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"Jesus Brings Peace" John 20:19-31

by Clancy Nixon

April 15, 2007

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

www.HolySpiritAnglican.org

The title of my sermon today is "Jesus Brings Peace." It didn't seem like that at

first. When Jesus was executed, peace was the farthest thing from his disciples' minds.

Put yourself in their shoes. It's Sunday evening. Just two days ago, Jesus, their leader,

their friend, their reason for being together, was crucified. Their hopes for Jesus had

been shattered, and they had no hopes for themselves, either. Just three days ago, most of

them had failed their master. They all fell asleep in his hour of need in Gethsamane. Then

they fled when the guard showed up to take Jesus away. Peter publicly denied him 3

times. All but John and a few faithful women were too frightened to stand with him in the

hour of his death. The government had killed Jesus for sedition and for blasphemy, both

capital offenses, and his disciples feared they were next, for many people had seen them

with Jesus. In this story from John 20, we see three ways that the disciples responded to

these events: They responded with Fear, Withdrawal, or Skepticism. Please turn up John

20, starting at verse 19, found on page 1075 in your blue pew Bibles, and we'll look at

how Jesus brings peace in each instance.

Let's say it together: Jesus brings peace. "Jesus brings peace."

First, Jesus brings peace when we are afraid. They have every reason to be

afraid. The memory of Jesus' arrest and torture were very fresh. Jesus had told them

many times that they would be persecuted. So they huddled together in fear and grief,

probably in the place where they had last met, in the upper room. The text tells us, verse

19, that they had locked all the doors in the house for fear of the Jewish authorities. I

imagine that every footstep outside the door brought apprehension; that a knock on the

door might bring utter terror.

Jesus didn't knock. Suddenly, He appeared in their midst in his resurrected body.

Jesus glorified body was physical, you could touch it; but locked doors couldn't stop this

Jesus, couldn't limit him. Jesus greets them with the standard greeting of the day, but

these words take on new significance here. These are the first words Jesus speaks to them

since his death. He says, still verse 19, "Peace be with you." "Peace be with you." They

must be shocked. Can this be the Lord? He shows them his hands and side. It is Jesus,

and he's alive! He's not a ghost! Mary wasn't hallucinating after all! Verse 20, the

disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord with their own eyes.

Jesus makes the point about peace again, emphasizing that this is not standard

greeting. He is speaking directly into their fears about capture by the world and torture

and the end of hope. He tells them, peace be with you. He said, "Shalom." Shalom

peace. Shalom means so much more than the absence of conflict; wishing someone

"Shalom" means, "May God give you every good thing." Shalom means nothing broken;

nothing missing. It means total well-being and inner rest of spirit, in fellowship with God.

But Jesus is not here simply wishing the disciples peace; he is actually giving them

peace. Real Peace comes only from the Lord. Remember in John 14:27, Jesus had said,

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives. Don`t let your

hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." Jesus banished their fears and ushered in joy

and peace. Jesus' peace comes when his Holy Spirit comes to indwell you, and Jesus

breathed the Holy Spirit into his disciples here. The Holy Spirit is a sign of new life, like

when God breathed the Spirit into Adam at Creation.

When a mere man says to you, "Peace be with you," he is expressing a longing or

a wish for you. When Jesus says it, he actually conveys it directly to you. It is yours. You

are no mere men and women; you are the body of Christ, you have the Spirit of Christ.

When you are in the Spirit, you can convey peace to people by your words and deeds,

even by your mere presence. On our Men's Retreat this weekend, Phil Ashey told us of

the tragedy and mixed emotions surrounding the birth of his first daughter. The girl

Carol was a twin, but very premature at 27 weeks, and her brother Benjamin had died in

childbirth. They were stricken with grief, overcome with fear that their surviving

daughter might die as well. They wondered where God was in this. Then the body of

Christ gathered round, the flowers and the cards came, and their friends in Christ were

Jesus for the Ashey family. That's where God was in their fear and grief - God showed

up in human flesh, and brought peace. Jesus told the disciples in verse 21, "As the father

has sent me, so I am sending you." Jesus brings peace to calm our fears. When the

church is working right, so will you and I.

Notice what Jesus says and doesn't say to them. He says peace, not blame; peace,

and not fault-finding; peace, and not rebuke. Jesus brings peace to us in our inadequacies

and weaknesses; he brings peace to us when we've blown it, like these men surely did; he

brings peace when we confess our sins. No confession of sin is necessary in this episode

because Jesus knows their hearts. Jesus sends us as he was sent. Remember how he was

sent as a baby, vulnerable, with a mission, and persecuted. At Jesus' birth, the angels

sang peace on earth, goodwill to those on whom his favor rests. Jesus brings peace along

with his presence. Peace is his nature. Not as the world gives.

