Revelations Begin ...

Mary Magdalene had fulfilled her gospel commission to take the message of hope to the new Christian church (the eleven remaining disciples).  Her message given to her directly by the Savior “should” have engendered hope, given courage, and inspired faith.  This was the first revelation Christ made to us of the completion of His work to save us from ourselves and our sins.  The first revelation of His love to us after rising from His grave; was to pause His own work and take time to comfort the grieving Mary with His words of profound love.  We were to see His Father as our Father.  We were to see His God as our God.  Jesus was alive, not dead in a tomb.  His work to pay our penalty for the sins we embrace was completed and He was on His way to His Father to see our salvation confirmed.  Mary had done as Christ had asked.  But her message bore no fruit.  She had done what Jesus Himself had told her, her new life had begun, because of the gift of Christ, but even though she had done what she was commissioned to do, her words were not heeded.  Such is the arrogance of those who are determined to pre-judge the messenger as unworthy or unreliable, rather than to hear the word of God thru whom it was given.  Mary should not have been judged by her former life, for now through the light of Christ’s gifts, her former life was passed away, and her new life had begun.  The words Mary brought from the mouth of Christ Himself should have been judged on their own merit.  For His words were a fulfillment of the mission of the Messiah, and everything He had taught them could have been brought to mind, if they had simply been willing to hear it.  But they were not.

The closest men to Christ, His most ardent followers; were not immune to chauvinism, prejudice, and despair from what they saw with their eyes, and believed to be the only “facts” that could exist.  They had seen Christ crucified.  They had seen Christ, nailed and pierced.  They had seen Christ, laid dead in a tomb.  These things they had witnessed or been told, and these things they believed.  They knew them to be certain.  Their hopes in the rabbinical view of an anti-Roman kingdom had been shattered.  Their faith had been shaken.  Their despair in their own actions taken during the killing of the One they claimed to love more than life, were now only a source of tremendous guilt.  They had accepted the idea that His body was gone from the grave, for they had witnessed that themselves.  But they only believed this was simply yet another act of Roman or Priestly cruelty, not anything more.  Despite the personal testimony of Mary Magdalene, they remained unconvinced.  They had a scriptural understanding, and personal witness, that formed a set of “facts” that could not be undone by the faith that lay within them.  Like us, they needed, their preconceptions wiped away.   Like us, they needed a revelation of Christ, that would change “how” they think, and “how” they “see” the world and the reality of the Truth of Christ.  And Christ would offer them exactly that.

It was the same day as the report of Mary.  It was the evening.  They had gathered again on this Sunday night in the upper room, for fear of the Jewish leadership.  They believed the Jews would persecute and kill them for their former association with Jesus.  But in truth, the Priests who had already heard the testimony of the 100 Roman soldiers; were not looking to silence them for what they “used” to know, but for what they might now discover.  Now that the Sabbath had ended and soon the people who had gathered at Jerusalem would be returning home from the worship of atonement, the Priests would have more time to focus on these last remaining loose ends.  But the disciples feared from their entanglement with the past.  They assumed it was because of their association with the slain Lord that they would be sought out next.  They had no idea, it was because He was arisen, that they had now become even more dangerous to the legacy of control the priests wished to maintain over the people.  Had the priests known that His own disciples did not believe He was alive; they would not have killed them.  They would instead have put them all on public display and made them testify as to their certainty that He was dead and gone.  This would have boosted the credibility of the Priests, and destroyed any hope of an early Christian church.  Their certainty despite the word of Mary, and the witness of 100 other Roman soldiers, would have been welcomed by those who oppose the gospel.  The irony was thick.

But Christ had a revelation in mind, to wipe away the misplaced fears of His disciples.  He would change their thinking in an instant.  He would alter their future in a moment.  And He would restore in them the hope for an early Christian Church meant to shake the very foundations of power in the world around them.  John records in His gospel in chapter 20 beginning in 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.”  Notice first, John specifically points out that the doors were shut, likely locked, possibly barricaded.  The idea there was to keep the angry folks out, and keep the folks inside safe.  They had gathered there for fear after all.  Jesus does not knock on the door from the outside of this situation.  Christ is no longer to be confined or limited by the structures of men.  Christ is now freely able to show to us His divinity.  As such He appears in the midst of the secured room.  And His first words are the same ones they know, and have heard Him say on similar occasions when miraculous events had occurred – “Peace be unto you”.  The very first personal revelation of Christ to those men there is to relieve their fears.  Once again Christ addresses our most pressing needs.  Once again Christ demonstrates what it means to love another and not Himself.

