Monday, April 18, 2016

Colossians 1:21-2:7 "Christ Did It All"

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                Last week we began our series on the book of Colossians, Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae.  In looking at the majority of the opening chapter of this book, we noted that, while containing Paul’s introduction, it was primarily about Jesus.  It was a reminder to these Christians who Christ really was.  In particular, it was about Christ’s supremacy, his supremacy in creation and his supremacy in redemption; fundamental and foundational beliefs that were being overlooked and forgotten.  I chose to begin the reading of our text this morning with a rereading of the portion that deals with Christ’s supremacy in redemption as a means of reminding all of us of something specific:  that Christ’s death is sufficient.  I made a statement last week that if we feel like we have to do anything else other than have faith in Christ (which is a work of God in our lives itself and not something that we take the lead on) in order to be saved then it is as if we don’t think that Jesus’ death was enough.  If we think that we contribute to our salvation, then it is as if we don’t believe that God could do it without our help.  Our good works, our right actions, our observance of certain rituals, or even our “accepting” of Christ as it’s commonly referred to don’t earn us our salvation, God grants it to us.  And I think that if Scripture is abundantly clear on one thing above all else, it is that God doesn’t need us to help Him.  Many times in Scripture and in our own lives, we see God working in spite of man’s sinful actions.  And so, as we make our way through our text for today, I want all of us to keep in the forefront of our minds the understanding that Christ’s death is not only sufficient, but that it is sufficient and effective all by itself.

                Remember, Paul’s writing this letter to a group of Christians who are falling victim to a school of teaching that is telling them that they are in need of doing certain things in order to gain their salvation and to have an assurance of that salvation.  They’re still worshipping God, just devaluing what happened upon the cross.  So, after reminding them of the work of Christ in redemption that they are devaluing, he moves on to talk about his own personal testimony of sorts.  He talks about the fact that he has had the privilege of doing some outstanding things for the sake of the kingdom.  He’s planted churches, suffered for the sake of the gospel, lived as a minister, given up a lot of worldly things, been faithful with what God has given him, and the list goes on and on.  We could sit here and go on for hours and hours about the wondrous things that the Apostle Paul has done for God’s kingdom, yet none of those things have anything to do with his salvation other than being the joyous response to the good news that God has chosen to save him.  None of the things that Paul did with his life in any way earned him his salvation.    As I pondered over that idea this week it really hit home with me; something resonated with me; that a lousy guy like myself who really hasn’t accomplished a great deal for the sake of the kingdom is in the same boat as someone like a Billy Graham or a Charles Spurgeon or R.C. Sproul, or even the Apostle Paul himself.  All of these folks who have done this wonderful work for the sake of God’s kingdom, “leading” massive amounts of people to Christ, providing invaluable resources for generations and generations of Christians, their salvation is based upon the same thing that mine is, the righteousness of Christ.  Now, that’s not something that I just realized, but it’s something that still amazes me every time I think about it.  To think that our salvation is based upon the same thing as a John Knox or a Martin Luther or a John Calvin ought to just leave everyone of us in awe.

                So, Paul, as he’s talking about his own experience and how it doesn’t account for anything in terms of salvation, dealing with the legalism part of this false teaching in Colossae, takes aim at the mysticism portion of this problem.  As he was writing of his being a minister, Paul wrote, “I became a minister…to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints.  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  And this may not sound like pointed language to us, but we have to remember the context here.  In pagan religions, the “mysteries” were secret insights that were given to a select few, typically after they had paid some amount of money.  Paul uses the term mystery here in an intentionally ironic manner directly aimed at these pagan religions, particularly mysticism.  He uses this term mystery to speak of the revelation of God that has been made available to the nations, Jesus Christ.  Remember, Paul has already referred to Christ as the “image of the invisible God.”  We noted that Christ is the visible revelation of God who otherwise remains invisible to us in our state of sin and corruption. 

