John 20:19-31, What Now?

Objectives

• Congregants will recognize the insidiousness of doubt particularly following a significant spiritual victory.
• Congregants will deal with doubt by reflecting on the excitement of forgiveness.
• Congregants will deal with doubt by asking Christ to help them personally with their doubt.
• Congregants will deal with doubt by turning to Christ for everything, not just eternity.

Introduction

• According to LifeWay Research, six out of ten Americans will attend a church service over Christmas. If you look at our attendance over the Christmas season it was significantly higher than our usual attendance.
• Moreover, most of us probably invested more time than usual serving and participating in Church activities. Maybe you had more people in your home, maybe you sang in choir, helped with the Christmas play, or baked something special. The fact is, you probably went above and beyond what you normally do over the Christmas season.
• New Year's Resolutions are a common occurrence immediately following Christmas. In fact, following the gorging of Christmas, one in five people will resolve to lose weight in the new year..
• Think about the build up we experienced over the past month and a half. We celebrated Christmas, one of the most important holidays in Christianity. We became more involved in spiritual things. Many of us probably took time off work. We saw increased attendance in our church services. We set lofty goals for the next year.

• However, 80% of New Years resolutions will fail by February. The rush of the holidays can be met with let-down and doubt by the middle of January. So how do we deal with such doubt after such a significant event as the Christmas season?

Main Body

Setting the Stage

• John 20:1-18 describes the empty tomb. We see excitement as Christ, risen from the dead appears to Mary Magdalene and John and Peter begin to comprehend the magnitude of the event. Christ, God Himself, has defeated death and sin. The disciples should have been on a high, but in John 20:19-31 we find something different.

Sustaining Excitement (V. 19-23)

• I am always amazed at the power of adrenaline. When things get hard the adrenaline kicks in, God provides strength and it is truly amazing to be a part of the work of God. But what do you do when the adrenaline fades? When exhaustion takes hold? When you are completely and totally spent?

Coming down from a spiritual high

• Verse 19 - In verses 3 and 4 we had seen Peter and John running to the tomb to discover what had happened. Verse 8 tells us that John, seeing the empty tomb, believed that Christ had risen from the dead. Now, in verse 19 we see the 12 disciples cowering. Notice the temporal component, this is the same day! Mere hours after the greatest victory the world has ever known, victory over death, we see fear. The Greek word κεκλεισμένων that the NKJV translates as shut also carries the idea of locked. We see the disciples shut up, locked inside a room cowering in fear of the Jews. Jesus, however, proclaims "peace be with you." The disciples are cowering in fear when when they should instead be proclaiming the peace that comes only through Christ. Christ takes this typical Jewish greeting and now proclaims it as the completion of all the prophets. At last the greeting "Peace be with you" has real meaning for man can finally have true peace.
• Verse 20 - Provides the evidence the disciples needed of who Jesus was, while they cowered for fear of the Jews, the One who had actually suffered at the hands of the Jews boldly declared Himself and His message. But we would be missing so much if we just stopped at seeing the wounds as evidence of who Christ was, no the wounds are so much more. The wounds are a reminder of why Christ can proclaim "peace be with you." Isaiah 53:5 declares "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Christ presented the disciples with a reminder of why they can now have peace. Finally, we see the word Lord used. Now the disciples are beginning to understand what is means for Jesus to be Lord.

Recognizing what Christ really offers

• In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I think that in the excitement and adrenaline of the moment we can lose sight of the fact that Jesus offers us rest. Rest and peace are not a bad thing!
• Verse 21 - Again Jesus repeats the message "Peace to you" and explicitly reminds the disciples that the declaration of the peace they now have with the Father is now their primary mission. The double use of "Peace" demonstrates that this is no simple greeting. This is the proclamation of the fulfillment of the OT shalom. We also see that with the peace comes responsibility. Christ was sent by the Father, we are sent by Christ. The church is called to be part of the mission of God. It is also important to recognize that two different words are used for sent in verse 21. We are part of the mission of God, but our role is different than that of Christ. Christ came to seek and save, we are sent to proclaim.

