Sunday, April 25, 2004 Sermon - Baldwin Christian
Church
John 20:19-31
It has been a busy day: Earthquakes, angels, an empty tomb; and
Jesus, who died in full view of many witnesses, has somehow come
back to life. So far during this day, He was first seen by Mary
Magdalene, and then by her along with a faithful group of ladies,
then He broke bread with Cleophas and another disciple a few
miles down the road, and in Luke's gospel we find a mysterious
reference to Peter having seen Him, too.
From all appearances, as the sun was setting on Resurrection Day,
the ones with the least belief were the ones who were closest to
Jesus, His inner circle of followers. Even the high priests who
condemned Him believed in the resurrection. If they didn't
believe, then why did they bribe the watchmen into spreading
lies, telling them to say, "His disciples came by night, and
stole (the body) away while we slept." The priest's belief
caused so much fear in their hearts, it prevented them from
making up a believeable story.
Fear was in the hearts of the disciples, too. They were afraid of
the high priests, and rightly so. It was logical to assume they
were next on the hit list, especially since the body of Jesus was
now missing. If the disciples had truly believed in what had
happened in the early hours of this same day, and if they just
could have remembered some of the things Jesus had told them in
preparing them for this day, they wouldn't have been afraid.
Belief was causing fear in the hearts of the high priests.
Disbelief was causing fear in the hearts of the disciples.
Fear steals the peace from our hearts. As we begin verse 19, we
enter into the room of a house somewhere within the walls of
Jerusalem (Luke 24:33). The very first Sunday evening church
service is taking place in there, but you'd have to look pretty
long and hard to find some faith in that room.
John 20:19
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, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith
unto them, Peace [be] unto
you.
This is another one of those painful reminders of how unlike
Jesus I am. When (and if) I caught up with this bunch that
abandoned me, I'm afraid the first words out of my mouth wouldn't
have sounded anything like, "Peace be unto you." No, I
fall short of that level of grace. This greeting carries a lot of
meaning. Its like He's saying, "Don't be afraid. I'm not
upset with your unbelief. I'm not going to chastise you like Tony
would. I'm not coming with judgment now. No, I've come out of the
tomb to bring you peace."
People assemble in great masses, carrying signs and chanting
slogans against war, they sing songs about giving "peace a
chance," and they put up "peace poles" in yards
and city parks, but they just can't bring about peace like Jesus
does. Its a big waste of time. Jesus said, "I
must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the
night cometh, when no man can work." (John 9:4) Even
when He was only twelve years old, Jesus had to remind His Mom, "(don't you know) that I must be about my
Father's business?" (Luke 2:48-49) In His last great
discourse on the Mount of Olives, He warned us, "...ye shall hear of wars and rumours of
wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all [these things] must
come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be
famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All
these [are] the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:6-8)
God is telling us to work, to be about His business, and
avoiding the things that interfere with it. The night is
coming, so we should seek peace with all men, but we can't waste
time worrying about why there's no peace in the world today. True
peace can only be found in Jesus. Until Jesus spoke peace to
them, the disciples were filled with fear and the sorrow that
accompanies it.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso
putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Fear causes us to go out and buy things we'll never use. Fear
causes us to be easily deceived by politicians, by scientists, by
pharmaceutical ads, and by the TV news. Steve pointed out during
this week's Bible study that even the weatherman capitalizes on
our fears. If you were watching the TV this week, how many times
did you hear the phrase, "tennis ball sized hail," or
"possible rotation?" If only I had a nickel...
2 Timothy 1:7 ...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth
out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
perfect in love.
The disciples were gathered together as they should be, but they
were imprisoned by their fears. Fear will make you hide out.
Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were men of position and power,
but they were both afraid of what other men would do to them if
they were caught following Jesus, so they were secret followers...that
is, until the moment when Jesus died on the cross. I think those
two men received the Holy Spirit at that time. Joseph cast out
his fears, and boldly went before Pilate to ask for the
body of Jesus. Nicodemus, a religious muckety-muck in Jerusalem,
gathered up burial spices with the full knowledge that he would
become ceremonially unclean by approaching the body of Jesus.
Power, love, and a sound mind! If these two men hadn't been about
the work of God, who would've buried Jesus?
Even when your "sound mind" tells you there might be
negative consequences, if you go ahead and stand up for Jesus, it
gives other Christians courage. If you're afraid of what people
will think, afraid of what somebody might say or do when you
speak up for Jesus, the Bible tells us that's like setting a trap
for yourself. But, if you put your trust in Him, you'll be
alright (He promised that in Proverbs 29:25), and it will give
courage to others.
So, John tells us that the doors were shut (and most likely
barred), when Jesus appears out of nowhere, saying, "Peace be unto you."
