From Worriers to Warriors

Happy Sunday. I hope that you had a great Easter. Today we're going to look at the evening of the first Easter. You would imagine that the disciples are dancing in the streets and shouting from rooftops about Jesus being alive, but the story that John tells us paints a very different picture.

I'll read to you from the 20th chapter of John, verses 19-22. Before I read this, remember, this is after the resurrection, that evening. John tells us, "When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

So much happens in these four verses. As we begin, it's amazing to me that they are hiding. Earlier in this very chapter we're told that Simon Peter and John were at the empty tomb. We're also told in verse 18 of this chapter that Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and she's told them about their conversation.

But the disciples were skeptical. Mark tells us this in verse 11 of chapter 16: "And when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe." How could this be, you ask? I think there's a great explanation that we'll look at in a moment.

The disciples are behind locked doors and fear that they might be arrested and perhaps crucified themselves. Jesus somehow gets through the locked door. Earlier that morning he made his way out of a locked tomb, so it wasn't much of a problem. I love what he says and what he doesn't say.

We're told that Jesus said to the disciples who were hiding, "Peace be with you." That's exactly what they needed, isn't it? Peace. Their world had been turned upside down.

Jesus did not say, "I can't believe you guys are hiding in fear." He did not say, "I'm ashamed of you cowards." He didn't say, "What's the matter with you people?" Jesus is showing love and grace and forgiveness in these words: "Peace be with you." Again, I love what he says, and I love what he didn't say.

To give convince them that it really was him, he showed them his hands and his side. After that we see, I think, one of the greatest understatements in all of scripture. We're told, "Then the disciples rejoiced." Some versions say the disciples were glad. I imagine there was joy and shouting and praising and fainting and jumping and singing, and I'm still having trouble with finding just the right words.

Last week Genie and I had the privilege of attending the Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee. As the Easter service ended, the pastor told us that he was going to say, "Christ is risen," and that we were to respond with, "He is risen indeed," and then we were to break out into an ovation worthy of a risen Savior. The church responded in an awesome way. There was an explosion of applause and shouting and clapping that gave me chills. I imagined that kind of scene in that room that day.

Back to the scene. The disciples were elated to finally believe in the resurrected Jesus. Once more, one more time, Jesus told them, "Peace be with you." And next he does the most incredible thing. He says, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you."

These men who were hiding in are now commissioned by Jesus to do just the opposite. Just moments before, they were hiding in fear, and now they're commissioned to go in boldness. Isn't that just like God, turning lives around 180 degrees? They spent the rest of their lives sharing with the world about the risen Jesus.

They took the gospel all over. Only John lived to a ripe old age. He was exiled to the island of Patmos, and it was there that he wrote the book of Revelation. The rest of the disciples all died violent deaths, as far as we know. This encounter with the risen Lord turned these men from warriors to warriors.

Earlier I said that I had a great explanation about why they were hiding. After Jesus commissioned these men to be missionaries, he did this, according to John 20, verse 22: "When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" When they were hiding in that room, they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. And without the Holy Spirit, they were on their own, and their thinking could not comprehend what had occurred.

And now Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Does this take you back to Genesis 2? It should. As God breathe the breath of life into his creation, now Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit into his disciples. After that there was no stopping them.

Without the Holy Spirit, we're in trouble. With the Holy Spirit, we can do great things. Next week we'll begin a study on the Holy Spirit. I pray that you will join me and that together we'll do great things.

Let's pray. Father, thank you for the change in the disciples, which is indeed proof of the resurrection, and help our lives be proof of the resurrection as well, as we show love and grace and forgiveness to this world that truly needs it. Father, thank you for the examples of those great missionaries, and if we are worriers, we pray that you would turn us to warriors for you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. God bless.