Bill Johnson - A Shift In Seasons
John, chapter 20. This chapter is on the resurrection of Jesus, who the Bible calls the firstborn of the dead, which is really interesting because he raised other people from the dead but their resurrection was temporary because they would face death. His resurrection was forever. And when you were born again, you were born again into that resurrection. He was the firstborn, implying there were many others to come. Jesus was called Jesus Christ. «Christ» was not his last name. It’s not like Jesus Johnson. «Christ» was a title that means «The anointed one». And, for him, the title pointed to an experience, to an encounter. It wasn’t just a position that he held, but he was actually smeared with the, «Anointing» means to smear. Smeared with the Holy Spirit.
The devil and the powers of darkness are frequently called «The Antichrist». «Jesus» was his name. And the name of «Jesus» is the only name by which a person can be saved. And yet, that demonic power is called «Antichrist» because it is in opposition to the anointing. Jesus, who was eternally God, came as a man to model what life could be like for anyone who had no sin and was completely empowered by the Holy Spirit. So, he came and became the anointed one, the one smeared with the Holy Spirit. And the devil was hoping that, in the crucifixion, he could destroy the anointed one, not realizing that when Jesus died, it opened the door for hundreds of millions of people to receive the Christ-like anointing and multiply his work in the earth. You can imagine for the devil that was the most terrifying moment he had ever seen was in that resurrection because it meant the anointing upon Jesus would now be made available to everyone who believed on him. Keep your Bibles open because we will be examining scripture for the next little bit. All right?
Verse 1: «Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark». Stop for a moment. Mary Magdalene was the person, the woman, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons. She was a person for whatever her issues were, there was a deep, profound bondage in her life, due to some sort of activity, some field that she was involved in various kind of immoral activities. Whatever the case may be, she came to be delivered.
So, «On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him'. Peter, therefore, went out, and the other disciple, and they were going to the tomb. So, they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there: yet he did not go in. Then, Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb: and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself».
I’ve hours a story a number of times about Jewish tradition, that if you ever went to somebody’s house and you hated the food they served you, you didn’t want to be rude and say, «This is gross». You just folded your napkin in a certain way and you laid it on the table so that when you left, they knew that you would never come back and eat that food again. Jesus tasted death and his napkin was folded and put on a table to testify: I’ll never be tasting of this food, again. «The handkerchief that had been around his head», verse 7, «Not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then, the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also: and he saw and believed».
Sometimes, the Lord allows us to believe through what we see. But it’s important not to be limited, there. Oftentimes, people will see extraordinary acts of God and they will grow in faith. It’s not illegal: it’s logical. It’s reasonable. But it’s vital that we learn to walk by faith and not by sight, which means that we cultivate a trust in God, regardless of what we can see, what we can analyze, taste, touch, see, feel. Verse 9: «For as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then, the disciples went away again to their own homes». Verse 11: «But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain».
Throughout scripture, we see unusual pictures of things on earth that God would have built. For example, in the tabernacle of Moses, from the altar of incense to the, um, table of showbread to all these articles of furniture, the scripture, then, in Hebrews talks about a heavenly tabernacle. And, oftentimes, the Lord would actually give direction to build something, to construct something here that actually represented something that exists in his world. In this particular case, there was a box called «The Ark of the Covenant». And it was where the presence of God not figuratively rested, but actually his glory rested upon this golden box, rings on all four corners, poles that because they weren’t allowed to touch the box, but the priest could rest the poles on their shoulders and carry this presence through the wilderness.
And on top of this Ark of the Covenant, this box, was called «The Mercy Seat». And there were two angelic beings, cherubim, that faced each other on this ark. And, in the middle of these two angelic beings that they were created out of gold. As they faced each other on top of this ark, in the middle of that, was a seat. It was called the mercy seat. These cherubim that are facing each other are now represented when Jesus raises from the dead. Because the angels are at one end of the table he was on and at the other end. And they’re facing each other. There is a testimony that the mercy of God is now released into the earth through everyone who carried the story of this resurrection. So, that’s the story, here. They saw two angels in white sitting at the head, sitting at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been.
Verse 13: «Then they said to her, 'woman, why are you weeping'? She said to them, 'because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him'. Now, when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking'? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, 'sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away'. Jesus said to her, 'Mary'! She turned and said to him, 'rabbonI'»!
