I'm going to read from God's Word now, from the Gospel of John, chapter 20.
And this is a passage that David is shortly going to come and speak to us from.
This is John 20, verses 19 to 23.
If you've got a church Bible, it's on page 906.
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week,
the door has been locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.
Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,
Peace be with you.
When he'd said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
And Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
And when he'd said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
Amen.
This is God's precious Word.
We'll return to that second half of John's Gospel,
to those verses that Chris read for us,
in John chapter 20, 19 through 23.
Do not disturb.
You may have seen the sign, usually in some hotel bedroom door,
indicating that people want to be left alone.
They don't want the cleaning staff to bother them,
or anyone else for that matter.
Other occasions, we may have seen a sign,
private, keep out.
Maybe even it has a sign, a no-entry sign,
stuck on the door.
Well, on the evening of that first Easter,
when the disciples of Jesus gathered together,
they would, I suggest, have been more than happy
to put up one of those signs.
Do not disturb.
Private, keep out.
Keep your distance.
Leave us alone.
John tells us here in verse 19
that they met together behind not just closed doors,
but locked doors.
They met full of worries and anxieties.
They met in a room perhaps full of guilt,
despair, anxious thoughts.
For many of them, their hopes and expectations
had been shattered by the events of the previous days.
Their leader, Jesus of Nazareth,
arrested, crucified, dead, and buried.
They gathered fearful, perhaps that they might be next.
They were men in hiding,
wrapped up in a blanket of fear.
They did not want to be disturbed.
And yet, that is precisely what happens to them.
Because in that room,
when they were closeted away in fear,
Jesus came and disturbed their pity party.
He came to them to comfort their fears
and to stir them up to faith and action.
He came to meet with them,
to speak to them, to reassure them,
and ultimately to send them out into the world
from which they were hiding.
Here, the risen Christ comes to His people.
He reveals Himself.
And opens the door to let the good news
of His resurrection out
for all the world to hear.
Look with me this evening at three things
that Jesus says here to His disciples then,
and indeed to us today.
The first thing that Jesus brings, really,
I want you to note is a word of peace.
Verses 19 through to the beginning of verse 21.
On that evening of that day,
the first day of the week,
the doors being locked where the disciples were
for feet of the Jews,
Jesus came, stood among them,
and said to them,
Peace be with you.
And when He said this,
He showed them His hands and His side.
The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
And Jesus said to them again,
Peace be with you.
The first words Jesus speaks to His followers
is a word of peace.
Here, Jesus is bestowing upon His followers peace,
peace that He has won through His life,
death, and resurrection.
For centuries, the Jewish people
had been looking forward to an age of peace.
In the Old Testament,
the Messiah was anticipated
as the one who was the Prince of Peace.
Later in the New Testament,
when Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus,
he tells them that Jesus Himself is our peace.
Ephesians 2.14.
We know that the apostles went out
into the ancient world
preaching a message of peace.
What is this peace?
that Jesus brings to His followers.
At its root, I think it's not about
tranquility of mind.
It's rather about the absence of hostility
between a holy God and sinful people.
The peace that Christ bestows
is nothing less than reconciliation
and peace with God.
It is the opening up of a way
into God's presence
for those who are by nature His enemies.
Paul tells the Christians in Rome,
therefore, since we are justified by faith,
we have peace with God.
Three things about peace for a moment or two.
It's a compassionate peace.
Jesus speaks peace, not blame,
not fault-finding, not rebuke.
You'll notice that He says that twice
in verse 19 and 21.
And actually, He does so yet again
the following week when Thomas is present,
verse 26 of the same chapter.
And whilst this was the familiar Jewish greeting,
I think there is much more to it here
than just that.
J.C.
Ryle comments,
the first words that our Lord spoke
to the disciples
afford a beautiful proof
of His loving, merciful, tender, thoughtful,
pitiful, and compassionate spirit.
There's a tenderness here
about these words of Jesus.
These disciples, many of them
were broken men.
They'd failed Jesus.
They'd fled from Him.
