Jesus Christ is Sending Us

John 20:19-21 ESV

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, 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 am sending you.’”

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – had been crucified on a cross for our sins, and now he had risen from the dead, just as he said he would be, and just as the Scriptures had prophesied that he would be. And now, over a period of 40 days, I believe, he was appearing to people and to his disciples in his risen body. But his risen body allowed him to appear behind locked doors. But it must have been a physical body to some extent, for Thomas was able to touch it.

And he said to them, “Peace be with you.” He said it twice. So, what kind of peace? The word means “to join, tie together into a whole; wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together; God’s gift of wholeness.” (source: biblehub.com interlinear). So, this has to do with Christians being joined together in wholeness, which also means soundness, which has to do with integrity and with holy and godly living, so it means to be spiritually healthy and whole according to the teachings under the New Covenant.

So, this wasn’t just any old kind of peace he was talking about. Yes, I believe he was encouraging them to not fear, because he suddenly appeared before them when the doors were locked, and since he followed the first “peace be with you” by showing them his hands and his side. So he certainly was speaking of a peace of mind, a quietness of spirit. But this was also a common Jewish farewell in the sense of the health (welfare) of an individual, but not just physical welfare, but wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.

So, I believe his “peace be with you” encompassed more than just, “Don’t be afraid. See, it is me.” It encompassed this wholeness of mind, body, and spirit, so it covered the mental, the physical, and the spiritual, as well as the emotional. And why? Not only for that moment, to calm their fears, but for the future, for he was sending them out to do the kinds of things that he did, and to speak the same messages that he spoke, knowing that they would also receive the same results, some of which meant being hated by others.

And now I want to focus the attention here on Jesus’ next words, for he said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” So, how did the Father send Jesus? In what manner? What was Jesus Christ sent to do? Well, he was sent to die on a cross for our sins, and we aren’t literally called to do the same thing, nor could we. But we are called to lay our lives down to see others be saved from their sins, and it may cost us our lives, literally. For when we are teaching what Jesus taught, we will be hated as he was, too.

So, if Jesus is sending us out in like manner as God the Father sent him out, then our lives, our witness, and our testimonies should all reflect the character of Christ and the purpose for which he was sent by the Father, which was for the salvation of human lives. For we are not here on this earth to please ourselves but to please God the Father and to reach other people for Jesus Christ and for their deliverance from slavery to sin so that they might walk in holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord.

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Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

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