Peace Be with You
Notes
Transcript
ME
We are on our first week in a post-Easter series. The world at large has already moved on to either another religion or culture’s festival. Or it has moved back to the news of the day. But in traditional Christian Calendar, today is only the Second Sunday of Easter. And it goes all the way until May 16 which is aptly called the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Then, the week after, May 23 is Pentecost, where the Spirit rests on the disciples of Jesus as recorded in Acts 2. Most of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) follow the Luke-Acts tradition the Spirit descended like tongues of flame on the disciples who were gathered to pray. But the gospel of John records this within the end of the gospel, as we will see. Not only that, the resurrected Jesus proclaims the title of the sermon as he appeared to his brothers.
“Peace be with You.”
WE
When it comes to peace? What comes to your mind? Some of you might think, I have a peace of mind. Which means a feeling of being safe or protected. Or, I come in peace. Which means to arrive somewhere with friendly intentions. Or I am, or she is at peace. Which means feeling calm and relaxed about something or yourself, or a gentle way of saying someone is dead. Or speak now or forever hold your peace. Which means if you have anything to say before I arrest you, say it now while you have the chance. But how does the Bible define peace? All of the above captures a certain aspect of peace, whether it’s safety and protection, calm and relax.
But in the Gospel of John, Jesus says this:
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
So how is the peace Jesus gives differ from the world’s peace?
Peace is shalom in Hebrew. Recently I was listening to my With God Daily devotion with Skye Jethani and his defintion captures shalom best:
In Hebrew, Shalom means “wholeness,” “uncut,” or “complete.” Therefore shalom is the peace that results from lacking nothing; its the assurance that comes when all of the ingredients for our flourishing are present…
Peace in scripture is not primarily about tranquil circumstances or calm emotions, but rather the well-being-the wholeness and flourishing-that comes from living in harmony on at least three dimensions: with God, with others, and with one’s self.
In other words, shalom is not primarily a private or personal quality but something that exists among a network of persons. It’s communal.
In other words, shalom is what is a part of what is so good about good news or the gospel. What God wants for us in relation to himself. It’s what Jesus wishes for his disciples.
What peace is Jesus offering? I believe it is this:
The Peace of the Resurrected Christ Dispels Fears and Unbelief for the Mission Ahead.
GOD
So let’s dive into our first point:.
I. Jesus’ Peace turns our Fears and Disbelief to Belief (20:19-20, 24-29)
I. Jesus’ Peace turns our Fears and Disbelief to Belief (20:19-20, 24-29)
In chapter 20, after Jesus has appeared to Mary in his first of many appearances. It’s time to go visit his friends. But the doors were locked. The disciples were afraid they would somehow be implicated with Jesus and be tried and convicted by the religious authorities. As far as they are concerned, the death of Jesus ends any hope of a new world and order. Though the tomb is empty, Jesus is nowhere to be found except from Mary’s lips.
Except John the Evangelist had put this little hint that something indeed is different.
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.”
This was Jesus’ first offering of peace to his disciples. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week. Jesus being raised by the Father and appeared in the morning to Mary is the first day. It’s the first day not just of the week, but of a new calendar. A new humanity. A new creation. There are clues sprinkled all over these verses.
Jesus knew this is what his friends, who have abandoned him at the cross, needed to hear. Jesus also knows this is what we need to hear today. But first they have to know he has indeed been resurrected. They need to know he is victorious over death. So after he greeted them, he showed them his wounds:
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
These wounds remain on our LORD after his resurrection. Isn’t he suppose to get a perfect, spotless, unblemished body? Isn’t that what we are suppose to inherit? But it’s important the wounds perfectly match the spots were the nail was driven into his wrist. And the spear is thrust into the side where water and blood flowed out in John 19:34. At the very least, John would recognized the marks, being the only one we know who was with Jesus’ mother Mary up to the point of death and body lowered from the cross. These marks reminds them of the cross. They will realize the scarifice Jesus made on the cross with which these marks imprinted forever even on his resurrected body is what will bring shalom, bring peace between God and us.
Which brings us back to why the cross was needed in the first place. Because Sin needs to be dealt with. Not just sins like anger, lying, hating, jealousy, envy, boastfulnes, pride, to name a few. But the sin of ultimately denying God to be our creator, our Lord, and our God. We are estranged from God who is holy love. His holiness means he needs to deal with sin once and for all. His love compells him to lay down his life so peace can be restored between him and us. So Jesus bore our sin and was nailed to the cross.
And for the disciples who were there on the first day, it was enough to see Jesus entering at ease through locked doors, offer them peace, and showed them the marks of his crucifixion. Scripture says “Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.”
But there is one person who providentially was absent from that first encounter.
Thomas.
And Thomas is an odd disciple. We don’t know much about him in the other gospels, but in John, he’s an interesting focus. He’s called the Twin or Didymus. One moment in John 11 he’s willing to die with Jesus upon hearing the news of Lazarus’ death. Another minute, he’s confused about where Jesus is going in John 14. We aren’t given the reasons why he wasn’t there the first time. And when these excited brothers of his told him they have seen the Lord, the one who only three days ago was dragged away to be tried by the High Priest, then Pilate, who sent him to be mocked, flogged and ultimately crucified. Thomas didn’t believe his brothers.
