The Hidden Church

On that day, we will lift our voices and perhaps our hands to give praise to Almighty God for the victory which our Lord Jesus Christ secured for us through His resurrection from the dead.

With shouts of “He’s Alive!” and “He is Risen, indeed,” will be added the Scriptures that detail the reality of the resurrection. “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” Luke 24:5-6, KJV

We will add our familiar Easter hymns and songs like “Because He Lives,” and “Up From the Grave He Arose!” Then we will close our hymnals and go home. Home to our jobs, our families, our schools, home to the familiar routine. Home to business as usual.

The following Sunday we will return to church again. Or, at least, some of us will. But this time with barely a mention of the resurrected Jesus. And for the next 51 weeks we will nonchalantly go through the motions.

What has happened? Why is it that the church of the Resurrected Jesus Christ spends so much time worshipping behind or should I say, “hiding behind closed doors?”

The early disciples displayed some of the same characteristics, not three weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, but the very same day. Look with me at our Biblical text this morning found in the Gospel of John, chapter 20, beginning with verse 19.

John 20:19–23 (NKJV) 19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, 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 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send 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 retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Why was it that the disciples who had a Lord who had overcome the very power of death itself, were hiding behind closed doors? Why do we?

Why weren’t the very first followers of Christ who were eyewitnesses of His resurrection still hiding behind closed doors? Why were they not out on the busy streets of Jerusalem and knocking on every door proclaiming the wonderful news that Jesus had risen from the dead?! Why aren’t we?

Why so soon following the resurrection had they become a hidden church?

(C.I.T.) One thing is most certainly true. The church will never be what God intends her to be if we are hiding behind closed doors!

T/S—As we consider the topic, “The Hidden Church,” this morning, please notice several interesting perspectives.

I. THE CONDITION OF THE SAINTS, JOHN 20:19

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews,

A. The When…..

John tells us here in verse 19 that it was the first day of the week when the disciples were found hiding behind closed doors. That’s the when. The first day of the week. The first day of the week is a rather important day for the Christian church would you say?

B. The Who…..

Notice also the who. Who was it that had gathered together on this first day of the week behind closed and locked doors? Again, verse 19 tells us. It says, “the disciples.”

Remember the Twelve? They were not all there. Judas, who betrayed our Lord had hung himself in disgrace. Thomas was not there either. John 20:24 reminds us of this.

John 20:24 (NKJV) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

This is the fifth appearance of the resurrected Christ to his disciples, (first to Mary, then the other women, to Peter, the two Emmaus Road disciples were the other four).

C. The Why….

Why were they there behind the closed doors? This question reveals the Condition of the disciples and the reason they had gathered.

Several of their key leaders including Peter had personally seen the risen Lord. Certainly they were discussing the resurrection and its plausibility.

But the Scriptures stress it was “for fear of the Jews,” they were together, hidden behind closed doors. 19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews…..

The Greek is phobon, meaning to be terrified. Their fear as one writer put it was “an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger, usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight.”

They were afraid the Jewish leaders would capture them and crucify them as they had done to Jesus. They were focused more on death than they were on life.

Why is it that many of our churches today act as if Jesus is dead and not alive? Why do we hide behind closed doors and stained-glass windows? Are we?

ILLUSTRATION: How many of you have ever been frightened? I remember my youth when I was very involved in sports. Whether it was football, track or baseball, I remember experiencing “butterflies” in my stomach before the game.

The interesting thing is that the only thing that got rid of those butterflies or the fear I was experiencing was to become involved in the very thing that frightened me. Getting in the game cured me of my fear. That first snap, or first pitch or first step on the track and the butterflies were gone.

As a church we need to acknowledge the butterflies or the fear we may have about sharing with others and get in the game! Share your faith! Tell others about Jesus! He’s still alive today!!

T/S—That’s the Condition of the Saints. But also see the Comfort of the Savior.

II. THE COMFORT OF THE SAVIOR, JOHN 20:19 and JOHN 20:21

John 20:19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:21, So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!”

What was Jesus’ plan for overcoming the fear His saints were feeling? Two very important realities:

A. His Presence

Verse 19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and verse 21, So Jesus…

Jesus’ very presence gave His disciples confidence and comfort. His presence reaffirmed that He was indeed alive.

The power of His resurrected body that seemingly materialized in the room through closed and locked doors amazed them all. But it also brought an immediate impact to the truth that this Jesus, their Jesus, was eternal in His nature as were those who followed Him.

B. His Peace

John 20:19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:21, So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!”

Not only His presence but His words of peace comforted these frightened disciples.

The word for peace Jesus used refers to a state of peace that is a blessing or favor of God. Jesus was there to offer them peace, peace, wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above!

T/S—But then notice what our Lord says next. I call it the Commission of the Savior.

III. THE COMMISSIONOF THE SAVIOR, JOHN 20:21

“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

This was the first of three occasions in which our Lord Jesus would commission His disciples to be His witnesses, the others being found in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8.

