Easter 2 - Missing Out

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 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.” 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

📷📷

Peace WITH Us

MARY’S LAMB.

Mary had a little lamb,

Its fleece was white as snow,

And everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go ;

He followed her to school one day—

That was against the rule,

It made the children laugh and play,

To see a lamb at school.

And so the Teacher turned him out,

But still, he lingered near,

And waited patiently about,

Till Mary did appear ;

And then he ran to her and laid

His head upon her arm,

As if he said—‘ I’m not afraid—

You’ll keep me from all harm.’

‘ What makes the lamb love Mary so ?’

The eager children smile—

‘ O, Mary loves the lamb, you know,’

The Teacher did reply;—

‘ And you each gentle animal

In confidence may bind,

And make them follow at your call,

If you are always kind.’

How many of you have worked in the school system? How about the church nursery or children's ministry? How about Vacation Bible School?

Bekah and I watched a show last year about a man trying to raise sheep and we saw how unruly and troublesome they can be at times. Little lambs were not as bad, so long as they did not stray too far from their mothers. People can often be like sheep as well, and our scripture today tells us about one of the times that Jesus was regathering His lost disciples, His lost sheep. He does that by appearing gently before them, again as the Lamb of God, and telling them "Peace be with you all."

Now, I'm at risk of making a mountain out of a molehill here, but I think there are two things to note about that potentially common greeting.

The words of Jesus that we have in scripture are used very intentionally, and I think Jesus would have used His words very intentionally. If someone sneezed and Jesus said "God bless you", I suspect He would have been saying more than just being polite. "Peace be with you" probably meant more than "Hi, how are you?".

The very idea of peace was much stronger in biblical times. The Peace of Rome was a common phrase that was stamped on signs like the Rule of Law, and if you messed with the Peace of Rome, you would have a company of armed soldiers to contend with and may have ended up on a cross yourself. Roman peace was a ferocious beast.

By contrast, the peace of Jesus came across like Mary's little lamb. Jesus wasn't giving peace TO the disciples, He was sending peace WITH them, a subtle difference, but maybe worth thinking about. If peace followed us around like a little lamb, it would not be a weapon we could use, nor would it be something that would save us from trouble, but it would be noticeable. In fact, in many places we go, it would distract and draw the attention of others, perhaps causing them to laugh and play when they would normally be doing other things.

Furthermore, that kind of peace would be something we would have to care for ourselves. Violent behavior on our part would scare it away. To allow peace to go WITH us, would require a change on our part.

The first step in allowing the peace of God to go with us though would be to have our eyes open enough to see it. Jesus taught that if we seek God, we will find Him, and the opposite can be true at times as well. We stop seeing God when we stop looking for Him.

If peace simply meant a lack of conflict, we could probably stop right there. It does not, at least in a biblical sense. Peace is meant to be taken WITH us into conflict to help direct our attention to God and to reestablish right relationships. It's working through issues with God, not ignoring them and hoping they will go away. It is making sure we are taking care of our business and inviting Jesus into that process rather than asking Him to wait outside the room until we are finished. But fear and doubt creep in and tempt us to turn away from the gift of God's presence with us.

📷

Fear

Fear comes from self-awareness. When we know how vulnerable we are, we become afraid. When we know how guilty we are, we become afraid. When we know our weaknesses, we are fearful to step up and do - afraid we might get hurt and afraid we might mess things up and make them worse. The disciples were hiding and afraid about all of these things.

John writes this scene as if the disciples did not even hear the first "Peace be with you." John doesn't tell us the first reaction they had to Jesus standing in the room with them, having heard rumors that Jesus was risen, but not seeing Him themselves yet. Maybe they all had different reactions: more fear, doubt, skepticism, maybe they just ignored Jesus and did not recognize Him. We don't know. What John tells us is that Jesus had to show his scars to prove His identity to them. Once they saw the marks on His hands and on His side, they were suddenly filled, not with peace, but with JOY. They rejoiced - a completely different response than they had at first.

