John chapter 20 and I will begin
reading in verse 19. Johnny was correct this morning
when you said we have a very gracious church and when you're
up here full of nerves and It's appreciated. John chapter 20. Perhaps that's because we have
a very gracious preacher. John chapter 20 verse 19. Then
the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when
the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for
fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst. and saith
unto them, peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed
unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. Title of the message is Jesus
or Christ in the midst. And you know, I love this story.
And really, I think that this story is the epitome of the entire
scripture, Christ in the midst. Because you all know from Genesis
to Revelation, is about Christ in the midst. And so tonight
I want to first begin with giving you a background of what led
up to the events that we just read. So three days prior to
this, our Lord is in an upper room with his disciples and he
institutes what we call today the Lord's Supper. After that,
Judas Iscariot leaves and betrays the Lord Jesus Christ, and then
a little while later, our Lord is arrested in the Garden of
Gethsemane. He's brought before Ananias, the priest, then he's
brought before the high priest Caiaphas, Both of whom, make
no mistake, both of these two wanted the Lord dead. In fact,
they really began to plot earlier in his ministry, but really hammered
it down when our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. And they
wanted to kill not only Christ, but they wanted to kill Lazarus
as well. So our Lord is taken before Pilate. Pilate finds him
innocent. Then he's taken before Herod. Herod sends him back to Pilate,
and then Pilate, at a last-ditch effort to try to release the
Lord, offers unto the crowd Barabbas. Now, it's interesting, because
Barabbas was a terrorist, and he was hated by the people. But
of Christ, what did they say? Crucify. You know, and I, apart
from the grace of God, If we were there, would we have been
standing in the crowd crying, crucify him? Apart from the grace
of God, I would imagine so. Because you think about the people
that were there. How many of these people who were in Jerusalem
actually heard at some point our Lord speaking? Obviously,
they had in the beginning some knowledge of him because remember,
seven days before this, they had lined the streets with palm
leaves celebrating his entrance into Jerusalem. And now they're
crying, crucify him. So then after they do that, after
he's pronounced to be crucified, he is beaten, he is had a crown of thorns placed
on his head, and he's nailed to a cross. And amazingly, when
he's on the cross, he prays, Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do. Then there's things that our
Lord said on the cross, and finally, when he was ready to give up
his life, he did. It wasn't taken from him. He released it. Bible says he
released his spirit. And then his body was taken off
the cross by Nicodemus. You remember the story of Nicodemus
in John 3, 16, you must be born again. Nicodemus and Joseph of
Arimathea took his body off of the cross and then they put it
into a tomb where he laid. Three days later, just like he
said he would, the Lord rose from the grave. And then that
evening, the apostles had heard rumors, the ladies had seen him,
but they were, in the evening, afraid for their lives, behind
locked doors, probably trying to figure out what they were
gonna do next. And all of a sudden, our Lord
appears in front of them. And you know what? Their lives
were never, ever the same again, ever. Back in the 1800s, this
is a well-documented story. Back in the late 1800s, there
was a professor, a Harvard professor by the name of Simon Greenleaf,
Dr. Simon Greenleaf, and he was the
leading authority of legal evidence, how to gather legal evidence,
and put together a case in front of a court of law. He literally
wrote the book. In fact, they still use his book
to this day at Harvard. But he was an atheist. He was
a very vocal atheist. So one day, three Christian students
challenged him. They said, Dr. Greenleaf, we
challenge you to use your method of collecting legal evidence
and present to us and prove that Jesus Christ did not raise from
the dead. He said, that's foolish. Wouldn't
do it. So they kept pestering him and trying to talk him into
it. Other students who were believers
got behind it. The word spread around the school,
and finally he agreed. So he said, give me six months.