The second response that the disciples exhibit is withdrawal. Thomas personifies

this response by withdrawing from the fellowship of believers, but notice how all the

disciples also withdraw from the world to cower behind the locked doors. We don't

know why Thomas missed the most exciting church meeting of all time. It was a surprise,

after all there was no previous announcement that this particular meeting would be

astonishing! The great Scottish commentator Barclay suggests that maybe Thomas was

disillusioned, and had decided to give up. Maybe he was too stricken with grief to be

able to stand company. Perhaps he sought out his twin for consolation we're not sure,

the text doesn't say, but we do know that Thomas was gone when Jesus first appeared.

The truth is that we miss a great deal when we withdraw from the fellowship of

believers. Temptations are easier to succumb to when we don't have anyone to share

them with. Loneliness can seem overwhelming when we don't see our friends in Christ.

Who knows how many have missed the timely and direct word from the Lord that they

desperately needed simply because they skipped Sunday worship? I know of one who

pulled away from the body of Christ saying, "I can't face them any more." Friends, if

you are ever tempted to say that, that is exactly when you most need the body. Jesus

brings peace, and his body, the church, is the primary carrier of that peace. Hebrews

10:25 says, Don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the habit of some."

The Lord's Supper is a means of grace and peace. Sermons are a means of grace and

peace. The coffee hour is a means of grace and peace. So are the cookies. Amen?

When you are sick, I'll bet that you are careful to make sure you take your

medicine regularly. Why? Because you know the consequences if you don't! The

consequences are immediate. If you are a diabetic, you need to eat and take insulin on a

strict schedule, or you'll have insulin shock. You suffer immediately if you don't take

your medicine. The discipline of coming to church or home group is more like exercise

than taking medicine, in that you don't always see an immediate benefit to worship

attendance. Often there is an immediate benefit; sometimes, there is not. The benefit is

cumulative. When I exercise, I can feel that my stomach is tighter the next day. But if I

need to fit into a pair of pants that's too tight, I might need to exercise for a week straight

before I can see a difference there. We can treat the spiritual discipline of Sunday

worship as optional, yet the Lord gives it as one of the Ten Commandments. Keep the

Sabbath day holy. We can argue about what that means, but if it means anything, it

means worship with the body at least once a week! Thomas missed the meeting, and so

he missed the peace that the others received from seeing the Lord. Jesus brings peace.

Jesus makes a special promise to show up when we gather even as two or three. Jesus'

presence brings peace.

The third response of the disciples was skepticism, and this one was limited to

Thomas, because he had withdrawn. Thomas was by nature a pessimist. In John 11:16,

when Lazarus death was impending, Thomas suggested, "Let us also go, so we may die

with him." He's committed to Jesus, he's willing to die for him, but he's projecting the

negative there. Thomas refuses to believe even the unanimous testimony of his friends

that Jesus is alive, that they saw him with their own eyes. Many preachers try to make a

virtue of Thomas' skepticism and doubt, saying that it is healthy to question and doubt,

so that when you do come to believe, your faith will be stronger. That may be true, but I

don't see that principle in this text. When it comes to whether to trust the testimony of

those who have seen the risen Lord, Jesus commends those who believe without seeing.

That includes us.

Isn't it wonderful how the Lord honors Thomas' request for a viewing, without

chastising him? The presence of Christ unlocks more than doors of wood, more than

doors of fear, of withdrawal, of skepticism. If we but ask him, Jesus will take the

initiative and respond to us. He will give you his peace as you ask him for it. Jesus

brings peace. Just ask him. It would be unlikely for him to respond to your request to

see him in the body on this earth. He sent the Holy Spirit here so that he could return to

the father in heaven. Some people may see the bodily Jesus in visions, but that will be

rare. If you and I were to see Jesus in his body on this earth, then he will be riding a while

stallion and the last trumpet will be blowing. If one sees him, we all see him, and we'll

have more to worry about than seeing Him if that happens soon. Never fear, the Holy

Spirit and the Spirit of Christ are one. So if you ask for the presence of Christ, He will

send the Holy Spirit. Jesus has promised to send Him to you when you ask!

Wherever you are today, Jesus wants to bring you peace. If you are locked in

sickness or infirmity, Jesus brings peace. I believe that he wants to heal several people

here today. Someone here may be struggling behind locked doors of fear. Jesus wants to

bring peace to your soul. Another may be overcome with grief. Jesus brings peace in the

midst of your grief - he wants to be there with you as you grieve, comforting you.

Perhaps you have missed too many meetings, and you want to get right with God, and

with his people. Jesus brings peace. He won't condemn you. He knows your weaknesses.

He wants to empower you to do his will by his Holy Spirit. He has a mission for you.

Jesus wants to use you. It may be that you have been skeptical of the claims of Christ in

your life. Like Thomas, ask Jesus to bring you peace exactly where you lack it. Get real

specific with Him. God isn't mad at you. Jesus loves you. He wants you to walk in

wholeness, in shalom. Nothing broken, nothing missing.

Do business with God this morning. Receive his peace. You can come forward to

receive personal prayer from a prayer minister on the left aisle now or during

communion. Let's pray.