I Got Your Back, John 20: 19-31 NIV

I Got Your Back

John 20: 19-31 NIV

Purpose:         To trust in Jesus when He commands us to do something

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.”

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]), 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.”

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^[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Footnotes:

1. John 20:24 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.

2.       John 20:31 Or may continue to believe

This is the Word of God

For the people of God.

Praise be to God.

Amen.                                                            

                                                        I Got Your Back

John 20: 19-31 NIV

Purpose:         To trust in Jesus when He commands us to do something

Outline 

  

I.                  Introduction

What is Obedience?

II.               Why don’t we want to obey?

III.           Explanation of the text, John 20:19-31

IV.            Conclusion[s]

V.               Prayer

                    We have learned that the death of Jesus shocked all of His disciples, friends, and followers. They were terrified that they could easily be the next in line to be executed. They were in the locked upper room. It has to be very hard to understand and to live such experiences. Their minds didn’t have enough time to process all the events. Their Master had been massacred before their eyes. It was chaos and panic in their hearts and minds. It was a very shocking period for them. After they witnessed the suffering and cruel treatment and death of Jesus, they were terrified. No one in a healthy mind wanted to suffer the same fate. Have you been so scared in your lives that you cannot function? Have you had the impression that someone is going to assault or to attack you but you cannot react or defend yourself? Or maybe you are in constant alert of your surroundings that you cannot enjoy your life. For instance, nowadays, do you live in fear that ISIS and/or terrorism is going to reach America? Or are you scared that someone is going to shoot at the schools of our children? Have we reached the point of being alert as to where our children go to school, where we go on vacations, and where we go shopping, that we have to be praying the entire time when we get in our cars, or in a plane, or in a train?

Well, the disciples and the followers of Jesus were very afraid as British Bible scholar William Barclay has pointed, “Of the bitterness of the Jews who had put Jesus to death.”[1]  Ok, they were so scared and then, Jesus came and told them, “Peace be with you.” That means, “May God give you every good thing.” Once they had recognized Jesus in their midst, they were at peace. They were in the presence of Jesus, they changed. Their fear changed into joy, their Master, their friend, and their mentor was there with them. He was alive. He didn’t remain in the tomb. Intentionally, Jesus gave them the common greeting among them, “Peace be with you.”  Have you heard the greeting of Jesus this morning? Actually, have we heard His greeting every morning of our lives? May God give you every good thing, Peace be with you Claudia, peace be with you Beth, peace be with you Addi. I know that we, this church, are serious about Jesus and His presence in our lives, but maybe sometimes we forget to continue to wish each other well. We are the living church. I want you to notice something about Jesus, He was/is so kind and loving, but He never beat around the bush. He was very clear. He demanded. He commanded. He wished. And He expected obedience from each one of His disciples.

Now the church in some way was established at this point. Everybody was gathered there and they were communicating each other their thoughts and feelings. Of course, they were praying also. Then, when Jesus appeared, he told them that He was sending them as the Father had sent Him. Someone can ask, but where was Jesus sending them? Jesus was sending them out, to the world, to our homes, to our jobs, to our schools, to our neighbors. Even when we are afraid, or tired, or frustrated, we need to go.

In this part, we need to pay attention how Jesus has chosen to depend on the earthly church to spread His kingdom because, if is not the church which spreads the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who other person or organization is in charge? And the church with no doubt has to depend on Jesus for everything. If we have to depend on Jesus for everything, then the obvious, is to obey in everything that He has commanded us to do.

Here is when things start becoming difficult and we have to be very careful to be obedient. There is a great parallel between the relationship of Jesus and the Father and Jesus and us. Jesus loved the Father in such a way that He was willing to obey in everything that Father commanded Him, because Jesus loved so much God that He knew that everything that the Father said was for His own good and for the good of others. Are our lives in this way? Is our church in this way? Do we love Jesus so much that we don’t hesitate to obey Him? Or do we doubt? And question Him? What about when we delay intentionally and we don’t want to hear what Jesus is telling us to do? What about when we are afraid of what Jesus is directing us to do, or what about when we don’t like what He is telling us to do, or what about if the actions that Jesus is commanding us are not according to our own plans, or what about when we are resisting His will? Jesus was always so competent and efficient in everything He did because His obedience was supported in His perfect and devoted love and confidence on the Father.  Do we love Jesus in this way? Do we love Jesus in such a way that we know, He has a good future already planned, and planned for the good of us?

