John 14:27- Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.
3 kinds of peace made available because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
I. Peace that Overcomes Fear
John 20:18 - Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
A. Even when our fears are misplaced
John 20:19 - Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.
John 20:19 - …Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
B. With overwhelming evidence
John 20:20 - And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
II. Peace to Embrace Your Calling
A. Because of the certainty of your calling
John 20:21 - So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
B. Because of the empowerment of your mission
John 20:22 - And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
C. Because of the significance of your mission
John 20:23 - If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.
III. Peace to Overcome Your Doubts
A. Meeting us at our point of need
John 20:24-25 - But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
John 11:16 - Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
John 16:29-30 - His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.
John 16:31-32 - Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”
John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.
Matthew 28:20 - …lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
John 20:26-27 - After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
B. Resulting in a powerful affirmation
John 20:28 - Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
That was enough for the doubter; his melancholy skepticism dissolved forever in light of the irrefutable evidence in the person confronting him. Overwhelmed, he made perhaps the greatest confession of any of the apostles, rivaled only by Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:16)…Significantly, Jesus did not correct him, but accepted Thomas’ affirmation of His deity (John MacArthur, John 12-21, p. 385).
C. Pointing to a delightful possibility
John 20:29 - Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
John 20:30-31 - Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Intro: Good morning, Faith East – it’s good to be with you this morning on this Lord’s day. If you would turn with me in John’s Gospel to chapter 20:19-31
Jesus Offers You Comprehensive Peace.
“Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” – John 14:27
In other words, what Christ offers to his people and to those who would turn to him to salvation is alien to this world. It’s a commonwealth that is otherworldly. And this commonwealth is accessible to God’s people and granted to those who surrender their lives over to Christ. And so for this morning, my goal is to provide for you…
[CONSIDER ADDING MORE INTRODUCTION]
Proposition: 3 kinds of peace made available because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I. Peace to Embrace Your Calling
It’s is the evening of the resurrection…and the disciples have already received the clear testimony of Mary Magdalene
John 20:18 – “Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.”
Transition: Where are the disciples? They are nowhere to be found in public. They are in hiding. Jesus had promised them peace (and us, by the way) to embrace their calling, and by extension, ours as well.
Even when our fears are misplaced [vv.19-20] yet we find them…scared…
Verse 19: “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews… (stop)
It’s Sunday evening – the ten were together, save Thomas and Judas Iscariot who defected – they
were…fearful. Φόβος in the Greek – it’s where we get our English word for Phobia. That is to say,
fear had so arrested the disciples hearts that they withdrew from the public square.
Fear had so petrified the Lord’s servants that they had neglected Jesus’ imperative to not fear
those who “kill the body but are unable to kill the soul.”
Fear had so spooked the disciples heart that what they were told to speak in the light, became
muffled in the darkness…the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ…was no longer on the
housetops to be heard, but hidden behind…locked doors.
They were afraid – afraid that the Temple police was coming for them next like they came for
their Lord. It’s not that they had forgotten what they heard, or what they have seen with their eyes,
or, what they have looked at and touched with their hands, concerning the Word of Life.” (1 John 1:1).
But the settled conviction of Christ returning to them was yet to root in the soil of their heart because
they were “slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken about their Christ who had
to suffer and die on the and to come into His glory.” (Luke 24:26)
My friends, you have to remember that the reason why our Lord opened the revelatory curtain of
for his disciples to pear into was to show them that He’s had already written the story – that he has the whole world in his hands – and for this reason, they could have peace. And even though God’s people are appointed for tribulation, you can take courage knowing that Christ has overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Our Lord, made it clear to his disciples that they would fail. But how is showing them that they will we
Encouraging? Only in this way – here’s the implication/application - That in his disciples weaknesses and failures…Jesus would remain committed to his people. Jesus would finish the work he began…with his disciples
How is that any less with us who are his people? That in our weaknesses…and in our failures to faithfully
follow him with the full understanding of who He is…he remains committed to his people regardless of how my hear may feel Now, that my friends, is why the Cross…is so beautiful. That should our hearts ever condemn us, God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20)
My feelings are given to Father’s control,
His wisdom shall govern my body and soul;
His word is sufficient, I seek not a sign,
I grasp but the promise, and Jesus is mine.
