Great Words for Growing Disciples

Transcription

1 Great Words for Growing Disciples Lesson Twenty - John 20:19-23 I do not know who it was who first conceived the idea of preaching on the so-called "seven last words of Christ," but whoever he was, he certainly struck upon a popular note. It has always struck me as a bit unusual, however, that in speaking of the seven last words, or actually the phrases of Christ, the choice has always been made of those words spoken by Jesus in the hours during His crucifixion when actually these were not the last words Christ spoke upon earth nor, for that matter, even the most significant. To say that these sentences were the last words of Christ is to imply that with the speaking of them the words of Christ ceased. It is to say that there was no resurrection. Since this is wrong, I am going to suggest that in the closing chapters of John's Gospel we actually have a series of "last" words, spoken after the resurrection, which may be more important and may have a greater claim to our attention than the sayings uttered from the cross. So, in this last lesson in our series, we will be examining what amounts to some of the real last words of Christ. In this lesson, we shall examine three of those last words. I. A Great Comfort (vv ) There are several notable truths in this verse. We will note a couple and focus on one. First, the phrase "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week." It's important that the Holy Spirit makes that note because from now on believers do not worship God on the Sabbath, they worship on the first day of the week, that's clear throughout the book of Acts and in Revelation 1:10. This is a new day. Christians don't worship on Sabbath anymore; we meet on Sunday, the first day of the week. That's our resurrection day - the Lord's Day and the Spirit makes a point of it right here. It is clear from this account that, because of the importance of the resurrection, right from the beginning the disciples began to meet on the first day of the week, on Sunday.

2 The Cross Lesson Twenty/page 2 Note a second important phrase is "When the doors were shut." In the Greek, this phrase is literally locked and barred Interesting! Why was this true? Because of fear Then, we read that Jesus came in! How did He get in there? He walked thru the wall Let s focus on those words, Peace be with you. When Jesus greeted His disciples by speaking of peace in the upper room on the evening of the day in which He rose from the dead, He used a very common greeting. The word was Shalom. It was often used the way we use the word "Hello, but it has a richer, fuller meaning. The Biblical term for peace refers to completeness, soundness, well-being It is used to refer to physical safety and spiritual well-being. In the Biblical sense, it is inseparably tied to righteousness and truth. I believe the best brief definition of Biblical peace is to define it as righteous prosperity When Jesus spoke of peace to His disciples He was speaking, first of all, of peace with God (Romans 5:1). In the New Testament the thought of God's giving peace to men is always connected with what Jesus accomplished by His death and resurrection. It is certainly in this sense that Jesus uses the word in His first words of greeting to the assembled group of disciples. He had gone to the cross. He had been raised from the dead. Now, as the result of what He had accomplished God s wrath toward us has been propitiated, satisfied and thus, we have peace. When Christ offers us peace He does so in another sense also. It is true that He offers us peace with God, but it is also true that He offers us the peace _of_ God also. (Philippians 4:6-7).

3 The Cross Lesson Twenty/page 3 This was a wonderful word to the disciples. The disciples had gone through the most traumatic week of their lives. If ever there was an agitated and confused group, it was this small, fearful band of Christ's disciples. But then Jesus came to calm their troubled spirits and still their hearts. How can we be filled with peace? That's what we want. How can we have it? Several verses of Scripture provide the key. Isaiah 26:3 Romans 8:6 2 Corinthians 3:18 Romans 12:2 This peace of God is unassailable because it is not conditioned upon the world without but upon Christ within. Nothing that the world can foist upon us can attack the peace of God within. This characteristic is the attribute that has set true Christians apart through the ages. Someone has said that the best argument for Christianity is Christians, their joy, their peace. But the strongest argument against Christianity is also Christians, when they are joyless and without that inner peace. How would others view you? Do you have a completeness, a soundness, a well-being, a peace, a joy that others, especially the unsaved, notice in you? Notice verse 20.The word in verse 20 for show is literally. This scene is like a soldier who had been decorated for his bravery, showing his children the bullet wounds, with joy, This was for your freedom, children. You were worth this! II. A Great Commission (v. 21) Here we have John's version of the Great Commission. The Great Commission occurs five times in the New Testament, once at the end of each of the four Gospels and once in the opening chapter of Acts. The repetition is significant. John's version is unique in that it links the peace just spoken of with our commission to be the agents for disseminating that peace, to be peacemakers.

4 The Cross Lesson Twenty/page 4 The gift of peace is not the characteristic emphasis of this verse. Instead, the emphasis is on the connection between our commissioning and the commissioning of the Lord Jesus Christ by His Father. These words are a command to evangelize, but they are more than this; they establish a pattern for us as we evangelize. The key words are "_As_ and So Our task is to carry the gospel to the world. We, the body of Christ, are the continuing ministry of Jesus Christ. Do you realize that Christ is still in the world seeking the lost? How? In us! He is in us seeking the lost! How is He doing? Think about this: are you included in the peace be with you? Then, you are also included in the So send I you_! We are the continuing ministry of Christ. Do you realize that a major reason why our Lord made His post-resurrection appearances was to commission His disciples? And in a larger sense, to commission us? Are you mentally excusing or exempting yourself from this command, convincing yourself that you don t have the gift, the necessary resources? Jesus blows up your excuse in verse 22: "And when He had said this, He breathed," the literal Greek is "He blew," and said unto them, 'Receive ye the Holy Spirit.'" This is a pledge for all believers. Every Christian possesses the Holy Spirit. Christ gave you His Spirit at the point of your salvation. Romans 8:9 says, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." All believers have the Spirit. And, by possessing the Holy Spirit every Christian has the resource to do what God commands, commissions us to do. III. A Great Challenge (vv ) One of the points at which Roman Catholic and Protestant theology part company is over the interpretation of John 20: It is not a minor matter.

5 The Cross Lesson Twenty/page 5 On the basis of this text and some others the Roman Church has built its doctrine of a special priesthood to whom has been committed the power of absolution of sin. In normal practice this authority is exercised through the confessional. Most Catholics would acknowledge that in the ultimate analysis it is God who forgives sin and that this is on the basis of Christ's death. But they would add that God does so in response to the action of the priest so that where the priest absolves, God forgives, and where the priest does not absolve, God allows the sins and judgment to remain. Protestants maintain that this is all backward. What happens is that God first forgives; then, on the basis of that forgiveness, believers proclaim that this is so. According to the best texts, the verbs "are remitted" and "are retained" are in the perfect tense, which means that the forgiveness involved is something which has already been determined in heaven and is now merely proclaimed_ on earth. In other words, the text is saying that one is simply announcing, pointing out, informing about the forgiveness of sins that have already been forgiven. Or, conversely, announcing the retention of sins that have not been forgiven. And so we see in these few verses a great comfort a great commission and a great challenge. There is a logical progression here: we who have made peace with God through Jesus Christ are now commissioned by Him to take salvation's story into the world. That is the commission that Christ has given to each of His disciples including each of us. Are we being faithful to that commission? If not, why not? When we began this series, our stated goal was that we would learn some truths about the cross of Christ which God would so impress upon our hearts in a fresh and unforgettable way that it would serve to equip and enthuse each of us to better love, praise and worship Him. It is my hope and prayer that these truths have moved us all closer to that goal. ~End of Series~