Sermon Notes
Sermon: To See You Once More: Peter and Thomas by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: May 5, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Luke 24:1-12, Luke 24:36-42, and John 20:24-29
Sermon Notes:
Most of us have lost someone close to us, and we long for just one more day with them, just a few precious moments. We just want to see them once more. A couple weeks ago, we commemorated Good Friday, the day Jesus died, but death was not the end. His friends longed to see Jesus once more, and they got their wish. Jesus defeated death and arose to life again. But He didn’t just go straight to Heaven. He spent some time with His friends first. To See You Once More is our current sermon series, and we will explore some of Jesus’s post-Resurrection appearances. Today, we will begin with Peter and Thomas.
Peter
Peter was part of Jesus’s inner circle. Peter had just spent 3 years traveling, ministering, and just living life together with Christ. Peter was present to some of the more intimate and wondrous things that occurred while Jesus was on earth, such as the Transfiguration and walking on the water. Peter was one of Jesus’s best friends.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter, who was a fisherman by trade, was ready to defend Him with a sword against trained soldiers. He loved Jesus and was loyal to Him. Now some may doubt Peter’s loyalty, because he denied knowing Jesus three times. When Jesus was arrested, lashed with whips, and convicted with the death penalty, everything that they have been building and doing fell apart. Peter wasn’t just losing Jesus; he was losing a sense of purpose. Death is never just an isolated loss. It is often compounded by secondary losses to the loss of the actual person.
Peter’s whole world was falling apart, and He was lost. Yes, in his confusion he denied Jesus 3 times. But that doesn’t discount Peter’s loyalty. In fact, Jesus had predicted it, so Peter’s denials would have actually provided Peter with further proof that Jesus was the Son of God, the true Messiah. Even in his struggle of realizing he had just denied his friend, Peter would have realized that what Jesus said would happen had just happened. This evidence of the truthfulness of Jesus’s teachings would be fresh in Peter’s mind when he ran to find the empty tomb. Because, after all the miraculous deeds of Jesus, there was still a tomb. Jesus had to die in order to defeat death and to resurrect. Jesus died for our sins.
Poor Peter didn’t know what to do. The disciples had scattered and, in truth, would have been in danger of seeing the same fate as known companions of Jesus. Jesus was going to die on the Cross, and He wouldn’t let His friends help Him out of it. The 3-year mission was over. Peter was losing His best friend, and he probably just wished to see Jesus once more.
It was no wonder that when Mary and the other women came to Peter and said they had seen the Lord that he dashed off to check it out for himself in hopes that it was true. Luke 24:1-12 tells this story:
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. (ESV)
In a way, it makes me think of the ending of the movie Good Will Hunting. Will was a brilliant man with a lot of potential. His best friend, Chuckie, tells him that he is wasting that potential. At one point in the movie, Chuckie says that every day when he walks up to Will’s door, he hopes that Will is gone. Not that he wants to lose his best friend, but it is because he will know that Will has finally gone off to use that brilliant mind of his. At the very end of the movie, Chuckie walks up to the door, and no one answers. Will has finally left to find his way in the world. Chuckie walks away smiling. He is not upset and is not mourning a loss. Rather, Chuckie is happy and full of pride and hope, because he knows that Will is alive somewhere doing what he was meant to do.
When Peter went to the tomb, Peter didn’t see Jesus yet, but he knew that Jesus was alive somewhere. He knew that what Jesus had predicted had come true. He was no longer mourning the loss of his friend, but Peter was happy and full of hope and wonder. He knew Jesus had done what he was meant to do.
Thomas
Not all of the disciples had the same reaction, but then again Peter was always the rash one that would take off running to check things out for himself. The others did not believe the women. They thought it was false hope that Peter ran after. Yet, Jesus did appear to them in person.
Luke 24:36-42 states:
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. (ESV)
Even as Jesus stood in front of them eating fish, the disciples were in awe and disbelief. He had to convince them that He was not a ghost.
