Well, good morning, my friends, and welcome to the Heritage Hour. I’m Mark Gonzales, your pastoral encourager here in Southwest Florida. Oh, and I’m so delighted to be with you on air, online, and in media ministry for over 35 years now.

So thank you for sitting with me at the feet of the Lord to listen for his heart to touch our hearts. And if you’ve been with us, you know that we’ve been working through a series, a 10-week series, I’ve called Passion Week Portraits of God. We started it back in Easter month, back in April. And there’s just so many portraits that we see through Passion Week from Palm Sunday all the way to Easter Sunday. and so we’ve been looking at that for the last eight messages.

This is number nine in this 27 minute broadcast and of course we’ll finish it up next week.

But we’re at Easter Sunday now, having covered Palm Sunday and then what happened on Monday and then on Tuesday when he was our thorough teacher and then on Wednesday when he was betrayed by Judas and then all the things that happened on Thursday which we now call Maundy Thursday and then we looked at Good Friday and then of course what I call Sabbath Saturday, the day of rest. When we saw that he is our Sabbath rest, that’s the portrait we saw.

But the second one we saw is that he is our constant way maker. And even though things were quiet, things didn’t seem to be happening. Oh yes, they were. A lot of invisible workings were going on.

Eternity was unfolding, astounding things. And that brings us to Easter Sunday’s portraits that I see. And I’m going to break it down into two bigger sections, how he is our risen Lord, or excuse me, risen Savior, and look at the personal way that that can be experienced.

But then next week in our final broadcast in the series, I’ll be talking about his portrait on Easter Sunday as our resurrection power, looking at the transcendent, the eternal view of all of that.

But today, the personal earthly view of how he is our risen Savior. Oh, that’s the portrait we’ll be covering today. And if you have your Bibles, we’re going to be in John 20, and then we’re going to go to Luke 24, as I’ll share with you three more portraits that are more specific under this big portrait of how he is our risen savior And as you making your way over to John chapter 20 just a quick reminder that all of these 27-minute broadcasts are archived on my website. I call it Helping You Hear God on that landing page, which you’ll find at markpg.org.

That’s markpg.org. There’s a lot of resources there, but one of them is a box that has the word broadcast. Just click on that, the next page click on portraits of god and that’s it two clicks and you’re there a whole list of these archived messages so i hope you’ll check it out at markpg.org to catch up if you’ve missed some or to listen to them again or to share them with others so helping you hear god markpg.org portraits of god well as we get started oh as is our custom let’s just go before the lord and ask him to speak, shall we? Well, Lord, once again, I am just so honored to have been given this calling and privilege to offer a radio broadcast just to encourage my brothers and sisters, wherever they may be listening, whether it’s on air or online.

And Lord, I thank you for the privilege of being able to walk through your love letters together just to see portrait after portrait after portrait throughout scripture of who you are, what you’re like, to get a glimpse of your heart and your ways. And today, as we talk about how you are indeed our risen Savior, may we get a glimpse of how personal that really is in our lives. May we experience it at the depths of our being. We don’t want an academic exercise.

We understand that theology is important. We want it absolutely at the foundation, but we want to experience it in real life. What does it look like? What does it feel like?

How is it manifested? How is it experienced?

So help me, Lord, I pray, as I do my best to unpack these truths as we work through John chapter 20 to see you as our risen Savior. Thank you, Lord. We love you, Lord. and we pray this in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ by his precious cleansing and healing transforming empowering and forgiving blood amen amen and amen and by the way the way that I have found to close our prayer times together about the amazing work of the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and how it was all proven and then triggered and manifested on that Resurrection Sunday at a personal level to us at an epic level and transcendent level as well Man it just it just fascinates me So that why I so excited about sharing what the Lord’s put on my heart with you today.

So let’s pick it up over in John chapter 20. And just a brief reminder that we’ve been pretty much going through John’s account of the events of Passion Week and all the different portions there, though we cross-reference to the other gospel renderings of that story and then also some of the letters in the New Testament to talk about what was being done during that Passion Week.