You won't like the results, but I will prove to you with legal
evidence that Jesus Christ did not raise from the dead. So over
that period, it's written that he used the scriptures. He used
other documents. He used some historians, like
the works of Josephus, and studied what was going on. So six months
later, he gets in front of the class, a very full class. There
were students from all over the school who attended. Got up,
put his notes down, and said, after my investigation, I can
say without a shadow of a doubt, with proof that would hold up
in the court of law, that Jesus Christ did, in fact, raise from
the dead. And so he went on about certain
things and some of his evidence, and he said, the most compelling
evidence to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is found
in the lives of the apostles and disciples after his resurrection. In fact, I'll read to you what
he said. These are in his own words. He
said, something happened to that small band of frightened and
humiliated men. Because in less than two months
later, at the very threat of death, they stormed Jerusalem
boldly with the message that Christ was risen indeed. And
he said, even in death, they never faltered from that message. Flip over a few pages to Acts
chapter two in verse 22. Peter, speaking here. Two months before this, Peter
had denied the Lord three times in front of a servant girl. Peter,
who hid. Peter who ran. Now, this is two
months after the resurrection. Here he is speaking. Ye men of
Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determinant
counsel. and for knowledge of God, ye
have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom
God hath raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be holden by it." What a difference. What a difference. And the reason
is because Christ arose. and was standing in their midst.
So tonight, for the next few minutes, I wanna look at this
narrative. that we read, and I wanna look at three blessings
that we have in Christ. Now, there's a lot more than
three blessings, but I figured that would be the best way for
us to be able to get out of here by about nine o'clock, if I just
do three. Then if I did more, we'd be here
till Tuesday, maybe even next month. No, but I'm just gonna
talk about three blessings that we have in Christ. First, in
Christ, we have peace. Verse 19, back in our text. Then
the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when
the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for
fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said
unto them, peace be unto you. And I think it's important for
us to understand that those words, peace be unto you, are tied hand
in hand with what our Lord said on the cross when he said, it
is finished. Romans 5, 1 says, therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through faith. Every single one of us, every
single person who has ever been born was born in sin. Every single person who has been
born was at enmity with God, at war with God. But for God's
elect, he became our substitute. I think everybody has their favorite
verse. I have some favorite verses,
but I think one of the greatest verses of the scripture is 2
Corinthians 5.21. I'll read it to you. He made him who knew no sin,
sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him. Let me unpack those 15 words.
He, being God the Father, made him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to
be sin for us who knew no sin. You say, well, what do you mean
he made Jesus sin? Only in one sense. He, God, treated
him, the Lord Jesus Christ, like he committed every sin of every
person that God chose to save. But make no mistake, hanging
on that cross, he was the Holy Lamb of God. hanging on that
cross, he was without spot, he was without blemish, he was God
Almighty on that cross. And God treated him, like, let
me make this a little bit more practical. God treated him like
he lived my life, lived your life. God treated him because of all of the sin that
I've ever committed, and then God turns around and looks at
me like I have committed none of them. Righteousness. Justification. You know, We call ourselves,
and rightly so, we call ourselves sinners saved by grace, because
that's what we are, right? I mean, all of us, we're sinners
saved by grace. But you know, the reality is
God doesn't see us that way. God doesn't see us as sinners
saved by grace. God doesn't look at us and see our sin. Our sin
is as far as the east is from the west. God sees us as his. God sees us as the bride of Christ.
God sees us as his chosen, his adopted children. That's pretty
amazing. Why? Because it is finished. The Bible says that God commended
his love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Now the word peace that our Lord
used here in the text is the word shalom. You've heard that
word before. And that word shalom has several
meanings. One of those meanings is a calm
in the midst of the storm. I mean, because before Christ
appeared to those disciples and apostles in that upper room,
they were in a storm. They were, as I said earlier,
in fear for their lives, their leader Their friend, they thought
was dead. What they thought was going to
happen. Our Lord setting up a kingdom seemed shattered. Their whole
life had been turned upside down. They were in a storm. And our
Lord calmed them in the midst of their storm. Have you ever
been in a storm? Emotional, sometimes physical, sometimes financial. You know, that's the same Lord
that we have in our lives today. I think of the story of the disciples. Remember, they were on the boat
when the storm came and our Lord was sleeping and they were They
were sure that they were going to die. And I, and I remember,
you know, those men, some of them were experienced fishermen.
