Preamble

Good morning!

If you have your bibles with you this morning, please won’t you turn with me to John chapter 20 and verse 30-31.

Not for the first time, of course, in this series.

Introduction

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

  • In our ‘intrepid journey’ through the book of John we have referred to these two verses many times.
  • John's purpose in writing this gospel, and his specific selection of the accounts, are explicitly revealed within these two verses.
  • His gospel is not meant to be exhaustive, rather it is a selection of some of the key events and Jesus’ teachings.
  • It proves us with a vantage point from which we can ‘view’ the whole Gospel.
  • Guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit - which is imparted to him and his fellow disciples in this chapter - John specifically chooses to share these accounts with us.
  • WHY? So that we might believe, and by believing that we may have life in His name.
  • As the reader we are led to a very specific destination.
  • There is no hidden agenda.
  • This gospel is not some haphazard story, but a purposeful, carefully selected account. And John does not hide from us his intended goal.
  • A goal which he personally has come to understand and appreciate.
  • V31 is a fitting climax of the whole book, but it is also the climax of the chapter and it provides us with a point from which we can work backwards through the verses that immediately precede it.
  • In other words we have used this verse to highlight the purpose of the whole gospel, which is right, but this morning I want us to see it within the context of the chapter in which it is written.

The disciples meet the Risen Lord

  • After nearly a year we are nearing the end of our trek, and we are just a few Sunday’s away from its conclusion.
  • Over the last couple of weeks we have been unpacking the resurrection accounts, and last Sunday we investigated Mary Magdalene's encounter with the Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord.
  • The remainder of the chapter records two further appearances: The first is to the ten disciples, and then the other, a full week later, to the eleven with a particular focus on Thomas.
  • However, the conclusions that John draws in v31 must be viewed against the backdrop of the incidents leading up to it.
  • And so as we investigate and unpack the events, I want us to note that John is drawing our attention to what is involved in the Faith. He wants us to know what it means to believe and to have life in His name.
  • He wants us to understand what distinguishes true saving faith from a mere acknowledgement that certain things are true.
    • He wants us to realise that when confronted with our gentle saviour - it demands a response
    • And that when we experience and enter into true saving faith - it demands action.
      • “...faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)
  • With that let’s read from v19.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19 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!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 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 Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

  • The way Jesus spent His last 40 days on earth after his resurrection were quite different from the rest of His ministry.
  • While they are important, relatively little is said about them in scripture. There are only 142 verses and most of them dedicated to the resurrection and the accounts themselves.
  • And it seems that Jesus appears to the disciples every once in a while - between the four gospels there are 11 recorded appearances.
  • We are not told where he was the rest of the time.
  • Jesus's involvement in ministry appears minimal.
  • There is no mention of any further healings or teachings.
  • Why is that?
    • Well, “It was done!”
      • All that needed to be said, had been said - all that needed to be accomplished, had been accomplished - all was complete on the cross.
      • I mean what greater miracle could there be than the resurrection itself?
    • And so with His ministry complete - he instead spends the limited time he has with his followers - it was precious time.
    • It would have been a time where he would have met with them personally one-on-one - encouraging them.
    • But it is also clearly a time where Jesus transfers the work of ministry to the disciples - a sort of in between time - between His ministry and that of His followers.
  • The passage tells us that the first encounter takes place later on that same day - so on the resurrection Sunday and the disciples are hidden away, fearful for their lives.
  • There are five encounters with Jesus on this day
    • Mary Magdalene (John 20)
    • To the other woman (Matthew 28)
    • The two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark & Luke)
    • To Peter (Luke 24)
    • And here to the 10 disciples
      • Where is Thomas? - It doesn’t say, just that he is not with the other 10
  • The implication here is that the doors are not just closed on account of the weather, but rather that they are barred shut, secure from any unwelcome guests.
  • Such was their fear.
  • The encounters of Peter, Mary and the disciples on the road to Emmaus would have reached their ears, and yet they still did not believe.
  • Although Jesus would have been heartened to see the disciples together - this was certainly what he prayed for in John 17 - he prayed for their unity after his departure - BUT he would have been disheartened to see them hiding in fear.
  • If he is disappointed, he certainly does not show it, rather he deals with them gently.
  • He is perfectly aware of their weaknesses and that their faith needs to be nurtured and encouraged.
  • It was true in the encounter with Mary and he once again deals gently with the disciples - especially Thomas - and so with us.
  • When our faith instinctively holds back with a healthy caution, Jesus gently persuades us of the need to receive and to trust Him fully.

