Here we are 35 weeks into our conversation through the book of John, and today Jesus is alive! Now this may not sound like that big of a deal, but in the text, yesterday, Jesus was not alive. And that makes his being alive today something unusual, something that we should take notice of and process.

John has not been writing an exhaustive biography of Jesus or trying to get it all in. In fact, today we finally come to the verses that we have repeated every week in this series:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

John has been walking with his readers to a place of belief--belief that Jesus is the Messiah, and belief that we may have life in His name.

And now: Jesus was arrested. Jesus was put to death. And now--Jesus was alive again. This is remarkable. Today we are going to start off with a few moments of dialogue about that word, remarkable.

Remarkable: worthy of attention; striking.

How do you know when something is remarkable? Not everything can be remarkable. Some things are remarkable; some things are not. How do you know?

Remarkable is the foundation of most movie scripts--a moment, a situation, a scenario. Remarkable is what story is built off of. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to real life.

What makes something remarkable to you?

What are some remarkable life moments?

Now pick one of your remarkable life moments.

How did you process and/or how did you feel in life’s remarkable moment?

How has what you feel changed as the remarkable moment moved farther into history?

Today as we look at Jesus’ resurrection--a remarkable moment (that’s an understatement!)--and as we remember John’s objective of belief; as we bring belief to the table as not something that is momentary, but as an ongoing, growing, changing, maturing, process; we have to acknowledge how feelings and emotions change over time as we move away from the “remarkable” moment.

We all have remarkable moments in life. And we all have some levels of feeling/emotions that shift the farther we get in time from the remarkable moment.

There is a thing called Hedonic Adaptation, which refers to the notion that after positive (or negative) events (i.e., something good or bad happening to someone), and a subsequent increase in positive (or negative) feelings, people return to a relatively stable, baseline level of affect.

It looks like this:

You have desire and you go for it. When you get it, whatever it is, it is amazing. But after a little while, the amazing rubs off and you find yourself wanting more, and you are back and wanting more even though you have the more.

You may have experienced this. No matter what makes you happy or feel good, you’ll get bored of it after a while. That’s natural. Nothing can make you happy forever.

This effect is not just about desire. It is also seen in pain:

You are doing pretty well, no complaints, but life happens. Pain moments lead to intense pain--internal, external, emotional, or physical. But eventually the pain becomes a new normal and it starts to not be all you feel. And you find yourself in the midst of pain but being ok.

In our preparation, we talked about this a lot. Neither the effects of good nor bad things last forever. Pleasure doesn’t last, and neither does pain. But I want you to talk about this:

What are the positive and negative aspects of hedonic adaptation?

Life can have some turning points, some positive and negative remarkable moments. This adaptation causes us to dismiss the remarkable, which can cause us to be unthankful, unappreciative, unaffected, dismissive.

There are some moments in scripture that are pretty remarkable. Two come to mind.

Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up? (Exodus 3:1-3)

One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began thinking of the implications, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, except God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts? Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.” And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. And they were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. They were also filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!” (Luke 5:17-26)

Remarkable moments! And yet I think the people in these stories experienced this adaptation in their humanity in the same way that we experience it. It’s easy to read their accounts with awe. Wow, that’s amazing, that’s remarkable, if only I had been there to experience it!

The crazy thing is, in their humanity, they would probably have the same reaction as we do if they got to read accounts of our lives, the things we get to experience now, the way that God interacts with people today. All of us experience these moments of adaptation.

Before we look at John 20, here’s one more question:

What are some potential positives and negatives as we realize the impact of hedonic adaptation to our processing of Jesus’ resurrection?

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:1-31)

There is the immediate response to the realization of Jesus’ resurrection--it’s emotional, intense, and overwhelming. Sometimes we can idolize those feelings--maybe you’re like me and grew up in a faith tradition that idolized these things. That can lead us to wondering why I don’t feel it anymore, or what changed, or whether I am failing, or if God doesn’t even exist anymore.

The change of feeling is not necessarily a sign of something bad.

Having the expectation that relationships will always give butterflies, that a job will always pull you out of bed, or that kids will always make your heart swell is not realistic and probably isn’t healthy. In fact, needing the remarkable to stay remarkable will cause you to walk away from wonderful things.

In our preparation, Greg said it well as he talked about how scary the “remain remarkable” people are. They’re excited to be with you, to be your friend, to help and to care… until you're not that exciting anymore, then see ya!

So what is supposed to come behind the emotion? What has to come behind the emotional rush?

Commitment.

I hear these verses pleading for my attention:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

It can be easy to know what the emotion of relationship with Jesus can feel like, but what does commitment to Jesus look like?

Beyond the emotional response, what does commitment to Jesus look like?

As we turn the page, we will get to Peter’s reinstatement, a call for commitment beyond emotion. We have to remember Peter’s experience and his emotion:

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same. (Matthew 26:31-35)

Peter, in a moment of incredible emotion, knew that the emotion would never fail and that he would feel this way forever; he would never doubt, fear, falter, or be swayed. But... life happened.

As we come to John’s objective:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)

There is a lot of feeling and emotion and remarkable beauty. But the feeling will wear off. And in that moment, when it comes, what is left?

And taking a moment to “look around” figuratively or spiritually, where is God when feeling has worn off? Where was Jesus or how did Jesus view Peter while he was in the midst of his biggest emotional experiences? Where have you seen him at work in the highs and lows and when they’re absent?

What is commitment to belief in who Jesus is and commitment to belief in the impact of relationship with Jesus?

How have you seen God’s commitment to you in the lows, the highs, and the in-between places?

Take It Deeper Questions:

• Read John 20.
• Imagine being given a million dollars. How long do you think the happiness from a million dollars would last until you returned to “normal”?
• How would you respond if someone you had known to be dead walked into a room with you?
• How do you think Mary and the disciples dealt with highs and lows?
• Do you take things at face value or do you prefer to do your own independent research? Why?
• How are you challenged, focused, encouraged and/or frustrated by this text?

Bible Reading Plan:

• Numbers 24
• Numbers 25
• Numbers 26
• John 16
• John 17
• John 18