“That You
May Believe” • 4.19.20 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday
Morning Service (Covid-19 #6)
Intro.
- John has just written about the most
wonderful day in history. It is the day when Jesus Christ conquered the grave
and certified by His resurrection, that God accepted His sacrifice for our
sins!
- That is what we will come to understand and
revel in for all eternity. On that day however, the news was slow to circulate
and the truth, equally slow to gain traction in the minds of His followers.
- A week has passed for us, but only a few
hours have passed for them. Let's pick it up in v.19.
Text
• John 20:19,20 : "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.' When He had said this, He showed them His
hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." : On
the very same day that Jesus rose from the grave, the disciples gathered in
fear of the Jews!
- The language indicates that they are meeting
behind locked and barred doors because of their fear of the Jews! Peter and
John are the only ones of the 12 to visit the tomb.
- Mary Magdalene is their principle eyewitness
and to be fair, Peter and John had not yet seen their Lord Jesus firsthand.
- Given what we are about to learn about
Thomas, we can assume a wide spectrum of skepticism. All of them wanted to believe,
but many were struggling to believe.
- Even if all of them did believe, it didn't
change their fear of the Jews. By now, rumors would have begun circulating
about the tomb and the fear of arrest and execution was swirling in the air.
- "If they had the ability to crucify
Jesus," they thought, "what could they do to us!"
- The disciples are not yet aware of the
actions taken by the Sanhedrin to cover up the events of the tomb. They are
dealing with their own difficulties.
- The guards at the tomb had gone to the
Sanhedrin first to tell them the news. They in turn, bribed the guards and
promised to square things with their superiors. (Matthew 28:11-15)
- On the other hand, the disciples might have
known, because part of the story for the guards was going to be that the
disciples stole the body, a theory that is patently ridiculous!
- In any event, on this miraculous,
supernatural day, the disciples are living fearful lives.
- Our fears in this life often have a rational
basis, until we figure them against what we know in faith! For the Christian,
fear that is allowed to fester, is irrational. What will be the solution?
- Right there in their secure little bunker,
Jesus appears and stood physically in their midst!
- The idea that John's language conveys is that
He was all of a sudden just standing there! He was not there and then He was!
Can you imagine how startled the disciples were!?
- The Lord's first words to them were uttered
to settle their spirits. "Peace be with you!" Their hearts were
filled with joy momentarily as they recognized the Lord by His scars.
- Understand that the Lord is standing there in
the body that He was born in! He presents Himself as they had known Him. Their
peace is established by His presence.
- The circumstance is still before them and you
can see that the peace was short lived as their minds turned back to their
fear. Verse 21.
• John 20:21 : "So Jesus said to
them again, 'Peace
to you!
As the
Father has sent Me, I also send you.'" : Jesus sees their anxiety
rising and repeats His peaceful greeting to them without frustration or a lack
of patience.
- The Lord's scars proved that He was genuinely
risen, but it also reminded them of the brutal regime that was certainly hunting
them down at this very moment! "Peace to you!
- Over the years of walking with the Lord, I've
witnessed this exact phenomena. Jesus calls you to His peace and you receive
it. Then, you stress yourself out by allowing your mind to wander.
- "Where did the peace go?" The Lord
is so gracious to return to you through His Holy Spirit and once again, bathe
your mind with His offer of peace!
- Why doesn't He just tell them what He's going
to do about their concerns? Because experiencing His peace is better than
having answers that we won't believe in the moment anyway!
- Instead of answering their heart's queries,
Jesus tells them what He is going to do with them. Jesus has a plan for them! Jesus
had been "sent" from the Father.
- This expresses official delegation. Jesus was
here in the flesh on His Father's authority.
- You will recall several times in this gospel
where Jesus acted or spoke specifically within the confines of what His Father
demanded. You may refer to John 5:19 and
12:49 for an example.
- In the same way that Jesus was an Apostle
sent from the Father, these men would now be Apostles sent by the Son!
- They were to be endowed with the authority of
the Son, saying what He would give them to say and acting in a way that would
reflect His office. How does this relate to their fears?
- He knows their present concerns and He
doesn't answer them, except to say that they were going to be His Apostles! His
plan for them was firm and it was going to happen.
- Our fears in this life are all hypothetical.
His plan and purpose for our life is undeniable! He will bring to pass what He
intends and He will complete what He begins!
- It's as if He was saying, "Forget about
what the religious leaders are supposedly going to do!"
- You are going to be my Apostles!" He
calls them to fill their mind with notions of obedience to Him. Their office
should be their focus. Their obedience to that call should be their concern.
- This is very reminiscent, to my mind, of when
Jesus told His disciples that they were to cross the Sea of Galilee, knowing
that there would be a storm between this shore and that one.
- He would meet them on the other side! That
was what was going to happen. The same thing applies here. Be concerned with
your call. The Lord will take care of the details!
- Now, am I advocating some kind of foolish
disconnect from life or saying that you won't have to battle moments of fear?
No. If you do, does that make me a less faith filled person? No!
