the ranch, done with the whole thing. The next week he’s there with them because, despite it all, he’s got nowhere else to go.

Thomas has already told them that unless he can touch the wounds himself, he will “in no way” believe. He’s emphatic, he’s not getting taken again. At that time in history, Messiahs came and went with the desperate, occupied Jewish people. They started movements, made promises and then ran off with the money or ended up on crosses themselves. Thomas may be thinking that’s what’s happening here, and he wants no part of it.

Thomas the doubter is an important figure for our age of dogmatic doubt. We live in a time when ideologies and life philosophies come and go quickly, promising us release and satisfaction. Through media, these “Messiahs” appear and disappear even faster—political figures, movie stars, pharmaceutical fads, all angling for attention. It is no surprise that humanity is cynical and caustic. Many of us, no doubt, wouldn’t have been with them in the upper room when Jesus made his first appearance either.

But on the eighth day…

Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” (John 20:26-27 NRSV)

Jesus, who made a special stop for the woman, now makes a special stop for the doubter. In that moment, Jesus even condescends to the test that Thomas demanded. Put your finger here, place your hand here. Notice the contrast to Mary Magdalene, who Jesus appeared to first, apparently while he was still between the world of heaven and earth—“don’t cling to me yet.” But here, even to the disbelieving and upset, he commands that his wounds be touched.

And here Thomas the doubter, the eighth-day believer, last on the scene, makes the clearest theological declaration in John:

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NRSV)

John’s Gospel has come full circle. The story that began in the ether of the Logos—who was with God and was God, has now found its conclusion with the great doubter declaring: “My Lord and my God!”

These are the one-on-one interactions that Jesus chooses to have. With Mary, who wasn’t anything special and wouldn’t be anyone chosen to lead a movement. With the doubter, Thomas, who was cynical and upset and thought he had Jesus figured out. Here we see Jesus, the good shepherd, who leaves the 99 to find the lost one. We see the world of grace and mercy which makes no “sense” as a math equation but is the only world that has room for us imperfect humans to live.

Epilogue—Peter, the Coward

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. (John 21:1 NRSV)

Maybe you can’t identify with Mary. You don’t know what it’s like to live in her circumstances. May you don’t see yourself in Thomas—you believe and you pretty much always have, it’s just you are.

But many of us can resonate with Peter! Some of us can relate to this emotional, capricious, infuriating and ever-endearing character in the New Testament? He opens his mouth to declare some of the most substantial, clear theology, and then immediately puts his foot in his mouth. When the voice of God speaks out of a cloud on the mountain, he proposes they build booths for everyone to hang out in! When a garrison of trained soldiers accosts them in the night, he cuts a guy’s ear off with a small sword!

And in that moment when Jesus was the most alone, the most vulnerable, Peter says he doesn’t even know who Jesus is.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. (John 21:9 NRSV)

Again, John provides important atmospheric detail. A few weeks before, Peter denied Jesus while sitting by a charcoal fire. This would have been an everyday sight and smell for Peter when cooking meals, etc. It would have been a constant, painful reminder of his cowardice and betrayal.

Jesus knew that. Jesus also knew Peter had denied him three times, and so for each of the three, he asks Peter: Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?

Jesus appears to the woman walking through the empty garden in the morning. He appears to the doubter, looking through cynical eyes. And he appears to the braggadocio coward, who flat-out denied he knew Jesus at all.

This is the grace of the post-resurrection world, the upside-down kingdom. Where people who are disrespected become the heralds of good news, where the doubters declare the highest theology, where the cowards become the Rock on which the church is founded.

There are some beautiful traditions about where these heroes of the faith lived out their days. These stories are edifying, but the history is murky at best and doesn’t have near the authority and clarity of Scripture. We’ll have to ask them the details ourselves someday!

Mary Magdalene—Tradition holds that she travelled with Lazarus and others to what is modern-day France. She lived out her years in an alpine cavern in the mountains, praying for and supporting the churches there. The woman goes out to rugged country and carries the weight of new churches on her shoulders.

Thomas—Tradition holds that he went to India, after the Lord told him to do so in a dream. India was the edge of the earth in their minds; no one ever came back from there. Finally, he who touched Jesus’ spear wound was killed by soldiers with spears while praying.

