Turn back in our Bibles this
evening to John chapter 20. John chapter 20 and beginning
with verse 19 through verse 23. 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. Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you, as my father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins you remit, they
are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained. Now, for the last two Sunday
evenings, we've looked at the first 18 verses in this chapter,
which record our Lord's first appearance after His resurrection. And we know it was His first
appearance because Mark, in his gospel, tells us He appeared
first to Mary Magdalene. His appearance that we're looking
at tonight, I believe, was his fifth appearance to his disciples. He appeared first to Mary. We've
looked at that. Then in Matthew chapter 28, he
appeared to the women. Remember, there were women who
came with Mary Magdalene. And I pointed out that it seems
to me, at least, that when they came close to the tomb, When
Mary Magdalene saw that the stone was rolled away, she immediately
left and went to tell the disciples. The others, they left afterwards. And so he appeared to them secondly. Third, he appeared to Peter by
himself. And then fourthly, to the two
men on the road to Emmaus, the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus. And then here's the fifth appearance
of our Lord after his resurrection. There's 11 recorded. He may have
appeared many more times, but there are 11 recorded appearances
in the word of God. Remember Luke in the beginning
of Acts tells us that he proved himself alive by many infallible
proofs. or he showed himself alive rather
by many infallible proofs. Now, before we look at these
verses, I want us to read in Luke chapter 24, if you will
turn there with me, at the very same thing that we are looking
at here in John's gospel, his appearance that is recorded here
in Luke chapter 24. And beginning, if you will, in
verse 33, We read, And they, that is these
two disciples, on the road to Emmaus, to whom he had appeared,
they arose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and
found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and Otis, and hath appeared to
Simon, that is Peter, that was his, he appeared thirdly, to
Simon. Then to the two disciples on
the road to Emmaus, and now they've come back to Jerusalem where
the eleven, and remember when it says eleven, that's just the
body of the apostles. There were eleven apostles now
because Judas had deserted, had betrayed the Lord. And Luke indicates
here that there were others with them. But here Verse 36, And
as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and
saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified, and
affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he
said unto them, Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? They hold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself, handle me and see, for spirit hath not
flesh and bones as you see me have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet, and while they yet
believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them, have you here
any meat? They gave him a piece of broiled
fish and a honeycomb, and he took it and did eat before them. Now, let's go back to John's
gospel. There are four things that I
want to deal with here tonight. I want us to note two things,
and then third, to recognize something, and fourth, to learn
about his appearance to these disciples. Actually, all of them
we should be learning, but that's my outline anyway. First of all,
we should note the Lord's presence in the midst of His disciples. And I want to emphasize that
in the midst of His disciples. If you notice back in John chapter
20 and verse 19, we read, Jesus, came Jesus and stood in
the midst, in the midst. John tells us that this appearance
was the same day, the same day in which He appeared to Mary. The same day that He rose from
the dead, He appeared. And it seems to me at least that
John is emphasizing when He appeared, that it was the first day of
the week that He appeared in the midst, in the midst of His
disciples. We know that this day is called
the Lord's Day. In Revelation chapter 1, when
He appeared unto John on the Isle of Patmos, it was on the
Lord's Day. In this new dispensation, While
He is to be worshiped every day, believers, God's children, His
disciples, we come together to worship Him, especially on the
first day of the week. Now John tells us here that it
was because of fear, fear of the Jews, that they were assembled
together with the doors shut. Actually, the doors were bolted.
Now, the fear that they had, it may have just been caused
from the fact that people knew they were His disciples. They
had crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. And here were His disciples,
those who followed Him. So it could be that that caused
their fear, or it could be that they had a fear because of the
story that the priest had paid the soldiers to tell. Remember,
the priest told the soldiers, We'll give you a large sum of
money if you tell that his disciples came by night and stole the body
away. Now here are his disciples, and
the story is spread that they were the ones who had stolen
the body of Christ, that he had not actually risen from the grave,
but his disciples had stolen away his body. That's what they
were accused of doing. And that may be what caused them
to have the fear that they had this evening. But the point is,
what a blessing for you and I to live in a time and in a place
where we have the freedom to worship God without fear. And as you read through church
history, And I love history, and I love church history. And
I've been blessed over the years to read a number of church history
books and to read about God's people who at different times
and different places have not had the freedom, have not had
the liberty to worship like we have in this country. And that's
one of the reasons, no doubt, the Apostle Paul said that he
would have us to pray for those in authority, that we might lead
a quiet and peaceable life, that we might have the freedom, the
liberty to come together and worship as we do in this country. And we see literally, in this
passage, we see literally what the Lord has promised to fulfill
spiritually. He appears in the midst of His
disciples. Remember He said, for where two
or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them. Two or three. Husband and wife. That's two. What a blessing,
right? What a blessing. We have His
promise. May not be husband and wife.