John 20:20
And when he had so said, he shewed unto them [his] hands and his
side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
In the original text, the word translated here as "glad"
is actually a little more exciting. Luke's version is probably a
little closer to how we might picture this moment: Luke 24:41
says that they "disbelieved for joy," which sounds like
it was just too good to be true for them. They saw Him,
then they saw the marks on his hands and side (Luke 24:40 adds
"feet" as well.), and their fears turned to joy. This
is a little secret that we can lean on in times of trouble. Jesus
appeared to the disciples, but He didn't change the fact that
they were hiding out "for fear of the Jews." As a
Christian, one of your greatest witnessing tools is how you
respond during times of trouble. Here in John 20:20, the
disciples had a joyful vision of Jesus. Hmmm.... John 20-20
vision: we all need to have that! The peace Jesus brings to us is
directly linked to the wounds on His body. Note to self: This
verse would make a good communion message! When we occupy our
minds with thoughts of what He did for us, fear has no place to
hide in our hearts, and fear has no power over the peace that He
brings to us.
As if once wasn't enough, to emphasize this point...
John 20:21
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath
sent me, even so send I you.
John 20:22
And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto
them, Receive ye
the Holy Ghost:
John 20:23
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and]
whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained.
Oh mercy, there's a lot of wacky doctrine that springs up from
these two verses, but we'll only touch on verse 23 right now.
"Remit" means to forgive. Jesus did say that He had the
power to forgive sins (Mark 2:5-7), and if you read this verse
literally (John 20:23), it sounds like He conferred the same
power to His apostles (This is the turning point for them. In
verse 20 they were still called "disciples," or
students, but in verse 21, Jesus "sends" them, thereby
commissioning them as apostles), but interestingly enough,
He doesn't seem to single out Peter here. There are some
very big churches (which will remain nameless) that profess the
authority to forgive sins based on the wording in verse 23, but
it just doesn't hold water.
Hebrews 9:6-8 Now when these things were thus ordained (in
the Old Testament), the priests went always into the
first tabernacle, accomplishing the service [of God]. But into
the second (the Holy of Holies, the actual presence of
God) [went] the high priest alone once every year, not
without blood, which he offered for himself, and [for] the errors
of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into
the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first
tabernacle was yet standing:
Jesus said He didn't come to change the Law, rather to become the
fulfillment of it. Blood is still required to atone for sin, but
through His perfect sacrifice, the atonement has been made once
and for all time. If any man takes authority upon himself, or
allows a church hierarchy to annoint him with the power to
forgive sin, then he should be able to make offerings for
himself, just as it was in the first ordination. But, that's not
the way it works in "the big church." Even a man who
has authority to forgive sins can (and will) have his own
shortcomings, so according to the rules, he then has to be
forgiven by a man with greater authority in the church. When you
follow the ladder all the way to the top, to the "main man,"
there is no man above him to forgive him, so either he must ask
forgiveness from God, or the church has to put him on the same
level as God.
What did Paul say to Timothy?
2 Timothy 1:7 ...God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of
power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
So, if the Spirit of God exists in the church, then the church
has been given the Spirit of "power, of love, and of a sound
mind." Do sound minds believe that any man is
infallible, no matter how good he looks in a robe? Is there even
one righteous man? That line of thinking kinda goes against
everything the Word of God tells us, doesn't it? The obvious
question arises: Exactly what spirit is it that would exalt
itself to be equal with God, infallible and righteous?
Now that I've gone completely off the deep end with this, let me
go back and try to simplify it. Nowhere in the New Testament do
we find the apostles taking upon themselves the authority to
forgive sins, and they heard Jesus speak John 20:23 in the
first person, so what did Jesus mean in this verse? The best
answer I can give is: proclamation. When you allow Jesus into
your heart, His Spirit begins to work on you. Your thoughts start
to become as His, and you begin to see righteousness, sin, and
judgment like He does. You can (and should) proclaim it, and
minister with it. When somebody asks you if what they've done in
their life is unforgiveable, you can direct them to the altar of
mercy. When somebody is wilfully living outside of God
commandments, you're able to help them understand why they need
to seek the altar of mercy. You can help them understand why they
really shouldn't want to "retain" their sins.
I'm thinking the misunderstanding of this verse is because John
left something out, but Luke 24:45-47 records it.
Then opened he (Jesus) their understanding, that they might
understand the scriptures,
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and
thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in
his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
On the cross, even Jesus said, "Father, forgive them...,"
and I'm pretty sure He wasn't talking to a man.
(read Psalm 103 here)
Anyways, that was a really great moment for the disciples. They
obviously received the Holy Spirit, because from that moment on,
these guys showed no fear...
John 20:24
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them
when Jesus came.
(Maybe Sunday night football or pro wrestling was on, and he just
couldn't come to church.)
John 20:25
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the
Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the
nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
John 20:26
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas
with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in
the midst, and said, Peace
[be] unto you.
John 20:27
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy
hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but
believing.
John 20:28
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they
that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.
If we base our faith, even a little bit of it, on "seeing is
believing," we're setting ourselves up to be deceived. We're
missing a blessing. Faith is the substance of things unseen. When
the false Messiah comes, he'll be counting on a great following
of "seeing is believing" types. Those who flock to
miracles and signs are going to see them, but they'll be Satan's
miracles. Do we crave miracles, or do we crave Jesus?
John 20:30
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name.