John 20:19-31: Preparing for the Mission

John 20:19-31: Preparing for the Mission

Please turn with me in your Bible to John 20. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 751. We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the Gospel of John. So that means wherever the text goes, that’s where we go. And this morning, the text takes us to John 20:19-31. John 20:19-31: 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, 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 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, 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 believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

Whenever I get sick like with a cold or something like that, I’m kind of a baby. I don’t deal with sickness very well. And one of the most frustrating aspects of sickness for me is not being able to do many of the things I desire to do. I find that I just don’t have the energy to do them. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And that’s frustrating for me. Because I’m one of those people who likes to make a to-do list and then check things off of that to-do list. It brings me great pleasure to check things off. So when I can’t check off very many tasks, it’s really tough. And I think that’s one of the ways God humbles me and reminds me of how frail I am and how much I need him for everything. So sickness definitely has a way of holding me back—and I’m sure it does the same to you. And just like physical sicknesses hold us back, spiritual sicknesses hold us back also. They hinder us from being what God wants us to be and doing what God wants us to do. And here in our text, we see that Jesus’ disciples had some spiritual sicknesses that he needed to address before they could be effective ambassadors for the gospel.

You may remember from last week how Jesus has just resurrected from the dead. That’s what we read in the first part of John chapter 20. And now, throughout the rest of chapter 20 and then chapter 21, we read how Jesus starts appearing to his disciples at various times and places. We already saw last week how he appeared to Mary Magdalene, and now we get to see him appearing to others. And through these appearances, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the mission he has for them—the mission of spreading gospel. But…as I mentioned, the disciples have some spiritual sicknesses that Jesus needs to address before they can be effective in that mission. And he addresses those sicknesses here in our main text. First, Jesus sends the fearful. Then, he convinces the doubtful. And we’ll spend the rest of our time this morning examining those two items. Number one, Jesus sends the fearful. And number two, Jesus convinces the doubtful.

Jesus Sends the Fearful

First, verses 19-23 record him sending the fearful. Let’s read again what it says: 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And 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 withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” So, looking at verse 19, what were the disciples doing when Jesus appeared to them? They were gathered together in a room, right? And this wasn’t just a lighthearted social gathering where everyone was relaxed and having a good time together. It says that they had the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews, meaning the Jewish religious leaders. They were afraid that the Jewish leaders, having crucified Jesus, would now start seeking out those who had been following Jesus in order to punish them also. So…they were huddled together in an inner room behind not just one locked door but rather multiple locked doors—notice that word “doors” is plural in the text—and fearing that at any moment, the temple police might show up and arrest them. They were afraid for their lives. And let’s just pause for a moment and acknowledge that that’s a very natural response to danger. We all have an instinct to seek self-preservation. 

But then, look what Jesus does. He miraculously appears in the room with them and says, “Peace be with you.” And it’s not entirely clear whether that was a customary greeting or not, but either way, I believe Jesus was using that word “peace” very intentionally. He came to bring peace to the anxious and fearful hearts of his disciples. And then, he says something to his disciples that was probably the farthest thought from their minds. He says, “I’m sending you out.” Remember, they’re huddled together trying to keep as low of a profile as possible and not really thinking about much except their survival. But Jesus declares to them in verse 21, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” That must have seemed like such a radical suggestion to the ears of his disciples. Jesus was calling them to resist their natural instinct to seek self-preservation and instead engage in a mission that could very well cost them their lives. 

Now you don’t just risk your life for something “willy-nilly.” If you’re going to overcome that instinct to seek self-preservation, you have to be extraordinarily motivated. Because that instinct is one of the strongest instincts we have. I think about that deputy at the Florida high school that was the site of the school shooting several weeks ago. This was the school where a very troubled young man gunned down 17 people. And you may remember that there as an armed deputy on site the whole time. But instead of engaging the shooter, this deputy remained stationary outside the building. So the shooter is going through the building killing people, and the deputy positions himself outside the building and just stays there. Now, not surprisingly, after the shooting, he was placed on administrative leave and ended up resigning. But that shows us just how strong our instinct to seek self-preservation can be. But Jesus calls his disciples to rise above their fears and set aside their very natural concerns for their own well-being and engage in the mission he has for them—the mission of spreading the gospel. 