Peace to you!

  • Jesus appears in their midst, and says “Peace be with you!”
  • He stands amongst the disciples, and greets them with a blessed assurance that there is no reason for fear.
    • Now Luke tells us that the disciples were alarmed at his presence and it could be argued that his greeting was to calm them down.
    • It was a common greeting of the day, and I have no doubt that placating their immediate alarm was part of this, BUT I believe that his assurance is much deeper than that.
    • You see after they deserted Him on the day of crucifixion - these cowardly and faithless disciples probably expected a rebuke. And they certainly would have deserved it.
    • BUT instead Jesus brings a word of PEACE and reconciliation.
    • You see his first blessing of peace could very well have been to calm their nerves, but the second, the repetition, makes this gift of peace much more significant.
    • The resurrected Jesus brings PEACE!
    • Jesus isn’t wishing peace for them, rather he is making a declaration.
    • All the forces which destroy the peace of man have been faced and defeated.
      • My sins are forgiven - PEACE
      • The slavery to sin is broken - PEACE
      • My Saviour takes upon Him my fears and cares - PEACE
      • My eternal destiny is settled - PEACE
  • Why did Jesus need to declare this? Was it because of their emotional state? Was it that they were alarmed?
  • Paul in Philippians tells us that it is “the peace of God which transcends all understanding.” 
  • It needs to be declared because we cannot under our own stream be able to grasp this most profound mystery; it is a gift from God.
  • One that he promised them in the upper room on the night before his crucifixion.

John 14:25-27

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

  • This is the ‘life in his name’ to which John refers to in v31.
  • Through His death and resurrection Jesus has secured fellowship with the living God, and now he encourages the disciples to recognise that His promises had become reality and that they should trust him.
  • Peace is not passively received; it must be actively sought and claimed.
  • Jesus then immediately takes steps to convince them of who he is - he shows them His hands and side - they are overjoyed.
  • Do you see it now?
  • Do you see the breadcrumb path which John has less-than-subtly laid out for us?
  • True faith in Jesus Christ, the risen saviour, leads to peace with God - a right standing with Him - a peace that surpasses all understanding - And life in His name!
  • Life in His name is about living in His Peace
  • And we must ourselves be living in that peace, before we can effectively preach and share the gospel of peace with others.

As the Father has sent me

  • And so the journey does not end there, rather Jesus in v21 quickly moves them to an invitation of oneness with Him.
    • “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”
  • As he prayed in Chapter 17, Jesus gives His disciples a mission - a mission to continue His work.
  • God the Father laid on Jesus a task which was accomplished on the cross and because He has accomplished it, they are sent into the world
  • There is a link - a continuation - between His mission and theirs.
    •  But not just theirs, ours too - for we too are His disciples.
  • In Luke's account of the same encounter he says this “the eleven and those who were with them gathered together”.
  • In other words it is not just the 10 disciples who received from Jesus this commission, but Jesus sends every believer into the world on mission.
  • Equally at the end of the chapter, while speaking to Thomas Jesus says “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
  • Very clearly what is being imparted to the disciples, is imparted to us all.
  • Jesus was send:
    • NOT to be a philosopher, nor an inventor or discoverer, nor a mighty conqueror…
    • He was sent to teach, to live among us, to suffer for truth and righteousness, and to rescue men.
  • This is the mission to which we are called, this is part of enjoying the ‘life in his name’.