Recognizing how exciting it is to be forgiven

• Verse 22 - Here we have a logical development. If the disciples are to complete the mission of God then they will require the Spirit of God to complete the mission. The coming of the Holy Spirit was not until the day of Pentecost nearly 50 days later. Therefore, we must see this as a pledge from Christ to provide the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, Christ had taught that the Holy Spirit would come once he ascended to the Father. Theologically we must realize that Christ has equipped us with all we need. Christ's breathing of the Spirit was a reaffirmation of the sustaining work of Christ. This also may remind us of the garden where God breathed life into the first Adam. In fact, John uses a rare word for blew here, this is the only occurrence of the word in the NT. However, this is the word that was used in the ancient Greek translation of the OT for "breathed" in Genesis 2:7 Here Christ may be symbolically declaring the disciples a new creation and hence a new purpose, to spread the message of Christ. If we are to sustain the excitement we must engage in what we are designed to do, spread the message of Christ. Furthermore, we can be excited that Christ has equipped us for the mission.

• Verse 23 - Here Jesus explicitly reminds the disciples why they have peace, they have forgiveness of sins. This is not a granting of the power to forgive but rather a statement of the power that Christ has over sin and the victory accomplished on the cross. Here Christ declares that a persons Sins stand forgiven and the church is given the responsibility of proclaiming this message. Make no mistake, Christ has granted the church the privilege of participating in the missionary mission of God. Blum says it best "If one believes in Jesus, then a Christian has the right to announce his forgiveness. If a person rejects Jesus’ sacrifice, then a Christian can announce that that person is not forgiven." . The apodosis "they are forgiven" is in the perfect tense. Specifically, it represents the ongoing result of a completed action. In other words, forgiveness was competed on the cross but God, through the great commission has given the us the ability to be part of His work, it is not that we are needed, or really have anything to add to God's work but instead that we enjoy the privilege of being a part of the work. I have a two year old nephew who loves to help grandpa. On one occasion he overheard grandpa talking about cleaning up after the Christmas program. He wanted to help grandpa clean up some puppets that had been used for the church program. On a one track mind he practically forced his parents to arrive early. He proceeded to walk to the front of the church and watch as grandpa put away the puppets. At two years of age there was really nothing he could do to help. But you better believe that both grandpa and Caleb announced that Caleb had helped pick up the puppets. Caleb was given the privilege of claiming credit.

• What does all of this mean for us?
  • We have started a new year, Christmas is over. For many new year's resolutions have already failed and most will fail by the end of the month. So, how do we sustain the excitement of Christmas? The disciples failed to sustain the excitement of the resurrection.
  • In order to sustain excitement we must remember what it is we are excited about. Are we excited about the birth of a Savior? Sure, but not really. Maybe we are excited about all the presents? Seriously, how many are already broken or sitting under the bed? Perhaps we rang in the new year and are excited to lose a few pounds. In all reality, none of these things are the real reason for excitement, not even the birth of the Savior is that exciting. No, what is exciting is the peace we have with God because of the forgiveness of sins. That is something worth getting excited about.

We must maintain our excitement because nothing is more exciting than the forgiveness of sins and subsequent peace that we enjoy today.

Defeating Doubt (V. 24-29)