I mean, they'd been on, uh, the sea of Galilee before, which
is known for having tremendous storms. So these, these were
not novice people on the boat. So the magnitude of this storm
must have been tremendous. They run to our Lord, wake him
up and say, Lord, we perish. And he gets up, looks at the
storm and says, peace, be still, peace. And again, the same Lord
who calmed the sea, same Lord who calmed the disciples in the
upper room is the same Lord that abides in us. In Christ, we have
peace. Number two, in Christ, we have
joy. So before the Lord appeared,
there was fear, There was heartache, disappointment, but after he
appears, there's joy. And you know, I think one of
the reasons that there was joy is because at that moment that
our Lord appeared, they had to have realized that everything
that Christ had told them over those last three years was absolutely
true. Everything he said was true.
Now, we know that truth is truth regardless of if anybody believes
it or not, right? Truth is still truth. If somebody
doesn't believe it, it doesn't make it any less truth. And,
you know, we live in a very strange society these days. Those of
you who are a little older and look back how, you know, and
even when I remember it younger, like, you know, in my teens and
in my twenties, my parents said, boy, this world is crazy. Turned
upside down. I can't believe it. It was much
calmer when I was young, but you know, we know things have
changed a lot, but God's truth has not changed. God said thou
shall not kill. So we have some in society say,
well, yeah, but that's true. However, if it's an unborn baby,
that's a different story. And this is where it really gets
crazy. You know, we live in a day where a biological male can say,
you know what, I really don't feel like a male, I feel like
a female. So I'm gonna be a female. And then some people accept that
as truth. I heard this within the last
two weeks. It was about two weeks ago. Somebody
said, you know, Jesus never taught against homosexuality. My response
was, well, first of all, yes, he did. Second of all, why don't
you look in Genesis to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Because
God, the father, God, the son, and God, the Holy spirit were
all there in agreement about what was going to happen. People
look at the old Testament, like it was just God, the father,
but the Holy spirit, the father, and the son are one. and always
in agreement. So my point is truth is truth.
Whether we believe it or not, it doesn't matter. It's still
truth. But the reality is a believer, there is great peace in the truth. There really is. So now back
to the narrative, as our Lord appears to them and they realize
that all that he had told them was true, there was peace. And you know, I was raised in
church and I understand that you can hear something over and
over again and not believe it. God has to open up our hearts,
quickens us, brings us alive. Because you think about these
Jewish men, all of these Jewish men, all of the Jews that were
in that upper room, all of those disciples, they had heard the
prophets and the words of the prophets their entire life. Like
Isaiah, who had said that the Messiah would be rejected. They
were taught that. and that the Messiah would be
killed and that the Messiah would raise again on the third day.
They'd heard that their whole lives. And then for three years,
our Lord was telling them that. They didn't really understand.
And the reason that I think and I'm This is what I think is that
if they really understood and they really believed what he
was saying, they wouldn't have been locked in an upper room.
They would have been camped right outside that tomb, waiting for
him to come out that Sunday morning. But as people, we falter. They understood when they saw
the Lord that everything that he said, I believe everything
that he said was true. And you know, again, as humans,
we falter, because I can say, you know, I believe the scriptures,
you know, I believe what God says, but I can honestly tell
you that I don't always live like it, which is why there's
a prayer that I pray constantly. Lord, I believe, but help my
unbelief. So the Lord Jesus Christ brings
peace. Christ is sufficient. His blood
has cleansed our sins. He supplies the needs that we
have today in the here and now, and he's prepared a home for
us in heaven. Christ brings joy. And then lastly,
in Christ, excuse me, we have hope. Now I'm going to, if you
want to turn to Luke chapter 24, verse 13, and that narrative,
I'm not going to read it, but I'm going to tell you what it
says so you can read it. later on if you'd like. So this event
takes place, excuse me, the very same day that the Lord appeared
to the apostles in the upper room. This is the day that the
Lord rose from the grave. And so there's two disciples.
And remember, there's a difference between an apostle and a disciple.