Christ does not enter this room with the righteous judgment He is equipped to condemn them with.  They have all failed miserably during His trial and murder.  None of them stood with Him.  None of them offered Him comfort.  All of them did nothing, though all of them had claimed devotion to the point of sacrificing their own lives for Him.  He does not begin His conversation with them, by demanding that they acknowledge their failures, and seek forgiveness before He “allows” them to join in His ministry of saving the lost.  As with Mary, He does not hold them accountable for their very acts of failure committed only a short while ago.  Instead He does not even address these failures.  For their sins, like Mary’s, and like ours, have ALREADY been forgiven.  He does not seek perfection in His servants before they are allowed to serve.  Instead He offers perfection as a gift that will come to them over time as they learn to submit their will to His own.  In this regard, John continues in verse 20 … “And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.”  He is the Life.  He changes fear into joy.  He reveals that death is no boundary with which He will be contained, and that instead He is master over the grave and beyond it.  He shows them Himself, His wounds that prove He is no ghost or aberration, but the physical Man they know and love.  He reveals again to men the Truth of Himself.  Truth is found in Christ alone, not in the failed interpretations of scriptures the disciples had clung to only moments before.  The Truth had made them free.  Scripture could now be interpreted in the Light and the Truth of Jesus Christ, never again outside of Him.

John continues in verse 21 … “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”  Jesus was calling them to be sent into the world.  Notice the goal of the follower of Christ is NOT to seek isolation from those in corruption who need to be saved.  Instead He sends His own into the world, like His Father had sent Him.  These men were not to be evangelists by profession, but by example.  They were to be living ambassadors of Love.  They were to demonstrate what it means to Love others to a world who was in such desperate need of Love.  Christ did the will of His Father, as we are to do His will.  These men were to heal the sick because it is the will of Christ, as Christ healed because it was the will of His Father.  Christ held back love from no man or woman or child or senior citizen.  He gave Love to all who He encountered.  He sought out those in the MOST need of Him, He did not make them come to Him first.  Christ took the initiative and went to them.  Christ was sent to the world.  He came to bring Life.  He did not sit still and make those who might have an interest in Life, come figure out where He was and find Him.  Instead He brought Life openly into the world and imparted it everywhere He went.  He did not allow prejudice to keep Him away from Samaritans, Romans, or the most grievous sinners.  Instead He welcomed them all like the precious children of His that they are.

Jesus does not ask them to become preachers and teachers by trade.  He does not tell them to collect money so that their ministries have the finances to be successful.  He does not tell them to worry about money at all.  For Christ did not rely on finances to do the will of His Father.  Money was not a concern at all where Christ was involved.  But people were, and people are.  To bring Love to those in need was the commission He was enrolling His erring disciples into.  It would be the sharing of love that would bring perfection into the world, and into His own followers.  It would be Love that alone which would offer the motivation to change, and the power of Christ to effect it.  John continues in verse 22 … “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: [verse 23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”  Notice that the power of Christ, in His Spirit, was not something they inherently had within them, but was instead a gift to them and to us, like everything else that has to do with our salvation.  It does not come from within us, but as a gift.  The receiving of the Holy Spirit was done here, not at Pentecost.  That later day was a manifestation of a gift that had ALREADY been given.  This is an important realization and revelation – salvation had already been accomplished – these gifts and revelations were a publication of an event that has ALREADY transpired.

Verse 23 is an echo of this sequence of events.  For those who accept the message and love of the good news of Christ; they have ALREADY been forgiven.  It is time to tell them this incredibly good news.  The disciples themselves had not asked for forgiveness for their own failures as yet, but Christ had already forgiven them, and was now inviting them to join Him in ministry to the world.  He was not giving them bags of gold to finance their ministry or end poverty, but instead was breathing into them His Spirit to perfect the Love of others within them.  Love would be enough to make their living examples a ministry that could not be contained.  Those who accepted what they said about salvation being the gift Christ had ALREADY given; their sins were ALREADY forgiven.  Those however, who like them, only moments before had rejected the good news of Christ, retained the lack of hope that comes with refusing the forgiveness Christ ALREADY offers, would retain that hopelessness.  We choose to retain our own sins, not because we are forced to by our own weakness, but because we choose to by pushing away the freedom He so longs for us to accept.  Those who will not hear, or accept the gift and revelation of the Truth of Christ, are dooming themselves to the slavery of their own beliefs.  Their sins are retained by their refusal to let go, and accept the gift of His salvation and freedom.  Christ had changed the minds and perceptions of His disciples in that room that evening because they did not continue to reject the idea of His divinity after they had seen His revelation to them.  They let go their fears of the past, and were made free from the Truth of His presence.