The reality of doubt

• Verse 24 - We don't know why Thomas was missing but only that he was missing. Thomas, having missed the opportunity to see the risen Savior remains unconvinced.
• Verse 25 - John had portrayed Thomas as a loyal but pessimistic disciple. In John 11:16, when considering the trip to Bethany to resurrect Lazarus Thomas had stated “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” Doubt is a very real and God even works with those experiencing doubt. In Mark 9:23-24 we see and interaction between Jesus and a father, "Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”" I find it amazing that God is willing to work with us where we are. However, don't misunderstand the significance, sometimes people say something like "if only...then I would believe" but they don't mean it. In 1997 and 1998 the Indianapolis Colts managed to go back to back 3-13 seasons. I distinctly remember one of the girls in youth group at the time saying each year that the Colts were the best team in the NFL and would win the Super Bowl. I was so annoyed that to this day I cheer against the colts. But that's not the end of it. When I look online I see that in 2006 the Colts were the Super Bowl champions but I refuse to believe it, no amount of evidence is capable of changing my view of the colts. This is not the type of doubt Thomas had here, no, Thomas doubted but want to believe. Thomas wanted confirmation. Here, as we will see, that when Thomas says he will believe, Thomas means it.
• My personal favorite verse is Mark 9:24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” I find myself constantly asking God to help my unbelief.

Christ, the remedy for doubt

• Verse 26 and 27- Notice that Jesus again declares peace. What is this peace that Jesus so strongly proclaims? Peace between God and man, peace that is available because of the cross. Jesus also provides Thomas with the verification that Thomas desired. The disciples were not gullible easily duped individuals, no the disciples were skeptics who required confirmation. The strongest argument for Christianity is the resurrection. Two factors stand out here
  • How did uneducated cowards transform into bold preachers?
  • If there was no resurrection, then where is the body?
• Verse 28 - Thomas is convinced and with a few simple words Thomas declares not just the resurrection, but the only conclusion the resurrection can bring, the deity of Christ.
• Verse 29 - In a prophetic statement Jesus acknowledges that the the physical evidence of the resurrection will not remain. Instead, there would come a time when faith in the unseen would be a requirement.

We must deal with doubt by only calling on Christ to help us with out doubt

Note 1: This requires that you be willing to take the evidence Christ produces and deal with that evidence. If you think Christ may be calling you to the mission field, ask for evidence, are provided some evidence, and reject that evidence, then you are not dealing with doubt.

Note 2: We come out of a major event, Christmas or Easter or ... and often in the moment of relaxation we experience let-down and doubt begins to creep in. The disciples after the resurrection were confronted with doubt. We must approach doubt by turning to the only one who can actually help us with our doubt.

Recalling the Savior (V. 30-31)

The meaning of life

• Verse 30 - My American Journey, one of Colin Powell's autobiographies is 688 pages long. Powell is certainly a great man and accomplished a lot in his life but Powell is not even comparable to Christ and I suspect there is a lot of Powell's life missing in the 688 pages of his autobiography. In John 20:30 we see that what we have captured in the gospels is only a snapshot of all Christ did.

• Verse 31 - Why did John write? John wrote first and foremost so that we can believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that through our belief we can have life through Christ. When I first read this verse I immediately inserted the word "eternal" before life. But that is not what the verse says. Certainly eternal life is part of life, but in saying less, the verse says more, the verse says that we can have life. How do we move forward after the excitement, joy, fellowship, and happiness of Christmas? We look to Jesus for life.

In Christ alone

• In Col. 2:6-17 we see that real life comes from Christ. Real life is marked by
  • A walk centered in Christ
  • More than just a walk but rooted, established, abounding.
  • Finding fulfillment in Christ noting that, without Christ, even the most scholarly, philosophical discussions cannot bring satisfaction. The church at Colossi was faced with a type of proto-gnosticism that taught salvation could only be achieved through learning secret knowledge. To this false philosophy/religion Paul boldly proclaimed that Christ is the one who possesses all knowledge. Without Christ all knowledge is empty. (As a side note, I have seen plenty of academics, brilliant philosophers in the depths of sorrow because without Christ there is no point. Real life comes from Christ.)
  • Completeness in Christ.
  • Putting off the old body
  • Made alive to new life
  • Free from slavery to the law
  • Free to new life in Christ.

We must turn to Christ for more than just eternity, we must turn to Christ for life!

One of the greatest ironies of the Christian life is that all too often we are willing to trust Christ with eternity but not with today. We ca deal with doubt by turning everything over to Christ.