Would you turn with me to John
chapter 20. John chapter 20. Beginning in verse 19. Then, the same day, this is after
the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, at evening, being
the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, literally
they were barred shut, where the disciples were assembled
for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and saith
unto them, peace be unto you. And when he had so said, He showed
unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ walked
out of that tomb, on that Sunday morning, there was something
he went in there with that he left there without. The sins
of his elect. He went in there bearing their
sins, and he walked out of that tomb with their sins being put
away. They are no more. But there is also something he
went in there with that he came out with. His wounds. In his glorified body, he came
out with his wounds. I dare say most of you have some
scars somewhere. In glory, you'll have none. There will not even be a remembrance
of sin. But he still bears the marks
that he received on Calvary's tree. Look in John chapter 20, Verse 26, this is eight days
later. And after eight days again, this
was on a Monday, eight days after the resurrection. And after eight
days again, his disciples were within, and Thomas with them.
Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst
and said, peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach
hither thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy
hand and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing. Our Lord could have removed these
marks, but he didn't. Even now, as he
is seated at the right hand of the Father, he has the visible
marks that he received on the cross. When John saw him, when heaven
was opened to John, he said in Revelation 5, when he spoke of
the lion of the tribe of Judah, he said, I saw a lamb as it had
been slain. He said concerning himself, I
am he that liveth and was dead. and the marks are still evidence,
and behold, I'm alive evermore, and have the keys of hell and
death. Now, my question is, why does
he still have his wounds? He didn't have to, but he does. Why does he still have the marks
of his death? Turn to Luke chapter 24. Let
me give you several reasons that I believe the scripture bears
out. Luke chapter 24, let's begin reading in verse 36. This is
Luke's account of the same event. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them. and saith unto them, Peace
be unto you. But they were terrified. Now our Lord is in his glorified
body at this time, and perhaps they couldn't even recognize
him. There's several times after his resurrection where people
did not recognize him. I don't understand this, but
somehow he looked different. While he was on earth, his visage
was marred more than the sons of men. He was a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. And now he's in his glorified
body." And they were terrified. They were affrighted. And they
supposed that they'd seen a spirit. And he said unto them, verse
38, why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet.
that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have. And when he
had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. Now they had seen something miraculous
take place. He walked through those barred
doors. I don't know if the doors were open or whether he just
passed right through them. I don't know. They debate on what. Who
knows? Who knows? But they saw something miraculous
take place. And he walked in there and they
were scared to death. And he shows them, I am the one
you followed for three years. I am the one who was born of
the Virgin Mary. I am the one who was laid in
that tomb. I'm the one who walked out. I'm
the same one. You're not seeing a spirit. You're
not seeing an evil. You see me, flesh and bones. Now, our Lord is man. He's God. He's man. flesh and bones forever
he's the eternal son isaiah 9 6 says unto us a child is born unto
us a son is given that son wasn't born that son was given he's
the eternal god but that child was born he became flesh and
he will never cease to be a man But this man, the scripture says,
this man, after he'd offered one sacrifice for sins forever,
sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Now, as I
speak, there is a man in glory seated at the right hand of God
with the visible marks of the wounds still in his flesh that
he received on the cross that he died on. There's still scars
in his hands and the feet and a hole in his side where the
spear was thrust through. Seated at the right hand of the
Father, the man, Christ Jesus. But look back to John chapter
20 for a moment. John chapter 20. Our Lord said at the end of verse
19, peace be unto you. Now who's he speaking to? He's
speaking to the same bunch who had forsaken him. All of them
forsook him and fled. He's talking to those ones who
had been so unbelieving on at least three different occasions.
