Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

The Fact of the Resurrection

Bryan Schneider · April 8, 2023

John 20:24-31

sharonrpc.org/sermons/the-fact-of-the-resurrection

Summary

Thomas initially rejects the other disciples' testimony and demands direct physical evidence of Jesus' wounds before he will believe.
Eight days later Jesus enters the locked room, declares peace, and addresses Thomas with the exact evidence he had demanded.
Jesus' scarred hands and side establish bodily continuity: the risen Lord is neither a ghost nor a psychological projection, but the same Jesus who was crucified.
Jesus' knowledge of Thomas's absent conversation also reveals that Thomas stands before more than an ordinary resurrected man.
Thomas responds with the direct confession, 'My Lord and my God,' and Jesus receives rather than corrects that worship.
Those who have not seen Jesus physically are blessed because God has given the apostles' written testimony as sufficient historical witness.
John selected his signs so readers may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God and, through believing, have life in his name.
Christian hope requires the bodily resurrection: the living King has defeated death, reigns at the Father's right hand, and will return to raise and judge the dead; every hearer must ask whether he receives this historically attested Christ as Lord and God.

Why is Thomas's initial demand understandable but still unbelieving?
What does Jesus' greeting of peace mean to disciples hiding in fear?
How do the wounds in Jesus' hands and side establish the physical reality of his resurrection?
How did Jesus know the precise words Thomas had spoken in his absence?
What does Thomas mean by calling Jesus both Lord and God?
Why does Jesus bless believers who have not seen him physically?
For what stated purpose did John select and write the signs in his Gospel?
Why does the whole Christian hope depend upon a living rather than a dead Savior?
Do you receive Jesus as the Christ and Son of God and have life in his name?

Bodily resurrection: God's raising of Jesus in the same real body that was crucified, now alive and no longer under death's power.
Apostolic testimony: The authorized eyewitness witness preserved in Scripture so later readers can know and believe in the risen Christ.
Christ: The Anointed One who is God's Prophet, Priest, and King and exercises sovereign authority over his people.
Son of God: The eternal divine Son, truly God rather than a lesser being, who became man for salvation.
Confession: Thomas's personal acknowledgment of Jesus as 'my Lord and my God,' joining truth about Christ with personal allegiance.
Life in his name: Eternal life received through faith in the crucified and risen Jesus as Christ and Son of God.