Might be father and child. Whatever. But we know when we
come together here as a church family, and many times our number
is very small, and we would love to see the building full, all
of us would, I'm sure. It doesn't work that way, or
it hasn't so far. But one thing that I always try
to remind myself of, no matter how many is here, how many are
not here, The Lord has promised that He will meet with us. That He will be in our midst. And that's who I want to come
to worship. I want to come to worship Him
and not be so concerned about who's here and who's not here.
You know? I wish every member was here,
every service. But I don't know of any church
that has that. Maybe there are some. But what
a blessing it is to come together with His promise that He will
be in our midst. When we are gathered together
in His name, it's not just a social gathering, but when we gather
in His name, under His authority to worship Him, He has promised
that He would be in our midst. This time that we read about
here, he was physically in their midst. His body that he appeared
in contained the marks of the crucifixion because he tells
them to, he showed them his hands and his side. The same body that
had been nailed to the cross, the same body that the spear
had opened the side, he showed them. Now, in Luke's account,
they were invited even to handle. We read that. They were afraid,
no doubt, at first, because they thought they saw a spirit. Now,
he appears with the marks in his hands and in his side, and
yet he's in his glorified body. But it's the same body. Only
now it's a glorified body. We believe in a resurrection,
not a creation. When He comes again and raises
the bodies of those who sleep in Christ, it's going to be a
resurrection. It's not going to be a creation. You say, well, that just seems
like that's too hard to do. If it was anyone but God who's
going to do it, I'd agree with you. But is there anything too
hard for Him? And you know, we've read, I mentioned
history a while ago, was it William Tyndale or John Wycliffe, one
of those men, I can't remember right now, but he was so hated
for translating the Scriptures into English. He was so hated. that they actually dug up his
bones and threw them in the river, his ashes in the river. Well,
wherever those ashes went, I don't know. The dust went. But I know
this, there's going to be a resurrection. We're going to have a body not
of this humiliation. That's the body we have now.
but it's going to be a body like unto His glorious body. He's
in His glorious body as He appears, and yet the marks are there in
His hands and in His side. When John, in the book of Revelation,
when he saw Him, you remember in Revelation 5, that the book
was there and it was sealed up and no one was worthy to open
the book. And then the angel said, don't
weep. the Lamb, and He appeared there
on the throne as the Lamb slain, the Scripture says. Who took
the book that was sealed, He took the book, He was worthy
to open the book, He reigns and rules over all creation. That's Scripture in Isaiah chapter
9, I believe it is. is used a lot at this time of
the year. Unto us a son is given, unto
us a child is born, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Who's in charge? Who's in control? The Lord Jesus Christ. He reigns
and rules. And to think that he would be
here tonight in our midst. The second thing I want us to
note, the Lord's words to his disciples. Twice he said, peace,
peace be unto you. Notice in verse 19 at the end
of the verse, he stood in the midst and saith unto them, peace
be unto you. Then verse 21, then said Jesus
to them again, Peace be unto you. Why would he say the same words
twice? Peace be unto you. Well, do you
notice what's in between? Do you see what's in between?
Between him saying, first of all, peace be unto you, and then
saying that once again. What is in between when we look
At this we see he showed them the marks of his crucifixion. Peace be unto you. And then he
showed them the marks, his hands and his side. And then he said
again, peace be unto you. There's only one way that anyone
may have peace with God. and that is through the crucified
Savior. He showed them the marks of his
crucifixion, and the Apostle Paul in Colossians chapter one
and verse 20 said, having made peace through the blood of his
cross. The peace that he gives unto
his disciples, to every believer, is a peace that he wrought, that
he made, the reconciliation that he accomplished for his people
by his one sacrifice. You know, one of the descriptions
of man's depravity, the apostle gives in Romans chapter three,
There's a long list, and he's quoting from the Old Testament.