                You see, we so often forget that really until the time of Christ, God was, to use Paul’s words here, “hidden” from the Gentiles.  God was “hidden” from those who were outside of His chosen people of Israel.  Up until this point, those outside of Israel had virtually no clue about God’s saving purpose for them.  It seems so very clear to us as we look back upon Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament that Jews and Gentiles were to be united in the coming Messiah, but it wasn’t so clear in the moment.  For example, the prophet Zechariah spoke of the coming king saying, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!     Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”  We read those words and we see that clearly when Zechariah said that the coming king would speak peace to the nations that that is referring to God’s kingdom being expanded to include more than just Israel.  However, we simply can’t overlook the fact that that concept was a foreign one during that time.  Most every Jew thought that the coming Messiah was there to restore God’s people, the Jews, and not that he was coming to bring those outside of God’s people into the fold and to reveal God to them.  We cannot have hindsight vision when it comes to trying to understand the mindset of those believers who lived during and on the heels of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  We have to try and understand the circumstances in which they were living.

                Paul is deeply worried about this congregation.  He cares for them.  He loves them; even though, as we see in the first verse of chapter two, he’s never met them face to face.  He says that his hope is that “their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”  Paul wants them to be strengthened and united in their commitment to God and to each other.  He wants them to be encouraged and to grow in their faith and in their knowledge of God.  And the only way in which they can do that is through Christ, the visible revelation of God, the treasure of wisdom and knowledge.  They can be strengthened through the church, the bride of Christ.  They can come to the Father in prayer through Christ.  Paul knows without a shadow of a doubt that as their commitment to and understanding of Christ deepens and grows that they will see the error of this system that is teaching them that their actions matter in terms of salvation.  He knows that as they grow in their understanding of Christ that they will have an assurance of their salvation because in the one whom they are trusting for their salvation, Jesus, there is nothing but assurance and certainty.  And that’s just as true for us as it was for those Christians in Colossae.  Think about it for a second, if our salvation was based upon anything within us or that we needed to do, even our saying “Yes”, then there is a certain level of uncertainty isn’t there.  Even in something that we’ve done a thousand times, there still exists the possibility of a mistake.  However, when it comes to Christ, there is only certainty.  Once we are truly in Christ, that’s where we remain.  Jesus even said as much during his earthly ministry.  “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” (John 10:27-29).  We don’t earn our salvation; God gives it to us through Jesus Christ and the work of His Holy Spirit.

                If you’ve noticed, Paul has kept using the words mystery and hidden here to convey a specific idea, and we find out what that is in verse 4.  “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”  Now, I said earlier that he uses “mystery” and “hidden” ironically to get at the mysticism folks, but there’s also a certain aspect to which these terms do apply to the Christian faith as well.  Several years ago, I had a friend who wanted to talk to me about my faith.  He wasn’t a non-Christian, but he wasn’t really a devout Christian either.  We all know this type of person.  They believe in God and that Jesus was the Son of God (although they’ve never really given any thought to what that means).  They know parts of the Bible, but have no idea what the Bible really says.  They pick and choose the verses that they like or that agrees with their thinking; that type of Christian.  Anyways, my friend asked me, “Tommy, can we sit down and have a logical conversation about God and the Christian faith?”  I told him, “absolutely not.”  Now, y’all know me and so does he.  He thought I was just messing with him or that I was joking that the two of us weren’t capable of logical thoughts and conversations.  “No, I’m serious” he said.  “Me too,” I replied, “there’s nothing logical about God and His relationship with us and what He’s done for us.”  I went on to tell him about how logically speaking; breaking a law or a covenant should result in punishment, especially when that law or covenantal agreement is perfect.  Logic dictates that after Adam and Eve sinned that we would find only condemnation and that that would never change.  However, God does something illogical (if I can use that term) and there is this plan for our redemption and our salvation.  Paul is telling his audience, and us, that we need not be swayed by logical arguments and ear-pleasing words.  If we can understand it completely, then it isn’t worthy of worship.  Personally, I’m glad that I can’t fully understand God because it is just one more assurance that I have that the God that I worship is greater than myself.

