Grace Christian Fellowship: Christian Teachings from John

John 20:19-23 "So I Send You"

"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. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had 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 retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:19-23)

"The same day at evening." On Easter Sunday we celebrated what happened that same day in the morning. Jesus, who died on the cross, who said, "It is finished" and bowing His head, gave up His spirit. Jesus, whose horribly broken body was placed in a tomb, rose again on the third day. Death could not hold Him down. Jesus said, "I am the life!" "The way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." What an incredible claim, that no one can know God except through Jesus. But then no one else has done what Jesus has. No one else has died and risen again. The resurrection proved the truth of Jesus’ words. The same day of the resurrection, Jesus came to the disciples to show them Himself.

Before Jesus came, the disciples knew that something was happening. The women had gone to the tomb in the morning and found the stone rolled away. Peter and John had rushed to the tomb and found that the body of Jesus was gone. Mary Magdalene actually saw Jesus that morning after the others had left. As the day went on the word spread and perhaps the most amazing was the two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. In the early evening they came back to the room and breathlessly explained to the rest of the group that they too had seen Jesus, He had walked with them along the road. The disciples knew that something was happening but they were also afraid. The doors were shut for fear of the Jews. Whenever people meet Jesus for the first time there is a combination of expectation and fear. When God tries to do a new thing in our lives or in our church there is a combination of expectation and fear. Later on in the book of Acts we see that the fear is gone and it has been replaced by boldness. Peter stands up in front of huge crowds and preaches that Jesus has risen from the dead. Thousands chose to believe in Jesus because Peter is no longer hiding behind closed doors, but expects the power of Jesus Christ to be with him wherever he goes. How did Peter and the other disciples get this power? How do we overcome fear and live by faith?

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. The center of our faith is Jesus. At the center of everything that we do is Jesus with His scars, the nail holes in His hands and the spear wound in His side. At the center is Jesus who loved us so much that He allowed Himself to suffer so much for us. And at the center is the very same Jesus who is very much alive, standing in the midst of us. The One who loved us that much, is right here with us and nothing and no one is greater than He. In the middle of the night my two year old daughter will cry out when she wakes up and finds herself all alone. She starts to cry because she is afraid. But of course she is not all alone, we are very close and hear her cry and come to soothe her back to sleep. As she grows she does not cry as often in the night because even though it is dark and she can not see us, she has learned that we are always there. Our protector is always there. Jesus always hears your cry and always responds. I do not have to be afraid of anything that the world throws against me because He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. This is faith! God needs His people to walk in faith. God needs us to cast aside fear and walk in confidence knowing that our great Protector is with us. When the disciples saw Jesus they were glad! Until that moment they were frightened and confused, like sheep without a shepherd. But after that moment they knew that they had nothing to fear. If even death could not keep Jesus down, they knew there was nothing that could stop them.

Jesus needs bold disciples not frightened ones. The reason why is because we have been given a job to do. In each of the gospels Jesus gives His final commandments to the disciples in what has been called the "Great Commission". In these verses we find out what our purpose is. In verse 21, Jesus said, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." I will tell you right now that the most satisfying peace that you can have in your heart is knowing that you are doing what God has called you to do. The worst frustration can be knowing what God wants you to do but disobeying. Jonah hopped into a ship and tried to run away from God but the sea around Jonah rose up into a terrible storm. Jonah finally said to the sailors, "Toss me in". He knew that the only way out of the storm in his life was to do what the Lord asked. The Lord sent Jonah and that is exactly what He wants to do with every one who believes in Him. "As the Father sent Me, so I send you." We are all sent by Jesus. Sent where and to do what?

To answer that we need to ask, "How did the Father send Jesus?" Because that is how we are sent as well. John 3:16 gives us the answer. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Just as God sent Jesus into the world to be His message of love. Just as God sent Jesus into the world to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, Jesus also sends us into the world to give that same message in the same way. We must let the people know that God loves them and wants to forgive their sins. We must show them through our love and our willingness to sacrifice for them that God’s love is real. That is our commission.

How we do it is what Jesus tells us in verse 23. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." The way that we show people the love of God is the exact same way that Jesus showed it to us. We do it by forgiving them, even though they are not even looking for our forgiveness. We must amaze them with our capacity to forgive. If we look at anyone and decide that they are too much of a sinner to be interested in the gospel then they have missed their chance. The sin that we refused to forgive is something that they are stuck with when they could have been set free. But if we look past the sin and see the person that Jesus died for then we are able to walk up to even the most hostile people and share with them the love of Christ. Forgiveness is the ability to see what God sees in each person and to love them for that far beyond what they do. Forgiveness is when we leave the company of those whom we value and instead go and seek out those who God values. When the world sees true forgiveness they recognise God.

A few years ago I visited Guam and took a drive around the island with my family. At the far end of the island we stopped at a little park and met a local man who started talking with us. This elderly gentleman had lived through the war and remembered the landing of the American invasion troops and their battles with the Japanese. He said (quite a few times) that he knew that the Americans would win because of all the canned food that they brought onto the beach. The Japanese were up in the hills and surviving off the land. They had no provisions being sent from home. But the GI’s brought everything with them. The Japanese soldiers were no doubt just as courageous, just as tough, just as fierce as the Americans. But they weren’t as well supplied. Every successful commission depends on the adequate supply of what the soldier needs. If the supply is lacking it does not matter how strong or courageous he is the soldier will fail in his mission. God has given us a mission and He has made sure that we have everything we need to complete it. When Jesus sent out the disciples He only gave them one thing. He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Every thing we need to spread the gospel in this world is given by the Spirit. Forgiveness is hard work. It takes love for people. The fruit of the Spirit is love. To live a life of forgiveness you must be strong enough to let go of many things. The joy of the Lord is our strength and again the fruit of the Spirit is joy. Forgiveness takes peace with yourself and with others and yet again the fruit of the Spirit is peace.

Would you walk boldly on the mission that God has given? Set you eyes upon Jesus. Make Him the center of your faith. Always be filled with the Spirit. He will provide everything you need. Forgive everyone that God sends you to, showing them firsthand the love that compelled Him to send His only begotten Son Jesus to die for them on the cross.

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