John 20:19–31

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

[19] 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.” [20] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. [21] Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” [22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

[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.”

The Purpose of This Book

[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; [31] 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.

​(ESV)

John 20:1–18

The Resurrection

[1] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. [2] 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.” [3] So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. [4] Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. [5] And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. [6] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, [7] and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. [8] Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; [9] for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. [10] Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

[11] But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. [12] And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. [13] 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.” [14] Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? 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.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for 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.’” [18] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

​(ESV)

Luke 19:28–40

The Triumphal Entry

[28] And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. [29] When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, [30] saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. [31] If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” [32] So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. [33] And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” [34] And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” [35] And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. [36] And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. [37] As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [39] And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” [40] He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

(ESV)

​For Luca
On the day of your Baptism.
 
Philippians 3:8, 14 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Wesley to Buttercup in The Princess Bride- “Life is pain, your highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
This is a momentous occasion in your life, Luca. You won’t remember much about it if anything. But something miraculous happened to you today. The Creator of the universe, the One who spoke all things into existence, adopted you into His family. You are His little one, His lamb. He gave you incredible gifts today. I’m sure you’ll get others too from the rest of your family. They will be nice, precious, and special. But I have to say that nothing you get today will compare to the gift of faith that God has given you. Because that gift of faith will be with you for the rest of your life. It won’t fade or break or come unraveled. In the gift of faith comes wrapped up, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will be your guide, your teacher, your comforter, your friend, your advocate, your spokesperson. And in case that wasn’t enough, God also created in you a steadfast, everlasting connection to His Son Jesus Christ. Because of that gift comes all the things that Jesus has done for you. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension all become yours. With that comes the gifts of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. Most of these gifts you can’t see. But they are there. Through the gift of faith, they are there. They will always be there. When Jesus was baptized, God said some important words about Him. He said that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom He was well-pleased. Today, He says these words to you, Luca. “Luca, you are now my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Treasure these gifts. Keep them close to your heart. Celebrate them all the time. We’ll help you because we have these gifts too. God gave them to us in our baptisms. Come now, brother, son, grandson, precious gift from God. Let’s rejoice together.
We rejoice because of being wrapped up in the robe of Christ’s righteousness.
We rejoice today because there is already so much sorrow and pain for the rest of the days. There is pain to meet us at every turn. Some of it is because of the sin in the world that has caused such corruption in creation. There is pain because of our own sin, the things we think, say, and do that directly cause someone to be hurt. There is pain because of the devil at work around us, tempting us to embrace the sin that causes such pain. There is enough pain in life. We need time to rejoice.
But even in the very midst of pain, we have cause to rejoice. We don’t rejoice because of the pain. We can rejoice despite the pain. We have the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, our Lord and not only that, but of being known by Christ Jesus, our Lord. He knows you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He has given you the incredible gift in your own baptisms of the deepest of connections with the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of the cosmos.
In this life, we expect pain. We know it’s inevitable. As Ella Fitzgerald sang, “Into every life, a little rain must fall.” There’s no umbrella to protect us from the pain that comes with being human, being alive, and being a sinner. God does not shield us from pain. Once sin became part of the world He created, pain was going to be common. Adam would work and labor painfully for the earth to give any type of growth. Eve would have pain beginning in childbirth. Physical pain is the result of our bodies not working properly, either through sickness or injury. Jesus knew physical pain beyond our abilities. From being beaten, scourged, and crucified. Physical pain reached its limit.
Relational pain comes when people are together. In almost any capacity, when people gather there is going to be pain of one sort or another. When the relationship is broken or strained, people hurt. Jesus knew relational pain greater than any. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Separation from the Father in heaven.
Psychological, emotional pain is so prevalent. We often normalize the horrible behavior of others saying, “That’s just the way they are. They aren’t going to change.” We experience trauma and pain in our hearts as they break. Our spirits can be crushed by the manipulation of others. But this is pain that is hidden. Jesus knew this pain too. As his disciples abandoned him, as the false accusations flew, as the sentence was passed and he was mocked on the cross, his heart broke. He wept for Jerusalem, for Israel, for the nations.
Paul, as he writes in Philippians, knows pain. He’s been beaten, scourged, and left to die in prison. He knows all of the other types of pain too. His people struggle in the churches he served and built. His fellow believers don’t want him around in Jerusalem. Yet… Paul held onto something more.
Everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve had I count as loss, as less, as left behind, exchanged for the greater blessing in knowing Jesus. How much more valuable is the faith of Christ, in Christ, and from Christ to us! How comforting is the prize of life with Christ.