                Finally, Paul gives them what is sometimes referred to as the summation of the central theme of this whole epistle when he says, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”  Now, I’m going to come back to this passage during our next time together, but I think that it’s truths are crucial for our fully grasping what Paul is saying in our text for today.  Paul is concerned about these Christians remaining faithful to Jesus Christ while also calling them to grow, but grow in the right way.  Because that’s the entire issue at hand isn’t it?  These folks have come to know Christ and now they are looking to grow in their knowledge of him.  Meanwhile, there is this group of folks who are telling them that they grow by doing these certain things, that they earn their way to salvation by doing certain things.  Paul doesn’t rebuke the desire for growth within this congregation; he simply wants them to go about it the right way.  And any teaching that is promoting that we have anything to do with our salvation is not the right way.  Paul encourages them to live in Christ, to walk in Christ, to build everything that they have upon him, but to do so out of love and thanksgiving for what he has done for us already, not so that we might complete his already completed work.

                I know that we’re going to end things much the same this week as we did last week, but that’s just the nature of this epistle.  Paul is, if nothing else, hammering home this point to the Colossians during the first part of his epistle.  We don’t, nor can we, add anything to the work of Christ.  I heard a speaker at a conference one time say that God had cast the nets and all we as leaders had to do is reel them in.  I won’t tell you my reaction to that statement because there isn’t enough time left, but let’s just suffice it to say that I didn’t agree.  Friends, any understanding of Jesus Christ that has in view the mindset that we must finish what Christ started is an understanding that doesn’t understand who Jesus is and what Jesus did.  I know that’s a bit of a tough, so let me put it this way.  Christ’s work is enough.  What’s the song that we’ve sung numerous times here?  Jesus Paid It All; it doesn’t say Jesus paid most of it and we have to finish the job.  Jesus, completely, totally, eternally, and in all humility paid the price that was owed for our sins.  Our job, as it were, is to rejoice in it, to live in it, and to respond as Paul says, “abounding in thanksgiving.”  

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Colossians 1:1-23 "Christ's Preeminence"

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                Today we are beginning a journey through Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae.  This journey, this study will take about six or seven weeks in total, and what we’re going to be looking at is Jesus.  You see, Colossians is known for its Christology or its Christ-centeredness.  It’s a letter in which Paul had to remind a bunch of Christians who Jesus really was and what he really did.  Paul had to write this letter because of a report that he had gotten about this once faithful congregation who was beginning to slip away and follow a school of thought that was more about what the people did than what Christ had already done.  I fear that many times we modern Christians fall into a similar trap, but we’ll discuss that as we work our way through this letter.  For now, I want to focus on our getting the background information covered.  There was this system of belief that combined mysticism, Jewish legalism, and some Greek patterns of worship that was starting to penetrate its way into this Christian church, into this body of believers.  Paul knew that he needed to help these Christians put an end to this so that they could get back on track, or in this case not get off track.  However, Paul can’t be there with them because he’s in prison.  So, what does he do?  He writes them a letter and has Tychicus, the same one who delivered Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, deliver it to them.  And in this letter, as we will see, Paul simply tells them about Jesus; purely and plainly about Jesus.  First, he tells them who Jesus is, and then about what that means for them.

                We see that Paul opens this letter by giving his usual greeting, establishing his apostolic authority.  He then goes on to give thanks for the congregation’s faithfulness, as well as telling them how he and the other apostles and church leaders have been praying for them.  Now, this portion of Paul’s letter is a common occurrence in Paul’s epistles, but here in Colossians it is a bit longer than we usually find.  Part of the reason for that is that while Paul is writing this standard introduction, he’s also beginning to teach the Christians in Colossae by reminding them of things that they already knew.  Just look at some of the language that Paul uses here.  “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.  Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you.”  Paul is giving this congregation a reminder of the facts that they’ve already heard the gospel and that they have experienced this threefold wonder that is faith, hope, and love; which are central to Paul’s understanding of the Christian life.  He continues to bounce back and forth between thanksgiving, encouragement, and reminding them of what they already know all throughout this introduction.  So, while it is an introduction, it’s an introduction with some meat to it.  He’s not just writing empty words or going through the formality of things, he’s giving them substance.  There’s no fluff to the Apostle Paul’s words, especially not here in this introduction to the church in Colossae.