In this encounter Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit in His disciples. There is a great parallel with the creation story in Genesis. When God created man and breathed on him in order to give him life (Genesis 2:7). Jesus was giving the Holy Spirit to the church.  The Holy Spirit already lives inside us. We have the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to be obedient and surrender/submit our life to God and be obedient as individuals and as a church. Are we doing it? Are we being obedient to Jesus?

Without delay, after Jesus gives the Holy Spirit, He talks about the authority to forgive sins. We have to be careful how we understand this part of the Gospel. The meaning is NOT that man can forgive sins, only God when we have a repentant, sorrowful heart. Jesus was referring to us as the church, His church. The church has the privilege and the responsibility of carrying the message to let the world know how God can forgive sins. In other words, God has entrusted the message of salvation to us, the church, and it is going to depend on us how well we obey Him to carry this message efficiently and well. If our relationship with God is profound, serious, and honest, then our message to the world is going to be the same way. We, the messengers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are not going to hesitate in how we present to the world the message of salvation, on how well we represent the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ in our own personal life and as a church.   

Next the text is telling us that Thomas was not there, and when he came, the rest of the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord. However, he didn’t believe. It was not a surprise that Thomas didn’t believe. After all the turmoil, chaos, and killing, of course he was not going to believe. Then, a week later, they were gathering again, and Thomas was there, the context was the same, the door was locked and Jesus appeared to them. Then He referred to Thomas and commanded him to put his finger and his hand into his hands and his side. Thomas believed. Jesus exclaimed, stop doubting and believe!

I need you to notice how things happened in this narrative. When they were together, even with fear and chaos, amazing things happened. When we gather in the church, amazing things will happen, that maybe we cannot understand if we are alone or isolated.

My dear ones when we doubt something that Jesus commands us to do, come to the church and talk about it. We are here all of us together in the good, in the bad, and in the ugly. We are no different that the first disciples. Here, in the church, we can find comfort and an honest ear that will listen to our discernment. We can find support and encouragement when we are struggling to accomplish the Will of God. And we can find peace because God always is going to let us know that the Holy Spirit is inside us guiding us.

The great challenge for each one of us today as individuals and as a church is to stop doubting and start believing.

Let us pray,

Good Father,

Thank You for being so good to us. Thank You because everything that You command us to do is for our good. Thank You for the Holy Spirit who lives inside us and helps us to understand Your will better. Help us to stop doubting and start believing.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.

Amen.

---

[1] Barclay William, The Gospel of John. Volume 2(Westminster Press. Philadelphia, PN.: 1956), 272.

This Is Real Love, John 21 1-19 NIV

This Is Real Love

John 21 1-19 NIV

Purpose:         To unify the people as one whole in the Reality of the Resurrection.

21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.^[a] It happened this way:

² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus^[b]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.^[c]

⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

¹⁸ Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

¹⁹ Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Footnotes:

1. John 21:1 Greek Tiberias
2. John 21:2 Thomas (Aramaic) and Didymus (Greek) both mean twin.

3.       John 21:8 Or about 90 meters

This is the Word of God

For the people of God.

Praise be to God

Amen.

John keeps telling us the story of the Risen Lord, our Lord. Jesus appeared to the disciples for the third time. He appeared to them twice in the upper room and this one on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. This time there were just a few of them: Peter, Thomas (again), Nathanael, and the sons Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Peter went fishing and he announced it. The rest of them wanted to go with him. The story continues telling us that they didn’t catch any fish. Pay attention to how the disciples went back to their old professions when they didn’t know what to do. They needed direction. When we don’t have direction we get lost easily and to find the way out of our mess takes time and courage to ask for directions from God and to fix it. How many times do we go back to old business that is not good for us?

