Even So I am Sending You

“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.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:19-22 ESV)

Jesus Christ, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – had been put to death on a cross by his enemies, although he had done no wrong, but because of the good that he did and that he taught, and because he claimed that he is God, the Christ. But as he had said, he did not remain dead, but the Father resurrected him from the dead on the third day. And then he appeared to many people, including to his disciples, over a course of 40 days before he ascended back to heaven to be with the Father.

The first thing about this that is standing out to me is that, even though the doors were locked, that did not prevent Jesus Christ from entering into the place where the disciples were holding up for fear of the Jews. And no amount of seeming obstacles or roadblocks will ever prevent our Lord from entering into our situations and fearful circumstances, either. He knows no bounds, other than he cannot sin, and so nothing will stop him from acting whenever he wants to act on our behalf in our difficult situations.

I like it that the first thing he said to them was “Peace be with you.” Don’t we need the Lord to speak peace into our difficult circumstances? Now, this does not mean that we will have external peace and that all our troubles will suddenly disappear. But we can have peace within even when everything around us is going haywire, because we put our trust in the Lord Jesus and we believe that he is completely sovereign and in control over all things. Now this doesn’t mean we will never feel fear, but that we can be at peace.

So, after he told them to be at peace, he showed them his hands and his side. He gave them evidence and assurance that he had indeed risen from the dead and that it was him who was standing before them. And sometimes when we might be faced with troubling circumstances our Lord may remind us of who he is and of what he is capable of and of the miracles he has performed in our lives in the past, and that he can do what he did then, only in our present circumstances. And that should give us inward peace.

And then he gave them an assignment, right in the middle of their storm. I love it! I can’t tell you how many times the Lord has done that with me, when despite my pain and suffering he puts me to work doing what he has called me to do, despite how I am feeling. For that gets my mind off of me and it gets my mind on obeying my Lord and on ministering to the needs of other people. For we are not always going to feel like serving the Lord, but that is when we need to serve him the most. For our dependency is on him.

So, despite the fact that there were people outside their walls of protection who wanted them all dead, the Lord Jesus sent them to go out into the world to share the message of the gospel of our salvation with the people, some of whom wanted them dead. And some of them they killed, too. So we are not promised that if we obey the Lord and if we tell the people what he tells us to tell them that we are going to be well liked. For Jesus said that we will be hated and persecuted and mistreated like they mistreated him.

But he doesn’t leave us on our own or to our own devices. If we are genuine believers in Jesus Christ, we have been given the Holy Spirit to live within us, and the Holy Spirit of God gives us counsel and help and encouragement and wisdom and strength and fortitude to do what God has called us to do, which we cannot do in our own power and strength and wisdom. For who enjoys being hated and mistreated and rejected? Not anyone I know. So the Spirit gives us the ability to do the work of the Lord despite rejections.

So, don’t ever let your circumstances prevent you from obeying and serving the Lord with your life. For Satan gets great pleasure when he convinces us that we cannot do what God has called us to do, or when he makes us fearful of being hated and rejected. But our Lord is stronger than Satan and he can do what no one else can do, both in us and through us, if our lives are surrendered to him and to doing his will despite our circumstances, and despite how we get treated, in return. So let the Lord strengthen you.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

And then go out into the world and proclaim the truth of the gospel that Jesus died on that cross so that we will die with him to sin and live to his righteousness, and so we will now live for him and no longer for self. Tell everyone that because Jesus died and was raised from the dead that we can now be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness via our obedience to him and to his commands.

But tell them, too, that it is not enough to just give lip service to the Lord Jesus. We must die with him to sin daily, by the Spirit, and we must now walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and righteousness, in moral purity, honesty, godliness, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For if sin is what we practice (habitually), and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we won’t have eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

I Will Call Upon the Lord

Words and music by Michael O'Shields

I will call upon the Lord

Who is worthy to be praised

So shall I be saved from my enemies

The Lord liveth and blessed be the Rock

And let the God of my salvation be exalted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZIigMiXfuE 

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