Lord that could not be Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I'd like to speak from John chapter
20 this morning on the glorified wounds of Christ. I'd like to begin reading in
verse 19 of John chapter 20. This is after the resurrection
of the Lord. Then the same day at even, being
the first day of the week when the doors were shut, literally
barred, 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. Now, it appears at this time
in his glorified body, he literally walked through the doors and
said, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed
unto them his hands and his side. He showed them the wounds that
he received on the cross. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. When Christ arose from the dead
and walked out of the tomb, there is something that he went in
there with that he left there without. The sins of his people. He went in there bearing the
sins of His people. And He walked out of that tomb
with their sins put away. They're no longer there. But there's something He went
in there with that He also came out with. And that is His wounds. The holes in His hands and in
His feet. The hole in his side is still
there. In John 20, verse 26, when the
Lord was speaking to Thomas, we read, 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."
Now, this was the glorified body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
we know He had no pain. His pain and suffering was over,
but He still bears the wounds, not simply scars. But there was
a hole in his side where Thomas could actually thrust his hand
in. He didn't have to have it this
way. He could have removed his wounds,
but he didn't. And even now in heaven, as he
sits at the right hand of the Father, He still possesses those
wounds in His hands and in His feet. And He still possesses
the hole in His side. Now, when John spake of a door
being opened into heaven, and him seeing the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, when he saw the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He says
he saw a lamb as it had been slain. And I have no doubt that
when he says this, he's referring to the glorified wounds of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord himself said, I am he
that liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive evermore and
have the keys of hell and death. Why? does he still have his wounds? When I'm in heaven, I'll have
a perfect glorified body with no wounds, not even any sign
that I ever had any experience of sin, yet he still bears the
wounds in his glorified body. Why? Well, let me give you several
reasons. First, in Luke chapter 24, Beginning
in verse 36, we read, And as they thus spake, Jesus himself
stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto
you. This, once again, is after the
resurrection. And they were terrified, and affrighted, and supposed
that they had seen a spirit. Now, when the Lord came through
in his glorified body, perhaps he didn't look the same. You
know, no one could recognize him, and I imagine we don't know
exactly what a glorified body looks like. When he was here
on earth, he was called a man of sorrow and acquainted with
grief. His visage was marred more than
the sons of men. But now he has this glorified
body and he walks through the door, the barred door, and they're
terrified. They're afraid and they think
that they've seen a spirit. And he lets them know, it's me. And he demonstrated that it was
him when he showed them his hands and his feet. I am the same one
that was born of the Virgin Mary. I am the same one who was nailed
to a cross. I'm the same one whom you followed
for three years. I am the same one who was laid
in the tomb. I am the one who walked out.
I am the man, Christ Jesus. He lets them know who he is. He's identified by his wounds. And his wounds tell us that he
is forever flesh and bones. He is forever the man of Christ
Jesus. Now, there was a time when he
did not have a human body. He's the eternal Son. He's always
been equal to the Father, the Son of God. Isaiah 9, 6 says,
Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Now that son
wasn't born. That son is eternal. He was given.
But the child was born. Christ Jesus became flesh. God manifest in the flesh. He was born of a virgin and will
never cease to be a man even now. But this man, the scripture
says, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till
his enemies be made his footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified." Now, as I speak, there is a man
in glory, seated at the right hand of God with the marks of
the wounds in his flesh that he received on the cross. He
died on. And these gashes are still in
his hands and in his feet as he sits at the right hand of
the Father with the four and twenty elders, the heavenly host
of the angels and all of the redeemed falling before his throne,
crying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Now, He kept His wounds
to identify Himself to His disciples and to let us know He is always
the Man, Christ Jesus. Now, in John chapter 20, verse
19, we read, I've already read this scripture, let me read it
again, Then the same day it even Evening, being the first day
of the week, when the doors were 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. Now, remember
the disciples. They had all forsaken the Lord
Jesus Christ and bled. And they were all filled with
unbelief. Do you remember on at least three different occasions
the Lord said, after the third day I will be raised from the
dead? And they should have all been
there waiting on Him to come out of that tomb, but they didn't
believe. And here they are, assembled
for fear of the Jews. They messed up everything they
did. Remind you of somebody else?
And yet our Lord appears to them and says, Peace be unto you. And then he showed them his hands
and his feet. Now what that tells me is that
here is the only ground of a believer's peace. But it's a sufficient
ground. The wounds, the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. This is the ground of my peace.
