To Believe John 20:19-21 (Message)
19-20 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
20-21 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”
To say that Jesus of Nazareth was the most influential man who ever lived is almost trite. Nearly two thousand years after he was brutally executed by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God. That includes 77 percent of the U.S. population, according to a Gallup Poll.
The teachings of Jesus have shaped the entire world and continue to do so.”
In the end, there are only two hard historical facts about Jesus of Nazareth upon which everyone has to agree: the first is that Jesus was a Jew who led a popular Jewish movement in Palestine at the beginning of the first century c.e.; the second is that Rome crucified him for doing so.
By themselves these two facts cannot provide a complete portrait of the life of a man who lived two thousand years ago. But when combined with all we know about the tumultuous era in which Jesus lived - and thanks to the Romans, we know a great deal. We know that the Jesus of history was a Rebel and a Revolutionary.
Consider this: Crucifixion was a punishment that Rome reserved almost exclusively for the crime of sedition. The plaque the Romans placed above Jesus' head as he writhed in pain - "King of the Jews" - was called a titulus and, despite common perception, was not meant to be sarcastic.
Every criminal who hung on a cross received a plaque declaring the specific crime for which he was being executed. Jesus' crime, in the eyes of Rome, was striving for kingly rule (i.e. treason), the same crime for which nearly every other messianic aspirant of the time was killed. Nor did Jesus die alone.
The gospels claim that on either side of Jesus hung men who in Greek are called lestai, a word often rendered into English as "thieves" but that actually means "bandits" and was the most common Roman designation for an insurrectionist or rebel. I have known some bandits and I have known some rebels. By definition a ban·dit is a noun that means a robber or outlaw belonging to a gang and typically operating in an isolated or lawless area. And a rebel is a noun that means a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler.
Oh On Calvary’s Hill we see three rebels on a hill covered in crosses, each cross bearing the racked and bloodied body of a man who dared defy the will of Rome.
There have been some who have sought to portray Jesus as a political revolutionary. They have sought his endorsement, if you will, of their own political causes. In response, more traditional Christians have denied the revolutionary intent of Jesus, affirming that his efforts were spiritual in focus, and basically irrelevant to matters of governing and economics.
In my opinion, both sides of this argument miss the point of Jesus’ message and ministry. To be sure, he was not your run of the mill political revolutionary. Nor was Jesus a New Age Ted Talking Spiritual Guru/Bandit. Nor was he the a typical Rebel with weapons and military attack.
In fact, when the authorities came to arrest him on the night prior to his crucifixion, Jesus stopped the efforts of his disciples to fight with weapons.
He asked those who sought to seize him, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary,...that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me?” (22:53). In the original Greek of this passage, Jesus said, “Am I a Bandit...?” Yet the Greek word for thief/Bandit (lestes) was used in this time for a guerilla movement that sought to fight against the Romans (see Josephus, Jewish War, 2.13.3).
So our translation properly renders the sense of Jesus’ question. He was asking, “Am I your typical revolutionary?” The answer, of course, was “No.”
But, though Jesus refrained from armed, political opposition to Roman authority, he was indeed a revolutionary in another sense.
He proclaimed the kingdom of God, hailing God alone as the one true King over heaven and earth. He called his followers, as citizens/members of God’s kingdom, to live in a radically different way on earth.
Rather than hating their enemies, they were to love them.
Rather than seeking revenge, the disciples of Jesus were to turn the other cheek.
No ordinary revolutionary would say things like this.
But Jesus was advancing a deeper and more pervasive revolution, the overthrow of the kingdom of the Evil One and the victory of the kingdom of God.
As followers of Jesus today, we should surely be concerned with and involved in matters of governing. But we misconstrue the revolution of Jesus if we make it primarily about a political agenda, no matter which one we prefer.
Rather, we are to revolt against the values of this fallen world, choosing instead to live by the standards of God’s kingdom and not Party agenda.
Rather than seeking our own good, Supply Economics we are to seek what’s best for others.
Rather than seeking revenge and hunting down the Axis of evil, we are to forgive.
Rather than seeking to dominate on the world stage, we are to serve the lesser of theses.
Rather than being consumed with hatred, we are to be people who love and teach love.
Yes there are three R’s of being a Revolutionary of God. Yes there are 3 R’s of being a Resurrected Disciple of Jesus that you need to understand.