Disciples were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apostles were
the 12. So there's two disciples that
are walking down the road to Emmaus. And they're discouraged. And they're talking about the
events that had transpired over the last three days. They're disheartened and they're
just in dismay over what happened. And so the Lord, excuse me, comes
up behind them in disguise. Now I say in disguise, the Bible
tells us that their eyes were blinded as to who he was. So
the Lord walks up to them and says, what is it that you're
talking about? And why are you so sad? In Cleophas,
one of the disciples says, are you a stranger in town? Do you
not know what happened? And he tells them about, you
know, the Lord Jesus and that he was arrested and that he was
crucified and that he was in the tomb. And now there's rumors
that he's risen, but nobody has seen him. Then our Lord, he stops
them. Yeah, they lost their hope. They
lost their hope, those two disciples. Their hope was that the Lord
Jesus Christ was going to overthrow the Roman government and that
he was going to set up Israel to rule the nation. That's what
their hope was. And now that Christ had been
crucified, their hope was shattered. And our Lord says to them, oh
foolish and slow of heart, And in verse 27 in that text, he
begins to expound the scriptures, Christ begins to expound the
scriptures beginning with Moses and going through the prophets
to show them all things concerning himself. So that's Christ. So we preach Christ and him crucified.
Here's Christ preaching Christ. Wouldn't you have liked to heard
that? I've heard some really good preaching in my day, but
I would have loved to hear that. Christ preaching Christ. And
so then they're sitting at the dinner table and our Lord blesses
the food and he breaks the bread and he unveils himself to them. And the Bible says that their
hearts burned. Where there was defeat, there
was now victory. Where there was discouragement,
now there's hope. Christ had come to redeem his
people, set up his heavenly kingdom, not an earthly kingdom that's
temporary, a heavenly kingdom that is forever. You know, we have our hopes. We all have our hopes. But God's
plans are so much greater than our hopes. So in Christ, we have
peace, we have joy, and we have hope. Christ is all we need. I read a story, and I'll close
with this. I read a story a long time ago. And I don't know that
if it's true. I think it was a parable. I'm not sure what it was. It
was written within this century, I think. But I think it was,
again, I'm not sure if it's true. I think it was written as a parable.
But it's a really good story to illustrate a point. And you've
probably heard it before. There was a father, a widower,
and he had a son. And he and his son were very,
very close. And they loved fine art. They loved collecting art. And
they were of well means, and they collected art all over the
whole country. They had amassed this beautiful
collection that was just worth millions. And so World War II
comes, and the son is called off to war. He's drafted to go
serve in the European campaign. Several months later, the father
gets news that his son was killed in combat. Just broken hearted. About a year after that, a young
man came to his door and said, sir, you don't know me, but I
was friends with your son. In fact, he saved my life at
one point. And he said, he told me of your love for art. and
how you collected art. He said, I've been somewhat of
an artist my whole life, nothing like the masters that you had.
But he said, I painted a picture, a portrait of your son, and I
wanted you to have it. So he gave him the portrait,
and the father just loved that picture. In fact, he took his
Picasso off of the mantle, and he put the picture of his son
and cherished it. Years went by and the father
passed away. And when the father passed away,
there's going to be this great auction. And they were going
to auction off all of the works of art that he had. And people
came from all over the world to try and bid on some of these
pieces of work. Well, the first painting that
went up for auction was the portrait of the sun. So the auctioneer
stood up there and said, this is the first portrait. And he
could hear grumblings in the crowd. And he asked if anybody
would bid on it. Nobody would bid on it. And he
asked again, if, if somebody would bid on it. And then a few
people started making comments. This is not what we're here for.
We're, you know, bring out the master's works and said, I have
to, this is the first one to go. And finally, the gardener
who had worked for the family for years and years, bid $5 on
the work of art auctioneer says, any else, anybody else once,
twice sold. So he sells the work of art.
And then he takes his book and he starts to walk off the platform.
And they're like, wait, wait, wait, there's still more. There's,
there's all these other paintings. He said, I was given specific
instructions not to reveal this, but the father had said that
whoever buys the son gets them all. And I say that to say, whoever
has the son, whoever has the son of God has everything. Everything. that we could possibly
need. Christ in the midst. Amen.