YouTube video sermon
John 20:11-32
Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to John 20. I’ll be reading verses 11-23. If you didn’t happen to bring your Bible this morning, don’t worry we have you covered. You can follow along on the big screens, or there may be a Bible in the pew rack where the hymnals are located. As you’re finding your place, let me set the stage for our passage this morning by reminding you what we were doing last year.
This time last year, you were attending Easter Sunday worship services in your home via a livestream or TV broadcast, while folks like James, Doug and I were leading worship in front of cameras to empty sanctuaries. Many of you were, in effect, on lockdown. And while that might have felt unlike Easter, in hindsight we were experiencing the very same emotions that the disciples felt on that very first Resurrection Sunday.
The text we’re about to hear clearly illustrates that the disciples were on lockdown – not as a result of some state-ordered emergency protocol, but rather on account of the fact that their hearts were now filled with sadness, they had completely lost their way, and the darkness of the previous day had, metaphorically speaking, settled upon their shoulders. Unlike you and me, they had no hope, they had no assurance, they had no promise on which to stand and hold tight to in the midst of their lockdown. We, at least, had the benefit of knowing how the Easter story ends and the hope that indeed our pandemic lockdown would come to an end. But not so for our first century brothers and sisters.
So, with that little bit of background out of the way let’s give attention now to God’s Word:
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” – and that He had said these things to her.
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them his Hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Our gracious God and Father, we thank You that we will not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from Your mouth – the mouth of God. So, we turn now for the food that is so needed by our hungry souls, for the direction that’s so necessary in our increasingly chaotic lives, for the peace for which we long in the midst of relative chaos. Fulfill Your purposes Lord, in these moments, we pray, to our good and to the glory of Your Son, in whose name we ask it. Amen.
Those of you that are members or regular attenders – this is your opportunity to show our friends and guests just how well you pay attention each week. In order to help us navigate this passage, I’ve chosen to gather our thoughts under how many words? Three! Why three? Three is good biblical number. It’s a holy number. It’s a trinitarian number. So, today’s headings are simply Fear, Faith and Forgiveness.
Fear
Fear is the explanation that John offers (v. 19) as to why the disciples were gathered in a locked room. They were fearful of the Jewish leaders who had provoked the crowd and the Roman authorities to kill Jesus, and they feared a similar type of reaction. It’s easy for us – with 2,000 years of church history and time to analyze the details – to be critical of the disciples, to be apathetic to their situation, but might I remind us all that only 12 months ago there was a similar feeling around the world. We weren’t necessarily fearful of people, but rather a disease being carried by people – many of whom didn’t know they were infected. And this disease was killing people.
But it’s not just fears of death that the disciples had in mind. There are a number of other “things” we fear, aren’t there? I can imagine that one of their fears was grounded in the fact that they would never see Jesus again. There was an empty fearfulness in the room.
Think about it. For those of us that have lost loved ones (and who hasn’t, right), you remember sitting in a room surrounded by friends and family and one of the things that often takes place is that people start reminiscing – we start recalling and retelling stories of our beloved. I can imagine the disciples laughing about the time that Jesus fed the 5,000 and how all of them had responded. Or Peter recalling his brief experience as a water-walker. Or that time that Jesus shut the mouths of His opponents by paying their taxes with a coin He found in the mouth of a fish. (I can fish all day long and not catch anything, let alone a fish bearing enough money to pay my taxes.) I suspect that one or two of them were still trying to get their heads around witnessing the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection. And then all of a sudden it hit them – like it does us – that they wouldn’t see Jesus again. Hence the fearful locking of the door. Hence the fearful emptiness. Hence the sense of regret.
Surely it wouldn’t be long before one of the disciples said, “You know, if we had only stayed with Him when the Romans came for Him, if only we’d followed through… Why was it that we said, ‘You know, Jesus, You can count on us no matter what happens, and then we just ran away.’” I suggest to you that there’s more than regret in that; there’s disappointment, there’s despair, there’s shame. The point that I’m making is simply this: while we might be tempted to overlook the disciples’ fear on that first Resurrection Sunday as being short-sighted, may we not think that we’ve conquered it on this Resurrection Sunday.
