All right, well as we come to God's Word this morning, we are picking up the story again where we left off.
We're in John chapter 20, and we heard last Sunday what John's experience was, the day that Jesus rose from the dead.
It all started for John when Mary Magdalene showed up at the front door with news that Jesus' body had been stolen.
We heard how John and Peter ran to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, empty.
And even though they didn't see angels or Jesus, John told us that this was the moment that he believed.
We ended last Sunday with Mary knocking on John's door again, so to speak.
But this time with the news that she had seen Jesus alive.
Now we're about to hear what happened later that same day.
Let's pick up the story.
John chapter 20, verse 19.
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.
So this is the moment when John first sees Jesus alive after he had risen from the dead.
He had to wait the whole day until the evening before he got his turn.
And Luke, in his gospel, is the one who describes this occasion, this appearing of Jesus that evening in the fullest detail.
Luke describes how earlier in the afternoon, Jesus had appeared to Cleopas and his friend on the way to Emmaus,
a little town just down the road from Jerusalem.
And Jesus had walked with them, though they didn't recognize him.
And then he had a meal with them at their house in the evening.
And Cleopas and his friend recognized Jesus.
And Luke tells us that at that moment, Jesus vanished right before their eyes.
And Luke tells us that Cleopas and his friend then got up at once and returned to Jerusalem.
And when they got to Jerusalem, Cleopas and his friend found the eleven disciples all gathered together.
Eleven because Judas is no longer part of the group.
And the disciples were saying, according to Luke,
It's true, the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.
That is, Simon Peter.
And then Cleopas and his friend share about their encounter with Jesus alive.
And Luke will go on to tell much more about this occasion when Jesus appears in the evening than John does.
But what does John remember from that awesome moment when he first saw Jesus alive?
Well, first, there is the unexplainable surprise of the moment.
Look at how John describes this.
He says, Jesus came and stood among them.
But from where?
And how?
It's as if one moment Jesus wasn't there.
And the next moment, there he was.
Standing.
Right there in the room.
It's like he just appears seemingly out of nowhere.
And John mentions a significant detail that Luke chose to leave out.
He says, we were all together and we had the doors locked.
We had the doors locked.
Now, this wasn't a case of how it sometimes is with you and your car when you drive to the city.
Most of you, I hope, lock your car when you park it somewhere in the city.
That's a prudent thing to do in a fallen world.
That's good stewardship.
But probably most of you who are drivers have had that moment where you wonder to yourself,
did I lock the car?
Some of you have long forgotten those days because you have one of those fancy new cars
that locks itself when the remote gets far enough away.
But I still have one of those old vehicles and I still ask that question from time to time.
Did I lock the van door?
I better go back and I better check.
But this was different.
John and everyone else in the room, they knew that the doors were locked.
And they knew why.
We were afraid, says John.
We were afraid of the Jewish leaders.
Now, let's dig into this fear a little bit.
Most likely, if the crucifixion had been the end of the story of Jesus,
they wouldn't have been afraid of the Jewish leaders.
Most of the anger and the hatred and the jealousy of the leaders was fixated on Jesus.
But now, with Jesus gone, their leader gone,
we won't have to worry too much about his disciples.
We saw how they scattered that night in the garden when we arrested him.
But now that word is getting around that Jesus has risen from the dead,
the tomb is empty and there's no body of Jesus to be found.
Well, this changes things.
Matthew tells us in his gospel that the soldiers who had stood guard at the tomb,
they came and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened earlier that morning.
That would include the earthquake.
That would include the angelic being who rolled the stone away from the entrance and sat on it,
after which probably the soldiers fled in fear.
And the chief priests, when they met with the soldiers,
they gave them a bribe and told them,
you are to say,
his disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.
So we can imagine that now the disciples are indeed quite afraid.
Afraid of the religious leaders.
They definitely, the religious leaders,
they definitely don't believe Jesus has risen from the dead.
And all they need to discredit,
the resurrection of Jesus entirely,
is the body of Jesus,
to show the public the body of Jesus.
Jesus couldn't have risen from the dead.
No, his followers must have stolen the body.
And now they're claiming that he rose from the dead.
They have the body.
We've got to find them.
And the body.
So they had the doors locked because they were afraid.
And this is what caught John by surprise.
Like, what?
Where did he come from?
