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That YOU May
Believe
John 20: 19 – 31
A few weeks ago I spoke
about the fact that
sometimes all you have
left is what you can
remember of the Bible.
When things get rough
and you forget some of
the nice things you can
think of when your wits
are with you…
What’s left is what lies
deep inside your memory,
what you’ve used enough
to be second nature,
what you really believe.
That’s one of the reasons
for reading the Bible and
for memorizing things
like The Lord’s Prayer
and John 3:16.
Then there’s the simple
reason that the Bible is a
trustworthy record of
God’s work in His people’s
lives to bring salvation.
With that in mind, let’s
read today’s passage
in John 20: 19 – 31.
OK, there’s a lot there,
of course, and we’re not
going to touch on all of
it, but let’s look at what
happened first.
The disciples saw Jesus in
person and were joyful.
Merely hearing the
suggestion that He was
alive wasn’t the same.
Much has been made
that women were not
considered reliable
witnesses in that day,
but think about it…
If someone told you that
something unbelievable
had happened, without
seeing it yourself, you
might not believe it.
That’s the origin of the
meaning of the term
“unbelievable,” by the
way.
When they saw Jesus,
though, they believed
and were overjoyed.
Then it says Jesus gave
them the Holy Spirit.
How we reconcile this
with the Luke-Acts
account, I don’t know,
but I’m not worried about
it, so let’s not fuss over it.
The point is that Jesus
told the disciples there
that they were taking
over for Him in the world,
and gave them authority.
There are churches that
say the authority passes
down to people in the
present day, and churches
that say it doesn’t.
We don’t really take a
hard and fast stand on
that, because of
various reasons.
Who really would claim
apostolic authority like
someone who had actually
walked with Jesus? Only
whackos would do that.
At the same time, it is the
Holy Spirit working in us
who was working in them,
and the church needs that
today just like then.
What Jesus gave them
authority over specifically
was forgiveness of sins,
which is needed today,
right? So….
Does Jesus give you
and me the authority
for that just like He did
with the disciples then?
It’s not just power, either.
When Jesus gives you
the authority to forgive
or not to forgive, what
comes to mind to you?
Do you think of revenge
on people you don’t like,
or do you think about
what it means to them if
you withhold forgiveness?
Did Jesus assign the
responsibility over
forgiveness to the
sinners themselves, or
to Jesus’ own followers?
Does that give you a
sense of responsibility
on you to get
forgiveness to the
people who need it?
Howard Macy, who
teaches Old Testament at
George Fox University,
spoke at Western Yearly
Meeting years ago…
He talked about this and
had everyone say to one
another, “In the name of
Jesus, I forgive you.” It
was neat, if a bit strange.
It’s important for people
to hear, from a psycho-
logical point of view, but
forgiveness isn’t just
psychology, is it?
People need to hear that
God and others forgive
them, but they also need
to know that forgiveness
inside to be rid of sin.
Sin is not behavior. You
don’t sin once here and
then sin once there.
Sin is in you keeping you
from friendship with God.
Sin is the separation
between you and God,
and forgiveness is the
wiping away of that
separation.
Forgiveness is like
going from people who
aren’t even looking at
each other…
…and then reconciling
them.
2 Corinthians 5: 19-20
God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ,
not counting men’s sins
against them….
2 Corinthians 5: 19-20
…and he has committed to
us the message of
reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ’s
ambassadors…
2 Corinthians 5: 19-20
…as though God were
making his appeal through
us. We implore you on
Christ’s behalf: Be
reconciled to God.
That is the key thing
there. How can we
bring forgiveness and
reconciliation, unless
we have it?
Also, if we aren’t
bringing forgiveness and
reconciliation to others,
what does that say about
whether we have it?
This may be one of
those things like “faith
without works is
dead.”
Can people who have been
reconciled with God and
accepted His forgiveness
not be bringing that to
others around them?
We need to be
reaching out to others
with the message of
the Gospel, but…
…we also need to be
digging deeper into our
life with Jesus Christ
ourselves to have more
to offer others, don’t we?
That evening when
Jesus first appeared to
the disciples in the
upper room, Thomas
wasn’t there.
Thomas was doubtful
when the others told
him that Jesus came in
among them. He
wasn’t there to see it.
There were 10 men he’d
lived with for a while
who gave him the news,
but that wasn’t enough
for him to believe.
The next week Jesus
appeared to him too,
and he did believe
when he saw Jesus.
Then Jesus says
something odd.
John 20: 29
“Because you have seen
me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have
believed.”
Sometimes people take
this to be a criticism of
Thomas, that it took
seeing for him to
believe.
Really, though, Jesus is
just talking about the
billions of people who
have believed in Him
without being there then.
There were 10 men and
Mary Magdalene so far
we’ve seen witness
Jesus’ resurrection.
There were hundreds who
saw Him during the 40
days He remained on the
Earth, but compare a few
hundred to a few billion.
500
2,000,000,000
Which group saw Jesus
in the flesh, and which
needs to hear testimony?
What kind of testimony
is going to do it for
people, followers of
Jesus who are intimate
with Him and…
…feel reconciled with
God deep in their hearts
and know they are
forgiven of all their sins?
or…
…people who know what
they’re supposed to
think and say, or know
how to refer someone to
the pastor to tell them?
I’m here for you, and if
you find yourself
talking to someone who
has questions you can’t
answer, call me.
…but don’t you want to
be able to speak to
someone with the
knowledge and
conviction yourself?
Which way will people be
better convinced, by a
preacher they don’t know
or by the trusted friend
who really believes?
The last line of this
passage, and some
think it was the end of
the original version of
this Gospel, too, says:
John 20: 31
…these are written that
you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of
God, and that by believing
you may have life in his
name.
That might be how the
first draft of the Gospel
of John ended, and it
sums it all up, doesn’t
it?
We believe that the
Bible has authority
over us, that we are to
obey what it says.
That’s what’s behind this
statement, that the Bible
tells us that Jesus arose
from the dead, and we have
salvation through Him…
…but what authority
does the Bible have
over the minds of the
people we want to
reach out to?
…what authority does
it have with them
beyond the relationship
we have with them?
You and I form links in a
chain reaching all the
way back to that day,
connect-ing the event in
the Bible to people today.
Does your life witness to
the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, or do you need
to seek that forgiveness
and reconciliation?
2 Corinthians 5: 19-20
…We implore you on
Christ’s behalf:
Be reconciled to God.
Who’s “we” there?
Who among you is “we,”
imploring others to be
reconciled to God?
This isn’t the same
question at all as, “who
needs to ask for
forgiveness?” but I think
it’s just as important.
I’m not going to ask you
to stand or come up to
the railing. How do you
need to show that you
are Christ’s ambassador?
There are things you can
do here to show that, but
don’t you think it’s more
what you do outside
these walls that does it?
What are you going to
do to be Christ’s
ambassador outside
these walls?
Point them to me the
pastor? or lead them to
Christ yourself through
your relationship with
them and with Him?
Either can work, but which
will work better? Which
would work best “that you
may believe” if it was you
needing Christ?
What do you need to do to
be that ambassador of
Christ? Do you still need
reconciliation with Him?
Will you seek it from Him?
