Peace To You!

Locked doors, racing thoughts, and a future you can’t predict, that’s where this message begins. We follow John 20 as Jesus steps into a room full of fear and speaks the simplest words with the biggest weight: “Peace to you!” That peace isn’t positive thinking. It’s the calm that comes from the cross, the empty tomb, and a Savior who still bears scars that prove love went all the way. 

We trace Mary Magdalene’s heartbreak as she assumes the body has been stolen, misses what’s right in front of her, and then has everything change when Jesus speaks her name. From there we zoom out to the deeper meaning behind the resurrection: Jesus as our Passover Lamb, our great high priest who secures forgiveness, and the firstfruits who guarantees our own resurrection and a new body built to last. We also talk about why Jesus calls his disciples brethren, what it means that we can approach God personally as Father, and how hope grows while we wait for what’s ahead. 

Then we sit with Thomas, the disciple who refuses to pretend. His doubt is raw, emotional, and honest, and Jesus doesn’t crush him for it. He invites him closer and turns skepticism into worship: “My Lord and my God.” We end with John’s purpose for writing, that we may believe Jesus is the Christ and have life in his name, and a practical push to keep spiritual fervor instead of drifting into apathy. 

If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s anxious or doubting, and leave a review with the line that stayed with you.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

There's so much ahead for us. I hope you're excited. We have no idea what's ahead of us. But he came and he showed up and he said to them, Peace to you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. There's no reason to be afraid anymore because he's made a way. We're right with God now because of his shed blood. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