They'd failed to stand with Him.
They'd failed to speak up for Him.
They'd failed to go to Him.
And yet, in the light of all their sinful failure,
Christ comes to them and grants them peace.
Isn't that good news?
Not a word of rebuke or condemnation,
not a word of disappointment or exasperation,
but a word of peace and reconciliation.
And friends, in all our restlessness and anxiety,
in all our sin and guilt,
in all our failure and weakness,
here is the one who brings peace,
Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you need to hear that tonight.
Why?
Because you know that you're a failure too.
You've let Him down.
You're weak.
You're fearful.
You're fragile.
Well, friend, if you are,
then you're in the right place.
Because as we gather this evening,
the risen Christ Himself,
in the power of the Holy Spirit,
stands among us.
And He speaks His word of peace to us.
A compassionate peace.
And a costly peace.
When He said this,
you'll notice what it says there.
He showed them His hands and His side.
He spoke His word of peace to them
and then revealed the scars in His hands,
the wounds in His side.
He still carried the marks of crucifixion
on His body.
This was no ghost.
This was no apparition.
This was their Lord,
a crucified and risen Savior,
Jesus of the scars.
And here was the evidence
that He had actually made peace
by the blood of the cross,
as Paul puts it in Colossians 1.
Even in Jesus' risen and exalted state,
the badge of His suffering,
the emblems of His sorrow are visible.
Jesus shows them
what it cost Him
to bring them peace.
And yes, of course,
there is such a thing
as cheap peace.
In Jeremiah's day,
in the Old Testament,
the false prophets
in Jeremiah 6
declared,
peace, peace,
when there was no peace.
That's what happens
when sin is downplayed
or overlooked
or ignored.
But the peace that Jesus has won
was far from cheap.
There was no overlooking
of sin.
God cannot and will not
turn a blind eye
to our sins and iniquities.
Isaiah tells us
He was pierced
for our transgressions.
He was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon Him
was the chastisement
that brought us peace.
And with His wounds
we are healed.
It's a costly peace
that is to be found
in the wounds
of Jesus Christ.
After the suffering,
the brutal carnage
of the First World War,
the poet Edward Shilato
wrote a poem entitled
Jesus of the Scars.
I won't read it all,
but here are some of the verses.
If we have never sought,
we seek Thee now.
Thine eyes burn through the dark,
our only stars.
We must have sight
of thorn pricks
on Thy brow.
We must have Thee,
O Jesus,
of the scars.
If when the doors are shut,
Thou drawest near,
only reveal those hands,
that side of Thine.
We know today
what wounds are.
Have no fear.
Show us Thy scars.
We know the countersign.
The other gods
were strong,
but Thou was weak.
They rode,
but Thou didst stumble
to a throne.
But to our wounds
only God's wounds
can speak.
And not a god has wounds,
but Thou alone.
What powerful words.
Not a god has wounds,
but Thou alone.
And it's those wounds
that still speak
with power to our suffering
and sin-sick world.
It's only Jesus that says,
this is my blood shed
for the forgiveness of sins.
No one else says it.
No one else can save you.
No one else can rescue you.
No one else can bring you to God.
No one else has died for you.
No one else can bring you
peace with God.
John Newton wrote
in one of his letters
these words,
And then he says,
Peace flows from Calvary.
Here's the peace
that the world cannot give
and cannot take away.
The peace purchased
by Christ's blood
and sealed by his resurrection.
Those scars of Calvary
are the everlasting proof
that the atonement is complete.
Rich wounds,
as the hymn writer says,
yet visible above.
The one who was pierced
for our transgressions
now stands alive,
bearing the very tokens
of his suffering
as the badges of his victory.
A compassionate peace,
costly peace,
also a conquering peace.
Because the point of the text here
is that Jesus is the conqueror
of sin and death.
He who was dead
is now alive again.
His finished work
is a victorious work.
He has drawn the sting of death.
He has wrought peace
for all who will trust in him,
all who will be united
to him by faith.