And as sends them out on this mission, he gives them a very good reason why they should do it. Remember, putting our lives on the line isn’t something we do unless we have a very good reason. And Jesus gives his disciples that reason when he says, “I am sending you.” In the original language, that “I” is emphatic. There’s not really a good way to carry that emphasis over into the English translation, but in the original Greek language, there’s a way to put special emphasis on a pronoun. And Jesus puts that emphasis on the pronoun “I” when he says, “I am sending you.” So in other words, according to Jesus, the reason they should go is because of who it is that’s sending them. It’s Jesus sending them. Jesus, the Creator of the world, the Redeemer of the world, the one who according to Colossians 1 is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” the one who’s “before all things, and in [whom] all things hold together,” the one who’s “preeminent” over everything and who alone is worthy of all praise and adoration—this Jesus is the one who’s sending out the disciples. When you think about it, what greater honor could anyone ever receive? As the famed nineteenth-century missionary David Livingstone once asked, if a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how much more of an honor should we consider being commissioned by a heavenly King?

And as we think about our lives and the focus we have in our lives the purpose we adopt for our lives, we also would do well to remember that. How easy it is for us, in a manner not all that different from Jesus’ disciples, to get so wrapped up in some form of self-preservation that we’re not really engaged in the mission Jesus has called us to? How easy is it to get so wrapped up in our own comfort and well-being that we forget the call Jesus gives in Luke 14:33 to renounce all that we have in order to be devoted to him? Listen to me: Jesus is worthy of more than we can ever give. So what’s left for us to do but to give him everything? What’s left to do but give him everything? So the reason Jesus says his disciples should accept this commission is because of who it is that’s issuing the commission. It’s Jesus himself, the King of Glory.

And by the way, it’s not like his disciples will be alone on this mission. In verse 22, Jesus breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Now the reason he breathes on them is to illustrate in a practical way the gift of the Spirit he’s giving. In Greek, the word “Spirit” also means “breath” or “wind.” So Jesus is both picturing and predicting the gift of the Spirit that will later be given in Acts 2. And in verse 23 of our main text, which is a little bit difficult to interpret, Jesus tells them that since they’ll have the Spirit’s power, they’ll be able to declare the truth about forgiveness accurately. So he’s not saying they’ll actually be able to grant or withhold forgiveness themselves but simply that they’ll be able to declare with authority that forgiveness will only be granted to those who embrace Jesus. 

Jesus Convinces the Doubtful

Then not only does Jesus send the fearful, he also convinces the doubtful. That’s the second way he ministers to the spiritual sicknesses of his disciples and prepares them for the mission he has for them. Jesus convinces the doubtful. And really, the “doubtful” would probably be an accurate way of describing all of the disciples before they encountered the resurrected Jesus face-to-face, but our text focuses on the doubts of one disciple in particular, named Thomas. So in verses 24-29, Jesus appears to Thomas. We read that Thomas wasn’t in the room during the appearance of Jesus described in the previous verses. And when the rest of the disciples tell him what happened, he responds in verse 25, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” And I think the reason he says that so strongly is because he’s in a state of grief. Thomas loved Jesus and is grieving his loss. So the last thing Thomas wants to do is get his hopes without sufficient evidence. He simply can’t bear the thought of having any more disappointment than he already has. So…Jesus gives Thomas the opportunity to do what he desires to do. He appears to his disciples again—this time when Thomas is present—and says to Thomas in verse 27, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Then, of course, Thomas says him, “My Lord and my God!”