Then, in verse 13, we see Paul start steering the conversation in a particular direction, and that direction is towards Jesus.  “He [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  In other words, we are the recipients of this faith, hope, and love not because of what we’re doing or have done or will do, but because God has delivered us and granted these things to us, and he’s done so through His Son, Jesus.  And after telling his audience that God has done this mighty work through Christ, Paul goes on to talk about the preeminence or the supremacy of Christ; which is where we’re going to spend the rest of our time together this morning.  And in this opening section of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we see the supremacy of Christ spoken about in two very distinct ways:  the supremacy of Christ with regards to creation and the supremacy of Christ with regards to redemption.

First, Christ’s preeminence or supremacy in creation.  The Son, the second person of the Trinity, was there, He was present and active at the time of creation.  Creation was a work of the Triune God.  All three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, had a hand in creating this world.  No text makes that clearer than the prologue of John’s gospel.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  Well, Paul’s reminding the Colossians of this fact with his words to them about Christ’s role in creation.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”  Now, a few things need to be said here.  There are some that will point to the language of Christ being “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” and say that those words make it seem like Christ is less than God the Father.  Well, that’s simply not true, and really, it’s a pretty uneducated interpretation of these words from a biblical perspective.  In saying that Christ is “the image of the invisible God”, Paul is simply saying that Christ is the physical revelation of God.  We can’t physically see God himself, but we could see Jesus.  Since Christ is by nature God, he reveals to us the God who is otherwise invisible.  That’s what we read in our call to worship as we heard the ending of John’s prologue to his gospel account.  And as far as the word “firstborn” goes, it doesn’t mean created by something older or greater than himself.  In the Old Testament, a firstborn son would be the principal heir of an estate.  When the term is used here of Christ, it means that he is of such great honor and dignity, not that he was the oldest child or creation.  So, don’t get the impression that Christ was created by God, He is God.  I know that’s confusing, but that’s because our fallen, fallible, and feeble minds simply don’t possess the capacity to fully understand something as complex and mysterious as the Trinity.

Paul, as we noted, is conveying the notion that John stated already in his prologue, that nothing has come to be without Christ’s directly having a hand in it.  He even goes on to add, “And [Christ] is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”  Paul’s just going rapid-fire here with his teachings on Jesus.  He’s reminding them that Jesus himself is the head of the Church; hence why the Church is referred to as the bride of Christ.  Jesus is the Lord of the body of believers.  There’s no authority greater than Christ’s authority; a concept that we dealt with heavily during our look at Ephesians, which was written about the same time as this epistle.  Then, Paul has this moment of transition where we see the shift from creation to redemption, but it’s still about creation of sorts.  When he writes that Jesus is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead” our minds go back to the resurrection.  Well, what does the resurrection signify, mark, or inaugurate?  A new creation; Christ inaugurates the new age that is foretold about in the prophets of the Old Testament.  Remember when we talked about the old self vs. the new self during our look at the book of Ephesians?  Well, Paul is going to bring that up later on in this epistle when he deals with the application of this doctrine, but for now he’s making sure that the Colossians understand that the entire concept of being reborn, being a new creation, or taking off the old and putting on the new is because of Jesus Christ.   Christ is preeminent or supreme in both creation and recreation.