The tide of emotion may run as it will,
The Son and the Father abide in me still;
I dare not confide in a rapturous frame,
But stand on the promise forever the same.[1]
So committed is Jesus to his people that his promise to return to them and finish the work he began with them is manifest for his disciples to see
Verse 19b: “Jesus came and stood in their midst and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” (stop)
eiréné in the Greek. It refers to a peace of mind. The Jewish expression is Shalom, meaning, peace
be upon you. Why would Jesus say this?
ANSWER: Because he knew his disciples hearts were being swallowed up by…fear. So what does
Jesus do? He shows them that death has been swallowed up in victory! And the disciples
misplaced fears are now beginning to roll away because their remembrance of the empty tomb
is emerging like a penetrating light upon their hearts.
You see, the Cross reminds us where we first saw the light, and the burdens of our hearts roll away…and
that the Christ standing in the very midst of them is their hope of glory to assuage their fears.
But there’s something even more glorious here: That despite the disciples weaknesses and
failures…Christ will remain committed to his people. Jesus would finish the work he began…with his
disciples…
[Steve Viars Quote Slide] “What the resurrected Savior is offering them is not a lecture about their
failures, and a heap of guilt and shame, or a pink slip while He finds a more reliable group…peace be
with you…”
Transition: “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you;”, Jesus said – “not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” – John 14:27
And it is that golden oil of peace shed abroad in God’s people is a…
melody sweeter than psalm;
In celestial strains it unceasingly falls
Over my soul like an infinite calm.
Resting tonight in this wonderful peace,
Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control;
For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day,
And His glory is flooding my soul. [2]
But it’s not an ethereal kind of peace, he’s pointing to himself as the Prince of Peace who comes…
B. With overwhelming evidence
Verse 20: “And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” (stop)
John is giving us a condensed version of what had happened. If you put all of the accounts together, it
would read this way:
“Jesus (Lk) said to them, “But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a
spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and
My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
(Jn) “And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands (Lk) and His feet side (Jn) and his side. (Lk)
While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything
here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them. (Jn) The disciples
then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”
It makes sense why the disciples were startled and frightened: Christ supernaturally showed up before
the disciples, and the Apostle wanted his readers to know that the “doors were shut” when “Jesus came
and stood in their midst.”
I don’t blame them, really – here you have Christ standing before them in his glorified resurrection
body that functions very differently than what it was prior to the Cross. So, Christ had to demonstrate
for them that it was really him – that he was not an apparition.
But later on in Romans 8:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul would go on to tell us that there
is a glorious revealing coming for redeemed sons and daughters of eve (Rom. 8:18) in reference to the
redemption of our body which will bear the function and characteristics of the body like Jesus’
glorified body (1 John 3:2).
We will possess a glorious body (1 Cor. 15:43)
We will possess a power-filled body (1 Cor. 15:43b)
We will possess a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:44)
Because of Christ’s victory on the Cross, Christ has won for his people spoils of war, as it were. What a
Glorious day that as one song writer has said…
“In resurrection bodies like Jesus' very own, we'll rise to meet our Savior with joy around his throne;
we'll marvel at the mercy that bids poor sinners come, be welcomed at his table and share his
heavenly home.
O joy of resurrection, all sin and sorrow past, to see the face of Jesus, to be like him at last!
Made perfect in his image, complete in Christ the Son, in resurrection glory we'll share the life he
won.
O resurrection body, set free from pain and death, sin's curse forever vanquished by Christ's
victorious breath!
Lord, teach us in our trials your hidden ways to trace, to walk by faith, discerning your mysteries of
grace!
O resurrection body, young, radiant, vibrant, free, with powers unthought, undreamed of--how
rich your joys will be! Through endless years to marvel, design, create, explore, in resurrection
wonder to worship, serve, adore!
With holy joy, Lord Jesus, we sing the life you give, the hope you hold before us, the strength by which we live! Lead on in sovereign mercy through all earth's troubled ways, till resurrection bodies bring resurrection praise!”
As Pastor Viars would often say, if you know that you know that you in Christ – this promise is
yours…You will be a hymn of praise. But if you have not surrendered your life under the Lordship of
Christ, if you have not repented and turned away from your sin, there will come a time, when the Lord
will raise you up in a resurrected body, but it will not be glorified – it will be your body, but one that is
suited for damnation forever. (John 5:29) You will be a refuse of damnation.
Christ is Your Prince of Peace – embrace him today and join into the fellowship of light and the
common wealth won for you in Christ Jesus.
