First Mennonite Church
January 12, 2025
Restored to Be Sent
Text: John 20:19-23
Have you ever been cheated or felt let down? Maybe, by someone you believed truly loved you, or by someone who sold you something: a car, some tool, or something else which shortly after you bought it stopped working or became worthless?
When we bought Lilian’s car, we were encouraged (almost pressured) to buy an extended warranty for it. Not long after we purchased the car, there was a problem with the front wheel bearing. I took it to the dealership who said the repair and a loan car would be covered by the warranty. And so, they proceeded to get me a loan car to use while they got parts and did the repair work. On the afternoon of the second day, I was called, while here in church, urging me to take back the loan car or I would end up paying in full the three-day rental. That is because neither the repair nor the loan car will be covered by the warranty. But to make things worse, when I went to get my car back at the dealership, they told me they could not release it to me for safety reasons because the car needed an “urgent” replacement of the four tires, which was being done at that time. I had to buy new tires, pay two days of car rental, and still no repair to the car.
Feeling cheated or suddenly realizing that something has gone utterly wrong can make anyone angry, fearful, or suspicious of others. Very often, the people who are hard to relate to, or who seem as harsh or hushed are people who have been hurt, let down, or abused. And who can blame them? As Jasmine commented to us the other day, “Hurt people hurt people!”
When Jesus called his disciples they saw what Jesus did and heard what he said for three and half years. They were thrilled and developed a sense of expectations for greater things down the road. They saw themselves as lucky, and privileged, and dreamed the day when they were going to take part in something grand—the kingdom of God, Jesus had been proclaiming for over three years. Seeing themselves involved in something they had awaited from God to fulfill to his people—his giving of the Messiah who would liberate his people from all oppression and evil, was a marvelous thought. In Matthew 20, the mother of James and John, came to Jesus to ask for special positions in his kingdom to come. She petitioned Jesus, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
However, sometime in the third year, Jesus began to tell his disciples about something they were not happy to hear. He began telling them he was going to suffer and die at the hands of the authorities. This prompted Peter to rebuke Jesus. “Never, ever should this happen to you,” Peter said to Jesus. And indeed, the dreaded day came when before the very eyes of his disciples, Jesus was arrested, beaten, publicly humiliated, and then crucified. They saw his body being put into a tomb. They felt their dreams and hopes were also buried that Good Friday. And what followed is that they also buried themselves behind locked doors. With their spirit crushed, the disciples feared for their lives. They could not see anything to hope for nor
They must have felt let down, cheated, and who knows, possibly angry too. What had Jesus done to them of raising their hope for something grand and beautiful only to have it all disappear? Even if most of the disciples’ downcast state was due to misunderstanding Jesus in the first place, their fear was real. Their disillusionment was real. Their hopeless state felt real like being in a tomb themselves.
It is in that state of complete despair that Jesus comes to them. The disciples were filled with fear. Fear paralyzes. Fear makes the bones dry, as the dry bones in Ezekiel’s vision. But in exchange of fear, the Lord gives them his peace. Peace dissipates fear. As evidence that he is the same Jesus they saw being crucified and buried, he shows them his hands and feet, possibly still swollen due to perforation of the nail in them. Their shattered hopes and doubt-filled hearts are once again revived once they see the indubitable evidence borne in Jesus’ body. So, once their fears were overcome by Jesus’ peace, they were commissioned. “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you,” Jesus tells them. It is important for us to remember that Jesus did not only want to restore faith in his disciples. Jesus did not only want his disciples to know that he was alive and to live confidently in the world that wages war against Jesus and his people. Jesus wanted to restore his disciples and send them into the world just as his Father did him. Jesus called to send. But knowing that Jesus was alive and having his peace was not enough to carry on the task. Therefore, Jesus breathed upon them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” And so, once Jesus’ peace had dissipated their fear and once the Holy Spirit had come upon them, the disciples were empowered to be sent as the Father sent Jesus.
The Spirit of God is what gives life and empowers those he calls and sends to spread the gospel. Just as in Ezekiel’s vision, even after the bones had been joined together and flesh and sinew had covered the bones, the people resembled a land filled with corpses. This inert and dead-like army only became living beings capable of possessing God’s gift to them.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our journey into this New Year, I want us a congregation to become intentional in sharing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the next couple of weeks, beginning today, I will be sharing this topic to encourage us all to make a concerted effort to share Jesus, his word, love, and gift of eternal life with our friends, neighbors, and relatives.
For the moment, consider your life before God and ask yourself, “What has time done to my life in the spirit?” What fears have crept into my heart? What disappointments have held a grip on me? Behind what doors might I be hiding? Let me remind you, just as the Lord came to his disappointed and fearful disciples he has come close to you today. Only hear his gentle voice telling you, “Peace be with you.” Therefore, be restored. Receive his peace.
Also, if you look around in this place, ask yourself: “What has the passing of time brought upon us? What is missing?” It might be on this that the Lord is also telling us, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. God and make disciples.” But as we saw, Jesus proceeded by breathing upon his disciples. And he also is breathing upon us today and telling us, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
As a congregation, the Lord wants to revive our spirit. The Lord wants to restore our hope and dreams of being his messengers in this town, to our friends and relatives.
I do not doubt God’s grace is upon each of us. We have been given the gift of faith to believe in Jesus, as Lord and Savior. He has proven to us that he is indeed alive. He gives us comfort, peace, joy, and the assurance that we belong to him. But let us not forget that he is also sending us as the Father sent him into the world. He is sending us to make disciples of all nations and to teach them everything he has taught us. “Surely, I am with you always until the very end of age,” he promises. But the mandate we have can only be carried out when we have been empowered by God’s Spirit and when we yield to God’s Spirit.
I want to ask you to bow with me in prayer and let us hear the Lord’s voice telling us, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit” The Lord is real and alive, and is here with us today. Amen!