Jesus Rose from the Dead and Did Whatever He Wanted
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 20:19–23 ESV
Jesus could have easily come back from the dead and gone anywhere he wanted. Here He is entering locked rooms and appearing out of nowhere. He knew how each one of these folks had dealt with His death and how each one of them felt for the past few days. He wanted to be with them! So when He shows up, having already shown up to a few of them elsewhere, the disciples are going to experience every emotion at once.He said “Peace be with you” (which is probably just “Shalom”) and showed them His hands and His side.
Peace everybody, look, I have healed wounds that don’t hurt anymore. Then the disciples were glad.
Matt talked about rollercoasters this weekend. They are scary, rigorous, and then at the end you see all of these smiling people getting off and laughing. The ride is over and we survived!
When Jesus came back from the dead, in His new and resurrected state, He taught the disciples a few more things and appeared to over 500 people. But for all of the times He was mad or cried before His death, there is no record of Him crying or being angry after the resurrection. He was around the people He loved and He cheered them on more than ever.
He even breathed His Spirit into them (Gen 2:7) and brought them in to new life. And with the new life that was in Him that was now also in them, He tells them this: As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you.
That applies to you today! But how?
Is it as the Father sent Jesus to teach?
As the Father sent Jesus to heal, is He sending you?
As the Father raised Jesus from the dead with the joy of the new creation, is He sending you? (The ride is over and we survived!)
As the comforter of those who are lost and broken, is He sending you?
The list goes on, and He wants to show you the answer.