But he's pointing out the depravity of all men, not just Gentiles,
but Jews and Gentiles. And one of the things he says
in that list is, the way of peace they have not known. The way
of peace they have not known. Paul in Corinthians declared,
if our gospel be hid, It is hid to them who are lost. And it
is hid to those who are lost. The way of peace is hid to them
who are lost. Who he says the God of this world
have blinded the minds of them which believe not. Their minds
are blinded to the only way of peace. For the most part, most
people believe that the way to have peace with God is through
our works, through what we do. The way of peace they have not
known. There's only one way that a man
or woman, boy or girl, may have peace with God, and that is through
the sacrifice, the propitiation, the blood sacrifice of Jesus
Christ our Lord. There is no other way. You hear
people, maybe you don't hear it so much, but it's common that
people have said, well, make your peace with God. When a person
they think is on the verge of dying, going out into eternity,
it's common, make your peace with God. I like the story that
Charles Spurgeon told about the man who was injured in some way
on his way to work. He was a bricklayer, I believe,
and he was injured. And it was evident, obviously,
he was going to die. And a clergyman came up and told
him, make your peace with God. And he said, my savior made my
peace with God years ago. And that's the only way. Any
man has peace with God. Paul, as I said, if our gospel
be hid, it is hid to them who are lost and whom the God of
this world have blinded the minds of them which believe not. There's
a way which seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof is the
way of death. And that way that just seems
right to most men All men, apart from the grace of God, is through
something that I can do. It's through my decision. Whatever. No, no. There's only one way. And that is through Jesus Christ.
Through His sacrifice. His sacrifice. His sacrifice. Propitiation. That's what that
word means, isn't it? He appeased God. He turned away
God's wrath that our sins deserve by his sacrifice. Thank God for God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness. In the beginning, God said, let
there be light. And light was. And that same
God, Paul says, has shined in our hearts. Salvation is not
a joint work, is it? It's God's work. Salvation is
of the Lord. And God shines in the heart of
men and women to give us the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then we see how it
is that God may be both just and justifier. How? through Jesus Christ, through
his one sacrifice for the people that were given unto him. Here's the third, we should recognize
what the Lord's commission means in verse 23. Whosoever sins you
remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you
retain, they are retained. We should recognize what the
Lord's commission means. Who, here's a question, who can
remit sins? Well, look with me back to Mark's
gospel just a moment, Mark chapter two. Who can remit sins? Mark chapter 2, verse 1. And again he entered into Capernaum
after some days, and it was noise that he was in the house. Straightway
many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room
to receive them. No, not so much as about the
door. And he preached the word unto
them. Notice that before I go on. Here's the Lord Jesus Christ,
the greatest preacher who ever lived. God in flesh. What did he preach? He preached
the word. He preached the word. That's
what we're called to preach, isn't it? The word, the gospel,
the scriptures. He preached the word unto them.
And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which
was born of four. And when they could not come
down to him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was.
And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein
the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he
said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the
scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this
man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? And immediately when Jesus perceived
in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto
them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it
easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that
you may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive
sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto you, arise
and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house. And immediately
he arose, took up the bed, went forth before them all, insomuch
that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never
saw it on this fashion. Who can forgive sins but God
only? These men reasoned in their minds,
and of course the Lord knew what they were reasoning. And you
notice He didn't say that they were wrong. He didn't say that
they had reasoned and they'd come up with the wrong answer.
He didn't say that. But He manifested His deity. He asked them this question,
which is easier to say? Thy sins be forgiven thee, or
take up thy bed and walk. Now I've always said this, for
a man, like myself, or any other man, what's easier? Well the easiest thing is to
tell somebody their sins are forgiven. I don't know, you can't
tell if they are or they're not. But I tell you what, if you say
to a cripple, take up your bed and walk, That's going to be
manifested real quick. What's the easiest? But that
you may know, this is our Lord's, that you may know. You see, He
doesn't say that what they reasoned was wrong. They reasoned rightly. Only God can forgive sin. But
that they might know that He is God. The Son of Man is the
Son of God. He showed them by healing this
man. The prophet Samuel reasoned.