So this morning I want you to understand that when in out text when Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” He was sending his disciples out just Like he is sending you out this morning to be revolutionaries.
1) Jesus’s Revolutionaries are Reviving.
So many of us think of the grave and the cross as the final step in the mission and ministry of Jesus. But the truth of the matter is that the ‘Cross’ was just the beginning. The Truth is that it wasn’t until the Jesus Claimed victory over the grave that real ministry real liberation could begin. You see before Jesus went to Calvary the disciples like everyone else where worried about Death, But God through Jesus proved that not even Death could claim his power. What Jesus wanted to do was Possible only in the absence of Roman fear.
2) Jesus Revolution was Re-claiming.
A lot of folks are worrying about Jesus and the Religious elite. Alot of the issues here is the three ruling groups in town during the time of Jesus. These Powerful but clueless groups of religious know-it-alls were very dangerous.
The word Pharisee means “pure,” or “separated,” and was an apt term for this group of ultra-Orthodox men who distanced themselves from the unrighteous while they established many extraneous commandments in connection with their pursuit of holiness. In the time of Jesus, there were several thousand Pharisees in Israel led by two main schools of philosophy. The Pharisees also favored the rich over the poor because of the prevailing attitude that poverty was a sign of the curse of God, while prosperity was believed to show the approval of God on one's life.
Unlike the Pharisees, who were made up of both rabbis and influential lay people, the Sadducees were priests who controlled the Temple in Jerusalem, the heart of Jewish worship. The Sadducees also had a group within them known as the Herodians, who had ties to King Herod, and sought to return of the Herods to full control of the land.
While the Sadducees were few in number, their control of the Temple, along with their wealth, gave them an important position of authority within...The Sanhedrin
The third group Sanhedrin refers to a religious court. In the time of Christ, there were two Sanhedrins operating in Jerusalem, the first of which was a 23-member court run by the Sadducees that handled local affairs. And Its larger counterpart, the Great Sanhedrin, was comprised of 70 elders with a president, who in the time of Jesus was Gamaliel. The Great Sanhedrin functioned much like a combination of the Senate and Supreme Court, and most of its members at the time of the Crucifixion were Pharisees.
But all these groups had gotten off track and where no longer following God but had gotten caught up in the politics of the day in the church logistics. They had forgotten the God they were suppose to serve they had forgotten that it was the people they where working for. Jesus came to reclaim the Law of God for Gods people and not Rome. In other Words unlike George Bush Jesus wanted to bring the church back from God bless America and not where else to God bless everybody everywhere.
3) Lastly, Jesus Revolution was a Revolution to get folks to Re-member.
The Problem with many in the Church today and during the Time of Jesus is they had forgotten the God we serve. We used to have it all, didn’t we? In such a blessed nation, it’s obviously very easy to take things granted. It’s also easy to trust in our own strength, wealth, and accomplishments. We forget what it cost our founders and early American patriots to form this republic.
We have also forgotten much of the history that has under-girded America; therefore, society’s tone has gone from spiritual to secular. We have gone from having a reverence for Almighty God to being complacent at best and hostile toward God at worst.
Pride comes before a fall, and this country is tumbling quickly.
When President Abraham Lincoln, perhaps one of the most well-versed presidents in the Holy Bible, resided in the White House, he gave his now famous Thanksgiving proclamation in November 1863.
Lincoln saw that the country was showing signs of comfort and complacency that went hand in hand with spiritual apathy.
As some Christians believe the terrorist attacks on 9-11-2001 were part of God’s judgment on America, Lincoln believed the Civil War was God’s judgment on the nation for its sinfulness. Here is a partial text from Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation:
And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations, like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world; …We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God.
We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace; …Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient …too proud to pray to the God that made us! It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
Imagine what our founders would say if they could see America today.
Our nation reflects the Church and is suffering because we have grown lukewarm. Jesus is standing outside knocking on the door asking to be invited in (Revelation 3:20). We must set an example for unbelievers by repenting of our individual sins and our apathy. We must then recommit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim His truth to a dying culture, regardless of current trends and the popularity of moral relativism. Next, we need to decide if we will live our lives seeking the approval of God or of man. Who are we serving? The choice is ours.
Will You follow God will you follow the mission given to Jesus:
God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”
Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”