And all of this leads to the supremacy of Christ in redemption.  Now, there is a certain sense in which we might want to say that calling Christ supreme in recreation and redemption is redundant, but that’s not entirely true.  Yes, there is a great deal of overlap, but there is little more to redemption than just recreation.  You see, while teaching these Christians about the glory of Christ even before the foundations of the earth, Paul is also pointing out to them that Christ’s resurrection leads to the exaltation of Christ to an new place.  R.C. Sproul says of this that “by virtue of His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ is Lord of the universe that was created by Him, that He has always sustained, and which now He has redeemed.”  Now, the question that we so often want to ask is what does the exaltation or the glorification of Christ mean for us, and Paul’s going to get to that.  But first, he has to explain what the exaltation of Christ really means.  He says, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”  In other words, Jesus was fully God and fully man, completely of his own will.  And in his descending to earth, his life of perfect obedience to the will of the Father, and his sacrifice upon the cross, God has in essence repaid God for a debt that was owed to Himself.  That’s the summation that Paul gives here as to what Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection means.

It’s what we find next that shows what Christ’s supremacy in redemption means to us.  “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present YOU holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”  So, putting all of what we’ve seen just in the last few verses together we’re left with this equation.  There is a debt that is owed to God, a debt that is a result of our sin.  As such, God, being just, requires that that debt be paid and paid in full.  God cannot just dismiss this debt, it must be paid.  Mankind, having no ability to pay that debt, is left hopeless and condemned.  However, God, in His love for us, sent His Son into the world.  His Son, upon entering into this world, lived a life in such a manner that he alone was worthy of paying that debt that was owed to God.  The Son, God Himself, made restitution for this debt on our behalf, reconciling or settling our debt to God.  Thus, at such time as we are called to be judged, it is not our own righteousness that is in view, but the righteousness of Christ.  Christ is the only means by which we may come to God the Father.  That is his preeminence, his supremacy in redemption.  John 14:6:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  There’s no other way to be redeemed, to be reconciled to God, than through Jesus Christ.

That’s the whole issue that Paul is trying to deal with amongst the Christians in Colossae.  That’s the issue that faces so many Christians today.  Many think that they can earn their way to salvation.  They think that by keeping certain rules and rituals and doing certain things that they are gaining favor with God.  Yes, those things may please God and bring joy and glory to God, but they are not the means by which we are saved.  We are saved by Christ alone.  You have been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Can you imagine walking into a bank and applying for a loan?  Most of you have probably done that, and I would guess that at some point you’ve been approved.  Now, imagine that you’ve got terrible credit.  I’m not talking about subpar, I mean bad.  The mortgage lender or loan officer sits down and talks to you and then when you have every reason to think that a denial is coming, they approve you for the loan.  Your credit wasn’t the reason, but because you’re in a relationship with someone and they have perfect credit you are approved.  Now, this is a crude analogy, but you get the picture.  Of our own merit, our credit score as it were, we are deserving of denial, desertion, punishment, and condemnation.  However, because of the righteousness of Christ, his perfect credit score, and the imputing of that righteousness into us by the Holy Spirit, we are rewarded.  We are made heirs with Christ as Paul says in Romans 8. 

That’s what Paul is trying to remind this group of Christians about.  Guys, it’s not about what you do, but about what was done for you.  Yes, what you do is important because it brings joy and glory to God’s name.  Your good works and your keeping of God’s commands are the ways in which we show our gratitude, our love, and our reverence for God.  However, from a salvation standpoint, all of the work has been done.  Christ’s death was sufficient for your salvation.  You don’t need to do anything else to make it enough.  When you do, you’re essentially saying that Jesus, that God himself, didn’t do enough.  As we journey through this letter, we’re going to see how freeing that news really is.  But for now, as we prepare ourselves to go out into this world, I want all of us to live with the assurance that Christ’s death was enough.  I want all of us to know that God himself loves His children so much that He paid the price that was ours to pay.  And let us use every breath that we have sharing that great and wonderful news.

Monday, April 4, 2016

John 20:19-31 "He's Still Risen"

I'm working on getting the audio up.  In the meantime, here's the manuscript from Sunday.