I don't get peace by the strength of my faith. I don't get peace
from my preaching. I don't get peace from the things
that I do. None of those things give me
peace. Here's the one thing that gives
me peace. His precious blood. His death on the cross when my
sin became His, and He put it away. Paul put it this way in
Colossians 1, verse 20, and having made peace. I love that. I've heard people say, I don't
know how many times, have you made your peace with God? No,
I haven't made my peace with God. Christ made my peace with
God. Having made peace through the
blood of His cross by Him. to reconcile all things to Himself.
By Him, I say, whether they be things on earth or things in
heaven, and you that sometimes were 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 holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in His sight." Now, that gives me peace. That's
what the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ did. Everybody He shed
His blood for, they've been presented before God as holy. Unblameable
and unreprovable in the very sight of God, and how God sees
things is the way they really are. Oh, what peace we derive
from Him. In John's account in John chapter
19, when that soldier thrust the spear through his side, do
you remember what came out? The Scripture points out that
there came out blood and water. Blood and water. In answer to Zechariah's prophecy,
a fountain shall be opened for sin and uncleanness. That blood
for sin. washed it away, justified us,
that water for uncleanness that sanctifies us, all of our peace
is found in His wounds. He said, Peace be unto you, and
He showed them His hands and His feet. 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, I feel certain
that this is not a believer asking the question, what are these
wounds? A believer knows what these wounds are. This is the
question of the angels. How amazed were they when the
Son of God became flesh? How amazed were they when they
saw Him allow Himself to be mistreated and spit upon and crucified. How amazed were they when He
came back into glory having been raised from the dead. And they
said, what are these wounds? They didn't understand. And he
let them know, these are the wounds that I received by the
hands of my friends. Now, part of the great mystery
of godliness was he was seen of angels, how astonished they
were as he returned to glory with his wounds. And they fall
down before him and cry, holy, holy, holy. Now, these wounds
are his beauty and his glory. As our Lord sits at the right
hand of the Father, these wounds that He still has are His beauty
and His glory. Now, a soldier is not ashamed
of the wounds he received in battle, and our Lord is not ashamed
of the wounds that He received in this battle. Now, the Shulamites
said, My beloved is white and ruddy, white in His sinless perfection,
ruddy in His bloody sacrifice, and what beauty we see in His
wounds. First of all, I see the beauty
of His obedience. The Scripture says, He became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. God said,
let Him nail you to a cross, and He said, yes, Father, because
He was made sin for His people. We see His love to His Father
that He is going to obey Him no matter what. We see His holiness. He would rather die and suffer
on a cross than let one sin go unpunished. Oh, but we see His
love to His people in His wounds. What love He bears to them that
caused Him to come and die for them. We see His power in His
wounds. Oh, what power was demonstrated
by those wounds that they actually made sin not to be. This is what
His wounds accomplished, the complete eradication of all the
sins of all God's elect so that we stand, every believer stands
before God without sin. Oh, what glorious beauty we see
in His wounds. We see His faith in His wounds.
He said, though He slay me, speaking of His Father, though He slay
me, yet will I trust Him. You see, these wounds are the
trophies of His accomplishments. Now, when He was first born,
the angel said, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. And when he was on the cross
and gave his last word, what were they? It is finished. My people have been saved from
their sins. And his wounds are the trophies
of his accomplishments. In Romans chapter 8, verse 32,
Paul tells us, He that spared not his own son, but delivered
Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? Do you know that if you're somebody
that Christ died for, there's absolutely nothing that can prevent
God from freely giving you all things? The law can't prevent
it. Your sin can't prevent it. The
devil can't prevent it. Your evil works can't prevent
it. Nothing can prevent God from freely giving us all things. Oh, his wound speaks of the trophies
of his accomplishments, what he accomplished in behalf of
his people, the full and complete salvation of his people. Now,
these wounds that he still has in his body speak of his advocacy
as our great high priest. When he arose, having finished
his work, As far as the sacrifice goes, he does not stop being
a priest. after the order of Melchizedek,
a priesthood that never had a beginning and will never have an ending.