The disciple who had was the most skeptical was Thomas. Bless his heart, Thomas has become known throughout all of history as a huge doubter. I do not consider myself much of a doubter, but I am a bit of a skeptic. I find myself relating more to Thomas than I do Peter. On one hand, I would have run off to the tomb like Peter did to check things out of myself. However, it would not have been with blind hope that Jesus was alive. And I would not have merely accepted the fact that He was from an empty tomb as Peter did. Rather, I would have needed to investigate it further. In true intellectual fashion, I would have needed to figure out the truth of why the tomb was empty. Like Thomas, I would have needed proof.
Jesus was not the only one crucified during that time. So, Thomas required not only to see the nail marks in Jesus’s hand, but also to see where the sword had pierced Jesus in His side. Jesus offered that proof as He entered the locked room where the disciples were meeting.
John 20:24-29 tells of Thomas’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus:
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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 mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (ESV)
If someone came running up to you to tell you that they had seen your loved one who had died, how would you have reacted? Would you have been more of a Peter or a Thomas, or perhaps a bit of a mix?
The Resurrection is Real
However, the disciples came about to accepting the truth that Jesus had risen from the dead and was really standing before them in the flesh and not a ghost, that is not what matters. What matters is that Jesus truly rose from the dead.
Following His death by crucifixion on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus appeared to individuals and groups on more than one occasion, in multiple locations, over a span of many days. Jesus continued to teach them and impart final words of comfort and instruction to them before His ascension to Heaven. Jesus also left with two promises: that we would never be alone and that He would return for us again.
If you could see your loved one once more for just a few hours or just one more day, how would you spend that time with them? What words would pass between you? Peter and the other disciples longed to see their friend Jesus just once more. They got their wish, and the fulfillment of that wish is the key to all of Christianity. Christianity would have never come about if Jesus’s followers, those who knew Him the most, were not absolutely convinced that Jesus had conquered death by appearing to them afterwards. They were so convinced that most of them endured persecution and were martyred for their faith. Their lives were radically transformed. Peter, who had denied Jesus in his grief, became the rock on which the church was built. The resurrection of Jesus and His post-resurrection appearances are the basis of our faith.
Sermon: To See You Once More: Peter and Thomas by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: May 5, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Luke 24:1-12, Luke 24:36-42, and John 20:24-29
Sermon Notes:
Most of us have lost someone close to us, and we long for just one more day with them, just a few precious moments. We just want to see them once more. A couple weeks ago, we commemorated Good Friday, the day Jesus died, but death was not the end. His friends longed to see Jesus once more, and they got their wish. Jesus defeated death and arose to life again. But He didn’t just go straight to Heaven. He spent some time with His friends first. To See You Once More is our current sermon series, and we will explore some of Jesus’s post-Resurrection appearances. Today, we will begin with Peter and Thomas.
Peter
Peter was part of Jesus’s inner circle. Peter had just spent 3 years traveling, ministering, and just living life together with Christ. Peter was present to some of the more intimate and wondrous things that occurred while Jesus was on earth, such as the Transfiguration and walking on the water. Peter was one of Jesus’s best friends.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter, who was a fisherman by trade, was ready to defend Him with a sword against trained soldiers. He loved Jesus and was loyal to Him. Now some may doubt Peter’s loyalty, because he denied knowing Jesus three times. When Jesus was arrested, lashed with whips, and convicted with the death penalty, everything that they have been building and doing fell apart. Peter wasn’t just losing Jesus; he was losing a sense of purpose. Death is never just an isolated loss. It is often compounded by secondary losses to the loss of the actual person.
Peter’s whole world was falling apart, and He was lost. Yes, in his confusion he denied Jesus 3 times. But that doesn’t discount Peter’s loyalty. In fact, Jesus had predicted it, so Peter’s denials would have actually provided Peter with further proof that Jesus was the Son of God, the true Messiah. Even in his struggle of realizing he had just denied his friend, Peter would have realized that what Jesus said would happen had just happened. This evidence of the truthfulness of Jesus’s teachings would be fresh in Peter’s mind when he ran to find the empty tomb. Because, after all the miraculous deeds of Jesus, there was still a tomb. Jesus had to die in order to defeat death and to resurrect. Jesus died for our sins.