Transition: And as Christ has granted Peace to his people to embrace their calling, he will grant to
you…
II. Peace to Embrace Your Calling
A. Because of the certainty of your calling [vv. 21]
Verse 21: “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
After Jesus’ disciples were fully convinced that their Lord, their fears were assuaged and Christ stood before them…in victory it was…
bursting forth in glorious day!
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ[3]
Transition: Peace had returned and embrace it’s calling…and that’s precisely what the disciples did – so embrace yours…
B. Because of the empowerment of your mission [v. 22]
Verse 22: “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit.” (stop)
I just want to kick this rabbit and keep focusing on the main point, ok? The disciples were already
born from above. We know this because Jesus called them “clean” – meaning, that they were born
again – except Judas Iscariot (John 15:3). So what’s going on here?
What’s going on here is no different from what some OT prophets did by acting out a prophecy of
what would happen to them (Jer. 13:1-9; 19:1-11; Ezek. 4:1-4). In other words, it was an object lesson –
you could say it was a pledge of what was to come for them by virtue of the certainty of their calling.
In other words, a change was occurring – a transition between the Old Covenant and the New
Covenant was going to take shape. The Holy Spirit will not just be upon them to empower a few
individuals for some special service for service, but reside in them and empower all those who believe
in Christ alone (John 14:16-17).
But the point that needs to be conveyed for now anyway is that Christ is your Prince of Peace - your
source of peace is! And He provides that through whom He has sent…the 3rd Member of the Godhead:
The Holy Spirit who is your…
Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love[4]
Embrace your calling, follower of Christ. Be mindful, that Jesus said “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.” (John 15:16). In other words, if he has appointed you, he has empowered you. If he has empowered you, we do not need to be afraid.
Christ has empowered you for a reasonable service – a seasonal service. And when your reasonable service is fulfilled in the proper time of God’s own choosing, may it be said you like it was for King David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, fell asleep.”
Transition: In other words, the Lord will call you to the City beyond the horizon, who’s builder and maker is God. But while we remain – we are in the waiting – while we remain – we still have a commission to fulfill and a cross to bear like the Apostles referred to in verse 21
verse 21: “…as the Father has sent [Christ], [he] also send[s] you.”
May your feet glow with the preparation of the Gospel of peace…
C. Because of the significance of your mission [v. 23]
Verse 23: “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (stop)
Ok – stop the bus – what does this mean? ANSWER: It means that the Apostles were foundational to the building of the church (Eph. 4:12). They were appointed to carry a divinely authoritative message – the Gospel. They were appointed to proclaim the forgiveness of sins.
At Pentecost, Peter said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38).
In other words, if the hearer’s accept the Apostolic message of the Gospel and repent and turn away from their sin to Christ alone for salvation, then their sins will be forgive by God and the Holy Spirit will take up residence in those who have repented.
But, if the Apostolic message is rejected, then their sins are not forgiven and the Spirit of Promise will not take up residence. This apostolic message of the Gospel has been handed down to God’s people – the ecclesia – the called out ones – the church.
That’s why Jesus can in Matthew in 16:19 that whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”, meaning, that if person refuses to repent, then they are bound in their sin. If a person repents, they are “loosed” from their sin – and heaven is in agreement with that verdict because it is in accordance with His Word, you see?
It has nothing whatsoever to do with us having the authority in and of themselves to forgive sins!
And it definitely has nothing to do with us having the authority to bind Satan – by the way, whoever keeps binding Satan, who keeps letting him loose! 😊 This passage has been used and misused over and over again in many circles.
“God does not forgive men’s sins because we decided to do so nor withhold forgiveness because we will not forgive because we will not grant it. We announce it; we do not create it. This is the essence of salvation. And all who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearer accepts or rejects the Lord Jesus as the Sin-Bearer.” [5]
To put it simply, my friends, the mission of the church as sent ones to a dying world, is to proclaim the message of forgiveness provided in Jesus Christ alone. If the world receives the message of the Cross, their sins are forgiven/loosed by God. But if they reject the message of the Cross, their sin are not forgiven by God, they are bound in their sin – and heaven is in agreement with the church because the church is in agreement with God’s and His message.
Transition: The message you bear is the pearl of great price. It is a message “true and glad for the sinful and the sad, Ring it out, ring it out; It will give them courage new, So tell the world of saving grace, Make it known in ev’ry place…”
But it’s not just for the lost, it’s for us who always need the reminder of the sewer God pulled us out of – and that in getting me God wasn’t getting anything good or anything that would add to him or benefit him.
