Back to Basics - by Rev. Arthur Gunn
JESUS came and stood among them and said to them "Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:19-22).
John chapter 20 tells the story of the resurrection, and the appearance of the risen Christ to Mary.
We also read of Peter and John running to the tomb and finding it empty.
The same evening the disciples met secretly behind locked doors "for fear of the Jews" (v19).
Then Jesus came and stood among them and said to them "Peace be with you."
Bishop J.C. Ryle commented on this greeting as follows: "The first words that our Lord spoke to the disciples afford a beautiful proof of his loving, merciful, tender, thoughtful, and compassionate spirit." And so they do.
He surely meant, first, that they were forgiven.
Those men had deserted their Lord in the hour of his deepest need. They had run away like frightened sheep after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane.
Peter had even denied him with oaths and curses (Mk 14:71).
And now Peter and John and Mary had assured them that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
They must have told themselves that if this were true he would seek them out in judgment and condemnation.
But no.
When he came there was not one word of reproach. He said, "Peace be unto you" the peace of forgiveness.
And in order to make it perfectly clear that their cowardice had been forgiven, "He showed them his hands and his side."
They knew so well that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Heb 9:22); but Jesus had shed his blood, therefore their sins were forgiven.
And this is our first need.
As each new day dawns, with its fresh opportunity to serve our Lord, we all need to see Jesus standing before us, and saying "Peace be unto you. Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven.
"Often, because of the fear of men, you have denied me, like Peter. You have proved to be a weak and cowardly disciple. But all that is in the past. I have shed my blood in order that you might have the means of forgiveness."
The peace of assurance
However, the peace of the risen Christ gives us much more than the peace of forgiveness. There is also the peace of assurance.
The disciples who gathered on that first Easter Day were filled with doubt and uncertainty. The crucifixion of their Lord had taken them entirely by surprise. They had been profoundly shocked by the sight of his cross.
For three years and more they had pondered over the astounding claims made by Jesus. He had told them that he was "the light of the world" (Jn 8:12), that belief in him meant "eternal life" (Jn 5:24), that he was truly God incarnate in flesh (Jn 5:19; 10:30; 14:9; 17:5).
These claims would have been entirely unbelievable if he had not supported them by performing miracles which no mere man could ever do.
And his teaching was as marvellous as his deeds.
But, in the end, he had been crucified like a common criminal. He had seemed to be powerless once he had been arrested.
Surely, if he had been the all-powerful Messiah, he would have performed some kind of miracle and escaped such a shameful death?
The disciples, meeting in their locked room, must have wondered if their Master really had been the Messiah.
Then Jesus came, spoke to them, and showed them his pierced hands and wounded side, the positive proof that he who had been dead was now alive.
Little wonder that we read, "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord".
They were filled to overflowing with wonder and excitement. Jesus, their Master, had conquered death and the grave. All doubt, all questioning, was thrown to the winds as he gave them, by his physical presence, the peace of certainty.
And we have the same need as they had.
God in man
In our day there is a great deal of doubt and uncertainty in the Church. Men are questioning the basic doctrines of the faith. Many people just do not know what to believe.
And so much of this doubt and uncertainty centres around the person of Jesus.
Can we really believe the wonderful claims he made concerning himself?
Was he really God come down from Heaven on a mission to save us from the consequences of our sin?
As each new day dawns we all need to see Jesus standing before us saying, "Peace be unto you", the peace of forgiveness.
And we also need to rivet our attention upon his pierced hands and wounded side, and know the peace of a perfect assurance. He truly has risen from the dead, and is alive for everyone.
In a recent article in Life and Work, the magazine of the Church of Scotland, the Very Rev Professor Thomas Torrance of Edinburgh, who is possibly the world's greatest living theologian, wrote these words: "We believe that Jesus Christ is God and man in one person. If Jesus Christ is not really man, then what God did in him has no relevance to us human beings at all. If he is not really God, then there is no divine reality in what Jesus said and did, no salvation. Jesus' word of forgiveness, for example, would be a mere human word empty of ultimate divine validity.
"The resurrection of Jesus was a real physical event, a bodily resurrection, a historical event, dateable and fixable at a definite point and place in time and space."
The resurrection is God's assurance to us that all that Jesus said and did is true.
Sent forth
Then, having said "Peace be unto you", and having "showed them" his hands and his side," Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you".
The stress here is on the "as", and the "so".
Therefore we must ask ourselves, "How did the Father send his Son into the world?"
The answer is that he sent him as a human being to become involved in all that makes up human life. He experienced our hunger, our thirst, our loneliness, our heartbreak, our temptation.
He mixed freely with all sorts and conditions of men, with nice people and nasty people, with pious people and blasphemous people.
We must do the same if we are to be obedient to the great commission.
As the disciples of Christ, we must identify with people. We must be more than willing to listen to people, to sympathise with people, to love people.
Then we read on in verse 22, "When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit".
This dramatic incident was meant to teach us, that our duty of presenting the Gospel by life and by word is not meant to be done in our strength alone.
It has behind it all the power and authority, of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus himself was sent into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:32). We have the same power available to us.
Tuesday
ACTS: 1:1-5
"He showed himself alive . . . by many infallible proofs" (v3 AV).
The New Testament account of what happened in those "40 days" may be summarised as follows:
Very early on Easter morning some of the women went to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away. Angels told them that Jesus had risen from the dead, and that He would meet them again in Galilee (Mk 16:1-8; Lk 24:1-11).
