Gifts,
Marching Orders, and a Promise
Deuteronomy 6:1-9, John 20:19-31
April 12, 2015
Grace Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller
Introduction
Last Sunday we were reminded that
because Christ is risen and we have the assurance of eternal life, we
have a deep and abiding joy in our hearts - a joy that cannot be stifled or
diminished by the trials and tribulations of life. And I also suggested that
all congregations are a franchise of God’s Joys R Us.
This morning, I’d like to continue our Easter celebration by
looking at the forty days between Christ's resurrection and his ascension into
heaven. In those forty days, scriptures tell us that Jesus appeared to his
disciples and followers eleven different times.
Two Gifts, Three
Marching Orders and a Promise In those eleven appearances,
Jesus gave his followers and us two gifts, three marching orders, and a
promise.
The Gift of Peace
The first gift was the gift of peace. Early on Sunday morning, Mary
Magdalene told the disciples that the tomb of Jesus was open and that his body
was gone. They ran to the tomb and confirmed that it was empty. The disciples
then returned home, but Mary stayed by the tomb and met Jesus. Mary then told
the disciples that Jesus was alive and that she had talked with him. What were
they to make of this news? What were they to do? Where should they go? That
evening, they went to a room, locked the door and began discussing their
concerns. In the midst of their discussions, Jesus suddenly appeared to them
and said "Peace be with you."
He then showed his disciples his hands and his side to prove
to them he was really their master. As a
result, they believed and were glad. Jesus then repeated his blessing upon them
by saying, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send
you."
The gift of inner peace was one of the first gifts that
Christ gave his disciples. He came to them at this point to assure them that he
really was alive and that there was absolutely nothing to fear. It was the same
peace that he had mentioned earlier when he said, "Peace
I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives give I unto
you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:27)
The Greek word
Jesus used for peace is "eiranay." This reflects the
same idea as the Hebrew "shalom."
It meant more than an absence of warfare. Rather, it conveyed the
concept of wholeness and completeness.
By Christ’s death and resurrection, the disciples were now
in a perfect relationship with God. Paul
said that Christ made "peace by the blood of his cross." (Colossians 1:20)
Peacemakers
When we receive Christ's gift of peace, it transforms us into peace
makers. To accept the call to peace
making means to do whatever we can to be agents of reconciliation in a world
divided by hostility and hate.
Gift
of the Spirit The second gift from Jesus to his disciples
was that of the Holy Spirit. While he
was in the room with them, he breathed on them and said, "Receive
the Holy Spirit."
(John 20:22). Now why did he breathe on them? That's rather strange behavior.
The answer is found in the fact that the Greek word for
spirit, "pneuma" also means wind or breath. It signifies life.
In Genesis we read, "Then
the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living being.": (Genesis 2:7)
In like manner, Jesus came to his
disciples and breathed the breath of new life and power into them. Jesus was
giving them the power of the Spirit to be with them as they went forth to begin
the Church. After he gave his disciples the gifts of peace and the Holy Spirit,
Jesus then gave them three marching orders.
Feed
my sheep The first marching order took place when
Jesus was eating breakfast with them on the sea shore. After they finished,
Jesus turned to Peter and asked, "Do you love me?" Peter answ
ered, "Yes, Lord; you know that I
love you." Jesus replied, "Feed my lambs." Two more times Jesus
asked Peter "Do you love me?" And two more times Peter assured Jesus
that he did. And two more times Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
Here Jesus was entrusting to Peter and
the disciples the lives and souls of the people who were as sheep without a
shepherd. It was the command to evangelize the world for Christ. It was a
command to witness to Christ in all places and at all times. Of course we know
that not all Christians witness to Christ. They talk the talk, but don’t walk
the walk. The fact is that very few people who just talk about kissing and
never get around to doing it ever get married. And few people who just talk
about their faith instead of doing their faith ever attract people to Christ.
There’s two parts to the gospel: one is “believin’ it” and the other’s
“behavin’ it.” If you “Talk the talk,” you need to “Walk the walk.”
Follow
me The second command from Jesus was
"Follow me." Jesus was saying, "Even though I will no longer be
with you physically, you still are to follow me no matter what." It was a
reaffirmation and renewal of that original call of the disciples issued three
years earlier. In order to follow Jesus, we have to know where he is and where
he is leading us. Unfortunately there are those who don’t want to go where
Jesus would lead them so they choose another path that takes them away from
Jesus. They are the ones who try to make God into their image.
The
Great Commission The third marching order was given to the
disciples when he appeared to them in Galilee. He said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you."
(Matthew 28:16-20). This great marching order from Christ has become known as
the Great Commission.
The order is for us to make disciples,
baptize them and teach them all of Christ's commandments. The function of
making disciples is the foremost function and purpose of the church. The
Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) says that the Church exists
for the proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind. (Book of
order, g-1.0200)
The
promise And now for the promise. Immediately
following the Great Commission, Jesus says to his disciples, "Lo,
I am with you always, to the close of the age." I am with you always. What wonderful
news for the disciples and for us. No matter what happens in life, Christ is
with us. We are never alone.
This is particularly comforting when we
are frightened or sorrowful. But it can be equally disturbing when we’re doing
something wrong.
Final thoughts
In looking over the various events that took place in those forty
post-resurrection days, we find that Jesus reached out to his disciples and
created order out of their confusion, calmed their troubled hearts, filled them
with the power of the Holy Spirit, gave them orders to follow him into the
world to witness to him and to baptize in his name. He then promised that
through it all, he would always be with them.
These same gifts of peace and the
spirit are offered to each of us today.
Peace for troubled hearts and wholeness for our relationship with God
and those around us. And we are under
the same marching orders as were the disciples: orders to follow Jesus, feed
his sheep, and witness to him at all times.
As you leave here this
morning, remember this.
If you want to be happy for an hour, eat a
steak.
If you want to be happy for a day, play with a
child.
If you want to be happy for a week, go on a
cruise.
If you want to be happy for a month, buy a new car.
If you want to be happy for a year, win the
lottery.
If you want to have joy for a lifetime, follow
Christ. Let us pray.
John 20:19-31 NRSV
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. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have
seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his
hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I
will not believe.’
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and
Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among
them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger
here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt
but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him,
‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have come to believe.’
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that
you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that
through believing you may have life in his name.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 NRSV
Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that
the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are
about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s
children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his
decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be
long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it
may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing
with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in
your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at
home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a
sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on
the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
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