- What I am saying is that the more you are
consumed with who God wants you to be, the less you will be consumed with
worries that are at best, theoretical possibilities!
- Some of us know that the strength is not in
us. God knows that too, which is why the Lord gives a demonstration of what is
necessary for them to carry out their commission. Verse 22.
• John 20:21,22 : "And when He had
said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit." :
Jesus offers them His peace, reveals His plan and demonstrates the power that
will be theirs! "He breathed
on them." "Fusao" means "to puff."
- This is the only place in the New Testament
where this word is employed, but it has a very interesting connection in the
Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
- It is the same word that the translators used
to describe what God the Father did to Adam in Genesis 2:7! God "breathed" in Man's nostrils the breath
of life!
- Jesus performs the very same act upon these
disciples, granting them the presence of the Holy Spirit, giving them the power
of His life! "Receive the Holy Spirit!" This is an imperative.
- The power to fulfill the Lord's command and
commission will be found in the presence of the Holy Spirit! He does not let
them think for a moment that it will be in them!
- Many have said that the Christian life is
hard and they are wrong! The Christian life is not hard, it is IMPOSSIBLE! This
is why God does not leave it's fulfillment in mere human endurance!
- Jesus offers you and I His peace. There is a
plan in place, to proclaim the gospel to every creature. And there is power in
the Spirit!
- Do you have His power? Have you been filled
with His Spirit? Jesus commands His disciples to lay ahold, to take in the Holy
Spirit. Wouldn't you like to have been there in this moment?
- What did this look like? How were they
affected? We aren't given any detail. What we know is that this is NOT the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit as that will occur 49 days from this time.
- There are quite a few differences. At this
moment, these men are "born again." They are endowed with the Spirit
of God and are now equipped to understand what the Lord will teach them.
- They needed the Spirit of God to comprehend
the teachings of God! Paul will later tell the Corinthians that the
"natural man" cannot receive the scripture because it is
"spiritually discerned."
- Can you imagine Jesus attempting to share the
scriptures with people who were not endowed with the Holy Spirit? These next 40
days would prove to be an exercise in futility!
- Two other objectives are accomplished in doing
this and prove that this is not the same thing as the baptism of the Holy
Spirit.
- First, Jesus reveals that He has the power to
give the Holy Spirit to His people. He will later tell the disciples to wait for
that promise to be fulfilled. (Luke 24:49)
- Second, the sudden experience of the Holy
Spirit calming their fears and exciting them for service must have wonderfully
refreshed their resolve and readied them to receive His Word.
- "Why not just baptize them in that
moment?" That will issue in them boldly going into the world to be His
witnesses. How can they witness without being trained? This will be their
training!
- Acts
1:3 tells us that Jesus spent forty days speaking to them regarding the
things of the Kingdom. Listen to Luke's gospel account.
• Luke 24:44,45 : "Then He said to
them, 'These
are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things
must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms concerning Me.' And He opened their understanding, that they
might comprehend the Scriptures."
- A third point of interest to us, is that this
was a very interesting day on the religious calendar for this to take place.
This very Resurrection day was the "Day of Firstfruits."
- Leviticus
23:10,11 speaks of the nation coming with the first sheaf from their
harvest and waving it before the Lord, symbolizing gratitude for the reality of
the rest of the harvest.
- It was as if they were saying, "I
believe you for the rest of the Harvest!" Paul tells us that Jesus rising
from the dead was our "firstfruits." (I Corinthians 15:20)
- Wouldn't it follow then that the Lord would
give His Holy Spirit to His born again disciples to assure them of what they
would receive in full at the Feast of Pentecost forty-nine days later?
- This was a guarantee by Jesus of their
Baptism and the birth of the Church! Verse 23.
• John 20:23 : "If you forgive the sins of
any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'" : Remember
who Jesus is talking to here? He is speaking to His disciples! This will define
a large part of their ministry.
- Before we comment upon this, understand what
is not being said here. The Apostles do not have the authority to forgive, to
send the guilt of sin, away from a person on their own.
- A Pharisee once questioned the Lord's
authority to forgive sins figuring Him to be only a man.
- Only
God can forgive sins!" (Mark 2:7)
The opposite, "Only God can retain sins" is true. "Retain" communicates
a "strong hold" or a "seizing" of a person who is
controlled.
- God has the power to set you free from your
sin or allow it to remain your Master! What then is Jesus communicating to His
disciples?
- He is expressing their authority to confirm
conditions that lead to either position.
- For example, if a person confesses Christ and
repents of their known sin, these men could confidently affirm that the Lord
had forgiven them of their sins.
- These have met the conditions that the Lord
lays out. On the other hand, if a person rejects Christ, refuses to submit to
His commands, these men must confidently affirm the opposite.
- In this way, you and I have this same
authority, based only upon a person's response to Jesus Christ! If you are a
Christian, it's your responsibility to lovingly communicate this!
- If you are not a Christian, please understand
that there is forgiveness in Christ alone. If you refuse that offer, if sin
remains your Master, your sin is retained. Verse 24.