Then, as John tells us, Jesus started over again. "Peace be with you." They heard it differently that time. Perhaps they didn't even hear Him talking to them the first time at all. They were listening and ready, so He breathed His Spirit upon them and gave them John's version of the Great Commission.

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

I don't know if that made them afraid, but it makes me feel a little bit afraid. That kind of commission puts the responsibility of saving the world on our shoulders, both in getting the message out to the world, and maybe more importantly, in the challenge of forgiving others on behalf of Jesus. It's one thing to tell people about Jesus. It's quite another to be willing to forgive everyone myself. The joy of the moment can push us through the fear, but those opportunities outnumber and outlast the spiritual segments of our lives when Jesus distracts us from our fears like Mary's little lamb.

📷

Doubt

Fear retreats and Doubt enters in. Doubt is what we get when fear goes underground and convinces us we are in control of our lives. It tells us we don't have to follow or do the things we don't fully understand and it tells us that is not fear, it is being smart. That is what Thomas was being when he came back and everyone claimed to have seen Jesus.

He was still trying to keep under the radar of Rome. Taking the name of Jesus to the streets and telling everyone they were forgiven did not sit well with him. He may have been brave enough to be outside the locked upper room, or perhaps smart enough to think the disciples should spread out rather than all huddle together in one place. But he was not about to turn his life upside down without some solid evidence.

Thomas was a questioner, but one who had wanted to keep up with Jesus while they were in Galilee those first three years. John portrayed him as someone who took things literally, which sometimes left him confused by the way Jesus taught. It should be no surprise that he wanted literal proof of the resurrection if he was going to believe Jesus was truly alive. Thomas wanted more than just general evidence. He had some specific requirements that needed to be met for him to get back to following Jesus again. To be fair, there were several people in the Old Testament who tested God, and some of them were hailed as heroes. However, Jesus taught differently and made a specific example of Thomas. You can tell God you need something in order to follow Him faithfully, but He knows our real needs better than we know ourselves. When we really believe that Jesus knows us and loves us, our need for proof, experience, and understanding begins to fade rapidly.

Belief

It comes down to this: Jesus won't charge into your life like a raging bull or lure you out with false promises or deals to convince you to follow Him. No, He sends His spirit to you like Mary's little lamb that draws the attention of those who are ready to see and hear from Him. Unlike Mary's little lamb though, the Holy Spirit is not meant to just follow you around wherever you go, it is meant to lead you. God's gentleness holds a strength far greater than our own. God can choose to be gentle because He has nothing to fear.

Sometimes, from the outside perspective, it looks like God is not doing anything, that somehow God is covered up in the darkness plaguing the world. As Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah:

John 12:38–40 NRSV

38 This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn— and I would heal them.”

John 12:44–46 NRSV

44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.

📷

What we need is night-vision. We need a light for our eyes to see what God is doing in the midst of the darkness around us. God's word can be the light for your feet, but it will not be the light for the whole world. That's your job. That's my job. Books and paper, or text on screen is not fit to hold the Spirit of God. It only pleased God to dwell with us, His people, His children. That is why Jesus said, where two or three are gathered, He is there with them. Like a little lamb. And those who know Him know better. They know that they are the little lambs and that He is the Good Shepherd leading and guiding them.

Where do you see Jesus?

Where are you looking for Him?

Does fear hold you back? Open your doors and come out of hiding.

Do you doubt God's power? Stop and listen to the testimonies of those around you. We have been uploading devotions and words of encouragement online for weeks from many different people in our church family. We offer small group bible studies and Sunday School classes where you can come and be encouraged by those who have seen God working. If doubt is holding you back, get together with two or three others to work you through it and help you see Jesus again.

And then follow Him. Like Thomas, let Jesus be your Lord and your God, and you will see Him everywhere.

Related Media

Related Sermons