Peter—After having his false starts and blunders recorded for all of history, Peter went on to become one of the greatest church leaders who ever lived. He served in Rome and finally was crucified at the hands of the authorities, upside-down at his insistence because he said, “I’m unworthy to die as my Lord died.”

The woman, the doubter and the coward. These are the people Jesus chose to have intimate conversations with after the resurrection. By the Spirit, he turned them into the saints and heroes we know today, but they started as nobodies.

This is the kingdom, brothers and sisters, where the last shall be first and the low are made high. Next time you think of yourself as useless, as unworthy, think about who Jesus chose to talk to first when the new world started and the tomb was empty.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

Psalm 4:1-8 • Acts 3:12-19 • 1 John 3:1-7 • Luke 24:36b-48

This week’s theme is being witnesses of the Lord. The call to worship Psalm starts off with a plea and ends with the assurance that the Lord hears our calls to him. The text from Acts follows the healing of a crippled beggar in Jesus’ name, which gives Peter the opportunity to witness to many people. The epistolary text explores the concrete reality of being children of God, which sets us out to be like Jesus. The Gospel text finds the disciples being confronted with the reality of the risen Lord who calls them to be witnesses to all nations.

Talking about Jesus

Luke 24:36-48 (NRSV)

Have you ever been with a group a people who were talking about another person when suddenly that person walks into the room? It can be an awkward moment, depending on what was being said. That is roughly the situation that is taking place to begin our sermon today. Today’s text follows immediately on the heels of the story of Cleopas and an unnamed disciple who are encountered by Jesus on their walk to Emmaus. They were talking about Jesus and all that took place in Jerusalem leading to his crucifixion. As they were talking “Jesus himself came near and went with them.”

Now, at the beginning of our text for today, we have these two disciples gathered with other disciples sharing their experience and discussing the strange reports that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Notice Luke’s words:

 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. (Luke 24:36-37 NRSV)

There seems to be a pattern developing. When you gather with others to talk about Jesus, he has a tendency of showing up to join the conversation. But he doesn’t come to us to shame us or catch us in some awkward conversation to embarrass us. He comes bringing peace. These disciples needed to hear these words of peace from Jesus as they responded to his appearance by being “startled and terrified” as they thought they were seeing a ghost. Although they have been talking about the testimonies of those who encountered the risen Jesus and even though Jesus was standing in front of them, these disciples were fearful that it was not true. They may be thinking that whatever they are seeing looks a lot like Jesus but surely, it must be something else. This can’t be real. It doesn’t make any sense from all we know of dead people. A ghost maybe…but Jesus in the flesh. Impossible.

Notice how Jesus responds to their fears.

He begins by asking them a probing question: “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” When Jesus stands before us and gives us his peace, why do we still fear? This may be a good question for us to take up today. The peace (shalom) that Jesus has brought to us is real. It’s not a suggestion or a sentimental nice thing to say. Jesus has brought peace and that is a reality. As we look around us, we may be tempted to think Jesus’ pronouncement of peace is a mirage. We may not see a lot of peace in our world and therefor draw the conclusion that Jesus’ peace must be some vapory form of peace, shallow and “ghost-like” but nothing of substance. So, we remain in our fears. What lies at the heart of our fears? Is it not a lack of trust in God’s Word to us in Jesus? What is more real to us, what the world presents to our eyes or what the Word speaks to our ears? We are called to faith, to believe and cast our full trust on the One who loves us, who came to us as Lord and Savior. If he brings peace, you can rest assured that it is a real peace to be received, not an ungrounded allusion to doubt.

Notice the next thing Jesus does after getting the disciples to ponder the reason for their fear.

He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:38-39 NRSV)

He moves to help them see the reality. He doesn’t chide them or throw up his hands in frustration. He simply takes them where they are and works to grow their faith in him. Jesus is content to work with their present fears and culturally conditioned responses. In that culture, it was not an uncommon belief for a dead person to appear as a ghost. In fact, they had some tests that could be used to validate whether a person was a ghost or not. First, you could check the person’s feet to make sure they touched the ground and were not floating like a ghost. Second, the hands could be examined to see if they were solid with flesh and bones. Also, you could check to see if they had teeth and could eat. Jesus, apparently, is taking the disciples through this template of testing to show them he is indeed Jesus himself.