Poor Peter didn’t know what to do. The disciples had scattered and, in truth, would have been in danger of seeing the same fate as known companions of Jesus. Jesus was going to die on the Cross, and He wouldn’t let His friends help Him out of it. The 3-year mission was over. Peter was losing His best friend, and he probably just wished to see Jesus once more.
It was no wonder that when Mary and the other women came to Peter and said they had seen the Lord that he dashed off to check it out for himself in hopes that it was true. Luke 24:1-12 tells this story:
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. (ESV)
In a way, it makes me think of the ending of the movie Good Will Hunting. Will was a brilliant man with a lot of potential. His best friend, Chuckie, tells him that he is wasting that potential. At one point in the movie, Chuckie says that every day when he walks up to Will’s door, he hopes that Will is gone. Not that he wants to lose his best friend, but it is because he will know that Will has finally gone off to use that brilliant mind of his. At the very end of the movie, Chuckie walks up to the door, and no one answers. Will has finally left to find his way in the world. Chuckie walks away smiling. He is not upset and is not mourning a loss. Rather, Chuckie is happy and full of pride and hope, because he knows that Will is alive somewhere doing what he was meant to do.
When Peter went to the tomb, Peter didn’t see Jesus yet, but he knew that Jesus was alive somewhere. He knew that what Jesus had predicted had come true. He was no longer mourning the loss of his friend, but Peter was happy and full of hope and wonder. He knew Jesus had done what he was meant to do.
Thomas
Not all of the disciples had the same reaction, but then again Peter was always the rash one that would take off running to check things out for himself. The others did not believe the women. They thought it was false hope that Peter ran after. Yet, Jesus did appear to them in person.
Luke 24:36-42 states:
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. (ESV)
Even as Jesus stood in front of them eating fish, the disciples were in awe and disbelief. He had to convince them that He was not a ghost.
The disciple who had was the most skeptical was Thomas. Bless his heart, Thomas has become known throughout all of history as a huge doubter. I do not consider myself much of a doubter, but I am a bit of a skeptic. I find myself relating more to Thomas than I do Peter. On one hand, I would have run off to the tomb like Peter did to check things out of myself. However, it would not have been with blind hope that Jesus was alive. And I would not have merely accepted the fact that He was from an empty tomb as Peter did. Rather, I would have needed to investigate it further. In true intellectual fashion, I would have needed to figure out the truth of why the tomb was empty. Like Thomas, I would have needed proof.
Jesus was not the only one crucified during that time. So, Thomas required not only to see the nail marks in Jesus’s hand, but also to see where the sword had pierced Jesus in His side. Jesus offered that proof as He entered the locked room where the disciples were meeting.
John 20:24-29 tells of Thomas’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus:
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 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 mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 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.” 27 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.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (ESV)
If someone came running up to you to tell you that they had seen your loved one who had died, how would you have reacted? Would you have been more of a Peter or a Thomas, or perhaps a bit of a mix?
The Resurrection is Real
However, the disciples came about to accepting the truth that Jesus had risen from the dead and was really standing before them in the flesh and not a ghost, that is not what matters. What matters is that Jesus truly rose from the dead.
Following His death by crucifixion on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus appeared to individuals and groups on more than one occasion, in multiple locations, over a span of many days. Jesus continued to teach them and impart final words of comfort and instruction to them before His ascension to Heaven. Jesus also left with two promises: that we would never be alone and that He would return for us again.
If you could see your loved one once more for just a few hours or just one more day, how would you spend that time with them? What words would pass between you? Peter and the other disciples longed to see their friend Jesus just once more. They got their wish, and the fulfillment of that wish is the key to all of Christianity. Christianity would have never come about if Jesus’s followers, those who knew Him the most, were not absolutely convinced that Jesus had conquered death by appearing to them afterwards. They were so convinced that most of them endured persecution and were martyred for their faith. Their lives were radically transformed. Peter, who had denied Jesus in his grief, became the rock on which the church was built. The resurrection of Jesus and His post-resurrection appearances are the basis of our faith.
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