the solemn message:
life or death
John 20:21-23 ~ Terry phillips
February 24, 2019
the solemn message:
The Solemn Message
(life or death, forgiveness or not)
I’d like to ask you to turn, if you would with me, to John's Gospel once again---coming back to our study in John's Gospel, after couple weeks being away from it. We’re going to be focusing our attention this morning on the 21st through the 23rd verses in John chapter 20. I want to begin though by reading---begin in verse 18:
Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her. When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send 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, their sins have been forgiven them; If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
Once again, this morning, we are looking into the first time, after His resurrection, that Jesus appeared to His disciples. This is the evening of the first day of the week. This is Sunday evening, and Jesus on this resurrection day had already appeared, if you recall, to Mary Magdalene, to---separately to the group of women who had come early morning to visit the Lord's grave. He had appeared to Peter. He had appeared to the two men who were on the road---walking on the road to Emmaus. As we noted last time and focused our attention last time on this greeting that the Lord gives to His disciples, ‘Peace be with you.” He greets them with another assurance of His peace even as He had done during the upper room discourse immediately preceding His arrest. This morning we want to move a little further on and look at the rest of our Lord's words to His disciples on this Sunday evening. These are the words that the Spirit of God led John to record. These are not all---these are not the only words that Jesus spoke to the disciples, we know that from the account, the parallel account in Luke chapter 24. And we also know from that account, that it was not just Jesus disciples alone who were there, there were others who were gathered, and specifically we know the two that were on the road to Emmaus were there as well on this evening. This is a passage like so many others that often get taken out of their biblical context, that has been distorted to justify dangerous abuses in the organized religious exploitation of many unsuspecting and vulnerable souls. Because of the widespread spiritual deception associated with this particular passage, we need to be very careful in the way that we consider it and the first thing that we need to be careful to examine, is to understand what Jesus is not saying here. We’ll start with a negative, if you will. These words that Jesus speaks, verse 22 and 23, I'll go over them once again,
When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
What is Jesus not saying in this passage---in this statement?
The first thing we can say is this; Jesus is not saying that there is to be a special class of leaders in the church who themselves possess the authority to forgive or not to forgive the sins of others. That's not what Jesus is saying. There's absolutely no corroborating evidence in the word of God to support such an assumption. Indeed, the biblical evidence is clearly to the contrary, as we’ll look at in just a moment. But from a broader perspective, we need to recognize that this is a very prevalent problem---in our relationship to the word of God. People tend so often to allow humanly contrived traditions, practices that they are used to, that they’ve become familiar with, to override any serious inquiry as to their actual biblical legitimacy. This is a tendency that can creep in so very subtly. After all, it's the easiest way to go. Isn’t it? This is the way things have been done. This is the way we do things. This is the way the church does things. Who am I---Why do I need to rock the boat? It becomes the default position, even if it is blatantly unbiblical. We are all very guilty of this, at least to one extent or another. This is our tendency. This of course got the Pharisees into so much trouble. And those who listen to them into so much trouble. These traditions had been established by man and men began to believe in them and began to elevate them more and more to the point with elevated them even over and above the word of God. This was the Lord's accusation against the religious leaders of His day. We tend towards spiritual slothfulness many times when it comes to these things. We don't want to rock the religious boat that our friends and our family may be placidly floating downstream in. There are several passages that I want to direct your attention to in relation to the many distortions that you---that abound, regarding the statement that the Lord makes here.
The first thing that I want to draw your attention to is the record in Luke's gospel. It’s recorded in the other gospel---synoptic Gospels as well. But in Luke chapter 5 you recall, we have a record there of a man who is on a bed. He was paralyzed and he was not able to get up close to Jesus to be healed because of the crowd, and they brought him in, finally, and were able to get him in front of the Lord. Not finding any way they lowered him down from the roof and got him in front of the Lord. “Seeing their faith,” in verse 20 of Luke chapter 5, Jesus says this, “He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”” Verse 21 says this, “The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk.’ But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”” In other words, Jesus doesn't argue the point that they make. They’re right. Nobody but God alone can forgive sins. And then Jesus uses that very truth to establish once again His deity. He has the authority. Because it's true, only God can forgive sins.
The Lord in the seventh chapter of Luke's gospel, we have a record of a woman that came---we’re told she is an immoral woman. She comes to the Lord for forgiveness. And Jesus says in verse 47,
““For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he is forgiven little, loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?””