Remember, Samuel was a great prophet, but he had two sons
who were wicked. They were evil men. And he reasoned
with them like this. He said, if one man sin against
another, the judge shall judge him. But if a man sin against
the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Trying to reason with his
wicked sons, you know. What you're doing, you're sinning
against God. If you sin against a man, then
someone may reconcile you. But when you sin against God,
how is that going to turn out? Only God can forgive you. If
you walked up to someone and sucker punched them and knocked
them down and I said unto you, well, I forgive you. Well, you
didn't hit me. How could I forgive you? You
need forgiveness from the man that you knocked down. And the
Bible tells us that all sin is against God. David said that
in his prayer, seeking forgiveness. He has sinned against Bathsheba.
He has sinned against Uriah, her husband. But yet, he said,
against thee, and thee only have I sinned, O Lord, that thou mightest
be righteous when thou judgest. Only God can forgive sin. Well
then, what does our Lord mean? Well, man, he's not giving these
disciples the power to forgive sin, in that sense. John Gill
points out what is true of any man, he said, who pretends to
have power in himself to literally forgive sins. A man who claims
he's got that power, he may sit in a in a box, you know, and
people come and confess their sins to him and he might say,
well, do so many Hail Marys and so many Our Fathers and your
sins are forgiven. John Gale said this about any
man who claims to have the power to forgive sin. He opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God. or that is worshiped,
so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God. Only God can remit sins, and
a man who claims to have that power is Antichrist. Antichrist. Well then, what does
it mean? Well, look with me in 2 Corinthians
just a moment. What does it mean when our Lord
told His disciples, whosoever's sins you remit are remitted? In 2 Corinthians chapter 2, And beginning in verse 14, the
apostle said, now, thanks be unto God, which always causeth
us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of
his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a
sweet savor of Christ, notice, in them that are saved and in
them that perish. To the one we are the saver of
death unto death, and to the other the saver of life unto
life. And who is sufficient for these
things? When a man goes out like myself,
like the disciples of the Lord, or like you, and you share the
gospel, you witness the gospel, you preach the gospel, and you
tell people If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, your sins
are forgiven. If you rebel and you do not bow
to the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will go out into eternity
with your sins upon yourself. Just like when Paul told that
Philippian jailer, he said, Serge, what must I do to be saved? Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe
on Christ, your sins are remitted. Don't believe on Christ and your
sins remain upon you. Just like he preached in the
synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, this man, speaking of the God
man, the Lord Jesus Christ, by him all who believe are justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the
law of Moses. By him, by Christ. You believe
on him, your sins are remitted. And that's what our Lord means
here when he tells his disciples. He did not give them or any man. That'd be a dangerous thing. It's been misused even even still by people who claim
to have this power. Only God can forgive sin. Our sin is against Him, and only
He can forgive us. And the only way He's going to
forgive us is through that sacrifice, through the offering of Jesus
Christ. Now let me close with this. Look
back in John chapter 20. We should learn from the disciples'
experience here. In verse 20, we read, And when
he had so said, he showed them his hands and his feet. Then
were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. When doubts
and fears come, and they do come, All of God's children at times
experience fears and doubts, and there's only one remedy.
There's only one remedy. What was it that made the disciples
glad? When they saw the Lord. When they saw, they saw, hit
the marks, the proof of His sacrifice. And as always, it is the remedy
is to turn our eyes away from whatever it is that's causing
us to fear and to doubt, and to look to Jesus Christ, to look
to Him, seeing by faith the blood that flowed from His veins, which
speaks better things, better things than whatever it is that's
causing the fears and the doubts. The apostle said his blood speaks
better things than the blood of Abel. The better things that
his blood speaks as we look upon him crucified, slain, it speaks
to us of his great love, doesn't it? It speaks to us of his precious
promises. And it speaks to us and says
to us, whatever the situation is, it's going to be all right. It's
going to be all right, whatever it is. It's going to be all right. I pray the Lord bless His word.