Teacher. It’s amazing how different a voice sounds when it calls your name. There was a familiarity 'cause she had heard that voice before. She didn’t recognize it until her name was spoken. «She turned and said to him, 'rabbonI'! Which means teacher. Jesus said to her, 'do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father…'» stop, right there, for a moment. «Do not cling to me». So, here’s this woman. She’s hanging onto Jesus. Jesus says, «I’ve not yet ascended to my father». What is this a picture of? Jesus died. And everyone who died before the blood of Jesus was shed was imprisoned, in a sense, by their sin. Because until the payment was made, there is no redemption.
God, in his mercy, there’s a brilliant picture given to us in Luke, chapter 16, God, in his mercy allowed those who had died in faith, before the death of Christ, they were put into what was called «Abraham’s bosom». Abraham is a figurative description of a place in a paradise where those who had lived by faith, remember, Abraham is called the father of faith, that they were able to be in this place of peace, until they heard the word that the blood of Jesus had been shed and the payment for their sin had been made and they could now ascend and be with the father, forever. And so, they’re in this holding place. Across this chasm, this great distance between the two, is a place of torment, eternal torment for all those who die in their sin, without turning in faith to God.
So, Jesus when he dies, the Bible says he goes into the lower parts of the earth and he takes captivity captive, which is interesting. So, there are people that all right captive. Sin, because the blood of Jesus hadn’t been shed. So, it says he goes into the lower parts and he takes captive all the captives. Although his captivity is the captivity of freedom. So, he takes them captive, he makes the proclamation: my blood has been shed, atonement has been made, the price has been paid. You are free. Come with me. And so, he is ascending to the father. On his way up, he notices a woman weeping at a tomb. This is a fairly significant moment in all of history, in all of time, Jesus ascending to the father. And yet, in that process, he stops for the one. And as soon as he appears, she grabs.
Mary Magdalene, the one out of whom seven demons had been cast, the one who had some sort of a history, some sort of a tragic lifestyle, some sort of a scarred, blemished past. And she’s holding onto Jesus. Who was the first to touch Jesus in his virgin birth? Mary, the virgin, the pure one. Who was the first to touch him in being firstborn from the dead? It was Mary Magdalene, the unclean one that he made clean. Shift in seasons, completely. Shift in seasons. Verse 19: «Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'peace be with you'».
It’s fascinating to me that the first real full Revelation of his resurrection was given to a woman that had so many issues. He just seems to be drawn by affection. He seems to be drawn to love. And even though there was gonna be a number of heroes that were locked up in this room 'cause they were scared to death, and they would shape the course of history, and Peter would refuse, as history tells us, they crucified Peter at the end of his life. And he refused to be crucified like Jesus, so they hung him upside down because he wasn’t worthy to be in the same position as his Savior was. So, these heroes, Jesus bypassed all of them and went to where there was love and saw this woman weeping at a tomb.
Now, we’ve got the guys huddled together. They don’t know yet of the resurrection, this group. And they’re hiding, 'cause they’re scared. They’re afraid they’re gonna die. They saw how brutally murdered Jesus was and they really think they’re next. And Jesus walks right through the wall into the meeting, which does not help you, if you have issues of fear. And especially when he doesn’t come, you know, with a sign on his chest saying «I’m Jesus». They don’t know who he is. All they know is somebody just walked through the wall and they are, now, their fear is Amplified times a thousand. And Jesus says to them, «Peace be to you». Well, they were so terrified, that peace didn’t help them at all.
So, Jesus showed 'em his hands and his side. They realized it was Jesus. And the next verse, it said, verse 20: «When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then, the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord». «Then,» which means they weren’t glad the first time. Then, they were glad. So, second time around, they were glad. «So, Jesus said to them, again, 'peace to you! As the father has sent me, I also send you'». This is a beautiful moment, because, Jesus walks into the room to a group of guys that he had trained, in Matthew 10, to go throughout the world, go into a home, let your peace rest on that house. And I doubt they ever knew what that meant until this moment. And, now, they’re in terror, but they recognized that it’s actually Jesus. He walks into the room and he says, «Peace».
