John 20:19-23 

19Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 

Context of John 20
The disciples were in a scary time. Imagine yourself in their situation. You have witnessed Jesus’s life, his teaching, his miracles, his unwavering faith in storms, his walking on water, breaking bread and feeding thousands with almost no food by divine provision. You've been traveling with this man who you knew to be the son of God, whose words have radically changed your heart and purpose of life. Then right in the middle of what looked like it was going to be the reign of God on Earth, the people rose up and killed the leader of the whole movement. Imagine being in this brotherhood that was instantly scattered and without a shepherd surrounded by people who wanted the name of Jesus erased from history and would kill anyone who preached in his name or was associated with him. They lived in a culture that wanted the Gospel quieted and snuffed out. But then something happens in John 20, on that faithful third day. Jesus, risen from the dead, comes in and stands in the middle of the disciples while they are in hiding from the jews and says, “Peace be with you.” This changed everything for the disciples, they were no longer without him, now they know he was with them no matter what, death could not even separate him from them. Then he breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit and became empowered to go out and change the world.

If Jesus was with his people back then in a time of trouble, how much more will he be with his people now in these uncertain times.

I would like to take a deeper look into John 20:19-23 at three things.

1. Peace in uncertainty

2. Being sent by Jesus

3. The power to bring change

1

Peace In Uncertainty

John 20: 19Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”  20When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Just like the disciples we too live in a world filled with fear.
It seems like our way of life is constantly threatened by unpleasant change. Everytime we seem to be getting past one thing another threat rises. We got through Covid and there were wars and rumors of more wars in the future. Inflation seems to be out of control, everything you want to do seems to be so expensive that it's out of reach. On top of that our faith in the Gospel is threatened. People are speaking out and trying to create movements to ban the bible. There are 55 countries where it is considered illegal to practice Christianity. Just looking at America we probably aren't too far from becoming one of these countries. We are slowly watching our leaders turn their back on God. It's scary to think about what kind of future our kids and grandchildren will have. I say all this to say that it's obvious that we have our fair share of fears and concerns today. But in the middle of all that uncertainty we have a promise  that can't be taken from us. We have the promise that Jesus is with us. While the disciples were in hiding Jesus comes and stands right in the middle of them and says, “Peace be with you.”

HOW DO WE HAVE THIS PEACE IN UNCERTAINTY?
Our scripture tells that the disciples were assembled together, “ for fear of the jews”. But Jesus, being risen from the dead, came and stood in their midst and said,  “ Peace.” After he said peace be with you he showed them his hands and his side. Why did he do that? He was changing their focus. They were assembled together in fear of what the jews would do to them. Jesus showing them his hands and his side reminded them of what he did for them! When they saw his hands and his side they were glad. No matter what we are facing, or what our situation looks like, we will find peace in looking at the hands and side of Jesus! Those hands were nailed to a cross his side pierced with a spear for your sins! For everything you ever faced, everything that ever killed you dreams and everything that ever hindered you from being who God called you to be was nailed to that cross, that body was pierced and from it flowed the water and blood, for you! So in this uncertain life and ever changing fears and threats, gas prices may got to $10 a gallon, who knows. One price will always be the same, that the son of God died for our sins, and one thing about that price will always be true, that this price was paid!

So if Jesus is willing to walk into the middle of our fears and uncertainty and be with us in it, then he is willing to give us a purpose in the middle of it also.

As we continue to John 20:21 let's take a look at being sent by Jesus.

2

Being Sent by Jesus

John 20: 21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

After reassuring the disciples of what he did for them by showing them his hands and side he says again, “ Peace to you!” I think it's important in this passage that we keep our focus on the hands and side of Jesus. It is in focusing on the hands and side and Jesus that we find our purpose, that is showing the world the hands and side of Jesus. To show them what Jesus has done for them. To change their focus from what the world can do to them to what God has done for them. Jesus says here “As the Father has sent Me”, we have to ask, how did the father send him? The answer to this is found in John 1, 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Jesus was sent right into the darkness, to be a light in the middle of it. To shine in a way that the darkness does not even comprehend. When light enters a room the darkness does not even know what happens it just finds itself pushed back by the light. This is how Jesus was sent. Jesus was sent into a world full of fear and rebellion, a world lost in darkness. He was sent to be the light not “a” light but the light of men, likewise Jesus is sending us into this dark world  to be the light. So in the middle of all our fears and worries and circumstances that change like the direction of the wind. Let us stay focused on what never changes, the hands and side of jesus. Lets show those hands to the world!

If Jesus is willing to send us just as God sent him, then he is willing to give us power to carry that mission out!

Coming now to our last point found in john 20:22-23 we will look at the commission our lord gives us.

3

The Power to Bring Change

John 20: 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

The word breathe in this passage in Greek is (em-foo-sah'-o) which means to “breathe or to blow at or on someone or something”. This was a foreshadowing of what would come on the day of Pentecost when they were all gathered together in the upper room and a mighty wind blew on the disciples and they all received the Holy Ghost. This is when the church became empowered and began to march out into the world bringing with it the greatest change the world has ever seen, that mankind could be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This event is recorded in Acts 2.

Jesus knew that the church would need power to fulfill the calling that is placed upon it. The first step in going into the world and doing the work of the ministry of reconciliation is to receive the Holy Spirit. To depart from the works of the flesh ( Galatians 5 19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries) and embrace the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control.) In doing so we become not only eligible to do the work of the Kingdom Of God, but also empowered to do the work of The Kingdom Of God. Focusing on the fruits of the spirit brings our focus to the things of God. We begin to align our desires with righteousness, master our thought to obedience to Christ, our ambition to the Gospel, our hearts to the lost in sin which is in rebellion to God.

This drawing near to God brings us to a place of commission. Verse 23 says 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” We look at this and think “ How can I forgive or retain sins?” we have to look at how forgiveness of sin happens. Romans 10: 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This can only happen for an individual at the coming to Faith in Jesus Christ. When we become Christians, our purpose is to lead others to faith in Jesus. We need to be aware that when we are silent about the gospel we retain sins by not giving people the opportunity to repent, which can only happen by hearing the Gospel. My prayer is that you allow God to empower you today to allow your heart to be drawn toward him and that you surrender your heart to that calling and be EMPOWERED TO BRING CHANGE to a world desperately in need of the change that only God can provide!

Conclusion

We have discussed having Peace in uncertainty, what it means to be sent by Jesus and how to have the power to bring change to the world around us.

If God is willing to call us to such a task as bringing change to the world, then he is willing to be with us through it.