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. (Luke 24:40 NRSV)

Even as Jesus puts himself through this “ghost test” we can see that the disciples are struggling “in their joy” to believe. We would say, “It seems too good to be true.” But Jesus is committed to bringing them into the reality of the good news that he was coming to them as the risen Lord. This seems to be the thrust of Luke’s telling of the story. He does not mention the nail scars on Jesus’ hands or has anyone touch the hole in his side, like other accounts of Jesus’ appearances. Jesus is simply trying to establish for the disciples that he is real, not a ghost. He is Jesus in the flesh, risen from the dead.

This account of Jesus appearing to his disciples can bring us great comfort in our times of fear and doubt. We can know that Jesus wants to move us beyond our fears so we can embrace his peace. He takes us where we are and moves us beyond our limited capacities. He doesn’t come to us with disappointment or annoyance at our weakness of faith. If that were so, he would not be living in the peace he is holding out to us. But Jesus is living completely in the peace he promises. He does not fear our fears and doubts, and he is not anxious about our culture’s influence on our ability to trust in him. Rather, he moves in peace toward us, calling us further to himself.

The last test Jesus applies to himself is eating.

While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. (Luke 24:41-43 NRSV)

Notice how he involves the disciples in what he is doing. Not only does this present evidence that Jesus is not a ghost, but it may connect with them on a personal level as their memory may return to the time they handed Jesus some fish and Jesus used it to feed thousands. Now they were giving him fish that he is using to open their eyes to who he is.

Jesus is being consistent in how he relates to the disciples. He takes what they give him and uses it to reveal himself further to them. And Jesus is still doing that today. Have you ever experienced the Lord asking you to give him something that he then turns into a means of revealing himself to you in a deeper way? Maybe he asked you to give over some stinky fish of complaining only to find that God shares with you his overflowing joy. Maybe he asked you to give him that offense from another you have been unable to forgive only to find that God has forgiven you completely, setting you free to forgive others as you have been forgiven. Or maybe he has asked you to give just a little more in the offering basket than you were comfortable with only to find that God is a generous God who gives all things without compulsion. In this way, our giving becomes a form of receiving. God takes what we give him and uses it to further his blessing to us of knowing him.

After Jesus presents himself to the disciples in this way, he then reminds them of what he told them about Scripture—it’s all about him.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:44-48 NRSV)

He wants them to know who he is beyond all their fear and doubt and he directs them to the Scriptures to do just that. But he goes further: “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” Let that sink in. When we read the Scriptures, we can trust that Jesus is right there with us by the Spirit, opening our minds to understand further who he is. How important it is to continually be searching the Scriptures, reading along with Jesus who is opening our minds to understand who he is as revealed in them.

Not only did Jesus open their minds to understand what the Scriptures are saying about him, but he used the Scriptures to open their eyes to who they are in Christ—his witnesses. When Jesus appeared to them and brought them to see that he was real, and not a ghost, he was also preparing them for their calling of being a witness. Sometimes when we talk about being witnesses or about evangelism, we do so as if we are on our own. But Jesus is the true Witness, and he calls us along to join him. He is preparing us for this calling by witnessing to us who he is and who his Father is.

There is no way we can be witnesses outside of his witness to us and his continuing witness to the Father by the Spirit for the sake of the world.

Jesus also makes them more than “eyewitnesses” of Jesus after the resurrection. He links their witness with the Scriptures as they are to be “witnesses of these things”—the things that he just opened their minds to in the Scriptures. The calling to proclaim the gospel will entail being “ministers of the word.” Also, notice that Jesus said the proclamation “to all nations” would begin “from Jerusalem.” In other words, they will first witness from where they are. Jesus links witness to relationship.

He prepared the first disciples and us today to be witnesses by having us come to know him personally for who he is. We are to share that first with others we are closest to. We begin where we are, with our families and friends. Our sights are not set only on some distant land to reach with the gospel, but as witnesses who have been encountered by the risen Lord, we naturally want to share with the closest person within reach. Being a witness will be a natural response of seeing the Lord. So, our text has come full circle. It begins with disciples talking about Jesus who, after being encountered by the living, risen Lord, are set out to talk about Jesus.

As you go out today, back to your families, your neighborhood, your work and wherever you find yourself, I hope you go encouraged by the reality that Jesus comes to you. He comes to you to bring you into his peace. He comes to you to reveal himself to you further, so you can know him and his Father more deeply. He comes to you to build your faith in him so you can go into your world living in the reality of God’s love for you, living in the repentance and forgiveness of sins that has been proclaimed in the name of Jesus. In this name, may we go out talking about Jesus, sharing with others who Christ has revealed himself to be to us in the Scriptures.

