The Resurrection Changes Everything

“The Resurrection Changes Everything”
by Pastor Kent Munsey
April 12, 2020

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

• Matthew 26:31-35, NKJV

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything. Today, we will examine Simon Peter’s life. There is a difference between thinking and knowing. Peter went from thinking that Jesus was the messiah to knowing that Jesus was the messiah. 

In Luke 5, Peter, a fisherman by trade, returns from a fishing trip exhausted. At that moment, Jesus is having church on a beach, being pressed further and further back by the crowds. Eventually, he steps onto Peter’s boat and continues teaching. 

After Jesus finishes teaching, he tells Peter to cast his nets out. Peter tells Jesus, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets,” (Luke 5:5). When he brings the nets back in, they are overflowing with fish. After witnessing this demonstration of power, Peter confesses that Jesus is Lord. He falls to his knees and confesses that he is a sinful man, unworthy of being in Jesus’s presence. In response, Jesus invites Peter to follow him and tells him that he will become a fisher of men. 

1. There is a difference between thinking and knowing. 

By the time of the Last Supper, Peter had been following Jesus for three years. He had seen Jesus deliver some of his greatest sermons and perform some of his greatest miracles. When Jesus tells his disciples that all of them would stumble and scatter, Peter declares that he will never deny him. Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times that very night, before the rooster crows, which Peter vehemently denies (Matthew 26:31-35). 

When Jesus was arrested, many of the disciples followed from a distance and watched as Jesus was being tried and tested by the religious leaders. Another onlooker, a servant girl, identifies Peter as someone who was with Jesus, and Peter, out of fear, denies it (Matthew 26:69). 

Then, as Peter continued to follow and watch, someone else accused him of being with Jesus. Again, he denied it with an oath. Finally, bystanders approached Peter saying that his accent gave him away, and Peter swore that he did not know Jesus. Then, a rooster crowed, and Peter remembered what Jesus said. 

In Jesus’ greatest moment of need, Peter denies him. Peter then went out, and he wept bitterly. Within moments, Jesus was hanging on a cross, carrying the sins of the world. 

Easter is not a celebration that Jesus died. Easter is a celebration that on the third day, he rose again with resurrection power. We have a hope and a victory today because Jesus defeated sin, death, and the grave. 

2. The resurrection changes everything. 

When Jesus rose from the dead, he showed himself to the disciples. But, Peter is in his own failure. He is stuck in his guilt and shame, so he goes back to fishing, back to what is familiar. Jesus appears to the disciples as they are fishing, but they don’t recognize him. He tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. They did so, and when they tried to pull up the catch, it was too heavy. Then, Peter, realizing it was Jesus, dives off of the boat and swims to the shore where Jesus was waiting. 

After Jesus, Peter and the other disciples eat breakfast together on the shore, Jesus asks Peter, “do you love me more than these?” Peter replies, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love you.” This goes on two more times (John 21:15-17). Jesus never asks a question because he needs to know the answer. He asked the question because Peter needed to know. Every time Peter was saying, “I love you,” he was redeeming the times he had denied Jesus. Jesus died for our sins and failures so that every time we fall we can get back up. We don’t have to stay buried in our guilt and shame; we can get back up. 

3. The cross is not the end; it’s the beginning. 

In John 21:18 Jesus invites Peter again to follow him. Following him didn’t mean follow him to death; it meant following him to life. The cross isn’t the end; it’s the beginning. Today we celebrate the life that we have in Christ Jesus--life after death. 

Peter followed Jesus because he thought he was the Messiah, and he went on to glorify God in his life and in his death. He died by crucifixion, like Jesus, but he asked that they turn the cross upside down because he was not worthy to die like his Savior. He knew that following Jesus to death was not the end; it was the beginning. 

There is no greater event in all of human history than the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It changes everything. On this Easter, the resurrection power of Jesus Christ is being revealed. 

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. When did you go from thinking to knowing that Jesus is Lord? 

2. Do you identify with Peter, finding yourself doing that which you said you would not do? 

3. What failures do you need to let go of and submit to Jesus’ resurrection power? 

4. Does the pandemic have an impact on how you perceive the resurrection? If so, how?