Time had passed and it was early morning, and Jesus was on the shore waiting for them, but the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus. After all this time being so close to Jesus, sleeping in the same house, eating at the same table, listening to His teachings, traveling with Him, they didn’t recognize Him. How many times we have failed to recognize Christ in the needy of this world, or the child or teenager who needs good advice or a hug or words of hope, or even in our own home? How many times does one member of our family need encouragement or understanding or just the assurance that we love them? Well, Jesus was before of their eyes, and they were not aware of Him.

In contrast with their lack of attention and even interest, Jesus asked if they had caught any fish. He continued giving them instructions on how to fish, not just well, but also for a lot of fish. How many times do we not pay attention when Jesus is showing us the right way to go? Notice that the disciples didn’t ask for help. Jesus came and offered free and good help for them, for us, for our own good. Always for our own good. And, then when they were pulling the net back to the boat, the disciple who Jesus loved, John, recognized Jesus. Finally, they recognized that they were in the presence of the Risen Christ. We are in the constant presence of Jesus every minute of our lives. Jesus is helping us and guiding us even when we don’t ask for help because Christ cares about each one of us. We need to care for each one other and for the people who are outside of church, family, and friends.

John continued telling us that when Peter heard that it was the Lord, he jumped into the water and swam to Him. He wanted to be the first one to greet His Lord. Are we as excited as Peter that every morning we want to be the first ones to say, “Good morning Jesus, did You have a good night?”

In the next part, John is guiding us to the climax of the chapter. When the disciples were approaching to the shore, they saw a fire of burning coals with fish and bread, Jesus was cooking. Why do you think that Jesus was cooking? We may think that because He was a caring and a good Lord, He was providing some food for His beloved disciples, and that is right, but there is something much more important. In those days, like nowadays, many, many people didn’t believe that Jesus was risen from the dead. Some people started the rumor that it was a spirit, other said that it was the imagination, other that it was a vision. The reality of a vision is important but still a vision. The rumors were to the extent of saying that Jesus was a hallucination. It was not a vision, or a spirit, or a hallucination, it was a real person with the holes in His hands and His side pierced. And do you know why Jesus had to appear as a real person? Because it was important for all His disciples and followers to witness and to understand that He really had defeat death. Jesus chose life over death when He defeated it. Even when we have problems and fears in life our way of living always should be a joyful and peaceful living because when our worries defeat our peace then death conquers life. We don’t live in this way.

Next, and almost at the end of this chapter, comes something that it has a high meaning for me, because it was the text that God used in my pastoral calling: the questioning by Jesus of Peter. He was asking Him about his love for Him. The Greek verb is Agape, it is the kind of love Jesus has for each one of us and His church, deep, serious, and devoted love. The question that Jesus asked Peter sounds simple, but it is very meaningful, and is still very important for us today. Jesus is asking us today if we love Him, if we love Him with Agape love. Pay attention how we are going to answer this question. When we answer to our Lord, Yes I love You Lord. That means we are going to care, to love, and to guard His people as we will do it for ourselves or one of our beloveds. It is caring for Christ’s flock. When we answer Jesus, Yes I love you Lord, we are going to place the gospel in our hearts and minds before anything else. When we answer Jesus, Yes, I love you, Lord, we are going to change our lives because we are going to care for others before ourselves.

My dear ones, true Agape love, to try to love as Jesus loved is the greatest privilege in the world, but it brings the greatest responsibility. It brought Peter a cross. Actually, Jesus told him, the day will come when you are going to go when you don’t want to go and where you didn’t choose. Sure enough, the day came when, in Rome, Peter died for His Lord; he, too, went to the Cross, and he asked nailed to it head downwards, for he said that he was not worthy to die as his Lord had died.

Love always involves responsibility, and it involves sacrifice. Here is where we can follow in the steps of Peter. We don’t have to be biblical scholars or great missionaries, we have to be ourselves and each one of us in our own way can guard someone from going astray to a path of destruction and pain. Each one of us can feed the lambs of Christ with the food of the word of God.

Let us pray,

Dear Father

Thank You so much for the great privilege that is to love someone in the way You have loved us. Help us to feed Your sheep and care for them. Help us never to give up or ignore a person who needs Your love, Agape love.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.

Amen.