John 20:19‑23
It’s the first Easter
Sunday as we read this . . . John 20:19-23, vs
26
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, came Jesus and stood in the
midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he shewed
unto them [his] hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw
the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be]
unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22
And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith
unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; [and]
whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained.
26 And after eight days
again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you.
Jesus Had Conquered Death that weekend, And By The Mighty Power Of God He Had Been Resurrected From The Grave.
1. The disciples were gathered in a house behind locked doors – they were afraid – maybe they would be the next ones that would be killed for what they had been preaching
2. Imagine the scene: Jesus walked through the doors and stood in their midst in bodily form.
3. This is the first church building where the resurrected Lord was in the midst of His people.
This is the essence of our Christian faith: “Jesus in the midst.”
And This Is A Major Theme Of The Bible:
Jesus is God, and is eternal, and always has been. He is in the midst of all that God is.
At creation, when there was not much more than “mist”, Jesus was in the midst of it all.
In Exodus
In Deuteronomy, He was in the midst of the camp to deliver
Deut.
Jeremiah exclaimed, in…
Jeremiah 14:9 …thou, O Lord,
art in the midst of us.
Daniel reported Jesus was in the midst of the fiery furnace
with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
(Daniel
These are all O.T. examples and then we come to the new Testament and we see
As a babe, Jesus was in the midst of the shepherds and the wise men
As a boy, He was in the midst of the doctors of theology in the temple
As God the Holy Spirit, Jesus is in the midst of His people – that’s us today!
Matt.
At
John
As a Lamb in Revelation, Jesus is in the midst of the throne of God
As our resurrected Lord, Jesus is in the midst of the churches
And on the evening of the first Easter Sunday, Jesus
"stood in the midst" of His disciples (John
Why is this theme repeated?
Because this is the key to the Christian life! Jesus being in our midst
· This is the key to a great life Jesus being in the midst of your heart & in your life
· This is the key to the fellowship of the church
· This is the key to our witnessing When you are talking with someone about the Lord you don’t need to be afraid because He will give you what to say – He does not leave us by ourselves to be a witness, or leave us by ourselves to live the Christian life – He is in our midst going with us!
So, As We Assemble In The House Of Worship today, Our Deepest Desire Is That Jesus Will Be In Our Midst in a wonderful way – He has promised to be here and it can be wonderful if we recognize He is here.
As a matter of fact, you can have Jesus in the midst of your life.
There are some people who have no room for Christ.
There are others who have some room for Christ.
Jesus wants every room!
You got all of Jesus when you got saved – the question is did He get all of you?
The word “midst” = comes from the word “middle”. That’s why I like to use this illustration of a wheel with spokes…
He should be in the midst of our work life,
in the midst of our hobbies, in the midst of our family, our ministry, etc.
No Christian can be spiritual, powerful, and growing unless Jesus is in the midst of all of their life.
Biblical outline:
I. JESUS IN
THE MIDST WILL MAKE US PEACEFUL
V. 19b came Jesus and stood in the
midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.
How many of you get into the hustle & bustle of life, maybe have a lot of irons in the fire and sometimes you just want to say I need some peace? That’s the way most of our lives are these days – our life like a swirling storm but remember the one who walks on that water & says peace be still.
Jesus in the midst makes us peaceful – just His presence – He needs to be our focus not just a spoke that comes around.
Isaiah promised in 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Philip. 4:7 And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
“Passeth” doesn’t mean “giveth” like passing the offering plate. Rather, it’s short for “surpasseth”. In other words, God’s peace goes far beyond what we can understand. You must experience it!
Have you ever considered what a blessing it is when occasionally our problems pile up so high we can't possibly solve them? Now don't misunderstand me. I am not saying we are to be delighted about the many troubles that cross our pathways. I am saying we should be glad that they are more than we can handle. Why? Because when we finally realize we can't carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, we have taken the first step in overcoming worry and bringing peace into our hearts…peace that “surpasses” whatever we’re up against!
Most of us assume far more responsibility for the future than God ever intended. We are like the fellow who was talking with a friend one day about the hectic nature of the business world.
The conversation went something like this:
"John, you look worried." "Man," said the friend, "I've got so many troubles that if anything else happens today that is bad, it will be at least 2 weeks before I can get around to worrying about it."
Add it to the list – how many of you have felt that way?
Jesus gave some sound advice when He said,
Matthew
Today's trouble is enough for today.
John
Why not Lord? Why shouldn’t I be afraid with all I am up against? Why not? Because Jesus is in the midst!
Do you have peace? If you don’t could it be that your not in His midst like you ought to be – maybe you haven’t opened up one of those rooms in your life for Him to fill
I. JESUS IN
THE MIDST WILL MAKE US PEACEFUL
II.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US JOYFUL
v. 20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them [his] hands and his side. Then were the
disciples glad, when they saw
the Lord.
Jesus Used The Phrase, "Be Of Good Cheer," Several Times. Talking about Joy
A. He spoke of forgiveness for our past:
Matthew 9:2 …Jesus seeing their faith said
unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
B. He spoke of companionship for our present:
Matthew
C. He spoke of victory for our future:
John
The sin of the past is blotted out for the Christian.
The continual fellowship of Christ is offered for the present.
And the future will reveal Christ as the Conqueror of the world.
This is possible because Jesus is in the midst of the believer's life, bringing joy!