So today, same thing. We’re going to primarily be in John chapter 20, the whole chapter, and then we’ll go to Luke 24. And under the banner of he is our risen savior, let’s take a look at how the Lord in John 20 verses 1 through 18 gives us a portrait of himself, in my view, as our stunning hope. Our risen savior is our stunning hope.

Look how this story unfolds. I absolutely love this. John chapter 20, beginning of verse 1.

So on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

So she ran to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and that’s John referring to himself, by the way, and said to them, they’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb. We don’t know where they put him. and at that Peter and the other disciple went out heading for the tomb and the two were running together but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first stooping down he saw the linen clothes lying there yet he did not go in then following him Simon Peter came also and he entered the tomb and saw the linen clothes lying there by the way I just love how that kind of reveals their wiring, their gift wiring, and their temperaments and all. John was cautious about going in, but timing Peter, boom, he just goes right in. What in the world’s happening?

I love that.

Now verse 7. The wrapping that had been on his head was not lying with the linen cloths, but was folded up in a separate place by itself. The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then entered the tomb, saw, and believed. For they still did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead.

And then the disciples went home again But Mary Magdalene story continues in verse 11 Look at this But Mary stood outside facing the tomb crying And as she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting there, one on the head and one at the feet where Jesus’ body had been lying. And they said to her, Woman, why are you crying? because they’ve taken away my Lord, she told them, and I don’t know where they put him. And having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus.

Let me just stop there for a moment. I totally get that. How do you not recognize somebody you’ve been traveling the countryside for three and a half years or so, you know, because she was in grief. She was in shock.

She was dismayed. She was bewildered. She was wondering what these events that have been happening are just overwhelming. I can’t think straight.

I can’t see strength. I’m just kind of reflexively trying to deal with things as they come up. And these guys are in this tomb. Whether she knew they were angels or not, we don’t know. all she is, she’s overwhelmed that the body of her Lord who was crucified before her very eyes was missing.

And when he appeared in his resurrected body, we don’t know for sure he was significantly different than he looked like in his earthly body.

But at this point, he wasn’t readily seen, wasn’t readily understood, wasn’t readily identified by Mary in her state. And that’s why I love how this story unfolds. Watch this now.

So she stood outside, as we said, and these angels talked to her and asked why she was crying. And having said this, this is verse 14, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. A woman, Jesus said to her, why are you crying? who is it you were looking for? Supposing it was the gardener.

She replied, Sir, if you’ve removed him, tell me where you’ve put him. I will take him away. And Jesus said, Mary. I love that.

He calls us by name. He called her by name. And that was the very thing that triggered this revelation. This identification of who she is. was talking to, turning around, she said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher.

And he said, don’t cling to me.

So let me stop there a moment. Apparently she said, Rabboni, and she just fell at his feet and started clinging to him and putting her arms around him. He says, don’t cling to me, Jesus told her, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. come on, but go to my brothers tell them that I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and to your God Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples I have seen the Lord and she told them what he said to her these Jesuses are stunning hope my friends. This was a stunning realization, an awestruck joy that reflexively entered in humble worship where she just fell at his feet and put her arms around him and didn’t want to let go.

Oh Lord, oh Lord, he’s here, he’s here. I love this. You know, there are times when we don’t see Jesus, isn’t there? there are times when our lives can get so hectic, so busy. Things can be crashing in so overwhelmingly that we just don’t see the Lord in it.

We just don’t sense the Lord’s presence. We just can’t hear his voice when we pray. It’s like we get fogged in, muddied up, cocoons, you know, all kinds of metaphors we can use. And we just don’t see Jesus in the midst of it because we’re so focused on the horizontal things that are happening to us.

Our eyes drop from either the upward view of seeing the Lord in the heavenlies or the inward view, seeing the Lord who resides within us and has never left us once we entered covenant with him. we lose sight of him. We don’t see him.