How did he get in here?
Much like Jesus vanished from the table in an instant
before the very eyes of Cleopas and his friend,
here Jesus seems to appear miraculously out of nowhere.
There was no other explanation for how he got in here.
So Jesus appears and he greets them.
Peace be with you.
It's actually a very ordinary greeting.
It's the same greeting that's still used today by the Jews in Hebrew.
It's a shalom, alachem.
Peace be with you or peace be upon you.
And then John describes how Jesus showed them his hands and his side.
This was the proof that it was really Jesus.
Even though his body had been resurrected and made new,
it seems God saw fit to leave him with scars.
These were to be identifying marks.
Remember, John is the one who told us about the spear
that was thrust into Jesus' dead body on the cross.
And here John points out that not only did he have scars on his hands from the nails,
but also there was a scar on his side in the same place that John watched the spear go in.
It was beyond the shadow of a doubt.
The same Jesus.
They watched die.
Now alive again in their presence.
And at this point, John tells us how seeing Jesus made them all feel.
He says in verse 20,
We were overjoyed.
Literally.
They rejoiced.
This was a very happy moment.
A moment of celebration.
Excitement.
Wonder.
Awe.
John could finally say with the women.
With Peter.
With Cleopas.
I have seen the Lord.
But now John tells us about some things that Jesus said and did that evening
that Luke chose to leave out of his account.
Verse 21.
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 this little snippet of what John has recorded
has caused all kinds of debate and discussion
amongst Christians for generations.
The first thing that Jesus does here
is to commission them to His service.
And this is not new.
This is basically the same thing that Jesus prayed
three days earlier during His high priestly prayer.
Remember back to John chapter 17,
verse 18.
Jesus talking to His Father said,
As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
And now here again,
He says basically the same thing,
but instead,
directly to His disciples.
As the Father has sent me,
I am sending you.
Now this,
I think,
is most likely something Jesus said
to commission them as apostles,
rather than a generic sending of all believers
to preach the gospel.
And I won't get into the fuller discussion
for why this morning,
for the sake of time,
but there are some who do see this
as a more general commissioning of all Christians
to represent Christ in the world.
Then there's what Jesus says in verse 23.
He says,
If you forgive anyone's sins,
their sins are forgiven.
If you do not forgive them,
they are not forgiven.
Now these words have been debated a lot.
Probably, though,
we can all agree that there's some sense
of special authority being granted
to the ones Jesus is sending.
And so that's why I'm inclined to think
that this sending has to do
with them being apostles
and not just typical Christian followers.
Let's talk about this verse 23 for a minute.
If you forgive anyone's sins,
their sins are forgiven.
If you do not forgive them,
they are not forgiven.
What do we do with this?
What does it mean?
Some might point to this saying of Jesus
to suggest that we cannot directly confess
our sins to God.
We must go through a priest
or a member of the clergy.
But is Jesus saying that from now on,
other people will need the apostles
to find forgiveness from God?
I don't think so.
That's not the way the rest of the Bible
points us.
Other people, perhaps in reaction to that,
will explain this statement
in a way that basically flips it
upside down completely
to mean the very opposite
of what it seems to mean.
They'll say something like,
well, it doesn't mean that the apostles
will have any special authority from God
to forgive sins.
Because actually,
you know, maybe it means
that because God has already decided
to forgive them,
when they go and forgive someone,
it's because God has already made that decision.
Well, that sounds interesting,
and it kind of seems to exalt
the sovereignty of God.
But we have to wonder,
did Jesus really mean
the exact opposite
of what it seems like he said?
You've got to be doing
some pretty fancy grammatical gymnastics here
to make the condition
of this statement the result.
And the result,
the condition.
And so I'll be honest.
I'm not entirely sure
what Jesus meant here,
but if I had to guess,
could it be that God gave a special role
to the apostles,
unique to them,
such that just as they would speak
the very words of God
to people,
like the prophets of old,
in the same way,
by the Spirit,
they would be able to speak authoritatively
on God's behalf,
pronouncing,
granting God's forgiveness
to those who were coming
and repenting
and putting their faith in Jesus?
And this not indefinitely,
but for this time of transition
between the old covenant
and the new covenant.
Could it be that
they would be able to say
to a person,
truly on God's behalf,
as Jesus' representatives,
whether or not God had forgiven
that person?