What I’ve described and what we see in this text is a mirror of our own lives (some of us). Facing death, despair, lostness, emptiness, regret, and fear. And all the while we peer into an unknown future. And in moments of brutal honesty, we’re forced to admit that with all of our best endeavors we cannot create life out of death, we’re unable to bring order out of chaos. And so, for us, as it was for the disciples, it’s going to take something pretty special to see us change.
If fear is what they experienced, then faith is that which needed to be restored.
Faith
Again, verse 19, John tells us that it was in the context of a fearful lockdown that Jesus came and stood among them. Although they were locked down, Jesus couldn’t be locked out. In fact, the irony of the situation is that the reason they were locked down is because they thought that death had locked Jesus down, once and for all. And yet, here He stands among them. And the first word that comes out of Jesus’ mouth is “peace,” or shalom (in Hebrew).
Of course, that’s a customary Semitic greeting, but let’s not pass over it too quickly. The disciples might have anticipated that out of Jesus’ mouth might have come rebuke, or blame, or at least disappointment, but no. “Peace be with you.” And when He said this (v. 20), “He showed them His hands and His side.” Jesus understood their fear. Yes, their fear of the religious leaders and possible death, but now also the fear of shock that He’s standing in their midst.
In fact, in Luke’s gospel, we’re told that they thought they had seen a spirit, an apparition, a ghost. So, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says, “Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39). Here’s an interesting detail in John’s accounting. It wouldn’t be at all uncommon to identify crucifixion victims by the nail marks in their hands and feet. After all, that’s how crucifixion was carried out – you were nailed to a cross. But Jesus has a wound and a scar unlike any other crucifixion victim. Remember? He was pierced in the side by a spear (John 19:34) in order to confirm that indeed He was dead. So, Jesus invites them to look at Him and believe.
Now folks, I want you to appreciate something else here. Jesus appeals to their senses. This is not an appeal to an idea or a concept or a philosophical structure propped up by centuries of religious tradition that can somehow help us make sense of life. The disciples are not in this room pontificating an abstract idea; they’re embracing a Person. Jesus is literally speaking to them. So, they’re hearing. He’s in their very presence. So, they’re seeing. He’s inviting them to touch Him. So, they’re feeling. And in the very next chapter He’s going to eat with them.
Now why do I mention this? It’s because although we weren’t present for these events, and we can’t speak audibly with Jesus, or physically see Him, or actually touch Him, the Bible’s account of the resurrection isn’t asking us to believe anything that’s contrary to reality. The gospel writers, indeed all of the eye-witness accounts of the resurrected Jesus, aren’t asking us to enter an academic or philosophical study or debate about the existence of Jesus. No, they are simply proclaiming the sensible and rational reality of His resurrection.
Jesus invites the disciples to let go of their fears and embrace faith. And He’s saying the same thing to some of you today. Some of you need to respond to that lump in your throat, that still small voice in your ear, that inner heart-felt stirring that says, “Look at My hands and feet, and what’s more, look at My side. Let go of your fears and embrace me by faith.”
It’s only Jesus that can release us from the fear we experience. It’s only Jesus that can arouse our faith by appealing to reason and reality. And finally, it’s only in Jesus that we find the forgiveness that needs to be shared with the entire world.
Forgiveness
Jesus not only came to die for our sins and to bear the weight of God’s divine wrath against sin, but He came with a message. He made that clear from the beginning. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus came preaching the truth of the Good News. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that when He would no longer be on earth to proclaim this message, He would instruct His disciples to continue carrying it to the world. And that’s exactly what He’s saying in verse 21, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.”
Now, to be fair, the body of Christ is not in agreement with regards to the correct interpretation and understanding of verses 22-23, as it relates to either the reception of the Holy Spirit or the process of forgiveness. And quite frankly, now, is not the time to unpack all that has been written concerning these things. However, what I do think we can agree upon this Easter Sunday is that Jesus is sending them out to proclaim the way of forgiveness.
And indeed, that’s what they do. Peter, in his very first opportunity to preach after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension ends his sermon with this instruction, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37). Two chapter later, in his second recorded opportunity to preach he says, “And there is salvation (or forgiveness, if you like) in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Life after lockdown for the disciples was characterized by fearlessly and faithfully proclaiming the way of forgiveness. What will it be for you and me? This is the Easter story, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).