• John 20:24,25 : "Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of
the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said
to him, 'We have seen the Lord.' So he said to them, 'Unless I see in His hands the print
of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand
into His side, I will not believe.'" : John
closes this chapter with a person's testimony. Thomas is called "the
double." He's an interesting character. I'd suggest that he is incredibly
devoted to the Lord.
-
When the rest of the disciples questioned the Lord's desire to return to Judea
against the fear of the Jews and certain death, Thomas alone said, "Let us
go and die with Him." (John 11:16)
-
At the "Last Supper" when Jesus told the disciples of His going away,
each of the other disciples sat there pretending like they knew what He was
saying. Not Thomas!
•
John 14:5 : "Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how
can we know the way?'" : Thomas is devoted and
brave, but he was absent!
-
He wasn't there when the Lord showed Himself or when He gave the disciples the
Holy Spirit!
Despite the disciples repeated pleas
for him to believe their report, he absolutely refused.
-
Thomas is so resolute that he offers the only test that would satisfy him. He
offers this three fold test. He had to see the nail prints, put his finger into
them and put his hand into his side.
-
Until then, he will not believe. Thomas doesn't want to believe based on their
experience. He wants his own! Many
have called him the "Doubting Disciple."
-
I don't think that's a fair assessment. He doesn't doubt. He just wants His own
story! V.26.
•
John 20:26,27 : "And after eight days His disciples
were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and
stood in the midst, and said, 'Peace to you!' Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.'" : "After eight days." Can you imagine the repeated
conversations? How hard did Thomas make it on the other disciples?
-
John writes this in a way that seems to indicate that they were sitting
together in the same condition as they had been before. They were again shut up
in a room together!
-
That is when the Lord chose to visit again and this time and Thomas would get
his wish. Jesus came straight to Thomas and allowed him to perform his test.
-
Jesus hasn't been seen physically, yet He knows the details of their previous
conversation!
-
What would you have felt if you were Thomas? Certainly, your heart would shame
you for being obstinate. You'd be embarassed that you had made such a concerted
case.
-
Then, to hear the Lord use your exact test without previous knowledge, you are
aware that even though He is not physically perceived, He is completely
present!
-
As Jesus drew near, He invited Thomas to inspect the nail prints, as well as
His torn side. He accomodates Thomas' weakness and tell him not to be
faithless, but to exercise his faith. Verse 28.
•
John 20:28,29 : "And Thomas answered and said to
Him, 'My Lord and my God!'" : Did
Thomas actually perform his test? It's not clear. What is clear is that Thomas
is overwhelmed. Thomas had nothing else to say, but to confess what had become
patently obvious! - Anything less would
have been false! "My Lord and my God!" It means nothing until it is
personal.
-
This is the cry of one who has believed, who has moved from being faithless to
being filled with faith! Thomas doesn't make a statement about Jesus being
"their" or "our" God.
-
I suppose that is better than "your" Lord and God, but that doesn't
suffice! Thomas says, "My Lord and My God!" "My Master and my
God."
-
Jesus is nothing less than the Master of a Christian's life. He has purchased
us with His blood out from the hands of the slave market of sin.
-
He rightly deserves to be the shot caller in each of our lives! Is He your
Master? Do you defer to His Word? Is your life lived, are your decisions made
by the approval of your Master!?
-
Why is Jesus his Master? Because He is also His God, which is not to say that
He is Thomas' choice of gods, as if there were others. There is ONE true God
and Jesus is His Name!
-
Have you come to believe that Jesus is God? There's a blessing in you believing
now. Listen to the Lord's words to Thomas. Verse 29.
•
John 20:29 : "Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have
believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed.'" : Naturally, Thomas had come
to believe when his senses left him without any recourse. This was the obvious
conclusion. Thomas had believed and that is good.
-
I consider the Lord's word a statement of fact and exhortation. "Thomas,
think about the blessing that will accompany those that believe because of your
witness!"
-
Thomas began his walk with the experience of seeing the Lord. Think of how
difficult that would be! Christians on the other had have never had that
experience.
-
How much more are we blessed by God! We haven't seen. We haven't come to the
obvious conclusion. We are those that are born by faith, live by faith and will
die in faith.
-
How great will it be when our faith turns to sight!? Ours is a life of growing
anticipation. Think of the greatness of satisfaction that will be ours when we
will awake in eternity! Verse 30.
•
John 20:30,31 : "And truly Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in His name." : John tells us that
appearing in locked rooms, passing through walls and allowing His disciples to
physically touch Him was only a small sample of what He did.
-
Turning water into wine, healing blind men and raising from the dead, were also
simply samples of what Jesus did!
-
Luke will tell us at the beginning of the book of Acts that Jesus revealed
Himself over the next 40 days with many "infallible proofs!" (Acts 1:3) Why did John not undertake to
write more?
-
He did not write everything, but he wrote enough to make belief in Jesus Christ
reasonable!
-
He wants you who read to move beyond skepticism and investigation, into
believing in Christ and having life in His name. May it be so!
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
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