Now perhaps some of you, like Thomas, have struggled with doubts about Christianity. You want to believe, but there have been times when you find yourself plagued, to one degree or another, with doubts. And perhaps, as you read this passage, you think to yourself, “Well, that was great for Thomas. I’m glad he had something to help him with his doubts. But what about me? How am I supposed to deal with my doubts?” Well, let me just say that I think there’s something in this text for you also. Obviously, Jesus isn’t walking around the city of Pittsburgh appearing to people, so that’s not really an option. But I do think the way to overcome our doubts is to come face-to-face with the glory of Jesus. 

And here’s what I mean by that. I think that historical arguments for the truth of the gospel can be very helpful. There are a lot of books out there that lay out extensive historical evidence for things like the resurrection of Jesus and the reliability of the Bible, and those resources are wonderful. There’s definitely a place for those books. But historical evidence can only take us so far. There will always be the potential for an argument against Christianity to be presented to us we haven’t yet encountered or a piece of evidence to come to light that we haven’t yet considered. So we can never be absolutely certain that our conclusions are accurate. The most we could say, leaning on historical evidence alone, is that Christianity is probably true. But, of course, that leaves plenty of room—especially on our more difficult days—for doubt to creep in and make us question our conclusions. So what should we do? How can we overcome those doubts? 

And not just overcome those doubts enough be relatively comfortable as a Christian, but overcome those doubts enough to be willing to give up everything for the sake of Jesus? I believe we can. Think about it for a moment. There are people in this world with almost no education and no familiarity with the historical evidence for Christianity who are nevertheless so convinced that Christianity is true that they’re willing to die for it. And the Bible doesn’t view them as foolish or simple-minded either. I think of the story of a young woman who lived back in the second century AD who was martyred for being a Christian. The Roman emperor at the time believed that Christianity undermined Roman patriotism. So he started arresting Christians and having them killed. And he arrested a young woman named Perpetua. Now Perpetua had a family. She had a husband and she had a son who hadn’t even been weaned yet. But it didn’t matter. Perpetua was arrested simply for the crime of being a Christian. While she was in prison, her father visited her numerous times and did everything he could to convince her renounce her Christianity. Because that was the rule. If she simply renounced her Christian faith, she would immediately be set free. But Perpetua wouldn’t do it. And as the date of her hearing with the governor grew closer and closer, her father pleaded with her in an increasingly forceful way. He said to her, “Have pity on my gray head. Have pity on me, your father, if I deserve to be called your father, if I have favored you above all your brothers, if I have raised you to reach this prime of your life.” He then threw himself down on his knees before her and continued, “Think of your brothers; think of your mother and your aunt; think of your child, who will not be able to live once you are gone.” But Perpetua simply couldn’t bring herself to deny her Christian faith. Then finally, when the day of her hearing arrived, Perpetua was brought before the governor, along with a few of the other Christians who had been arrested. Those other Christians were questioned first, and each of them boldly proclaimed their Christian faith and refused to make the required sacrifice to the emperor. Then the governor turned to question Perpetua. And at that moment, Perpetua’s father burst into the room with Perpetua’s baby in his arms. He pleaded with her, “Perform the sacrifice. Have pity on your baby!” And even the governor joined in. He said to Perpetua, “Have pity on your father’s gray head; have pity on your infant son. Offer the sacrifice for the welfare of the emperor.” But Perpetua simply replied, “I will not.” “Are you a Christian then?” asked the governor. “Yes I am,” Perpetua replied. Her father again interrupted, but the governor had had enough. He ordered the guards to beat the man into silence. He then condemned Perpetua and her friends to die in the arena. When they then entered the arena, wild beasts and gladiators roamed the arena floor, and in the stands, crowds roared to see blood, and they didn’t have to wait long. Immediately  a wild heifer charged the group, knocking Perpetua onto her back. Then a leopard was set loose, and it wasn’t long before the tunics of Perpetua and her friends were stained with blood. Then finally, Perpetua and the other Christians were lined up and, one by one, were slain with a sword. So here’s the question: How could Perpetua and those other Christians be so convinced that Christianity is true? How could they be so certain that Jesus was the Son of God who died on a cross and resurrected from the dead to bring them eternal salvation? How could they believe that with such certainty?

