Where is Jesus in... The Disappointment

Have you ever had something that left you disappointed?

Any online shoppers here? Online shopping can be great, but occasionally you have those times where yuo find something and it looks great, but it ends up being a little bit of a disappointment doesn’t it?

I found a few examples of this this past week. (show pictures)

This one family ordered a big woven blanket and it looks really comfy doesn’t it?

the issue is that it actually came unwoven and you had to weave it yourself

This next one a guy thought it would be a great idea to order a pillow with his face on it for his long distance girlfriend.

The issue is it turned out looking a little scary

This guy ordered this nice chair online thinking it would be perfect for their room,

but it ended up being a little smaller then usual

This person bought this dinosaur pillow for their family, and it a cute pillow isn’t it?

until you realize that its actually just a case with the picture on it.

Has anyone had that happen to them? Its never fun right?

Because you expect things to go one way and then they go another.

And really this happens in our life more then just when we buy something online doesn’t it?

because so often things will turn out differently then what we planned and we begin to feel disappointment.

And its easy for that disappointment to begin to lead us to a place where we might even be fearful.

And I mentioned this today but we are beginning this series called “where is Jesus?”

And today we are looking at the passage that was right after where we were last week.

And you will remember last week was Easter and everyone thought Jesus was dead until they recieved this amazing news that he was risen.

However the majority of people have still not been told this news and so today we see Jesus come to his disciples in a place of disappointment and fear.

And we are going to be in John 20:19-23 and we are just going to start at verse 19 because this verse sets the scene for us today.

It says this:

John 20:19 NIV19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

So the disciples are now sitting in a room with the doors locked. And they felt the hopelessness that the woman had (that we discussed last week, but they also had fear, because the Jewish leaders had Jesus killed and not just that, but to put an end to this “Jesus thing” they most likely were coming for His followers next.

So you get this picture of them not only disappointed, but fearful, scared and defeated.

And I want you to notice what happens because in the middle of them being scared to death, Jesus comes into the room and says “peace be with you”And I always read that and go first off that had to be terrifying to have someone you thought was dead just pop in the room,

But secondly Jesus says, “peace be with you” which I imagine was kind of the opposite of how the disciples felt right?

But what I want you to get is what the disciples feared (which was the jewish leaders did not change.

The Jewish leaders still wanted to take the disciples lives, but who was with them changed.

The situation stayed the same but the person with them is the reason they could have peace in the middle of a fearful situation.

The other day Finn was climbing on the playground and got to a high point on the ladder and he slipped and fell from a pretty high height.

And so I run over grab him and hes crying but a parent has this magical ability when your kids hurt where you can kiss wherever is hurt and all of the sudden they feel better right?

Because it becomes less about what is happening and more about who is with them

And in our lives there are times where we face storms, but the person that goes with us in the storm makes the difference.

And this is not this magical thing where all the sudden we the situation does not mater, but we have a God who comes into the middle of our dissapointment and fear and He says “Peace be with you”

This situation might not be okay, but I am with you through it.

And lets look at verse 20 because it says:

John 20:20 NIV20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

You know this next part of the passage is a little interesting, because Jesus comes in the room and the first things He does is actually show them his hands and side.

And this would have been where Jesus would have been pierced on the cross.

And even after this passage (which we are not looking at this today) but Jesus tells one of the disciples to touch his side and hand where He was peirced on the cross.

I think I preached on this passage one other time and I pointed it out then, but does anyone read that and go this is a little disgusting.

Imagine if I fell and scraped up my knee and I go over to JT and go JT touch it.

You would probably go thats guys weird!

But this is what I want you to understand, is because Jesus was risen, these were not wounds that were still bleeding, that get infected, but they are scars that have healed and now instead of it being this thing that is messy and could get worse it tells a story. Because scars tell a story, don’t they?

I mean if you get hurt and and it heals all the sudden you have a story right?

I have mentoned this before but I have a little scar on my hand that tells of the time I went to grab a toaster struddle out of the oven and my hand touched the red part and got burned.

And now It doesn’t hurt but I have a story right?