The Lord told them, I'm going to be crucified, I'm going to
be slain, and the third day, I'm going to be raised from the
dead. He told them that in no uncertain terms. Why weren't
they there waiting? Because they didn't believe him. They didn't understand what he
was saying. They should have been waiting there, but they
weren't. So he comes to these men who had forsaken him, and
he says, peace. be unto you. And he shows them
his hands and his feet. Here we have the only ground
of the believer's peace. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace. the blood of Jesus. This is all
my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus. In Colossians
chapter 1 verse 20 we read these words, having made peace. Having made peace by the blood
of his cross by him to reconcile all things to himself by him
I say whether they be things in earth or things in heaven
and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you. Anybody know the next three words? and unblameable, and unreproofable. I'm holy, nothing to blame me
for, nothing to reproof me for. This is what His blood actually
accomplished. Here is the only, the only ground
of peace. These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me you might have peace. Do you remember what flowed
out of His side, that hole that came in His side? John tells
us that blood and water came out of His side. There was another
miracle. Blood and water flowed from his
side in answer to Zechariah's prophecy. Out of his, a fountain
opened for sin and for uncleanness. Blood to put away sin and to
make me justified. Water to sanctify me and make
me holy. It all came from him. There's
that only ground of peace that the believer has, but isn't it
a great ground? Do you need anything else to give you peace? You know,
this gives me peace, knowing that what my Lord did is all
that's needed to make me holy, unblameable, and unreprovable
in His sight. And He still has those marks
to show us. In Zechariah 13, verse 6, we
read, And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in
thy hands? Then shall he answer, Those with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Now you know who
I believe asked him this question? It was an angel. It was an angel. A believer would understand this.
He'd know. He was an angel. And doesn't
the scripture point out in the great mystery of godliness that
he was seen of angels. Oh, they were amazed when they
saw him leave glory and go to earth. They were amazed when
they saw what he subjected himself to. They were amazed when they
saw him come back and he tells them, these are the wounds that
I received in the house of my friends. And they fall down before
him and cry, holy, holy, holy. Now these wounds that he has
even now as I'm speaking, A soldier is not ashamed of the
wounds he receives in battle, is he? He's not ashamed to cover
those up. How the beauty of Christ is seen
in his death. The Shulamites said, my beloved
is white and ruddy. He's white in his sinless perfection. He's blood red in his sacrifice. Now what beauty we see in his
wounds. I wish I could talk about this the way it ought to be talked
about, but we see the beauty of His obedience. He became obedient to death,
even the death of the cross. We see His love to His Father. Son, let Him nail you to the
cross. Yes, Father. We see His holiness. He would rather die than let
one sin go unpunished and his father's justice not be vindicated.
We see his great faith. He was utterly in the dark and
yet he said, though he slain, yet will I trust him. He knew darkness that you and
I know nothing about. We just heard about it. But he
never quit believing God. And we see the power of what
his wounds actually accomplished. Turn with me for a moment to
Romans chapter eight, if you would. Romans chapter eight. What do his wounds tell us? Verse 31, what shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us. Now this is what his wounds tell
me. God is for me. If God be for us, what is there
to be afraid of? Who can be against us? Name it. It's nothing. Nothing to be intimidated by.
If God be for me, and this is what his wounds tell me, they
didn't make God for me. They're there because God is
for me. His wounds tell me that God, the holy God of glory, Who
can be against me? Look in verse 32. Here's what
his blood accomplished. He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not? What could
possibly prevent him from freely giving us all things? Nothing to prevent him. Nothing could, you can't match
this up. You can't send it away. Nothing, nothing, nothing could
prevent him from freely, without a cause of me, giving me everything. That's what his blood accomplished.
Verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? No prosecution. There's nothing
to prosecute me for. Really, there's nothing there.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? God justified
him. This is what our Lord did on
Calvary Street. By his blood, every one of his people were
justified. That means I have no guilt. Without sin before God. Verse
34, who is he that condemneth? No condemnation. And here's the
only answer. Who is he that condemneth? It's
Christ that died. yea rather that's risen again
who is even at the right hand of God who also makes intercession
for us who shall separate us from the love of Christ because
of his wounds i cannot be separated that's what he accomplished these wounds that our Lord Still
bears speak of his advocacy and priesthood even right now. Listen
to the scripture from Hebrews 9, 24. For Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the
true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence
of God for us. Now, when he arose, having finished
his work, He does not stop being a great high priest after the
order of Melchizedek. A priesthood that never had a
beginning and that will never end. Hebrews 7.25 says, wherefore,
he is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. And
let me say this about the intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. When
our Lord intercedes, it's not like I sin, and he says, Father,
forgive him for that one. And then I sin the exact same
sin again the next minute or the next day, and he prays once
again, Father, forgive him, and over and over. No, not at all.