Only God could forgive sins.  Christ could forgive us, because He is God.  He was not telling His disciples they had the power of forgiveness, He was telling them they had the honor of revealing the forgiveness of Christ to the world.  Those who would hear the gospel would find forgiveness of Christ already active in their minds and hearts.  Those who would reject the gospel of Christ would leave themselves with no hope of forgiveness, for none was left who could grant it.  This was His most powerful revelation to those men in the upper room – that He was the sole source of our salvation – it would be His gift to us, and nothing we could do for ourselves.  For self is always the enemy of our own salvation.  For the ten men, and Mary, who were there, faith was once again renewed and affirmed and put into action.  Thomas however, was missing at this event.  Perhaps he had been out to find food.  Perhaps he had an errand to run.  But Thomas was not present to personally witness this revelation of Christ to the others.  And Thomas was not able to accept this testimony based on the word of others alone.  He needed a personal revelation as well.  John chronicles the response of Thomas beginning in verse 24 … “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. [verse 25] The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Thomas had heard the message of Jesus being alive now twice; first from Mary, now from the other ten.  But Thomas could not take the good news of the gospel just on the testimony of others, he needed more.  He too needed a personal revelation in order to be sure.  He wanted to believe.  He wanted like the others to be so sure.  But he was not.  So even though the ninety and nine had been assured, the needs of the one still searching sheep aroused the attention of the One who meets every need, and loves every soul.  John continues in verse 26 … “And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.”  Notice first, there was nothing significant about the day of the week in which Christ appeared.  The first time was on Sunday to affirm the testimony of Mary to his followers.  This time it was on Monday a little more than week later to meet the needs of Thomas.  This time, just like the first, the doors were secured again, and Christ enters the room anyway appearing the midst of them.  Once again, He offers His greeting of peace to them all.  This time Thomas was there to hear it for himself.

Now it was time to give Thomas the faith he would need, now it was time to give Thomas the revelation he had required.  John continues in verse 27 … “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”  Christ wanted to insure that Thomas too, would be certain.  Christ wanted to blow away every doubt, and every remaining shred about “how” Thomas thought.  Thomas needed to “know” and Christ was there to insure that he did.  Thomas responds in verse 28 … “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”  No more doubts lingered in Thomas.  He now addresses Christ not as his friend, but as his Lord, and his God.  The divinity of Christ is no longer even a question in the mind of Thomas.  He is convinced with a faith no one will ever be able to take from him in the future.  But there is a greater Truth that must be revealed to them all.  John continues in verse 29 … “Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  The revelations of Christ are not all to be seen.  The most important revelations of Christ will be experienced in the lives of those who believe.  It will be the freedom from the slavery to self and sin, that is the experience of revelation we will still be able to witness for ourselves.  This gift of salvation is not theoretical, but experiential.  It is personal to each of us.  It does not come in a corporate block, but in a one-on-one method.

The men in that room all needed to hear from Christ that His revelations were not limited to those who could “see” Him, but to those who would choose to believe in Him.  That message was recorded not only for the Greeks of his day, but for us who would read these words, never having seen the person of Jesus Christ, but would be able to discern His revelation to us in the form of the salvation He brings us as His gift.  Now to see Christ, we need only look at the acts of love and benevolence offered unselfishly to those in need.  It is there that we see Christ reflected to the world.  It is in the Love we show to others that we find Him today.  When it is we who show this kind of unconditional love to others, it is we who reflect Him.  When we Love without judgment or condemnation, instead loving alone to the point of redemption, it is we who join with Him, we are sent, as He was sent. 

It is not our former lives that dictate our worthiness to share in His ministry.  It is not our financial acumen or wealth that enables us to minister for Christ.  It is our willingness to submit our own will to His, and our willingness to reflect His so great love to others through us.  John seems to recognize that there are too many miracles to contain in His gospel, or perhaps any gospel.  He pens this epilogue in verse 30 … “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: [verse 31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  John offers us His insights into the proof of the divinity of Christ.  But more, he offers us the revelations of God who walked our earth, and lived a life of perfect love.  God is love.  His kingdom is comprised of those who love.  It was for love that He saved us.  It was for love that He wishes to take us home with Him.  It was for love that He was given to the world.  It will be only love that sees the world redeemed, and us with it.  Love is the only answer that can finally and fully defeat evil.