And the resurrection,
in a sense,
is really a reversal,
isn't it,
of the divine judgment
of the cross.
He who made God
to be sin for us
is the one
who personally
knew no sin.
He who became
accursed for our sake
is the blessed
of the Father.
He who on the cross
was the forsaken of God
is the Son
in whom the Father
is well pleased.
The rejected of the earth
is the one
crowned of heaven.
Herman Bavink comments,
the resurrection of Christ
is a fountain of good
for his church
and for the whole world.
It is the amen
of the Father
upon the finished
of the Son.
Christ's death
and resurrection,
you see,
cannot be separated.
Christ was delivered up
for our sins
and raised
for our justification.
no wonder
we read here,
then were the disciples
glad when they saw
the Lord.
On that most special day
in the Jewish calendar,
the great day of atonement,
the people would watch
the priest going
into the most holy place,
the Holy of Holies.
There he would offer
a sacrifice
on behalf of the people.
and the people
would wait outside
to see if the priest's
sacrifice
was deemed acceptable
to God.
And if it were,
the priest would come out
from behind the great curtain,
his life spared.
The people would rejoice
and they would celebrate.
As he appeared
from behind the veil,
the high priest
would raise his hands
and he would pronounce
a benediction
upon the people.
Number 6, 24 and following,
the Lord bless you
and keep you.
The Lord make his face
to shine upon you
and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift up
his countenance upon you
and give you what?
Peace.
And that's what we have here
in John 20.
We see the Lord Jesus
himself emerging
from behind the curtain
through that heavy veil
of death,
alive once more,
raising his nail-pierced hands
and saying to his disciples,
my sacrifice
is acceptable to God.
Through me,
your sins can be forgiven.
Through me,
your guilty consciences
can be cleansed.
Through me,
you can have peace with God.
Here is the Son of God
who loved us,
gave himself for us,
bringing us his peace.
Jesus speaks here
a word of peace.
That brings me
to the second thing here.
Jesus speaks
what we call a word
of commission.
Verses 21 and 22.
As the Father has sent me,
even so I am sending you.
And when he said this,
he breathed on them
and said to them,
receive the Holy Spirit.
God's burden
for our broken
and rebellious world,
our lost world,
is met by the Father
sending the Son
into the world.
And then by the Son
sending his disciples
into the world.
just as Jesus
was sent
to achieve salvation,
so then Jesus
sends his followers
to proclaim
that salvation
to the world,
to make disciples
of all nations.
The mission
of the church
is nothing less
than the continuation
of the mission
of the Son.
The Father sent
the Son into the world
not to be served,
but to serve,
to give his life
a ransom for many.
Now here the Son
sends his disciples
and indeed sends us
into that same world
with a message
to proclaim.
And I suppose
these words of Jesus
here represent
perhaps the simplest form
of the Great Commission,
and that in itself
is a great key
to Christian service
and witness
when we remind ourselves
that the Lord himself
is the one
who sends us out
as he himself
was sent
of the Father.
The church's mission
in the world
is to be like Christ's
in some respects.
Jesus himself
didn't just appear,
he didn't just arrive,
he was sent.
That's how Jesus
understood
himself
in his own mission.
He was sent
by the Father.
I don't know,
maybe around 40 times
in John's Gospel
we read
about Jesus
being sent.
He was sent
with authority
from heaven.
He constantly
speaks in this Gospel
of his Father
as him
who sent me.
I have come down
from heaven
not to do
my own will,
but to do
the will of him
who sent me.
I must do
the works of him
who sent me.
My meat is to do
the will of him
who sent me.
And as Jesus
was sent,
so we are sent
if we are his
disciples.
As Jesus
came into this world,
he came in humility,
he came as a servant,
he made himself
of no reputation,
he humbled himself,
he washed the feet
of his disciples.
And so,
as we are sent,
we are to follow him
in that same path
of servanthood.
We are sent
as servants,
not masters.
The apostle says,
we are your servants
for Jesus' sake.
Jesus Christ
did not stand
on his pride.