But I have an encouragement for you, my friends. When you’re in that state and you’re in this whirlwind, or you’re going through emotional fatigue, or you’re in an emotional grief, or fog, or whatever it is, listen for the whisper that calls your name In this case Mary Mary Oh yes Lord yes It is you It is you Oh Lord it is you Oh and she fell And she clung to him which he received But then there’s a time to, okay, it’s time to let go and move out, move on, speak up, share. And that’s what she did. we see it as Elijah in the cave back in first kings 19 he was so overwhelmed by death threat just fogged in he lost sight of God he runs off into the wilderness runs off in a cave the Lord shows up and whispers what are you doing here Elijah and what does he say oh Lord they seek my life to take it away I’m alone and left an olive angel just take my life I’m done I’m done. He’s just lost it.

And God doesn’t rebuke him for it. And he didn’t yell or shout at him. We see that in the metaphors that a strong wind came by and crashing storm and all that. And God was not in the winds.

He was not in the thunder.

But in a still small voice. Elijah. Elijah, what are you doing here, son? Mary.

Mary? Or in my case, Mark, Mark, on your case, whatever your name is. The Lord speaks to get your attention, to remind you that he’s right there with you, right there within you, all above you, everywhere. He’s got you.

He’s got this. He is our stunning hope. And we need that stunning hope from time to time because we lose sight of him. We get fogged in.

We don’t recognize him even when he’s right there within us. Wow. He is our stunning hope. We need that stunning remembrance that he’s there and he’s got us.

And he’s got whatever we’re dealing with. Wow. And that leads us to that humble worship that we were describing. I hope you’re developing that kind of intimacy with the Lord because a risen Savior is not just a concept.

It’s not just a historical fact. It’s just not a doctrinal point. It is a personal reality for you and with you. He is our risen Savior who is our stunning hope.

But He’s also our personal peace. Our personal peace. Let’s look at it in verses 19 through 31 as we continue here in John 20. I love this, how it unfolds.

Verse 19. in the evening of that first day of the week the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because of their fear of the Jews Then Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

Okay, the doors were locked and all of a sudden, poof, there he is.

Somehow, someway, did he walk right through the wall or right through the door? Did he just poof and he arrived? And how stunning is that?

Now, this is a different kind of stunning. What in the world is going on? Is this a ghost? And he said, whoa, whoa, whoa. peace be with you.

But it was a far deeper encouragement than just don’t be afraid at that moment. I’ve got a great peace. Look at this. Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And Jesus said to them, peace to you. as the Father has sent me, I also send you. And after saying this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. And if you forgive the sins of any, they have forgiven them.

If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

Now verse 24, But one of the twelve, Thomas, called twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord.

But he said to them, look, if I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the mark of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Now, let me stop there. Let’s not be harsh on Thomas, because guess what? Jesus did the very thing Thomas was looking for. Up in the earlier verse, he showed them his hands.

He showed them his side.

So, he’s not asking for anything else that Jesus wasn’t already willingly providing to the rest of the disciples, right?

So he’s just asking basically for the same thing.

So let’s not be too hard on him. In fact, the Bible does say test the spirits, right? Later it’ll say that in 1 John.

So, you know, cut him some slack because we’re that way and we should be that way. We’re instructed to be that way. Test the spirits to make sure they are of God. After eight days, his disciples, verse 26, were indoors again.

Eight days later, Thomas was with them. And even though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you. All right, second time he’s done this. Then he said to Thomas, Okay, put your finger here and observe my hands.

Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer. And Thomas responded to him, My Lord, my God. Jesus said, well, because you’ve seen me, you believe.

Well, those who believe without seeing are blessed Okay Now some might want to see this as a rebuke I don I see it as a reminder I see it as an encouragement I see it as the Lord saying you know what I meet you where you are. There are times when I will give you proof, give you evidence, give you confirmations.

But I also want you to cultivate the ability just to trust me just because you love me, you know me and you don’t have to understand you don’t even have to see to rest in my personal peace he is our personal peace here peace is given proof is provided but it’s on not because we demand it not because we require it not because we’re insolent and saying I’m not unless you do this you know and I’m going to you know keep you to it no no no no the Lord is just wanting to draw us into such an intimacy with him that when he calls us by name, when he saves us unto himself, when he transforms our hearts, when he tells us, believe in God, believe also in me, he’s saying, trust God, trust me. You don’t have to see it. You don’t have to understand it to really believe. You can do that by spirit, in spirit, in time, just abiding in me.