                For quite some time, the Sunday after Easter, known by various titles, the Octave of Easter and Low Sunday, has been a puzzling Sunday for many pastors and churches.  Whether that should be the case or not is debatable, but it is a reality.  For many Christians, there is a sense in which Easter is a spiritual high, a climax, that often ends with a crash.  We’ve all seen sports teams go out and win a big game over a top competitor, only to lose to a virtual nobody the very next game.  Also, so much work goes into the Easter/Lenten season that many churches are physically and spiritually spent once it is over.  Then, there is the very saddening fact that the Sunday after Easter is statistically the lowest attended day of worship in American churches.  Basically, we go to church on Easter Sunday and hear of the wondrous news of the resurrection, and we respond with tiredness and by neglecting worship the next opportunity that we have.  However, the truth of the matter is that the reality that we celebrated last Sunday on Easter, the empty tomb, is just as much of a reality today as it was a week ago.  It’s no less worth celebrating today than it was last Sunday.  In fact, we could make the argument that it’s even more worthy of our praise today than last week because not only are we further removed from the cross, but we are also even closer to the time of Christ’s second coming.

                So, with that in mind, we’re going to continue the unfolding of the events of that resurrection day with our text today that we just read.  We left off last Sunday with Mary Magdalene going to the disciples and telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead.  What’s odd, as we move from that text to our text for today, is that in the first verse of our text, the very next verse following Mary telling Jesus’ followers about his resurrection, we’re told that they were sitting in a house with the doors locked.  I think, in our minds, we would them all to be running around in the streets spreading the good news. Now, it’s worth noting that it was more than just Jesus’ disciples gathered together there.  We know that Judas wasn’t there because he had hung himself on a tree.  We know from the second part of our text that Thomas wasn’t there for some reason.  So, that makes at most ten disciples or apostles.  Also gathered with them are other followers; Jesus’ mother Mary, Jesus’ brothers, and others as well.  And they’re all sitting in a house with the doors locked because they’re afraid of the Jewish authorities.  Word had probably made it to the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin that Jesus’ body wasn’t in the tomb anymore.  The Jewish leaders have had enough of this group and they want to deal with this nuisance once and for all.  Many of them probably thought that the apostles were the ones responsible for Jesus’ body not being in the tomb.  It isn’t very difficult to imagine that social and political conditions weren’t exactly favorable for the followers of Jesus.  It’s understandable why they’re hiding in one place instead of being out on the streets spreading the news that Mary had told them that morning.

                You know, I think that we can relate a bit to these followers of Jesus in this sense, “fear of consequences can sometimes overcome what we hear about Jesus.”  Stick with me here, I’m not saying that it should, but it happens.  Fear of being socially cast aside or banished can make us shy away from speaking about Christ.  Fear of persecution and consequences can cause us to be silent in situations where we know that we ought to speak up.  However, that’s where the rest of our text tells us how we are to respond to that fear.  We’re told that Jesus comes into the room somehow, showing those in the room the scars in his hands and on his side so that they know that he isn’t a ghost or an angel but an actual person.  But if you look at verses 20 and 21, you’ll see that much of what is recorded there is added by John.  What Jesus actually says goes like this, “Peace be with you…Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”  Now, a few things are worth noting here.  First, the words “peace be with you” are a standard Jewish greeting.  Jesus is wishing God’s shalom upon his followers, his family, and his friends.  Secondly, notice that this greeting is repeated.  We know from reading and studying Scripture as we have that anytime something is repeated that it means that what is about to be said is deserving of special attention.  There was no underlining or bold font function for the biblical authors.  The way that we know something is important is by this double wording.  So, and this leads us to the third thing that I want us to see in this greeting, Jesus is saying that what is important is that his followers go out into the world.  This is John’s version of the Great Commission, which is typical given John’s usual brevity when it comes to his writing style.  The very first time that Jesus saw the majority of his disciples after his resurrection, he told them that they needed to go out and spread the news of his resurrection; they needed to spread the gospel.