And the reason Jesus is telling them to look at His scars is because these scars tell a story about how death was defeated and Jesus had won.

And so before anything we need to understand that these scars should give us hope that if Christ could do that He can move in our life

And actually when we enter a relationship with Him we are seeing what He has done on the cross and now what He can do in us.

But secondly I think Jesus is also modeling really how the body of Christ should function. Because I believe we are a people who have wounds and scars.

Anyone ever look at life and go yeah things get messy some days…

And what I want you to get is some of us have places in our life where there is a wound, maybe its an issue in our family, or an addiction we are hoping to overcome,

But whats amazing is some of us have scars, and when the people who have scars show the people who have wounds its amazing

because sometimes when you have a wound it feels hopeless, but what if we had a person to walk along side us who went through something similar and they were able to say “this is how Jesus brought healing in my life”

I mean this is why being tied into a church body is so crucial. Its not to hear a mediocre sermon every week (altough the sermon is important), or songs but the further I get into ministry the more I realize the importance of being in community with other Christ followers.

Because this is where we find healing and hope

Because its one thing for me to say everything will be alright. Gods got it!

But there is another thing to have someone that had walked through what we are going through, and not they can go, “yeah that hurt, but heres what I did, and I am hear for you.

And let me read the rest of this passage because look what happens (verses 21-23). It says this:

John 20:21–23 NIV21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus say’s something else interesting, because He says “as the Father has sent me, I am sending you”

You know Jesus is telling the disciples that He is risen and He has come to heal the broken places in our lives and really ultimately to heal and restore the brokenness of sin

But now He looks at the disciples and says now I want you to do that. (As I have been sent, now I am sending you)

Because the truth is when there is something amazing you want to share it right?

Some of you know this from talking with me, but I always use fast food apps to order food,

Because they have a ton of deals where you get free stuff. I am basically making money from Eating at taco bell right?

But what happens is I started to go wow, I need to tell the world about this right

And its gotten to the point where I bring it up in my sermons.

And Jesus in this passage is coming with this amazing news and really He has given us this amazing news that we do not have to sit in the wounds of life,

but can find healing in Him and not just that but He can transform our lives. I mean how can we not share that?

And not just invite someone to church but tell them what God has done in your life and what He can do in theirs.

Because we cant help but go God did this look at my scar

And I just want to focus on one last point, because you will notice all of this happens but in verse 22 something really important happens,

because it says Jesus breathes on them and says “receive the Holy Spirit”

And this is another part of this passage that is a little odd, because if someone breathes on you, you would say thats gross right? I meana I drink a ton of coffee on Sundays, you do not want me breathing on you right?

But whats neat and the idea of God’s breath has ben planted in a few different areas but one of the biggest is if you have read Genesis where God creates Adam whats the first thing He does?

He breathes life in Him and thats what makes the difference between Adam just being dust and Him being a human.

Because God has filled every person on this planet with His life giving breath (because we are created in his image), but here we see Jesus again breathing life and saying receive the Holy Spirit.

Because if we want to see God heal the wounds in our lives or if we want to show or tell others about what God has done in our lives, we cannot do it without the presence of God.

Think about with this light, the purpose of this light is to shine light up this wall right? but if it gets unplugged what happens? (Flashlight battery)

It turns off and really it can’t function how it was designed. It does not matter if it is the nicest light you could fine, it is cannot work with out the powersource.

And really this morning I really believe God is calling us to be connected to Him. First off because He loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us.

But also because I believe when God enters a broken place there is healing (and God has given us other resources like counseling and other things that are great!), but its amazing when God enters our lives

Because I think we caan all agree sometimes we catch ourselves in a place like the disciples.

Things have gone unexpected, and we are disappointed, maybe there is fear or brokenness.

But the beautiful thing is when we are here asking “where is Jesus?” He comes in the middle of it saying peace be with you.

And not just that but he invites us to enter into His story and shows us his scars

And the amazing thing is we serve a God that walks with us, heals the broken areas of our lives, and equips us to show and tell other about how He can drastically change their lives.

Will you pray with me?