He became
the friend
of sinners.
He didn't stay
at a distance.
He drew near
to people.
He involved himself
with others.
He wasn't afraid
to get his hands
dirty.
Yes,
they called him
the friend
of sinners
as a term
of reproach,
but were he not
that,
there would be
no hope
for any of us.
And so,
we too,
if we are followers
of Jesus,
are called
to engage
and connect
with people,
to make friends
with others.
Because the gospel,
the good news,
isn't shared
at arm's length.
We can't spray
people with it.
It involves us
sharing our lives
with others
in care and friendship.
That is the way
of Christ,
isn't it?
I remember many years
ago hearing
the testimony
of a Japanese
student come
to faith
in Christ,
and this is
what she said,
my English friend
built a bridge
of friendship
into my heart,
and over that
bridge
walked Jesus.
who are you
building
that bridge
of friendship
with?
Who are you
connecting
with?
Who are you
talking to?
But it's not
only Jesus
who is sent.
At the close
of John 15,
Jesus tells
his disciples
that the Spirit
will also be sent
when the Helper
comes.
John 15,
26,
whom I will send
to you from
the Father,
the Spirit
of truth,
who proceeds
from the Father.
He will bear
witness about me,
and you also
will bear witness.
Jesus is sent
with or in the
power of the Spirit.
His mission
is given to him
through the anointing
of the Spirit
at his baptism.
He's summoned
there onto the
field of service
by his Father
in heaven.
Jesus was filled
with the Spirit.
He was led
by the Spirit.
His mission
was in the power
of the Spirit.
Jesus Christ,
in one sense,
was the very
first missionary.
An all-Christian
mission is rooted
in him,
and the church's
mission is modeled
on the Father's
sending of the Son
and empowered
by the Son's
sending of the Spirit.
And I think
this is why
we have this
curious,
much-debated
action of Jesus
that follows
directly after
his words.
When he'd said
this,
he breathed
on them
and said
to them,
receive the
Holy Spirit.
What is going
on there?
Is Jesus
here preempting
Pentecost?
I don't think
so.
I do not
myself believe
that Jesus
gave his disciples
the gift of
the Spirit
at that moment.
His teaching
about the Spirit
in the upper
room during
the forty days
suggests rather
that what we
have here is
a kind of
dramatic
anticipation
of Pentecost
when he would
pour out
the Spirit
upon them
and adieu
them with
power from
on high
for their
missionary task.
What is
happening here
is Jesus
is confirming
the promise
of the Spirit
with a sign.
Just as before
in anticipation
of his death,
he broke bread,
he gave it to them,
take, eat,
this is my body.
So before the
outpouring of
the Spirit
in anticipation
of it,
he breathed
on them,
he said,
receive the
Holy Spirit.
And just as
he enforced
his word of
peace by
showing his
hands inside,
so he enforces
the promise
of the Spirit
by breathing
on them,
an outward
physical sign
given to
confirm and
guarantee
that promise
of Pentecostal
power to
his church.
After this
experience,
the disciples
could not
separate
the Spirit
from the
Son.
They knew
the Spirit
was his
gift,
the holy
breath of
the exalted
Jesus
himself.
The same
Spirit who
hovered over
the waters
at creation,
who descended
upon the Messiah
at his
baptism,
who raised
Jesus from
the dead,
is now given
to the
apostles
and to
the church.
And so the
Holy Spirit
along with
Jesus is
the sender
of the
apostles.
That word
apostle just
means someone
who's sent.
And here is
Jesus sending
the disciples,
sending the
Spirit to
carry on the
mission of
the gospel.
The apostles
are being
commissioned here
to carry on
the mission
of Christ,
not to begin
a new
mission.
And friends,
to be part
of the
one holy
Catholic
apostolic
church means
to be part
of a
community that
has been
commissioned
and sent
out by
Jesus and
empowered by
the presence
of the
Holy Spirit.
And so the
church in
every age is
to be an
apostolic
community,
and every
Christian a
witness to
those around
them.