                I can just imagine Jesus coming into this house, this room, and seeing all of his followers gathered together with the doors locked and looking at Mary Magdalene, “Didn’t you tell them what I told you to tell them.”  Mary responding, “Yes Lord, I told them.”  Jesus, then turning his attention to them and saying in a frustrated manner, “Well then what are y’all still doing here?”  However, instead of condemning them, he encourages them.  He tells them to “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”  Jesus encourages them by telling them (and us) that he’s going to give them his Holy Spirit.  He reminds them of one of the things that he told to them in the Upper Room (16:2), that when he ascended to his Father, that they would receive the Holy Spirit.  Well, we know that that day was fast approaching, the Day of Pentecost.  The same Holy Spirit that worked through Jesus and sustained him during his earthly ministry was to be theirs and ours as well.  Jesus also, speaking specifically about and to the apostles, establishes the concept of apostolic authority.  Under the power of the Spirit, the apostles would have authority to declare God’s condemnation of sin and His offer of forgiveness.

                Then, we come to the record of Thomas’ first encounter with the resurrected Christ.  You can imagine that growing up as an inquisitive, pessimistic, and constantly questioning little boy with the given name of Thomas, that I was regularly called Doubting Thomas.  Now, my response has often been in defense of the biblical Thomas.  I mean, it’s not like any of the other followers of Christ were any more obedient prior to their actually seeing Jesus after his resurrection.  After all, we already noted that Thomas wasn’t present during Jesus’ first appearance before his disciples.  “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 nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  Now, we have to admit that the “word” never just sort of stings when we see it here.  However, Thomas is really only wanting what the other disciples have already seen.  They have seen the marks on Jesus’ body that Thomas says he needs to see.  We were specifically told that in the first part of our text.  They’ve heard Jesus speak directly to them, whereas Thomas hasn’t yet.  Thomas does go the extra mile (in the wrong direction) here and say that not only does he want to see the marks, but to touch them as well.  However, we can’t completely dismiss the fact that Thomas is human.  There’s got to be a sense in which he feels slighted a bit that Jesus would appear to all the other disciples, his family, Mary, and other followers, but not him.  I’m not excusing it; I’m simply trying to help us create the type of mindset that Thomas might have had in that moment.  Or, we could just simply say that Thomas didn’t believe because he didn’t have full confidence that Jesus was the Messiah.  Maybe he thought that all of the other disciples and followers of Jesus had mentally and emotionally snapped and that they had lost it.  Either way, Thomas has drawn his line in the sand so-to-speak about his belief in the resurrected Christ.

                So time goes on; eight days to be exact.  Which, if you’re counting, would correlate with the following Sunday, today, and the disciples were together again and Thomas was with them this time.  As a side note, I can’t imagine what some of the conversations would have been like between Thomas and the other disciples during that week.  All of them probably kept talking about Christ’s resurrection (rightly so) and Thomas pipes in every time, “Nope!  Won’t believe it till I see it.”  Anyways, the door is locked again just as it was the first time the week prior.  Jesus once again, appears to his disciples despite the locked door and gives to them the same typical Jewish greeting of “Peace be with you.”  Again, he’s not coming with condemnation, but with the hope that his disciples are enjoying God’s shalom, God’s peace and rest. 

However, Jesus’ attention turns immediately to Thomas.  “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.”  Notice that he doesn’t even give Thomas the chance to ask about it before telling him to come and see and feel the marks of the crucifixion.  Now, it is possible that Jesus had appeared to the other disciples again already and that they had spoken about Thomas’ disbelief.  It’s also possible that Jesus simply knew Thomas’ heart and knew his doubt and his disbelief.  It really doesn’t matter one way or the other.  Now, it’s worth noticing that nowhere in John’s recording of these events that Thomas actually takes Jesus up on his offer.  We’re never told that Thomas felt the marks left by the nails, the spear, or the whips.  “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”  Apparently, he didn’t have to feel the marks to believe, which makes Thomas a liar as well.  Thomas knew without a doubt what he needed in order to believe, until he came in contact with Jesus.  Thomas’ insistence that he wouldn’t believe until he felt Jesus’ marks was gone when Jesus spoke to him.  I love it when I hear about people setting their criteria for believing in God, only to have all of their criteria melt away when they are confronted by the very real and powerful presence of God.