Jesus has come to you. May you see him more clearly and hear his words of peace. And in his name, may you go out and share his words of peace with others.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

Psalm 23:1-6 • Acts 4:5-12 • 1 John 3:16-24 • John 10:11-18

The theme this week is the strength of the shepherd. Throughout our Scriptures, we see people following the good shepherd and sharing his strength. Our call to worship Psalm contains the well-known words of comfort that we are walking in the leadership and guidance of the strong shepherd. In Acts 4, Peter, the roughneck fisherman, is given strength to speak boldly before a collection of powerful, sophisticated leaders. In 1 John 3, the community of Jesus, who often called himself the “good shepherd,” is encouraging each other in the strength of their faith. John 10, on which our sermon is based, gives us the “good shepherd” dialogue of Jesus, rich with Old Testament imagery and huge implications for Jesus’ identity.

The Shepherd’s True Measure

John 10:11-18 ESV

Read John 10:11-18 ESV

“The true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do them absolutely no good.” This quote, from Samuel Johnson, is basically the definition of kindness—being kind and caring to the person who can do you “no good.” The only thing they bring to the table is their helplessness, their innocence. How you take on that enormous responsibility tells much about who you are.

We meet plenty of people we “don’t need” to be kind to. That demanding panhandler who is conning people out of money. That thankless relative who ruined yet another family dinner. Even those who are relatively innocent: a disabled person who depends on the system without putting anything in, an elderly dementia patient, a psych patient who will never “get better.”

How we treat these people, as individuals and as a society, tells more about us than them. They can give nothing back. Helping them won’t advance our career and certainly won’t give us a “return on investment.” Many of these folks may never get better, may never change their ways and/or are permanently disabled (physically or mentally).

We show kindness to them, when we do, because of kindness itself, and because of who we are in Jesus.

Jesus seems to be describing the same thing in his analogy about the “good shepherd.” He’s talking about what it means to be not just the person who leads—the “hired hand”—but the person who loves.

He gives an example from the universal world of work. Shepherding then was about as dull and common as fast food or “cubicle work” might be today. And in that profession, there was no need to be “kind” to the sheep. They were a product to be exploited, and that was an acceptable perspective.

It is in that atmosphere that Jesus speaks this metaphor of the “good” shepherd. He is good to those who can do him no good. In this case sheep, but it’s a thinly veiled metaphor for people. He defends and cares for the sheep not because of what they can do in return but because of who he is. He acts kindly because he is kind, he does good because he is good.

Let’s look at the characters in this micro-parable Jesus tells. Though first-century shepherding may seem miles away from our modern, digital world, there is truth for our age here, as there is with everything Jesus said.

We’ll look at:

• The Shepherd
• The hired hands
• The sheep

The Shepherd

We come to this passage in the middle of tense conversations with the Jerusalem rulers about who Jesus is. The physical and spiritual violence of Jesus’ torture and execution will follow here in a few pages, but at the moment we’re in the middle of controversial words.

He’s making shocking statements left and right here. He’s declared himself:

• I am the bread of life (and you have to eat me!)
• I am the resurrection (the Jewish view of the future)
• I am the Light of the world (like the pillar of fire that led Israel)
• And, most point blank, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

These are among what is loosely called the “I am” statements of Jesus, and the phrase itself is particularly potent. When Moses was confronted with the burning bush in Exodus 3, he asked God his name, and the definitively mysterious statement rang out: “I AM.” God said “I AM” is his name – he is who he is, the self-existent One; there is no one and nothing like him, we can’t imagine his depths and we can never comprehend him other than what he chooses to show us.

He is the great I AM, “Yahweh,” the One from which everything comes. This name isn’t even spoken by faithful Jews to this day because it is considered too holy and sacred to cross human lips.

“I am the good shepherd” is one of the “I am” statements of Jesus. Our English word “good” is a little flat. The original word means something more like “beautiful” or “attractive” or “faithful”—all of those realities in one.

At the time, a shepherd like any other job, could be done to the bare minimum. Sheep were food and clothing—the relationship was entirely practical. The shepherd never needed to be kind or particularly conscious of any of the animals, just turn them into whatever product was needed. But a “good” shepherd, like a “good” nurse or craftworker, had a special relationship with the sheep. He saw worth in each of the animals, and he tried his best to care for them all.