In fact,
to the extent
that we
embrace this
calling,
it is to
the extent
that we
embrace this
calling that
we become
more like
Jesus Himself.
A word of
peace, a word
of commission,
sending.
Thirdly and
finally here,
you'll notice
that Jesus
speaks a word
about forgiveness.
Verse 23,
if you forgive
the sins of
anyone, they
are forgiven.
If you
withhold
forgiveness
from anyone,
it is
withheld.
It appears
such a strange
statement,
doesn't it,
from the
lips of
Jesus.
It seems
to indicate
that the
disciples
themselves have
been given
the authority
to bestow
or withhold
forgiveness
of sins.
And for
this reason,
this verse
forms the
basis,
for example,
of the Roman
Catholic
teaching of
confession
and absolution,
where the
church is held
to have
the direct
authority
to forgive
sins or
not.
It won't
surprise you
that I
think that
represents a
profound
misunderstanding
of what
Jesus is
speaking about
here.
Why?
Because only
God can
forgive sins.
There is no
instance anywhere
in the New
Testament of
the disciples
conferring the
forgiveness of
sins upon
anyone.
No, what we
have plenty of
evidence about
is that the
apostles preached
forgiveness with
assurance and
with authority.
They declared
to men and
women that
their sins
could be
forgiven in
Jesus' name.
They saw
themselves not
as priests
issuing forgiveness
to others,
but as
preachers
proclaiming the
forgiveness of
sins that is
only to be
found in
Jesus.
They offered
to the world
God's
forgiveness
in a
crucified
and risen
Savior.
And friends,
the church's
message as
given by
Jesus hasn't
changed.
Humanity's
great need
is still the
forgiveness of
sins.
It's still to
be reconciled
to God.
Sometimes in
the New
Testament,
sin is
described as
being like a
kind of
financial debt.
Human beings
were in debt
to God.
We owe Him
obedience.
We owe Him
a life of
loyalty, love,
worship.
We owe Him
the devotion
of our
hearts.
We owe Him
glory, honor,
respect.
But we
won't pay
up.
Instead, we
willfully ignore
our Creator
and serve only
ourselves.
And so, before
God, we're all
bankrupt.
No matter how
hard we might
try, no matter
the good works
we might do,
we simply
cannot square
accounts with
God.
God, the
debt we owe
is of such
huge proportions,
we can never
pay it back.
We don't have
the moral and
spiritual capital.
We don't have
the resources.
We all owe
God, but we
will not, and
we cannot pay.
We owe God
everything, but we
can pay Him
nothing.
And this
IOU, this
record of debt,
is not a
trifling matter.
It's serious.
It's a legal
demand.
And that's
the desperate
condition in
which men and
women find
themselves before
God.
But the good
news is that
someone else
has paid.
Jesus Christ
has cancelled
the debt.
He's taken
that IOU
and He's set
it aside,
nailing it to
the cross,
as Paul tells
us in
Colossians.
And at the
center of the
church's mission,
therefore, is
this message of
forgiveness,
message of the
cross.
Our message is
not justice
for the poor,
environmental
change, better
morals.
Our message is
that forgiveness
for sin and
rebellion against
God can only be
found in the
person and work
of Jesus Christ,
a crucified
Savior.
That's the
message we are
tasked with
proclaiming and
sharing with
the world.
And if our
message does not
have that at
the heart, it
is not the
gospel.
Yes, of course,
the gospel is
more than just
forgiveness.
It is that.
But it is not
less.
And Jesus was
sent to reconcile
sinners to God,
to bring forgiveness
of sin.
He was sent into
the world to
receive wounds,
to forgive sins,
to bring men
and women to
God.
And the church
is sent in the
power of the
Spirit to
proclaim what
Jesus has
already done,
to herald
reconciliation
with God and
the forgiveness
of sins.
Because that
great IOU of
sin and guilt has
been wiped away
by the blood of
Jesus.
What can wash
I away my
sin?
Nothing but the
blood of Jesus.