Perhaps God gave them
special divine knowledge
of whether people were sincere
and truly believing.
Perhaps the reason
was to make it clear
and to give assurance
that yes,
God really has forgiven you.
Maybe it was a way
during this time of transition
for God to put
His authoritative word
over who was truly in
and believed
and who was not.
perhaps a way
to protect the church
from people
who were pretenders
and insincere.
And this does seem
to fit a little
with what we see
in the book of Acts
with Ananias and Sapphira.
They are struck down
for lying to the apostles
because lying to the apostles,
as we read in that story,
with the unique role
that God had given them,
was tantamount
to lying to God
since they were the ones
He had sent.
And so Peter seems to,
on that occasion,
pronounce judgment
and Sapphira drops dead.
So that's one possibility
for what that means.
Another of the well-debated things
that Jesus said.
But then there's this other thing
that has caused
quite a lot of head-scratching
as well.
John tells how
on this evening
that Jesus rose from the dead,
he says that Jesus
breathed on them
and said,
receive the Holy Spirit.
Now if that other thing
Jesus said
didn't turn us upside down,
well this certainly does.
How come Jesus
seems to give
the Holy Spirit
to them
before the day of Pentecost?
According to John.
I mean,
the day of Pentecost
happens over 40 days
after this.
And it's that day
that we read
in the book of Acts
that God
pours out His Spirit
on His apostles.
So naturally,
some point to this
and say,
well look,
there's a contradiction there.
John didn't have
his story straight.
Or maybe it was Luke
who didn't have
his story straight.
John says,
they received
the Holy Spirit
from Jesus directly
the day that Jesus
rose from the dead.
While Luke says
it was more than
40 days later.
What do we do with this?
And there's been
no shortage of ideas
put forward here.
But most of them
boil down to one of these
three explanations.
First,
some argue
that there was only
one moment
in which Jesus
gave His Spirit.
And somehow,
this thing
that John is describing
here
is the same thing
that Luke described
in Acts chapter 2.
And what do we do
with that 40-day gap
between the two?
Well,
perhaps they say
John is letting
the theology
control his narrative
more than
the chronology.
I'll be honest,
I just can't accept
that view
of Scripture.
That seems to undermine
its truthfulness
in my opinion.
Second,
some argue
that this was
not a moment
in which Jesus
actually gave
the Holy Spirit.
Some suggest
that He is just
giving them a promise
or a command
about the Spirit
in anticipation
of the coming
of the Spirit
which won't happen
until Pentecost.
Jesus did speak
in ways
that
seemed to
give us a sense
that time
was not the way
that we would expect it.
You know,
my hour has come.
Like,
it's here right now
but then
referring to
what?
Referring to something
that's about to happen
a week later.
He spoke about
His departure
is imminent
even though
there are yet,
there was still a week
and yet 40 days
before He would actually
go
to the Father
to stay.
And so maybe
that's what's
happening here.
Maybe this
is a giving
that starts now
with Jesus' words
and ends
with what happens
at Pentecost
when the Spirit
comes down.
That's another view.
Or,
perhaps Jesus
isn't giving the Spirit
but somehow
He's preparing them
to receive the Spirit
by breathing on them
and then
commanding them
to receive the Spirit
at that later time
when He sinned.
Certainly a respectable view
but I'm not quite sure
about it.
Finally,
the third option
that people argue for
and this is the one
that I
think makes
the most sense
is that there were
two givings
of the Holy Spirit.
And now there are
different ideas
about why there were
two givings.
Was it
that the first
was somehow
a lesser
giving
and the second
a fuller giving?
Was it
that the first
was about
them receiving
apostolic power
and authority
and the second
about them receiving
new life
and the new birth?
Or,
was it the other way around?
Now this third view
I think is the most
compelling
but I don't know
this for sure.
Perhaps it was
this evening
that at least
some of the disciples
first received
the Holy Spirit
to live in them
the night
that they were
born again
by the Spirit
as Jesus
described to
Nicodemus.
We do see
in this Gospel
of John
an emphasis
on this
that
belief
goes with
the new birth.
We heard that
back at the beginning
of John's Gospel.
Yet to all
who received him
to those who
believed in his name
he gave the right
to become
children of God
children born
of God.
So this is probably
the moment
in the story
when many of the
disciples first
believed
that Jesus
rose from the dead.