All he does is stand before the Father and show his hands and
his feet, and nothing else needs to be said. Amen. That's it. Five bleeding wounds he bare,
received on Calvary's tree. They pour effectual prayers,
they strongly plead for me. Forgive him, O forgive, they
cry, nor let that ransomed sinner die. And that's what takes place. Now, these wounds speak of judgment. He still has these wounds, not
pain, you know that, but he still has the visible marks of his
sufferings. And if you die without Christ,
here is what you will be guilty of on judgment day. The murder, the death of the
Son of God. You may have done many heinous
things, but nothing compares to this, the death of the Son
of God. Now, somebody says, now, I wasn't
there. Here's the point. If God left
you to yourself right now, that's what you'd be doing. He knows
what you would do. That's what, that's what, that's
what he says. And his wounds will be the evidence,
the physical, visible evidence against you. If I die without
Christ, His wounds will be the irrefutable evidence against
me. Now when He returns, His wounds will be your wheel or
your mower. Behold, He cometh with the clouds,
and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him,
and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Now
when He returns, His wounds will be either your comfort or your
terror. Now, here's the main point. This is my last port, and here's
the main port. His wounds. Let me say this. When I'm in heaven,
when you're in heaven, we're going to have glorified bodies.
going to have glorified minds. We're going to have glorified
hearts. We won't be conscious of sin. We won't know anything about
guilt. We won't know anything about unbelief. We won't even,
we won't be conscious of sin. Now, can somebody even imagine
that? I can't. I can't imagine what
that's going to be like to be without sin. And John, when he
was speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when he was
describing, he said, it does not yet appear what we shall
be. We, John couldn't understand, but we know this. When he shall
appear, we'll be like him. For we'll see him as he is. But
we, we can't understand that. But here, here I am in glory. with no conscious of sin. But I'm still gonna know that
the only reason I'm there is because of His wounds. That's
it. I might not be conscious of sin
at that time, I won't be, but I will know the only reason I'm
there is because of His wounds. I'll look upon him and I'll know
here's why I'm here. There is no other reason. No
other reason. This is the only reason. I'll never be allowed to forget. But you know what? Turn with me to Isaiah 49 for
a moment. He still has his wounds. Isaiah 49, verse 14. But Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me and my
Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking
child that she should not have compassion on the son of a womb?
Yea, they may forget. Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. Now, not only do his wounds cause
me to know that the only reason I'm there is because of him,
but his wounds will cause him to never forget me. Now, there is a man seated in glory. He's seated because his work
is finished. He has put away the sin of all
of God's elect. He has accomplished salvation,
and there he sits. But he still sits there with
wounds. And this is a continual reminder
to us that that man in glory is the Savior. And he delights. Listen to me, he delights in
mercy. He delights in saving sinners. You know, people find fault with
him. Why didn't he save everybody?
Why didn't he elect everybody? He could have, why didn't he
save everybody? Now, when we think things like that, and we've
all thought that, what we're doing, we become his judge. We
become his judge. We sit in judgment on him saying,
I wouldn't do it that way. Now let me tell you the truth.
If it were up to me or you, not one person would be saved. Not
one. Not one. Let somebody cross you
enough times and you'll cross them off. You'll do it. I mean,
that's just the way we are. But he delights in mercy and
his wounds are a continual reminder. He says, come unto me. This one
with the wounds in his hands and in his feet. He says, come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me. For I, the high and holy Son
of God, am me. and lowly in heart, and you'll
find rest for your soul. There's a man in glory with the
wounds in his hands and feet, the hole in his side, and he
says, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. That's why it's called good news.
What a blessing. I appreciate these men so much
and thank them for coming and thank the Lord for them. Well,
in about five minutes, we'll partake of a whole lot of food.
There's a lot of food here. If you want, you can stay and
fellowship together and eat with us. Please do. You ladies, whoever
needs to go serve, y'all go ahead and go. And we'll give you a
few minutes to get ready. Ain't nobody? It's every man for himself in
there, I guess. Y'all are just embarrassed to
get up, I see. Don't be embarrassed. I'm grateful for these ladies
and all the work they do. Blessings to this church. Let's be dismissed in prayer,
then we'll go eat together. With a bob coffee,
would you ask the Lord to bless these words to us tonight? Our Heavenly Father, we give
Thee thanks this night that You brought us to this place, and
You blessed us to hear of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, help
us to rejoice each day in that which our Lord has done for us
that we couldn't have done for ourselves. Father, help us to
rejoice in that coming day when we'll be made like you. Amen.
Father, we look forward to that day, and until that day, keep
us, bless us, make us walk in paths of righteousness. Amen.
Father, we're thankful for what we heard tonight. We're thankful
for this place and these people. Pray that I have rich blessings
upon them in the days ahead. Amen. You're dismissed.