It’s because, like I said earlier, they saw the glory of Jesus. No, I don’t think Jesus physically appeared to them. Rather, they simply had heard the message about Jesus and saw the glory of it. You see, when God opens our eyes to see what a glorious message the gospel is and what a glorious Savior the gospel reveals, that glory is self-authenticating. You know it’s true because it can’t not be true. It’s too glorious to not be true. Jonathan Edwards, an 18th-centurity theologian commonly regarded as the greatest theologian America has ever produced, once wrote that “The divine glory and beauty of divine things is in itself, real evidence of their divinity, and the most direct and strong evidence…Thus a soul may have a kind of intuitive knowledge of the divinity of the things exhibited in the gospel; not that he judges the doctrines of the gospel to be from God without any argument or deduction at all; but it is without any long chain of arguments; the argument is but one, and the evidence direct; the mind ascends to the truth of the gospel but by one step, and that is its divine glory.” So basically, we know the gospel’s true because it shines with a glory and a beauty and a splendor that can only come from God. 

The gospel tells us that, at one time, we were in an unimaginably wretched condition. Far from having anything to commend ourselves to God, we had actually rebelled against God and made ourselves vile in God’s eyes and were therefore thoroughly deserving of his wrath. And yet, even while we were in that wretched condition, God had mercy on us. In fact, he loved us so much that he even sent his only Son, Jesus, to come to this earth and die on the cross in our place. That means instead of us facing the wrath of God, Jesus faced the wrath of God for us. He took the punishment we deserved. And he then victoriously resurrected from the dead in order to defeat the powers of sin and darkness once and for all. And you can I can share in that resurrection victory as we renounce our sinful way of living and put our confidence in Jesus alone as the only One who can rescue us. That’s the gospel. And this gospel message is so wonderful, it’s so beyond what a human mind could invent, that we just know it has to be from God. Think about it. All the religions that humans have invented center around some form of human achievement. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. In all of those religions, your future depends on how well you perform. They’re all about your achievement. Why? Because humans invented them and humans are proud people. But Christianity is all about God’s grace. It centers not on our achievement or our performance but on the grace given to us through Christ’s achievement and Christ’s performance. The gospel is so clearly not a product of any human mind. And even beyond that, the glory of gospel itself and of Jesus himself is so beyond what a human mind could come up with. It’s so glorious that it has to be from God. 

And that’s what I mean when I say that the way to overcome doubt is to encounter the glory of Jesus—to encounter his glory in a way that’s not quite the same as the way Thomas encountered Jesus’ glory here in our main text and yet not entirely different from that either. Only then, when you encounter that glory, will you have the conviction of Perpetua and of countless other Christians throughout the centuries who were willing to give up everything for Jesus’ sake. So that’s how seeing the glory of Jesus displaces both fear and doubt. And that’s really the main idea of everything we’ve seen in this passage. Seeing the glory of Jesus displaces both fear and doubt. And that has to happen within us before I believe we can be truly effective in the mission Jesus has given us. 

Conclusion

And maybe you’re here this morning, and up until now, you’ve had more serious doubts about Christianity. Maybe you’re not a Christian who’s been struggling with doubt but rather a non-Christian who’s never really believed at all. But perhaps the things you’ve heard this morning have caused you to think a bit differently. Verses 30 and 31 in this passage are for you. John writes, “30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” So in other words, John didn’t write this document we’re studying just to give us interesting factoids. He didn’t write these things to entertain us or tell us interesting stories even increase our knowledge of history. He told us these things so that we can believe that Jesus is who he said he is—the Christ and Son of God—and that by believing we can have life in his name. That refers to eternal life in heaven. So if you want that life, it’s available. But you have to believe the things you’ve heard. And that word “believe” doesn’t refer merely to intellectual belief. Rather, it refers to a belief that encompasses your whole heart—a belief that includes a commitment to follow Jesus and worship Jesus and love Jesus. Will you believe in that way this morning?