Listen to this scripture, Hebrews chapter 7 verse 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. Now
let me tell you something about the priesthood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. When I sin, Christ doesn't say,
Father, forgive him again. And then I commit the same sin
again. And He says, Father, forgive him again. No, it doesn't work
that way at all. All the Lord does is show the
Father His hands and His side and nothing else needs to be
said. Oh, what a great high priest
who right now is at the right hand of the Father, and he shows
the Father his hands and his feet, and the Father is satisfied
with me. He represents me, and the Father
is pleased because of his hands and his feet. Now, his wounds
also speak of judgment. The fact that He still has His
wounds in His hands and His feet. He still has the hole in His
side. This speaks of judgment. Now, if you or I die without
Christ, if we die an unbeliever, if we die with no faith, here
is what we will be guilty of on Judgment Day. We will be guilty
of murdering the Son of God. And His hands and His feet is
the hard evidence. Now somebody says, now wait a
minute, how can I be guilty? I wasn't even born then. Well,
here's the fact concerning you and I. If God left us to ourself,
if He took away the restraints and let us do what we want to
do, we would have been right there with Him murdering His
Son. And that's what He holds us guilty
of. And the wounds of Christ are
evidence of it. If you die rejecting the Lord
Jesus Christ, if you die refusing to believe the Gospel, if you
die believing in salvation by works, you're going to find out
that you have been guilty of the body and blood of Christ,
You've been guilty of murdering the Son of God. This is what
God holds you responsible for. You may have done many heinous
and wicked crimes, but nothing compares to this, murdering the
Son of God. Now, if you say, I didn't do
that, but you would, and that's what God holds you accountable
for. And if I die without Christ, this is what I'm going to be
judged with on judgment day. and his wounds are the irrefutable
evidence. Now, when he returns in glory,
his wounds will be your wheel or your woe. The scripture says,
Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him,
and they also which pierced him. And the kindred of the earth
shall wail because of him when he returns. His wounds will either
be your terror or your comfort. Now, here's what I believe the
main reason for His wounds are. Those reasons that I've just
given are all very valid and very much a blessing. But here's
what I believe the main reason is. Now when the believer goes
to heaven, he's given a glorified body. He is no longer conscience
of sin. He no longer has evil thoughts. He doesn't even have the remembrance
of sin. We have a glorified body perfectly
conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. No sin. I won't have anything to feel
guilty about. I won't have any memory of sin. Here's the one
memory I'm going to have of sin. When I look at Him, I'm going
to be made to remember that the only reason I'm in heaven is
because of His wounds. No other reason. But what He
did for me, I will not be allowed to forget. That's the only reason
that I'm here. is because of the wounds of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And I'll be looking upon those
wounds continually. And I'm going to be continually
reminded, even without being conscious of sin, I'm going to
be continually reminded that the only reason I'm there is
because of His wounds. and how precious those wounds
will be to me. And his wounds make it to where
he cannot forget his people. I'd like to read you a passage
of Scripture from Isaiah chapter 49. Perhaps you feel forgotten
of the Lord. Well, listen to this passage
of Scripture from Isaiah 49 verse 16. Well, I want to begin in
verse 14. But Zion said, That's the church. That's the believer. And every
believer has said this. 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 her
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. The
Lord cannot forget me because I'm the fruit of His death. He
looks at His palms and He remembers me. He remembers all of His people. Now, I want you to think of this
glorious truth that even right now there's a man in glory, the
God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and He still has all of His wounds. Pain, of course not. He's in
a glorified body. But He has all of His wounds. Now, somebody may be thinking,
well, I see that's a blessing for a believer, but what about
me? What if I'm not a believer? What
good can that do me? I tell you what, it's a reminder.
It's a reminder that that one in glory is the Savior of sinners. Why does He have those wounds?
He has those wounds because He was made sin. He came to save
sinners. And all of the sins of all of
His people were placed upon Him, and He bore the wrath and judgment
of God against sin. He came to save sinners. Paul said that in 1 Timothy 1.15.
He said this is a faithful saying. It is worthy of all acceptation
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. of whom
I am chief." The Pharisees criticized him. They said, this man receiveth
sinners and eateth with them. And they didn't know that they
were giving him his highest commendation. This man delights in mercy. He still saves sinners. Are you a sinner? You come to
Him. Remember, he's seated at the
right hand of the Father, having already accomplished salvation. There's nothing for you to do.
Don't wait on anything. There's nothing for you to do.
He says, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And
listen to this. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. He said, Come to Me, all ye that
labor, and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Take My yoke
upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.
This One who is the High Holy Son of God, with the wounds in
His hands and feet, and the holes still in His side, is also meek
and lowly in heart. And He says, Come to Me, and
I'll give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn
of Me. My yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Thank God for the glorified wounds
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That gives me such confidence
right now. That gives me such peace right
now to know that my great high priest is in heaven. Now, I'd
like to invite you to services at Todd's Road Grace Church.
Our services begin this morning at 945 is the Bible study, 1030
is the morning worship, and 6 is the evening worship. And we'd
like you to come out and visit with us. We have this message
on cassette tape, CD, or DVD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg praying that
God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's our prayer. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.