I. JESUS IN
THE MIDST WILL MAKE US PEACEFUL
II.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US JOYFUL
III.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US USEFUL
A purpose for our lives & a job to do!
v. 21. . . as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. I want you to continue my work
He doesn’t whisk us away to Heaven the moment we are
saved because
We are to be:
A. A mouth to speak for Jesus [in this world]
B. Feet to run errands for Jesus
C. Hands to do the work of Jesus
D. A heart to love Jesus
Let’s be more specific:
Mouths:
We need mouths to invite others to church, to witness about what God’s doing here.
We need mouths to open and sing out His praises in this room or in the choir!
We need mouths that will speak the truth in love, and when needed - that say ‘I’m sorry’,
that encourage a fallen brother,
that tell children about Jesus,
that disciple and teach and train others in groups or one on one.
Most of all, we need mouths that say ‘yes’ when asked to help out around here!!
Jesus said, ‘so send I you’—I gave you a mouth…use it for my glory!
Feet:
We need feet that will bring us out to church faithfully whenever the doors are open…to Sunday School and on Sunday nites--and also “in the midst” of the week on Wednesdays!
We need feet that will answer the call to the ministry and go out of here to study and serve wherever God leads.
We need feet that jump high in this room at the hearing of great truths and that hit the floor and walk straight as a result…wearing the shoes of the gospel…a sermon in shoes, taking the message to others in great need!
We need hands to work on this property, cooking, cleaning and fixing.
We need hands playing instruments, operating puppets, shaking other’s hands in greeting, and most of all, holding the hands of little ones God has entrusted us with, wiping noses, changing diapers, pointing the way for little eyes to look, helping them with their crafts, to learn verses, to get saved!
ill.--HAND AND GLOVE
If I had a glove and I said to the glove, "Glove, pick up that Bible," could the glove do it? The glove has the shape of a hand, with a thumb and fingers. But could the glove pick up a Bible?
Why? I haven't shown it how.
I say again to the glove, "I apologize, Mr. Glove, I have not told you how to pick up the Bible. Put your thumb on top, the fingers underneath, squeeze tight, and lift. Very simple, isn't it? Now, pick it up."
Will anything happen? No! Why? Because the glove is powerless.
The glove is empty of life. I could say to the glove again and again, "Pick up the Bible," but the glove could never do it.
The glove could never do it until I put my hand into the glove.
But the moment my hand is in it, the glove becomes as strong as my hand.
Everything possible for my hand becomes possible for the glove.
If the glove could
speak, it would say, "I can do all things through the hand which strengtheneth me.”
You are the glove;
Christ is the hand.
But there is one difference. When Jesus Christ found you, you were a dirty glove inside and out, so He died to cleanse you.
Jesus said, “I was sent, and now I’m sending you.”
Jesus was recruiting.
The prophet said it this way:
Isaiah 6:8 I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am
I; send me.
Isaiah was volunteering. And that’s the ideal. But many won’t volunteer, so Jesus is recruiting. So why do so many Christians say, “I go to church, and give my tithe...Here am I; - - send someone else!”
Ezekiel
Why won’t we allow ourselves to be sent?
Because Jesus isn’t ‘in the midst’ of our hearts, our thinking. He isn’t the hub of the wheel of our life, but just a spoke that comes around every now and then!
Jesus In The Midst will make us useful.
I. JESUS IN
THE MIDST WILL MAKE US PEACEFUL
II.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US JOYFUL
III.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US USEFUL
IV.
JESUS IN THE MIDST WILL MAKE US POWERFUL
I am thankful for this last point because we are incapable by ourselves of being useful – we need that powerful hand working in us and through us!
v. 22 And when he had said this, he
breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye
the Holy Ghost:
There is no doubt that when John wrote this, his mind must’ve gone back to the story of creation.
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul.
God breathed this world into existence:
Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
2 Samuel
That is some powerful breath
The Bible has much to say about breath:
Your spouse may say your breath may sometimes be powerful, but not in the way God’s breath is powerful!
Job 41:21 His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. Now that’s powerful breath
In Ezekiel 37 we see the dry bones of an old battlefield come together as skeletons, and then organs and tissues and skin, but they laid there like corpses until v. 9:
Ezekiel 37:9-10
Then said he
unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind,
Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. [10] So I prophesied
as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up
upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
The Bible was written by inspiration of God.
And the word ‘inspiration’ means what? “God breathed!” He used human writers as instruments, they had no power of themselves…the power was in the breath of God.
It was the breath-like wind of the Holy Spirit that blew around
the disciples at Pentecost, and that
same powerful breath of God that will sail our ships on this sea of life.
Here in our text:
after Jesus came to them & was in their midst and making them peaceful
after His presence in their midst made them joyful
after His presence in their midst and sent them out making them useful by being in their midst
Jesus in their midst breathed on them & made them powerful – powerful enough to meet every need
I like this fact: we don’t have to be too gifted or capable or have great abilities…only availability! How wonderful that God doesn’t send us to do something that can’t be done, for there’s nothing that He can’t do thru us!
There’s nothing I cannot do, if Jesus is in the midst.
There’s nowhere I won’t go, if Jesus is in the midst.
There's no limit to what God can do in this church, if Jesus is in the midst.
There’s no peace I cannot find…because Jesus in the midst makes me peaceful!
No joy eludes me, because Jesus in the midst makes me joyful!
No job in the church should ever go undone, for Jesus in the midst will make us useful!
But absolutely nothing will be accomplished without the powerful Jesus in our midst!
Let Us Stand for
prayer:
The Bible promises us that Jesus is in our midst here this morning – but are we in the midst of Him? We got all of Him when we got saved but does He have all of us?
Is He just another spoke in your life or is He the hub of that wheel? We have been challenged today to make sure Jesus is in the midst.
Prayer
If you like to use this alter today with Jesus in the midst, you can come right now.