I am your personal peace, no matter what’s going on around you, no matter how bleak it may look, how lost you may feel, I am with you. I will guide you. I will keep you. I will love you.

Wow. Wow. I love this. I absolutely love this.

And so they see their Savior and the scripture goes on to say in verse 30, here in John chapter 20. Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. Isn’t that great to know? He’s done so much.

He does so much. Verse 31.

But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, by believing you may have life in his name. He’s so personal. He wants us to have personal life in him by covenanting with him, trusting him. He is Jesus, the Messiah, who died on the cross and rose again.

He’s our risen Savior, who is our stunning hope, as Mary Magdalene showed us, who is our personal peace, as his disciples in that upper room were experiencing.

But then there were these two guys on the road to Emmaus. After the Lord had died on the cross and it’s that in-between time and now it’s resurrected, morning let’s go to luke chapter 24 and pick up the story in verse 13 luke 24 13 where it says now on the same day two of them were on their way to a village called emmaus which was about seven miles from jerusalem and together they were discussing everything that had taken place and while they were discussing and arguing and by the way let me stop there there are so many different perspectives on the things that in in life things that happen and events we’re going to have different perspectives. Things that are written in Scripture, we’re going to have different perspectives. Things that we experience with Jesus, we’re going to have different perspectives.

And sometimes there’ll be a little arguing going on, but not to the type that’s going to lead to a split, but the type that can draw you deeper in the continual search for a oneness and a unity in Him.

So they’re arguing here and discussing all that had been taking place. I mean, it was just so much. And Jesus Himself, it says in 14, came near and began to walk alongside of them. but they were prevented from recognizing him or they didn’t recognize him and and then he asked them what is this dispute that you having with each other as you walking and they stopped walking and looked discouraged the one named cleopas answered him are you the only visitor in jerusalem who doesn know the things that happened there in these days what things jesus asked them they said to him the things concerning jesus the nazarene who was a prophet and powerful in action and speech before god and all the people and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him.

But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. And besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. And moreover, are you ready for this, Jesus? God says, moreover, some women from our group astounded us.

They arrived early at the tomb and when they had reported that they didn’t find his body and they came and reported that they had seen a vision of some angels who said he was alive and some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the woman had said but they didn’t see him. And Jesus said to them how unwise and slow are you to believe in your hearts all that the prophets have spoken? Didn the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into his glory And then beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the scripture I got to stop there. I absolutely love this.

What a great passage that tells us that when we are having theological debates, when we are having debates about applications of biblical truths or what God’s trying to do in this situation or that situation. And we are having our differing perspectives, maybe coming out in arguments, maybe even leading to a split like it did with Barnabas and Paul that we see over in Acts a little later, which was sad.

But I’m glad it’s there because it’s real. It does happen in the midst of it. In the midst of it, listen for the Lord calling your name. listen for the Lord and ask by his Holy Spirit to reveal more and more about what we should draw from the scriptures heart to heart from him and that’s what he did here verse 27 beginning with Moses and all the prophets he interpreted for them the things concerning himself and all the scriptures we should know the scriptures we should memorize scriptures but that not salvation Scriptures don have salvation They point to the one who gives salvation and that would be Jesus And he was reclining with them in verse 30 at the table took the bread blessed it, broke it, gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and then he disappeared from their sight.

And so they said to each other, weren’t our hearts ablaze within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the scriptures to us? And that very hour, they got up and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the 11 who’d gathered there and said, the Lord has certainly been raised and appeared to Simon. And then they described what happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

That, my friends, are some great portraits, a stunning hope, but personal peace and a roadway conversation. He’s our roadway conversation in the road to life. Wow. Lord, thank you for being that kind of God for us.

We love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, I’m Mark Gonzales, and I hope you’ll check out my website at markpg.org. Until next time, fall in love with Jesus, our risen Savior.