Peace, in the kingdom, as you know, is not something that’s abstract: it’s actually connected to a person. In the natural world, peace is a time without war, without noise, without conflict. But in our world, it’s the presence of a person. And so, Jesus is actually releasing the presence of the Spirit of God. He’s releasing in word form. Now, I’m gonna take just a couple more minutes and gonna wrap this up, but this is my target. This is where I wanted to take you. We are stewards of a person. We do not control him. We do not manipulate him. He does not answer to us: we answer to him. But we do have the unique privilege of releasing his presence into the world around us. We do so by following his lead.
So, here, Jesus walks into this room. He’s got guys he really cares for. He spent several years with him. He’s served them well. They’ve responded, received the challenge. They’re blemished, like everybody else, but there’s still there. They’re still together. Jesus walks into the room, says, «Peace to you». They’re scared to death, still. So, he says: «All right, it’s me. See»? They see who it is. They’re glad. You know, they’re relaxed. Then, Jesus says, «Peace,» and this is what he does, he says: «'as the father has sent me, I also send you'». Verse 22: «And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, 'receive the Holy Spirit'».
Here’s the point: the Holy Spirit is always looking for people to rest upon. In the same way that Jesus was looking for the woman weeping at the tomb, the Holy Spirit is always looking for someone that will respond to him, not to control, not to use for personal gain, but to yield to. Always looking for someone to rest upon. I’ve watched it for years. I’ve seen people that the Spirit of God would rest on that I never would have chosen, not because, you know, we’re all unworthy. So, it’s not that. It’s just I never thought that they would respond to him. And yet, I watch as the Spirit of God falls upon a person that I never would have chosen because he sees beyond the external. He sees beyond the countenance or beyond all the obvious stuff, the outside that even though we try and he sees the heart and he touches that person. And they become a Carrier of presence for the remainder of their days.
Jesus walks into this room to announce to them the greatest possible news ever. And that was that they would be carrying the Spirit of God. The one who made him the Christ, the anointed one, would now, that same Holy Spirit would be resting upon them. And it would make it possible for them to walk into any environment and to change it. They’ve already seen miracles through their hands. They’ve already seen it through their lips. They’ve already seen the deliverance. They saw that during Jesus' time. But now, they are commissioned to be a group of people that do what he did.
Now, follow my train of thought here. He says, «When he had said this,» verse 20, «He showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad». Twenty-one: «'peace to you! As the father has sent me, I also send you'». What did Jesus just do in that moment? He released peace over them. And the very next phrase, he breathed on them and released the Spirit of God. Okay, just work with me, here. «As the father sent me, I send you».
What was the next thing he did? He released the Spirit of God. Now, let me tell you: if this were to happen today in any one of our schools or churches and Jesus were here and he said, «As the father sent me, I send you,» and the next thing he did was to have a banquet for the poor, we’d have entire buildings in our Bible schools on how to have effective banquets for the poor. Is that important? You bet it is. It’s just not what Jesus did. Jesus would’ve said, «As the father sent me, I send you,» and then he says, «I want everyone who’s dying, come stand here: we’re gonna pray for them,» we would have entire ministries based upon that final commission and that final command. «As the father sent me, I send you».
If he were to have taken an offering to support the homeless, we would have entire branches of ministry just studying how to take better offerings. But because he said something that was so abstract, it gets swept under the carpet. And this is what he said, he said, «As the father sent me, I send you». What do you think the assignment is? You have someone to give away. See, when he rests upon a person, he accomplishes something in them that you and I can’t do. We can encourage, we can pray, we can serve, prophesy, do all those things. But the Spirit of God comes upon a person, and, in moments, things happen in that life that would normally take years. Years. Of counseling all over.
I’ve watched him do stuff in moments that would have taken years and years and years of counseling to get people free of. And yet, when he comes, my entire target tonight was this. And it’s an old message for us. But, let’s make it new, again. We have the privilege of carrying a person, hosting a person, into this world. And he’s constantly looking through our words, our actions, our lifestyle, for people to touch, for people to rest upon, for people to love. He’s still looking for the woman weeping at the tomb. He’s still looking for people who don’t know that there’s good news and they’re crying over what they don’t think worked. And he’s still looking for them to draw near, to fulfill promises. Why don’t you stand and pray?