Think for a
moment of all
your sins,
all your
selfishness,
egotism,
anger,
bitterness,
envy,
lust,
pride,
arrogance.
Think of the
charred sheet that
stands before you,
how extensive
it is.
You have
absolutely no
excuse.
The good news
is that Christ
has come,
and He's
paid what
we owed.
He's paid
with His blood,
with His
death,
with His wounds,
on a
God-forsaken
cross.
He's come,
He's taken that
massive IOU,
He's nailed it
to the cross,
and He's paid
our debt in
full.
So let me ask
you tonight,
are you
forgiven?
Are you
forgiven?
There's a
tombstone in
a New York
graveyard,
which bears
just a one
word inscription,
forgiven.
There's no name,
there's no date of
birth,
there's no date of
death,
there's no other
epitaph,
forgiven.
But there's no
single comment or
commentary on a
human life that is
of greater consequence
than that.
To know our sins,
our debts,
are forgiven,
is to know the
greatest blessing
and freedom of
all.
Is that one word
written over your
life tonight,
forgiven?
forgiven.
I can tell you on the
authority of Jesus
Christ that if you
repent of your
sins, if you place
your faith in Jesus,
He will cleanse your
guilty conscience.
He will give you
peace with God.
He will cancel the
debt you owe.
He will grant you
freely forgiveness of
your sin.
He will give you
eternal life.
But if you turn your
back on Him,
if you reject Him
and His gospel,
then what are you
going to do with
your sin?
Is there someone
else you are going
to go to?
Can you point me to
someone else who can
give you peace with
God, forgiveness of
sins?
And there is salvation
in no one else.
Acts 4, 11,
for there is no other
name under heaven.
Given among men,
by which we must be
saved.
Apart from Jesus
Christ, we will end
up carrying our own
sins to the grave
and to beyond.
Or we may not have a
sign outside the door
saying, do not
disturb.
Sometimes we would be
as well.
Because sometimes those
words are written all
over our hearts.
Don't disturb me.
Don't disturb me in my
sin and guilt.
Don't disturb me in my
apathy and indifference.
Don't disturb me in my
self-pity.
Don't disturb me in my
despair.
Leave me alone.
And yet the wonder of
the gospel is that God
has not left us alone.
Christ has come.
And there is someone we
can go to to have our
sins forgiven.
There is someone we can
go to to receive peace
with God.
There is someone we can
go to who will bring us
eternal life.
For in the gospel,
Jesus Christ raises up
those nail-pierced hands
above our broken lives.
And we hear His voice
speak into our guilty
consciences, into our
sin-stained hearts.
Peace be with you.
And that's good news.
Yes, sometimes it's hard
to take in, hard to grasp.
Such are our sins.
It seems almost too good
to be true.
Surely, God cannot love me,
can't forgive me, can't be
favorable to me.
But the gospel of the risen
Christ tells us that He can,
that He is, that it is true.
Our sins may be many, His
mercy is more.
And so, whatever your
circumstances this evening,
whatever it is you're going
through, whatever your
struggles, look to Jesus
Christ.
Look to the cross.
Look to His wounds that
bring healing and life.
Come see the cross where
love and mercy meet as the
Son of God is stricken.
Then see His foes lie crushed
beneath His feet, for the
conqueror has risen.
Friends, this passage is not
ancient history.
It's the charter of the church
in every age and generation.
The same Jesus who came to
that frightened band of
disciples, huddled away behind
locked doors.
He comes to us tonight.
He says, peace be with you.
He shows us His wounds.
He commissions us.
As the Father has sent me,
I'm sending you.
He empowers us by His Spirit,
and He entrusts to us the message
our world so desperately needs
to hear Christ's glorious,
life-giving, victorious message
of peace and forgiveness.
Let's pray together.
Lord, by Your grace and mercy,
grant us Your peace.
Grant us the help and encouragement
and presence of Your Holy Spirit.
Grant us to know for ourselves
the forgiveness of sins
and to share that message
with our broken world.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.