Now, as it relates to our text for today, again we would expect some words of condemnation or rebuke on the part of Jesus.  I know that if we were in Jesus’ shoes we would have some words for Thomas.  I would imagine that the other disciples probably had some words with Thomas.  “So Thomas, what happened to that whole not believing until you feel Jesus’ scars thing?  Way to stand your ground Thomas.”  However, instead of us finding some statement along those lines, we find these words of Jesus, “Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  While we could certainly read into Jesus’ words to Thomas a sense that believing in the resurrection is great, but belief without having to actually see Jesus would have been better, I think that there is something more to it.  Of this verse, John Calvin writes, “Christ blames nothing in Thomas, but that he was so slow to believe, that he needed to be violently drawn to faith by the experience of the senses; which is altogether at variance with the nature of faith.”  Calvin then goes on to talk about the fact that our faith ought not be based on our experiences or our observations, but on the Spirit’s work in us and our responding to the calling that God places upon our hearts.

Calvin’s words about faith are why I think that a connection can be made between these words of Jesus and the final two verses of our text.  Typically (and probably in your Bibles) there’s a division in the final three verses.  However, I’m not so sure that we are to take these few verses as entirely separate thoughts.  After all, John is very prone to jump back and forth between narrating events as they happened and his own authorial comments.  If we look at all of these verses together we read, “Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, 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.”  Now, obviously the first verse is pertaining to the events that took place between Jesus and his disciples there in that room.  However, when we look at them as a thematic whole, we see them as more than just an encouragement to believe.  They are more than an encouragement to believe without physical evidence.  These words are both a call to have faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and also a promise that faith in Christ leads to everlasting life.

Do you know why we can have eternal life with Christ?  It’s because of what we celebrated last Sunday.  It’s because Jesus Christ has died, paying the price that was owed for our sins, but also because he rose from the dead, conquering the enemy of death.  Jesus Christ is life.  Do you know how we know about Jesus?  Well, obviously, the primary answer is Scripture.  We don’t have anyone walking around the world today who was an eyewitness to anything that Jesus did during his earthly ministry.  We have God’s word as our witness about Jesus.  And while there may be differences in chronology and interpretation between different accounts in Scripture, we know that what is in Scripture is sufficient for us to have this saving faith.  As the Westminster Assembly set out to construct the Confession of Faith in the mid 1600’s, the very first chapter that they constructed was one on the nature of Scripture.  It was vital that they have a clear definition of Scripture because it influences the way in which we see all the other matters of God.  Yes, we see God through nature, through family, and a host of other means.  However, nothing can come close to revealing God to us like His Word.  These other means of coming to know God also can’t provide us with the knowledge that is contained in God’s word.  And one of the main things that we know from Scripture is that the tomb was empty. 

We see the way in which the philosophy of the church shifts with the coming of Christ.  We see the way that the resurrection affects every action, every teaching, and even the direction of the church.  Shouldn’t the same be said for us?  Shouldn’t the good news of Christ’s resurrection shape everything about our church, about our lives?  I know that we’ve been all over the place today, but I’ll close with this thought:  have you spent this past week living like the tomb is still empty?  Has the wondrous news of Christ’s resurrection so permeated your heart that you can’t keep it in?  If you have then that’s great.  If you haven’t then what are you waiting for?  Are you still sitting locked in that room?  Friends, we are sitting on news that is too good not to share.  The tomb is empty, and it has been empty since that time and will remain empty forevermore.  Let’s start living like it.  Let’s starting living like it’s Easter Sunday every day.