On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." John20:19-21
(We're still looking at the various "commissions" that Jesus issues at the end of Gospels and also from the start of Acts - particularly in the light of the Resurrection.)
There are two significant aspects to the commissioning in John:
Firstly there is the reaction that the appearance of the Resurrected Christ provokes: Joy and Peace. Church becomes a dull and unattractive when its members (you and me) lose the joy and peace that comes from knowing that Jesus is alive.
Joy because He overcame death and we don't have to be without Him. Peace because He was victorious over our sin and guilt. We don't have to fret or strain - Christ is with us and we can overcome because He faced the darkest pain that humanity could produce and overcame.
Joy and Peace is ours through Him.
If we lose our joy and peace it is because we have forgotten WHO He is and WHAT He has done.
Secondly there is a "vibe" or "style" in which we are sent - "As the Father sent me - I am sending you..." We are to go into the world as Jesus did:
- Ready to serve
- Gracious in love
- Not afraid to die - certain that Jesus will raise us into everlasting life.
We don't go into the world representing a tattered martyr - we go into the world in fellowship with a Risen Saviour who gives us Joy and Peace and empowers us to live like He did.
What are we waiting for?
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
