REVIEW: The women who first went to the tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning returned to the Upper Room where Jesus’ disciples had gathered and shared the news. Of course, Peter and John had to see for themselves and so they ran to the tomb only to find it empty just as the women had said. The big question for all of them was “Where is Jesus’ body?” After hearing the reports of the women and of Peter and John, two of the disciples (one named Cleopas) decided to return to their homes in Emmaus, about 7 miles northwest of Jerusalem. While they were walking and talking, a stranger approached and began walking with them. Of course, that “Stranger” was none other than Jesus Himself. As you recall, their conversation was the subject of last week’s blog.

But Jesus never intended to limit His appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and so He decided to show up as they were all gathered in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. The Apostle John records:

Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “peace be to you” (John 20:19).

This was Easter Sunday evening. So much had happened that day, beginning at sunrise in the early morning when the women found the tomb empty. Now Jesus was standing in their midst in the Upper Room where the disciples were gathered, with the doors shut, for fear of the Jews who had just had Jesus arrested, beaten, and crucified. Let’s not fault those fearful disciples. After all, as a group, they hadn’t yet seen Jesus. I love the fact that John makes sure that his readers knew that the doors were “shut,” and that there was no way into the room from the outside. And yet, Jesus came and stood in their midst and simply spoke the word of peace to them: “Shalom,” peace to you.

As a side note, if we are to have any relationship with God we must first have “Peace with God.” Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

This peace brings us into a right relationship with God through faith, as we rest in the forgiveness that Christ offers each of us through His shed blood on the cross. But that’s not the only kind of peace that is important to each of us, as we also desire to experience the “Peace of God” in all our circumstances. If we bring our requests before God, as Paul says we should,

Then the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Immediately after His greeting of “peace” to the disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus showed them His nail-pierced hands and His feet, and the disciples rejoiced. And then, Jesus offered another greeting of “peace,’ and then said to them:

As the Father has sent Me, so also I send you (John 20:21).

Jesus wanted to connect the dots that just as the Father had sent Him into the world, so Jesus is sending His disciples out into the world. The Greek verb tenses are instructive here: When Jesus said that “the Father has sent Me,” He used the “perfect tense,” which indicates a past event but with continuing results. And that is so true about the incarnation. It’s already a “done deal,” but the result of Jesus coming to earth has had lasting and eternal results. And then when Jesus said, “so also I send you,” this is in the “present tense,” which means continuous action. In other words, Jesus continues to send His followers, of every generation, out into the world to be lights shining in the darkness.  

Jesus then breathed on His disciples as He imparted the Holy Spirit to them. He was giving them a taste of what the infilling and indwelling Holy Spirit would do later for the entire church on the Day of Pentecost. And then Jesus said:

If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; but if you retain the sins of any, then they have been retained (John 20:23).

Of course, none of the disciples could forgive sins, as they knew that only Jesus could do that. They would simply be “announcing” the forgiveness of sins. For example, if I am sharing the gospel with someone and in a subsequent prayer they repent of their sin and receive Christ as Savior and Lord, I can announce to them that based upon the authority of God’s Word and your heartfelt and sincere prayer, your sins have been forgiven. Likewise, for one who remains resistant to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I can assure them that their sins have not been forgiven. Jesus was referring to a simple declaration of affirmation or rejection of the offer He gives us to have our sins forgiven.

This is the first hint of a “commission” of Jesus to His disciples, and it happened first in the Upper Room on the day of His resurrection. And for you, if you have never asked Christ to forgive your sins, it’s never too late to do so. On the authority of God’s Word, He will forgive your sins if you simply ask Him to do so. Maybe today is your “appointed” day. If it is, I can “announce” to you that your sins have been forgiven, all because of what Jesus did on the cross two thousand years ago.

May the Lord bless each one of you.