These women told the disciples, whereupon Peter and John ran to the tomb to find it empty (Jn 20:1-10).
Mary returned to the tomb and met Jesus (Jn 20:11-18).
On the same day two disciples, when walking to Emmaeus, met with Jesus and talked with him (Lk 24:13-33).
As they were reporting this to the disciples in Jerusalem Jesus appeared, and assured them all that he was truly alive (Lk 24:36,39,40,43).
On the following Sunday he appeared again, and invited Thomas to feel his hands and side (Jn 20:24-29).
Later he appeared at the lake of Galilee and invited His disciples to have breakfast with Him (Jn 21:1,12).
He appeared again in Galilee, and gave "the Great Commission" as this was recorded by Matthew (Mt 28:16-20).
"He appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time . . . then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles" (1 Cor 15:3-8).
Finally He ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Lk 24:50-51).
Luke, the careful historian, says that all these things add up to "many infallible proofs" that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
Wednesday
LUKE 24:36-43
"A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (v40).
Those who doubt the bodily resurrection of Christ do so because they do not believe in miracles and do not believe Jesus is the Son of God.
To explain away the resurrection they say:
Jesus did not really die.
Answer: The spear thrust ensured His death (Jn 19:34). If He did not really die, why is there no record of His earthly life after His crucifixion?
The women went to the wrong tomb.
Answer: They saw the burial, and so could not possibly mistake the tomb (Mt 27:61). The fact that Peter and John found the grave clothes proves that it was the right tomb (Jn 20:5-7).
The body was stolen.
Answer: The only people with a motive for so doing would be the disciples. But how could they overcome the guards (Mt 28:4)? And how can we believe that they would preach the resurrection knowing it to be a lie (Acts 10:40)?
The disciples experienced some kind of hallucination.
Answer: If so, these were experiences over a period of 40 days, and involved hundreds of people.
The body of Jesus remained in the tomb. What lived on was a powerful memory and influence, which in time was expressed in myths.
Answer: The resurrection record is full of physical things such as eating (Jn 21:13), touching (Jn 20:27), talking (Lk 24:13-31).
The evidence is overwhelming that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. This is no myth.
Thursday
ACTS 2:29-36
"This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses" (v32).
The central theme in the preaching of the earliest disciples was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. To them this was the decisive proof that He was the Son of God.
Here was an event in the stream of world history which demonstrated the existence of God, and His plan for the salvation of men.
"The resurrection is a fact of history without which history does not make sense.
"The only explanation for the existence of the Gospel is the bodily resurrection of the Lord" (Pro Clark Pinnock in Set Fourth Your Case).
The Athenians (Acts 17:32) flatly refused to believe that a dead person can be raised. But they reckoned without the power of God, and the unique relationship between the Son and the Father. See v31; Romans 1:4.
Friday
JEREMIAH 1:1-10
In our churches we are being constantly exhorted to obey the great commission, and go out to preach the Gospel.
So often this challenge troubles our conscience, but, like Jeremiah, we find reasons why we should do nothing.
Our main reasons is given in verse 6, "Sh, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak."
We just do not know what we should say that will not cause offence, yet will lead to the salvation of the person concerned.
We long, with all our hearts, to lead others to Christ, but how are we go go about it?
There are excellent training manuals and videos that we can study. But, in the end, witnessing is a matter of relying entirely upon the Lord, both to give us the boldness, and to put His words into our mouths.
Saturday
ACTS 4:23-31
"They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness" (v31).
One of the gracious works of the Holy Spirit is to break down our natural shyness and reticence, and drive us out to speak to others about our Lord.
Few of us are bold by nature. We would much rather keep our faith to ourselves. But if we do this it is a sure sign that we are not filled with the Holy Spirit.
If we are filled with the Holy Spirit then it will not be possible for us to say, with Jeremiah, "I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His name" (Jer 20:9).
If we do so, the Holy Spirit will make our lives miserable.
An accusing conscience will take away our joy in the Lord.
Our experience will be like the experience of Jeremiah, who said, "There is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in" (Jer 20:9).
The way to release and joy is to do what our Saviour told us to do, which is to witness for Him (Acts 1:8).
Sunday
PSALM 126
"Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them' " (v2).
This psalm, perhaps more than any other, expresses the delirious joy of the conversion experience of the Christian.
It probably had its rise in the experience of the people of Judah on their return from their long captivity in Babylon.
It was so unexpected, so wonderful.
"Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy" (v2).
It is the same with us. Once we were "fast bound in sin and nature's might," but now we are free!
"The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad" (v3).
But we must always remember that we have been saved to serve.
There is a harvest field before us in which we are are called upon to labour (Mt 9:37-38).
The joy and wonder of our conversion can only be kept alive as we share the good news with others, and see them also gathered into God's barn.
"He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (v6).
Monday
MATTHEW 28:16-20
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (v19).
The "great commission" is found in different words in all four gospels.
So often, in evangelism, the stress is on "making a decison for Christ".
This is of great importance, but a decison is only a beginning, and the sad fact is that many decisions do no last.
Once a decision has been made the person concerned must be carefully instructed, and encouraged, and prayed for until he becomes a true disciple of Jesus, committed to following him until the end of life.
Disciple-making is the primary work of the Church. It will be effected only if the Church is living under the authority of the Word of God, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and is a warm and loving fellowship of believers.
Is your church making disciples?
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