Again, this told you more about him than it did about the sheep. He’s a good shepherd because he is good, not because the sheep are worthy, or because the work is glorious. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.”

Jesus is drawing on imagery from thousands of years before, in Ezekiel 34.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. (Ezekiel 34:1-4 ESV)

It goes on to say…

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. (Ezekiel 34:15-16 ESV)

There’s a lot going on here, but the main thing is Jesus’ astounding claim. God says in Ezekiel that the human shepherds have failed and that he himself will be their shepherd. Then Jesus echoes that passage and says, “I am the shepherd!” “I am living out the role that God has.”

Hired Hands

The description of the human shepherds isn’t flattering in Ezekiel:

Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. (Ezekiel 34:2-3 ESV)

Nor in John:

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. (John 10:12 ESV)

Jesus has established himself as the shepherd—who cares for the sheep even when he doesn’t have to. He’s contrasted here with the hired hands, the human shepherds who care the most for themselves.

The tension between Jesus and the religious authorities is not theological news—it’s everywhere. But Jesus’ word here and everywhere is that their time is up. The paradigms are shifting.

God’s purpose for the old covenant was completed in Jesus. He has no patience for clinging to the old ways, to the point that he exposes their negative motivations and lack of character. He says their motivations are self-protective, self-promoting, more worried about their own skin than the people’s spiritual health.

Jesus comes to the sheep not as some new improved hired hand, but because they are his own.

It can be easy for us to judge the Jewish authorities sometimes, to separate ourselves from them. But as sure as the followers of Jesus are an example for us in the modern day, so are his opponents.

Do we ever hold onto old paradigms of doing church just because it’s “how it’s always been”? Do we miss the ways God is moving because we want to stay with what’s comfortable? Do we have power structures and social status in church that are sometimes threatened by the One the church is worshipping?

Would we be those hired hands?

Sheep

Have you ever had much experience with sheep? They are decidedly not the fluffy clean puffballs you might see in a Sunday school mural. Domestic sheep are often covered with mud (and worse!) and wander about aimlessly. They are self-focused (if they have a focus at all), of limited intelligence—animals who inspire pretty much nothing but pity.

Like many dialogues in John, this discussion is framed and set up by a story. Just before this, Jesus heals a blind man, and the Pharisees threw the man out of the synagogue for his association with Jesus.

John includes an odd detail here:

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him… (John 9:35 ESV)

The formerly blind man has been cast out from the center of cultural life in his community. He is wandering and helpless. He and his family have already been under scrutiny because of his disability, because the religious authorities think he or they must have sinned to bring on his blindness.

Now he’s fully cast out. Fully exiled from his culture, disconnected from his community. Until the good shepherd, the merciful shepherd comes and finds him. The text implies that Jesus was seeking him, looking specifically for him. There is no advantage, no return on investment for Jesus seeking out this man. He’s not a good networking connection. And yet Jesus seeks him out.

The sheep. Lost, helpless, unimportant. And this is who Jesus looks for.

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. (John 10:17-18 ESV)

This is the shepherd who cares, even for sheep who aren’t “useful.” The true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do them absolutely no good—Jesus saves us not because of who we are but because of who he is.

The hour in which he lays down his life will come soon enough. Jesus knows this. He knows that he will soon die for a world that will be, for the most part, ungrateful, confused and stuck in their ways. He will seek out those who aren’t seeking him. Always.

What do we take home from each of the actors in this very short play?

The Shepherd—Jesus draws on a powerful passage in Scripture to get his point across. I am God and this is who God is. Do we live in the reality that at the center of it all is a merciful shepherd? Do we believe that the ultimate reality is mercy, kindness and love?

The hired hands—The human shepherds are described as exploitative and uncaring, holding old paradigms so they can hold onto power. Do we do this in the church today? Do we miss out on what God is doing because we want church to look the way we want it to?

The sheep—Jesus sought out the (recently) blind man. He will seek you out to. You don’t have to offer him some great works or a perfect life—all he wants is you. In our lives, do we seek out those Jesus seeks out? Do we only make time for “important” or “connected” people?

Jesus is showing us not a new world, but the real world. He’s showing us that the center is mercy, the center is unconditional love. Let’s live in that center today.

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Small Group Discussion Questions