The moment
they first knew
beyond the shadow
of a doubt
that he was
who he said he was.
According to that
kind of an understanding
or view of this
then what happens
40 days later
would be a second
different encounter
with God's spirit
where God
pours out his spirit
for empowering
and for the work
of being apostles
and proclaiming
the news
and you see
those manifestations
like tongues
and speaking
in other languages
the gifting required
for that apostolic work.
I think it has
the most going for it
that view
but again
I don't know for sure
whatever conclusion
we come to
it has to fit
with the reality
that we're about
to see here
that one of the disciples
one of the apostles
was actually not here
in the room
at this moment
when Jesus appeared
and gave his spirit.
Verse 24
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.
So kind of like
Mary Magdalene
seemed to miss out
on the first appearance
of Jesus
to the women
now we hear
that Thomas
misses out
on this big moment
that evening.
Can you imagine
this for Thomas?
put yourself
in his shoes
as much as you can
for a second
like man
all my friends
are going crazy
they're out of their minds
first it was the women
claiming to see angels
and that Jesus is alive
then it was Mary Magdalene
and then now Peter
and now Cleopas
and Thomas it seems
just wasn't buying it.
you've got to be kidding me
risen from the dead?
It doesn't happen
very rare
in the Old Testament
wouldn't it be great
if it was true?
And now can you imagine
how Thomas is feeling
when all ten
of the other disciples
are now claiming
to have seen Jesus
how convenient
right after Thomas
left the room
because it seems
he was there earlier
according to Luke
but Thomas wasn't there
he hadn't seen it
Thomas makes it clear
I can't believe it
I just can't believe it
unless I see
the nail marks
in his hands
for myself
unless I put my finger
in that spot
where the nail was
put my hand
into his side
I will not believe it
you've got to wonder
what was going on
in Thomas' mind
in his heart
was it deep
anguish
and grief
and man
I just
if this isn't real
I just can't get on
that emotional
roller coaster
and go
and all to find out
it's just a disappointment
it didn't happen
or was there
some kind of
deeply embedded
nagging
skepticism
that just
was rising up
in his heart
or was it a combination
unless
I
see
the nail marks
in his hands
and put my finger
where the nails were
put my hand
into his side
I will not believe
notice that
for Thomas
there is something
that will prove it
beyond the shadow
of a doubt
for him
and again
it has to do
with the nail marks
it has to do
with the spear mark
Thomas is saying
something here
he too
was an eyewitness
of Jesus' crucifixion
he saw the nails
pounded in
he watched
as the spear
was thrust
into Jesus' body
whatever these guys
saw the other night
maybe it was
someone else
pretending to be
Jesus
a lookalike
or something
I don't know
but for me
the proof
that it really
is him
risen from the dead
will be if he has
the scars
in all the right places
and if I can
touch them
and feel it
and see it
for myself
and if I don't
I will not
go along with this
verse 26
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
exactly
one week later
Jesus appears
to them all again
and this time
Thomas is there
Jesus gives
the same greeting
as last time
peace be with you
and then he turns
and speaks
directly
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
when someone
is deeply
skeptical
how you
change their
mind
how do you
get them
to see
the truth
that you
know
some of us
know
from our
conversations
with people
that sometimes
it takes
a miracle
and that's
what makes
this eyewitness
moment
for Thomas
so compelling
what could
possibly take
Thomas
from doubting
so deeply
that even
though ten
of his best
friends
and a bunch
of others
are saying
Jesus is
alive
I'm telling
you
we saw
him
the other
night
what could
take him
from doubting
that so
deeply
to now
saying
my Lord
and my
God
Jesus
changed
his heart
and his
mind
in an
instant
he appeared
and if his
appearance
alone
with the
doors locked
wasn't
enough
it was
what Jesus
said to
