April 05, 2026

The Path to Faith: From Empty Tomb to Risen Lord

42 minutes

Bill Teubl examines John 20, focusing on the nature of genuine faith and how it is developed. He contrasts mere intellectual acknowledgment of truth with a faith that provides assurance and substance to unseen, eternal realities, and that results in a changed life. The sermon explores the personal journeys of Mary, Peter, and John toward faith after the resurrection, highlighting Jesus’s patient and tender approach to each individual.

[00:00:00] The speaker introduces John 20 as the passage for the communion message, noting it was not planned but should be taken as from the Lord.

[00:01:03] Encourages approaching scripture with personal questions, asking the Lord what you need to learn, especially from life’s pressure points and difficulties.

[00:02:14] States his question for the passage is about faith: what did it take for the people in John 20 to come to faith, starting from a place of unbelief?

[00:03:15] Defines faith using Hebrews 11:1, describing it as the “assurance of things hoped for” and the “substance of things not seen.”

[00:03:53] Assurance relates to our God-given expectations (e.g., the Second Coming), giving conviction rather than just hope.

[00:04:54] Substance relates to handling unseen, eternal truths (like God and love) in our hearts and minds, which are manifested through our actions in the natural world.

[00:08:28] Illustrates that faith gives substance to unseen things like love, which is worked out and deepened through real relationships, creating acts with eternal significance.

[00:12:08] Contrasts acknowledging the resurrection as a historical fact with a faith that understands its moral requirements and changes your life, noting that “faith without works is dead.”

[00:13:23] The first step for Mary and the disciples was encountering the empty tomb, a historical fact with strong evidence.

[00:16:53] Observes that despite three years with Jesus and an empty tomb, the disciples were not immediately ready with full, active faith, showing that deep faith requires more than recognizing truth.

[00:21:20] Highlights Jesus’s remarkable tenderness and patience with people at various stages of belief, like Mary, Peter, John, and Thomas.

[00:22:19] Notes that Mary processed her experience by talking with others (Peter and John), encouraging believers to use words to process and nurture faith.

[00:24:54] Mary, though seeing the empty tomb, was weeping because she thought Jesus’s body was gone, showing she believed some truth but needed it expanded for full faith.

[00:25:40] Points out that we also process faith by accepting and examining our feelings, as Mary did with her grief, asking what they lead us to learn.

[00:27:42] Even when looking directly at Jesus, Mary did not recognize him, indicating that clear manifestations of truth alone are not always enough to bring us to faith.

[00:28:58] The pivotal moment for Mary was when Jesus called her by name; a crucial step in forming faith is hearing God call you personally.

[00:32:53] Upon hearing her name, Mary recognized Jesus as “Teacher,” though she still had more to learn about who he fully was.

[00:34:09] Mary’s testimony changed from “the tomb is empty” to “I have seen the Lord,” demonstrating her progressed faith.

[00:34:44] For Peter, the barrier to faith was his betrayal and denial of Jesus; a step toward faith is recognizing our failures, grieving them, and seeking restoration.

[00:37:41] Emphasizes Jesus’s tenderness in restoring Peter, showing God can redeem and heal the memories of our failures.

[00:38:39] For John (and us), watching others experience God’s blessing requires guarding against spiritual jealousy, which inhibits faith.

[00:39:54] Assures that God’s blessings are infinite; he withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly, and we should seek what he has specifically for us.

Scripture References

John 20

Hebrews 11:1

John 21

Psalm 86

Generated by AI model deepseek-chat

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