We are trophies of God’s great grace, “because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together]with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [h]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph. 2:4-10)
Transition: May the significance of your mission never grow grey in the eye or dull in the hearing. There’s pace that helps you overcome fear, and peace that helps you embrace your mission…and then…
III. Peace to Overcome Your Doubts
A. Meeting us at our point of need [vv.24-25]
Verses 24-25: “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (stop)
Wow, Goodnight, Thomas! Talk about an Eeyore approach to life while singing Doris Day’s song, Que Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be
Do you remember what Thomas said about the trip where Christ was going to raise Lazarus from the dead?...
John 11:16 – “Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
It’s as though there was a stormy cloud over his head! He made this incredible expression of doubt…and you have to wonder, did he think everyone else were making this up..?
Thomas had spent 3 years with Christ who had opened the curtain of his revelation for him and allowed him to pear into and encourage him and the rest of the disciples so that they would see that Christ has the whole world in his hands. But what do we find?
ANSWER: We find Thomas was reverting to a sort of fatalistic negativity. But despite his being a jar of clay like us – Christ remains committed to Thomas at his point of need, even to doubting Thomas’ like us at times’, amen?
By way of illustration, take a look with me at John 16:29-30. Jesus is hours away from being arrested and crucified. He told them what was going to happen they are discouraged. So he’s comforting his disciples. Jesus read their thought and knew that they wished to question him. After he reads their thoughts, his disciples said
John 16:29–30 — 29 His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. 30 “Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
In other words, because Jesus read their thoughts without asking them what they were…now they believe! Now, they believe that he came from God!
John 16:31–32 — 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”
AHH – So you really have entrusted yourself to me because I can read your thoughts, eh? How about this: even though you believe in me…and know who I am…you will still be scattered…you will still stumble…
John 16:33 — 33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
How, is telling us that we will fail him encourage us? Only in this way – here’s the implication/application - That in the disciples weakness and failure…Jesus would remain committed to his people.
In our weakness…and in our failure to follow him perfectly… with the full knowledge of who He is…he will remain committed to his people. Now, that my friends, is why Cross is so…beautiful.
So our sympathetic High Priest reminds us all, that we can be a people of what? “little faith.” (Matt. 6:30). We know Jesus knows all things. We know that he has given to us his Special Revelation: The Word of God. We even know how history will end – yet, we still manage to have…little faith….Yet, Jesus is the one who remains faithful and committed to his people.
What did he say for us my friends concerning this truth in Matthew 28:20
lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20
Well, we know what happened with Thomas, right?
Verses 26-27: “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He *said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Thomas had heard the testimonies of Mary Magdalene – he had heard the testimonies of the other disciples, he even heard the testimony of the Scriptures and all that the prophets have spoken – that Christ had to suffer the humiliation of the Cross and then to enter His glory. (Luke 24:25-26)
Thomas heard…but he needed to see Christ for himself. So our Lord is sympathetic to our weaknesses, and it’s at this moment where Thomas’ weak faith becomes sight (1 Cor. 15:49).
B. Resulting in a powerful affirmation
Verse 28: “Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
What a demonstration of God’s forgiving grace.
[John MacArthur quote]
“That was enough for the doubter; his melancholy skepticism dissolved forever in light of the irrefutable evidence in the person confronting him. Overwhelmed, he made perhaps the greatest confession of any of the apostles, rivaled only by Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:16)…Significantly, Jesus did not correct him, but accepted Thomas’ affirmation of His deity” (John MacArthur, John 12-21, p. 385).
C. Pointing to a delightful possibility
Verse 29: “Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
My friends, this was softly penned not just for Thomas’s sake, not just for the disciples’ sake…but for you who have yet to see your Lord. But like Thomas, one day, our faith will become…sight, and we when we see our Christ, we will say with joy…my Lord and my God!
Verses 30-31 “30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
That’s pretty self-explanatory, right? And if there’s anyone here who has yet to say, my Lord and my God to Christ the Lord – you can do so today.
[1] https://library.timelesstruths...
[2] “Wonderful Peace,” Hymnary.org, last modified, https://hymnary.org/text/far_away_in_the_depths_of_my_spirit_toni.
[3] Keith Getty and Stewart Townend, “In Christ Alone,” Hymnary.org, last modified, https://hymnary.org/text/in_christ_alone_my_hope_is_found.
[4] “Wonderful Peace,” Hymnary.org, last modified, https://hymnary.org/text/far_away_in_the_depths_of_my_spirit_toni.
[5] Merril C. Tenney, The Expositor's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 193.
Authors