25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
Then eight days passed, and much like the same as a week ago. It was the first day. The doors again were locked. But this time Thomas is around. And just as last time, Jesus appeared and again offer his Peace be with you. This was his third offering of peace. But immediately, Jesus seems to be aware of the conversation between Thomas and the others. He knew his heart:
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
It’s almost as if Jesus is calling Thomas’ bluff. Okay, you want to believe if you can touch my wounds, go right ahead. Of course, there was no need for Thomas. Thomas saw what the other disciples saw. The resurrected Jesus. His disbelieve was shattered because standing there is His risen Saviour, talking to him and addressing him.
What can Thomas say but exclaimed My Lord and my God. And this is providence. Not only is he affirming Jesus’ lordship over their lives, he’s also the first person to call Jesus his God! Up to this point, Jesus always said he came from God or returning to God. Or that he is the son of God. But this is the first instance where he is exclaimed directly as God! This harkens back to the John 1 prologue, doesn’ it:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Jesus is both the Word who was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus is the only God, who is at the Father’s side.
There is always something mysterious to how the trinitiarian relationship works.
The other providence is Jesus’ points forward to a time when future believers will believe based on what they will say, they will write, and they will proclaim:
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Peter would later recall this when he wrote his own letter :
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Jesus knew he had to remove their disbelief and fear in order to prepare them for the mission ahead. They aren’t representing a failed cause, but a risen Messiah. Their faith is place on someone who has conquered death, and defeated sin.
Which leads to our second point:
II. Jesus’ Peace sends us to be Peacemakers in the World (20:21-23)
II. Jesus’ Peace sends us to be Peacemakers in the World (20:21-23)
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.”
I decided to go a bit out of sequence as we look at this passage because I believe the second offering of peace and what Jesus says and does give us our mission. In literary sequence it’s in the middle of the passage. In our discipleship, the sequence is belief fuels mission.
First, Jesus reminds us God is a sending God and a sent God. The Father sends his Son who is the sent one to the world. The Gospel of John is filled with teachings from this sent langauge.
We won’t have time go through all the times Jesus mention about being sent by the Father. But roughly the purpose is for them to believe to bear witness to his works (John 5:36-38, 6:29 ), testify to an intimate relationshp with the Father (John 7:29, 11:42, 17:23) expressed in unity (John 17:21), the meaning of eternal life (John 17:3).
In particular, in Jesus’ priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus already foreshadowed this moment:
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
If we look at Jesus’ ministry, except for times where he venture out of Israel to Samaria and other areas, his ministry is purely focused within Israel. But he is sent into the world and while things may begin in Jerusalem, it doesn’t stay in Jerusalem. So the world Jesus is sending his disciples is much more vast than where he himself have traveled. They have one task, to let the world know the Father's work is through the son. His greatest work ultimately led to Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. But through this work the estranged world can reconcile with God. This is what they are sent to do, and not without help, because we know Jesus’ Spirit will be with them. In fact, disciples so identified with this mission as “sent ones” they would be known as apostles, from the word apostello, which means in Greek to be sent.
This leads to the second reminder.
“Receive the Holy Spirit.” The word spirit could mean spirit, but also breath, and wind. This is no coincidence. This is the ultimate proof to the point at the beginning of the message. New creation. Jesus’s disciples through his death and resurrection are the first workers of new creation. The language and action is very similar to the original creation account in Genesis:
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Do you see the significance? All of us who receive the Holy Spirit, the breath, live no longer as old creation but new creation. A new life is given where our sins are forgiven. We have peace with God and one another. And we are to share this message of peace TO others.
Leading to our third reminder:
What we offer is peace.
It’s like God of the universe who should be the one to demand you to end hostility instead takes the initiative to offer peace. He didn’t wait for us to make the move. We can have peace if you accept the terms of reconciliation. A term in which the son of God paid it all as shown on the cross where the marks of suffering remains. Jesus was raise wounded for our sake. This is the peace offered.
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The disciples thought Jesus was going to overcome the world like any other military king was, by force. Instead, he let the violent force of the world be thrust onto him and in doing so overcome the world through offering himself in peace. And Jesus foresees the same world will do the same to his disciples for rejecting his peace. That is the cost of the peacemaker.
YOU
So our choice should be rather obvious, and yes, it is a choice.
God has done all he can to reconcile this world, of which you and I are a part of, to him. If you are or have been on the fence on the love of God, the weight of sin, and whether Jesus truly is the son of God. ONLY He can fulfill what we just shared in the last twenty minutes. If you want God’s “peace be with you,” I want you to pray and receive this peace and forgiveness from God. But it is equally true if you don’t want it, scripture says it is withheld. It won’t be forced onto you. Because it’s precious. So precious it cost God his one and only son.
If you already have received the peace and forgiveness of God through Jesus’ sacrifice and victory, and now the Spirit dwells in you. Then “peace be with you” is what you are sent to proclaim to others. Jesus continues his work through you and in you to offer those who are still at war with God the peace with Christ through the forgiveness of sin. This is our mission until our last breath. Commit ourselves once again to declare it, and be willing to be sent whenever, and whereever, to someone who needs to hear it.
WE
May the Peace of Christ be with you.
Let’s pray.