The future can be a daunting and scary thing because we just don't know what will happen or what the next season holds. In today's message, Pastor Carl will remind you to have faith. The disciples doubted and they worried. But do you know what Jesus did? He showed them the holes in his hands. He calmed their doubt and gave them clarity. Jesus will do the same for you. He may have you wait, but you can be sure that God has a plan for your future and he will give you comfort in the waiting. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Jesus, not only our Passover Lamb, but He's our great high priest on the Day of Atonement that secured that forgiveness for us for eternity, to whoever would believe. And then there's another festival called the First Fruits, which He is the first born from creation. He's the first to resurrect from the dead, so that anybody who would believe after him could have a resurrection as well. We have new bodies coming. The Lord is coming back. Are you looking forward to that blessed hope when he comes to give us the fulfillment of our entire salvation, which includes a brand new body that's built to last forever? There's a lot of good stuff there. I encourage you to dig deeper. Well, back to our story. So Mary came, she saw these two angels sitting on either side of what used to be the Lord's body, but now it's just the leftover clothes that were nicely laid there. And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. She's upset because she still believes something that isn't true, but something that seems to be true with all the common sense and logic of everything that's happened. She's so stuck in this mindset that the body is stolen, she doesn't even recognize these guys aren't normal guys that are sitting there. And now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know it was Jesus. Things from his perspective, things that are bigger and greater than we could ever imagine. Well, Mary would have her eyes opened very quickly here. She turned and she saw Jesus but didn't know it was Jesus, because Jesus, of course, was dead and somebody stole his body. So this guy can't be Jesus. She didn't even consider that he was Jesus. But Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? The same words that the angels asked her. Whom are you seeking? And she supposed him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I'll take him away. You must have seen something. Do you know what happened? Just tell me where did they just hide him out back somewhere? If you tell me where he is, I'll pick him up and I'll take him where I'll bring him back in here. Little old Mary is willing to go get the dead body of her savior and bring it back into the tomb. How is she gonna do that? But the emotion is so taken over by her, she can't think logically. You can't pick up the body, even if you found the body, but there is no body to find because he's standing in front of you alive. Then Jesus said to her in verse 16, Mary. The way that he always talked to her, Mary, which clicked something inside of her. Wait a minute. She turned and said to him, Reboni, which is to say, teacher, it's you. They didn't steal your body, you're alive, and and and of course, she's having a hard time putting two and two together and and and making sense of this situation. Just imagine yourself in that situation. But then she realized that he is who he says he is, and he's really alive, and he's really in front of her. So she jumped on him and she hugged him, and she didn't want to let go. And Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father. It's interesting, that line for many years said to me something like, you know, I'm still contagious or something. You can't touch me yet because if you do, you'll you'll zap and die or something. But that's not what it's saying, but that's how it sounded to me. Did it sound like that to you? You know, when the astronauts would come back from the space, they would put them in quarantine for a while so they could study the effects of the radiation from space. Was there some kind of radiation on Jesus because he was resurrected? No. He's pure, he's holy, he's resurrected, but he has work to do. And he's saying, Mary, Mary, we got work to do. You need to let go of me. We've got work to do. It's not like she was not allowed to touch him, but there is more to do. And now she's giving her instructions to give the disciples instructions. But he he said, Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father, and to my God, and your God. He was called teacher, he began calling his disciples friends, and now he's calling his disciples my brethren. These are my brothers and my sisters. You go talk to them because what has happened now is the fulfillment of why I came to restore this relationship. So now my father is not only my father, but your father. Not just the father of Jesus, you know, not just our father God that that uh we approach with with priests and so forth, but now I can approach him myself, to my God and your God. Because of what Jesus did, we have a personal access to the Lord, to God Almighty. And he says, Look, I am going back to the Father, but I need you to go to the disciples, my brothers, and tell them what happened. And so Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and he had spoken these things to her. And in other gospels we read that they didn't believe her. She's just some she's she's gone crazy. She's wacky, but she told the truth. She told the truth. And then to prove it, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for the fear of the Jews, they were gathering that first day in the evening together to figure out what to do next. Because they were afraid of the Jews, the religious leaders, as well as the Romans. And Jesus came and stood in the midst where all the doors were shut. So here's this it doesn't explain it, but just he shows up because he has a resurrected body that can do things that these old-fashioned physical, sin-filled bodies can't do. This is the body that we're going to have in the future. It's so much ahead for us. I hope you're excited. We have no idea what's ahead of us. But he came and he showed up and he said to them, Peace to you. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. There's no reason to be afraid anymore because he's made a way. We're right with God now because of his shed blood. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Have you considered that? Jesus, who became a man, will be a man for eternity. He has this resurrected body of a man that will have scars forever. So that when we see him, we will see the scars. Amazing to ponder. And then his disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. It clicked, this was real. It was really him. He's really alive. And he's really talking to us. So Jesus said to them again, peace to you. This is good news. Don't be afraid. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. God the Father had sent me on this purpose to come to the world, to declare the good news, to develop you twelve disciples, you apostles, and to be lifted up, to take our sin upon himself and to rise again, and then send the church off on an assignment to go and to share the good news with anyone who will listen. But he wouldn't do this, uh, he wouldn't send us off in our own strength. He wouldn't say, just go and do it. But when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. Oh, how we need the Holy Spirit of God in order to do the things that God has called us to do. Because in our own flesh, we can't. God is so good. He takes care of all the problems, right? I can't do that. I don't have the strength. Well, here's your strength. Receive the Holy Spirit. He'll give you strength, he'll give you insight, he'll teach you the word, he'll bring you close so you understand my heart. He'll give you my heart, he'll change you from the inside out. So the same compassion that I had for others, you will now have for others. And verse 23, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. And if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. How did we gain our forgiveness? What did we just witness? Jesus Christ on the cross, and then in the grave, and then resurrected on the third day to declare the forgiveness is the sacrifice is accepted and the forgiveness is eternal. You've got forgiveness. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when we come to faith in Jesus and are given the Holy Spirit, our hearts are to share that same message with others. So that when you go out and you declare to somebody the good news of Jesus. Where the prayers go something like this God, I admit I'm a sinner and I need a Savior. Lord, I thank you, God, for dying for me, for my sins on that cross. Would you please forgive my sins? And would you come and live without within me? I give my life to you, Lord. I believe. And you say, When I believe, you will accept me and make me right with you. In Jesus' name, amen. The prayer is something like that. And Greg at the end of his crusades would always say something along the lines. Now, if you believe that, if you sincerely prayed that prayer and you believe it in your heart of hearts, you are forgiven. You are saved. We have been given this message that we can say with boldness, because Jesus says, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. But on the same side of that is now, if you've heard this gospel message proclaimed to you, and you simply don't believe it or won't believe it, you refuse to believe it, you don't have to be mean about it, but you'll say, Hey, you're stuck in your sin. There is no forgiveness for you. Unless you receive this gift that God has given you, you don't have the gift. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you do not receive the gift of forgiveness, you don't have forgiveness. And we can boldly proclaim that with grace. Telling our friends and neighbors, if if you think you can get to heaven on your good works, I'm sorry. Because there's nothing good enough you can do to earn your salvation. Because we've all been born under sin. We've been born, you know, behind the eight ball before we even got started. But Jesus made a way. And if you believe the gospel, he will change you and you will be forgiven. This is such a great and powerful message that we've been given. Let's not keep it within, but let's be ready to give an answer to anybody who asks about the faith that is within us. Amen. Because you have the power to boldly declare if you believe the gospel, you will be forgiven. You are forgiven. If you don't, you're not forgiven, and you're in a dangerous place. No matter what you've done in your life, that's the gospel. Verse 24. Now Thomas called the twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. For one reason or another, he was a deeply emotional person, too. If you remember, he was the guy who said, Well, if he's going to Jerusalem to die, let's go and die with him. You know, that sounds like a good team player, doesn't it? And it's an attitude that, you know, is good to have. It's not my life, it's your life. If they take my life because of my preaching the gospel, well, praise the Lord, I'll be with you. Right? Paul even said, to live is Christ and to die is gain. To be with my Savior forever and ever, that's a good thing. And maybe some of that is what Thomas was thinking, but but his whole world came crushing in when his Savior was dead and he was still alive, and and now his life is threatened, and all of his friends are threatening, and he just needed to go away and think about it for a while, I guess. But when he came back again, the other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. We've seen him. And he says, Don't play with me. I I loved my Lord, and I saw him dead. There's been so much that has been, you know, hopes that were taken away and things in my life. I just don't play these games with me. Have you felt that way before? When somebody tells you a piece of news that you just, it's just beyond understanding, because people have have fooled you with with different things that weren't true, and you put your hope into them and it and it didn't come true. But then somebody comes with a real real story of what something is happening, and you just can't put your hand around because you don't want to be heard again. I think that's where Thomas was. So he said to them, Unless I see the hands of the print of the nails and put my finger in the print of the nails and put my hand in his side, I will not believe. I can't believe this is don't don't do this to me. It's so hard. And after eight days, his disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them this time, and Jesus came, the doors being shut, came through the wall again and stood in the midst and said, Peace to you. And he said to Thomas, first thing, be lying to Thomas. Not because he's condemning Thomas, but because he loves Thomas and he wants Thomas to believe. Look at my hands. Reach your hand here and put it into my side. Thomas, do not be unbelieving, but believing. Don't let circumstances that you don't understand get in the way of you believing the truth. And here I am before you. Believe me. It's my heart that you are saved, that you are right with me. Believe, Thomas. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Something clicked. He saw the Lord, the risen Lord, and he realized, this is bigger than I ever imagined. He is my Lord, he is my master, but he is indeed God in the flesh. Only God could do this. And Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. And that's good, Thomas. That's really good. Blessed are those who have not seen yet have believed. But they will have heard. They will have seen evidence of the Lord, but they will not see me face to face. I would be pretty accurate in thinking that nobody in this room has seen the physical Jesus face to face, right? But have you been encountered by the Lord? Do you know that He is real? That He has changed you, that He has made you new? Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believe. And yet, this faith that we sometimes call blind faith because we don't see, yet we believe, our faith is not a blind faith, is it? The Lord gives us so much in order for us to understand and grasp and sense and be changed by the truth of the gospel. In verse 30, truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. There wasn't enough time, enough space to fill in all the things that Jesus was doing with his disciples, even after his resurrection. He spent a lot of time with them for the next 40 days before he ascended into heaven, or 50 days, somewhere around there, 40, 30 days. But the things that John decided by inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write down in his gospel, these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It's John's heart as it is the Lord's heart that you understand who Jesus is, that you have a personal encounter with the living Lord, and that your life would be changed. You realize that he is the Messiah, he is the Son of God, He is in God, He's God incarnate, in fact. And by believing, you might have life in His name. Because if we don't have a relationship with the Lord, we're walking in death. And if that never changes, we will be an internal punishment. This death is not a turn the lights out death. This is a suffering forever and ever because it's a separation from God. Which again is hard for me to put my head around, but it's it's declared, it's shown. But it's not God's heart that you end up in that place of condemnation forever. It's his heart that you would be with him forever and ever. And because John believed and received the Holy Spirit, he was given the same message, he was given the same heart to say, I want you to know Jesus because he is the one in believing in him that brings us life, abundant life, real life, and a life that lasts forever and ever, where no sin reigns. I look forward to my ultimate salvation, to seeing my Savior face to face, to receiving that new resurrected body, and for serving and fellowshipping and loving him forever and ever and serving him. There's so much that he has ahead for us that we have no idea. But it's coming. Are you ready? Are you looking forward to it? What a great chapter. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

You've been listening to Pastor Carl on Come On Up. We're in the book of John. John had been a simple fisherman before meeting Jesus. He was actually a disciple of John the Baptist before realizing that John the Baptist was just paving the way for Jesus to enter the scene. There were so many examples for John to observe, where Jesus made something out of nothing. He fed the 5,000, he brought about a boatload of fish when there had been no bites all night. These miraculous happenings were all around them, and John couldn't help but be enamored by Jesus Christ. What about you? Has the newness of knowing or following Jesus worn off? Are you apathetic about what God's doing in your life or how he's working and how he's trying to speak to you? Keep that spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. John lived a full life devoted to the Lord, and even though he was persecuted and tortured, he never swayed from telling people about the hope and faith he had in Jesus. After all, he had lived with Jesus for three and a half years and had learned much about the heart of God. A way for you to keep learning about the heart of God is by joining us on Sunday mornings at Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville for Bible study. We also have a faith film night the first Monday of every month. We offer quality Christian entertainment that challenges your faith and spurs good conversation. Learn more at themountaincross.com or search for Faith Film Night on Facebook. That's all for today. Come on Up is sponsored by The Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.