And this commission was given to all who were present there in the room. Don’t miss the significance of the verb tense here in John 20:21. “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

“Has sent,” compared to “send.” Jesus mission on earth was nearly over, but His disciples’ mission was just beginning. And we should remember this is a shared mission, a co-mission. It is equally shared by Jesus and each of His followers. “I am with you always.” Matthew 28:20

Now I know none of you believe this, but a great many church members today seem to believe that it is only the trained ministers or pastors who are sent and they have no charge….Nothing could be further from the truth!

If you are a recipient of the “peace” Jesus offers then you are also a participant in the “sending!”

ILLUSTRATION: “Getting the word Out” a book entitled Prayer Changes Things by Dr. S.D. Gordon. In it he imagines a conversation that took place between Jesus and the angel Gabriel in Heaven sometime after Jesus’ ascension.

The Angel Gabriel ask Jesus, “What plan do you have now for getting the word out? While you were on earth you preached the Gospel, performed miracles then died and rose again for the forgiveness of men’s sins. Now that you have returned to Heaven, what plan do you have for getting the word out so the whole world will know?”

Then Jesus responds by saying, “Well, when I was there on earth, I chose some men and I trained them to do what I have done. For three years I was with them and taught them. Before I left them I gave them all the challenge to get the word out about me. They’ll get the word out.”

Then He continued, “For example, there was a man named Peter, bumbling, fumbling, impetuous, impulsive Simon Peter. He’ll get the word out.”

“And there was Matthew, a former tax collector, whom I called to come and follow me. He’ll tell a friend, who will tell a friend and so on and so forth.”

Jesus proceeded to tell the Angel Gabriel about each of His disciples and then said confidently, “They will get the word out.”

But the Angel seemed to find a flaw in the Master’s plan. “But suppose,” he said, “Suppose Peter gets tired of telling? Matthew doesn’t really care and the Christians of the 21st Century become indifferent, apathetic and unmoved by the lostness of men and women? What then? What other plan do you have?

And Jesus simply said, “I have no other plan. I am counting of them.”

Can Jesus count on you to get the word out?

T/S—There’s one last truth I want you to see from this passage. And it’s the Christian’s Sanction.

IV. THE CHRISTIAN’S SANCTION, JOHN 20:22-23

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 retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

When I refer to the Christian’s sanction, I am talking about the equipment and the authority that make it possible for every Christian to be a soul-winner.

A. The Necessary Equipment, John 20:22

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

If we are to be our Lord’s representative, we must have the Lord Jesus Christ living within us.

When we look at the difficulties ahead of us, and the measure of our own feebleness for the task we have, then the power of the Holy Spirit of God is the only source of strength on which we must rely.

The Christian church as a whole and we as individual members of it, so imperfectly realize the ABC’s of our Faith, our absolute dependence upon the breathed life of Jesus Christ.

· We must depend upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit to rebuild this church.

· We must depend upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit to witness effectively.

· We must depend upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit to give generously.

· We must depend upon the leadership of the Holy Spirit to worship meaningfully.

Brothers and Sisters, we need the Holy Spirit of God! He is our necessary equipment.

Finally, and don’t you love it when the preacher says, “finally!”

John 20:23 further explains the Christian’s sanction. The Risen and living Savior, gave His disciples the authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins. It is our needed authority.

B. The Needed Authority, John 20:23

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

A.T. Robertson says of this verse, “The power to forgive sin belongs only to God, but Jesus claimed to have this power and right (Mark 2:5–7). What he commits to the disciples and to us is the power and privilege of giving assurance of the forgiveness of sins by God by correctly announcing the terms of forgiveness.[1]”

And those terms are to repent and believe in Jesus the Christ as Savior and Lord.

CONCLUSION: As we close this message, take a moment to look back at John 20:20.

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

I hope that’s the way you feel this morning. If so, then we are well on our way to becoming, not a hidden church, but a loving, caring, giving and growing church!

[1] A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn 20:23.

Northgate Sermon Notes

TEXT: JOHN 20:19-23

TOPIC: The Hidden Church

Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC

Sunday morning, April 3, 2022

I. THE _______________OF THE SAINTS, JOHN 20:19

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews,

A. The _______________

the first day of the week

B. The _______________

the disciples.

John 20:24 (NKJV) Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

C. The _______________

for fear of the Jews…..

II. THE _______________ OF THE SAVIOR, JOHN 20:19 and JOHN 20:21

John 20:19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:21, So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!”

A. His _______________

John 20:19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and John 20:21, So Jesus…

B. His _______________

John 20:19, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

John 20:21, So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you!”

III. THE _______________ OF THE SAVIOR, JOHN 20:21

“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

IV. THE _______________SANCTION, JOHN 20:22-23

A. The Necessary _______________, John 20:22

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

B. The Needed _______________, John 20:23

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

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