MORE THAN KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
John 20:19-21:19
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Pastor Brian Matherlee
Did you ever wonder where Jesus was when He wasn’t appearing to people after the Resurrection? My first guess is that He was in Paradise and would come and go from there. I conclude this because He told the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.”
Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions to help them in the early days following the Resurrection. They were usually huddled together behind closed doors for fear of what might happen to them because of their association with Jesus. It is just this very case when Jesus first appears to the majority of them.
1. He appeared so they would know their purpose (20:19-23)
Sent as Jesus was sent
a. Proclaim forgiveness (v.23) God forgives, we proclaim…and if people don’t hear how can they call on the Lord?
i. Romans 10:14, 15 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
b. Good works
i. that minister to needs
ii. that validates truth
c. Serve
i. wherever called
ii. whatever circumstance
2. He appeared so they would have unshakable confidence to believe (20:24-31)
a. Thomas was nowhere to be found after the crucifixion. He wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus first appeared to the women or to those gathered behind locked doors.
b. Thomas wasn’t going to be persuaded to buy into a story. He wanted personal proof. (This skepticism would never be included in a fabricated account.)
c. John tells us, the reader, that these appearances and miracles are recorded so we can believe. God is still active in the miracle business.
i. Illustration-Corrie Ten Boom tells of a time in the German death camp Ravensbruk during WWII. She had smuggled her Bible and a small bottle of liquid vitamins into her barracks. Her sister Betsy was sick and growing sicker but she demanded that Corrie first give a dose of vitamins to all the other sick in their barracks before she would accept any. Corrie tells that a strange thing was happening. The vitamin bottle was continuing to produce drops. It scarcely seemed possible, so small a bottle, so many doses a day. Now in addition to Betsy, a dozen others on our pier were taking it. My instinct was always to hoard it – Betsy was growing so very weak! But the others where ill as well. It was hard to say no to eyes that burned with fever, hands that shook with chill. I tried to save it for the very weakest – but even these soon numbered fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five…. And still, every time I tilted the little bottle, a drop appeared at the tip of the glass stopper. It just couldn’t be! I held it up to the light, trying to see how much was left, but the dark brown glass was too thick to see through. “There was a woman in the Bible,” Betsy said, “whose oil jar was never empty.” She turned tot it in the Book of Kings, the story of the poor widow of Zarephath who gave Elijah a room in her home: “The jar of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the works of Jehovah which he spoke by Elijah.” Well – but – wonderful things happen all through the Bible. It was one thing to believe that such things were possible thousands of years ago, another to have it happen now, to us, this very day. And yet it happened this day, and the next, and the next, until an awed little group of spectators stood around watching the drops fall onto the daily rations of bread. Many nights I lay awake in the shower of straw dust from the mattress above, trying to fathom the marvel of supply lavished upon us. “Maybe,” I whispered to Betsy, “only a molecule or two really gets through that little pinhole – and then in the air it expands!” I heard her soft laughter in the dark. “Don’t try too hard to explain it, Corrie, Just accept it as a surprise from a Father who loves you.” “The Hiding Place” (Corrie Ten Boom) pg. 202-203
ii. Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing.
That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Campolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Campolo, "After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing."
And then she said something incredibly profound.
She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed."
SOURCE: Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212.
3. He appeared to show what was possible (21:1-14)
a. After we have exhausted our efforts
b. When we allow ourselves to act in faith we find God’s catch is always greater than what we could do.
c. Jesus wants to show what’s possible when things are tough.
i. Life will always have challenges.
ii. We may feel many times overwhelmed and begin to think there will be no answer or solution. We will be tempted to act the way the world would act.
iii. Toney Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts and author of “Quiet Strength” writes about the tough times of life, “I think there are times when I believe God welcomes the circus into our lives to give us an opportunity to show there’s another way to live and respond to things.” (pg. 189)
iv. Christianity shows what’s possible with God when things aren’t perfect.
4. He appeared to call for unwavering love (21:15-19)
a. Here Peter is questioned about his love
i. He is questioned if his love is greater than others, (More than these) which reflects back to the proclamation that “if everyone else turns away” that he would not.
ii. He is questioned about the depth of his love. The Greek words used in this exchange are translated “love” and “know” in English but are actually different words in the Greek emphasizing that Jesus was challenging Peter beyond a casual or superficial level of dedication.
iii. How would we be questioned? Do we love Jesus more than at a superficial level?
iv. I’ve told the story before about the preacher who was walking in the country side and stopped by a farm house for a drink of water. The old farmer who lived there went out to talk to the preacher. As they were talking the preacher noticed that the barn had a weather vane on it that was spinning around in the wind. On the weather vane were the words "GOD IS LOVE". The preacher said to the man, "I don’t think that is a very good way to talk about God’s love. Are you saying that God’s love is Wishy Washy and changes depending on the way the wind blows?" " No, no" said the farmer. "That Weather Vane is saying, "No matter which way the wind blows, God is Love."
b. Peter is challenged and so are we to serve others. This is how deep love for Jesus is expressed.
i. We serve when others don’t deserve it
ii. We serve when we are tired & poured out
iii. We serve through inconvenience
iv. We serve with an eye on the cross & the empty tomb.
Conclusion
Which of these has spoken to you this morning?
• Do you need to be reminded of your purpose as a Christian?
• Do you need confidence that the way you’re going is the right way?
• Do you need to see the possibilities as God sees them?
• Do you need to deepen in your love of God and service?