Receive the Holy Spirit

  • Jesus does not leave the disciples un-equipped, Jesus gives the disciples the Holy Spirit
  • He breathes on the disciples - which makes a deliberate connection between the creation of life in Genesis - where God ‘formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ - and the work of re-creation - where the disciples are born again
  • They received the same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus, what was in Jesus is now in them - the same Spirit that empowered and enabled him is imparted to us - so that we too may be equipped to follow in his stead.
  • And with it we have the authority, by the Holy Spirit, to announce forgiveness and to warn of guilt.
  • We see this authority in action at the beginning of Acts where Peter preaches at Pentecost, where he preaches with power and announces the forgiveness from sin.
  • This is the duty to which we are called, to warn the unbeliever that they are in danger of missing God mercy and to proclaim forgiveness.
  • We don’t create forgiveness or deny it; we announce it according to God’s word and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
  • The change in the disciples is undeniable:
    • The fear that had gripped them and kept them hiding from the Jews would, in a few days, evaporate, and they would be boldly preaching to massive crowds;
    • Their cynical scepticism disappeared - even Thomas!
      • Now I don’t know about you, but I have tended to be overly critical of Thomas
        • I mean why didn’t he believe the disciples?
        • Why wasn’t he there at the first appearance?
        • Was Thomas just weak willed?
      • In John Chapter 11 we read about the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus is in Chapter 20.
        • How much time passes between the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus?
          • A year? Months? Does anyone know?
          • A week!
          • The week before Christ was crucified, when opposition to Jesus by the Jewish leaders is becoming intense, Jesus decides to go to Bethany, near Jerusalem, where his enemies are the strongest.
          • The disciples did not like the idea, but Jesus was determined.

John 11:14-16

14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

  • Thomas was not weak willed - he was a man of great faith - a man who loved Jesus - he knew Jesus to be the Messiah and he was prepared to risk his life for him.
  • But he was sceptical and cynical by nature.
  • Lest you be too hard on him, remember the other disciples equally did not believe in the resurrection (except John) until they themselves saw Jesus.
  • Jesus does not rebuke him or ridicule him for his faithfulness, rather, like he did with the other disciples, he leads him through his doubts into one of the greatest confessions of faith.
    • ‘My Lord and my God!’
  • Some of the most influential apologists and church leaders have started out as fervent sceptics, the likes of CS Lewis, Josh McDowell and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
  • The change in the disciples is undeniable:
    • Their fear and scepticism is gone, and in its place boldness, direction, purpose, and a dedication to the mission laid out before them. 
  • What happened to the disciples:
    • Jude was killed by a sword for preaching in Ethiopia;
    • Mark died in Alexandria after being dragged through the city;
    • Luke was hanged from an olive tree in Greece;
    • James was beheaded in Jerusalem;
    • James-the-less was thrown from the temple wall and then they stoned him to death because the fall didn’t kill him
    • Philip was hanged in Phrygia;
    • Bartholomew was flayed;
    • Andrew was bound to a cross with ropes and left to die because of exposure;
    • Jude was shot to death with arrows;
    • Thomas was run through with a lance;
    • Matthias was stoned and then beheaded;
    • Barnabas was stoned to death by the Jews in Thessalonica;
    • Paul was beheaded in Rome;
    • And Peter was crucified upside down as Jesus prophesied about him;
  • Not one of these men stopped declaring that they were eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus!
  • Not one of them was deterred from their mission!
  • That’s one of the most powerful arguments in existence and certainly the greatest of examples of “life in His name’.
  • Because if you knew you were lying you don’t go through with that

Conclusion

  • What keeps you in your locked room?
  • What fear, doubt, or insecurity bars you from experiencing the fullness of life in Christ's name?
    • Is it the fear of what others might think?
    • Is it the doubt that whispers you're not good enough, strong enough, or worthy enough?
  • Just like the disciples, we are all prone to hiding, to shrinking back from the mission Christ has given us. 
  • Jesus doesn't condemn us for our fear or our doubts. He gently meets us where we are.
  • He shows us His wounds, not to shame us, but to remind us of the price He paid to set us free.
  • He breathes His Spirit into us, empowering us to live boldly and to share His peace with the world.
  • The disciples, once locked in fear, became fearless witnesses, even unto death. Their lives, transformed by the risen Christ, stand as a testament to the power of "life in His name."
  • What will your testament be? Will you choose to stay hidden, or will you step out in faith and embrace the life that awaits you in Christ?
  • Open the doors of your heart.
  • Step out of the shadows of fear and doubt.
  • Embrace the peace that only He can give.
  • Receive the Holy Spirit and the mission He has entrusted to you.