Thomas
when he
appeared
it was
as if
Jesus
had heard
the very
words
Thomas
had been
saying
to the
other
disciples
throughout
the week
Thomas
had been
saying
unless
I
see
where the
nails
went in
and put
my finger
there
unless
I
reach
into
and touch
the side
where the
spear
went in
I will
not
believe
and it's
as if
Jesus
heard
every word
of that
he knew
that Thomas
had said
it
and now
he looks
Thomas
straight into
the eye
and says
put your
finger here
see
stop
doubting
and believe
and Thomas
is so
floored by
this
he bursts
out in an
expression of
worship
my Lord
and my
God
he owns
Jesus
as his
God
it wasn't
just the
miraculous
appearance
at least
I don't
think so
that caused
this response
but how
deeply
exposed
Thomas
felt
in this
moment
it was like
it just
hit home
right there
Jesus
knew
everything
that Thomas
had been
saying
throughout
the week
he knew
it word
for word
as only
God
can
he knew
Thomas's
heart
the doubt
that was
in there
as only
God
can
and so
Thomas
acknowledges
Jesus
not just
as Messiah
not just
as Lord
but my
Lord
and my
God
what a
sweet
reunion
for Thomas
the
disciple
who
had
missed
out
and
there's
a lesson
in this
for all
of us
Jesus
brings
that
out
with
what
he
says
next
verse
29
because
you have
seen
me
you have
believed
blessed
are those
who have
not seen
and yet
have
believed
as we
mentioned
a little
bit
last
Sunday
for
Thomas
seeing
was
believing
it
took
seeing
for him
to
believe
but
for the
rest
of the
world
and
coming
generations
who
didn't
witness
firsthand
the
coming
of
Christ
and
the
resurrection
of
Jesus
for
the
rest
of
us
believing
must
come
without
seeing
without
seeing
it
firsthand
anyway
and
Jesus
says
there's
a
special
blessing
of
God
there is
favor
of
God
which
comes
to
those
who
simply
take
him
at
his
word
and
believe
without
having
witnessed
like
Thomas
just
did
and
so
I
want
to
draw
this
to a
close
by
asking
you
a
personal
question
where
are
you
at
in
your
relationship
with
Jesus
with
God
do
you
truly
believe
in
your
heart
in
your
heart
of
hearts
are
you
skeptical
are
you
waiting
for
God
to
appear
to
you
or
to
give
you
a
sign
God
is
inviting
you
right
here
right
now
through
these
words
to
put
your
faith
to
put
your
trust
your
belief
in
him
now
without
having
to
see
him
do
you
believe
this
is
the
whole
reason
that
John
has
written
this
account
of
Jesus
story
from
start
to
finish
verse
30
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
it's
like
John
saying
I'm
telling
you
what
I
witnessed
I'm
telling
you
everything
I
saw
what
I
heard
about
Jesus
for
your
benefit
I
didn't
even
write
down
everything
in
here
that
Jesus
did
I
couldn't
as
we'll
hear
next
Sunday
I
didn't
have
space
for
all
that
he
did
and
said
but
the
things
I
wrote
were
for
this
purpose
it
was
so
that
you
might
have
the
opportunity
to
see
through
my
eyes
what
really
happened
and
to
know
it
that
he
rose
from
the
dead
and
that
you
might
believe
and
find
that
life
that
eternal
life
that
Jesus
preached
about
for
yourself
through
John
God
himself
is
asking
for
your
response
to
all
of
this
that
we've
been
hearing
every
Sunday
in
the
gospel
of
John
God
is
looking
not
for
skepticism
not
for
doubt
like
Thomas
had
but
for
faith
for
trust
for
belief
will
you
give
that
to
God
will
you
bow
before
him
as
your
Lord
and
your
God
will
you
surrender
your
life
completely
to
him
devote
yourself
to
him
not
just
as
an
interesting
figure
worth
learning
a little
bit
of
wisdom
from
but
as
the
very
God
of
heaven
and
earth
the
one
who
knows
all
things
the
one
who
is
worthy
of
your
entire
life
your
entire
everything
your
worship
your
devotion
what's
your
response
let's
pray
father
in
heaven
we
thank
you
for
the
testimony
of
Thomas
strikes
a
chord
with
some
of
us
and
you
know
Lord
the
doubts
that
have
risen
in
our
minds
at
times
the
wonderings
love
and
we
ask
you
forgive
us
for
our
moments
of
unbelief
we
ask
that
you
would
give
us
eyes
to
see
the
truth
and
that
we
would
put
our
trust
in
you
Lord
Jesus
and
that
we
would
own
you
as
our
God
you
are
worthy
I
pray
that
you
would
live
in
each
one
of
our
hearts
powerfully
as
our
Lord
it's
in your
name
we
pray
amen
Thank you.