There's a recognition amongst even the hardhearted and hypocritical religious leaders of the day, theologically speaking, they knew that it was impossible, no one can forgive sins, but God. This is an established reality or an established an understanding amongst the religious leaders. But the real question I suppose for us is, how did the disciples behave themselves, how they conduct themselves after the Lord's ascension to heaven, to the right hand of the Father? How did they conduct themselves in relation to this matter of forgiveness of sins? I want to point out several passages to you if I could in the Acts of the Apostles. This is very important. If in fact what Jesus meant in these verses--- if He was in fact establishing some kind of very unique apostolic authority by which they would in fact be able to forgive or not forgive people’s sins, then surely, we would have some evidence of them practicing that. Would we not in the Acts of the Apostles? Especially in instances where you come into direct confrontation with sinners and their sin and their need of forgiveness. I direct your attention to several passages. Acts chapter 5, verse 31 Peter and the apostles say in verse---29. “We must obey God rather than men.” Verse 30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” Now verse 31, “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” This is the one in the apostle’s minds, whom God has appointed to provide forgiveness of sins. Acts chapter 10---Acts chapter 10, we have a record of Peter speaking in the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. The Lord had through a vision convinced Peter that the gospel was meant for Gentiles as well, and he went into this man's home, and then he says after having proclaimed---at the end, I should say, of his proclamation of the gospel to the people that are gathered in his home, verse 43 of Acts 10, “Of Him all the prophets,” Him referring to the Lord Jesus, “all the prophets bear witness that through His name, everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Peter does not encourage these people to come to him to have their sins absolved. It’s through His name that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sin. Let’s move on to a passage where we have the apostle Paul speaking. Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, Paul’s message at the city in Antioch, in the 38th verse, he says this, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him,” that is Christ, you can see in the context this is who he is speaking of, “that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” This is the focus that you see with the apostolic ministry in the record that is given to us. Their focus is on this one thing, that forgiveness of sins comes from Christ directly and exclusively. There's no---there's no evidence whatsoever that these men took what Jesus said as meaning that they would have or possess the authority themselves, in and of themselves, to forgive or to not forgive sins. I take you to one other passage in Acts chapter 8, you recall, you recall that after---after the martyrdom of Stephen there were--- there was a great persecution that arose against the church in Jerusalem, and many of those were scattered and they went around they went to different places preaching the word. Philip went down to the city, of to the city of Samaria. And you recall there's a man there and by the name of Simon who was a magician. A man who had been impressing people with his magical powers. But it says that even Simon himself believed. Verse 13, “…and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip and as he observed signs in great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.” And, of course, then they sent Peter and John down to Samaria when they heard of what was taking place there. The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon them, any of them, “they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then may begin laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” I want you to notice Peter's response. “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”” What does he instruct him to do? “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” Peter's instruction to this man who has sinned is not, you need to come to me for absolution from your sin's. His instruction is to go to the Lord. And this man---in fact, Simon answers in verse 24, and he says, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves,” Simon doesn't ask Peter to forgive him of his sins. He understands that there's only forgiveness with Christ, only forgiveness through the Lord. So, we see these, to me, very obvious passages where clearly the apostles did not take what Jesus said as meaning that they would have the authority themselves to forgive or not to forgive sin. This is not how they conducted themselves. That's not how they proclaimed the gospel. It's not how they dealt with those who were in sin.
And this of course is in keeping with the truth. It is established again and again throughout the New Testament. Several passages that I remind you of in this regard I think are very familiar with us all---to us all. 1 Timothy chapter 1, or I'm sorry, chapter 2 verse 5;
“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
You take that into---in conjunction with what John says. The apostle John says in 1 John chapter 2 verse one;
“My little children, I'm writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,”
Who? The local priest? The local apostle? “Jesus Christ the righteous.” That's our advocate with the Father we have no other advocate.
So, what then is Jesus saying to His disciples then? We’ve look just briefly at what it is not saying. The rest of the Scriptures are very clear and we could spend a lot more time looking at other passages but these are some that come to mind. So, what is it that Jesus is saying to His disciples? The first thing that I want you to consider, and this is extremely important, and that is the immediate context of the Lord's words. He's---He greets them with a greeting of peace, ““Peace be with you. And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Therefore, Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”” I want you to notice that almost immediately here, the Lord is focusing their attention, not to the past, but to the future. Is He not? “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” He's looking forward, He's directing their attention to something that's about to take place, what's coming next. There's a divine appointment for followers of Jesus to minister in a way that is similar to the Lord's earthly ministry. Notice how the Lord puts it here, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” We’re not sent of the Father in the same way, exactly the same way as Christ, obviously. We are not Deity. We don't become God in Christ. But Jesus is saying there's a very real sense in which, in the same way the Father had sent Him, He is sending them. He's---they’re looking forward, they’re looking ahead to the Lord's---to a ministry that would be similar to the Lord's earthly ministry. I want to direct your attention to the first chapter of Mark's gospel. You recall what Jesus says---Mark's description, and then we'll look at what Jesus says further on. In Mark chapter 1 verse 14 we read, that,
“after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””
Later on, in Mark's---in this first chapter of Mark's gospel, Jesus says to them in verse 38,
““Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for.””
You recall Jesus instructing his followers to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. The laborers are few, harvest is plentiful. Here is this thrust, this emphasis on making the truth of the gospel known. The apostles, as we know now looking back, they couldn't have known at that point in time, when Jesus is speaking to them---remember, we---the Acts of the Apostles haven’t occurred yet. These men are men who have just come off from an emotional roller coaster that's hard for us to imagine. Their despondency and dejection when they see Christ die in such a shameful way, and now here He is alive, and He’s speaking to them of something that's going to take place. He's preparing them mentally, spiritually. The apostles were going to play a very special role in this matter of making Christ known, of preaching and proclaiming the gospel. It clearly extends though, to others who would also become followers of the Lord Jesus. You recall what Jesus had said, John chapter 17 in His prayer of the Father, He says in verse 18, and this of course is very closely related to the words that He speaks here, He says, “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” And this is the passage, the context in which he is speaking of this fact that we are in the world even though we are no longer of the world. We’re not taken out of the world we’re still in the world, even though were not of the world. “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” This is almost identical to what the Lord is saying to these men. And then He says this, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.” Jesus is looking ahead, He’s looking forward to the witness these men would bear and to those who would respond savingly to that witness, to the proclamation of the gospel. We could see that same thing implied in Acts chapter 1 verse eight. I will begin with verse seven. The Lord of course there---this is just before for the Lord's ascension to the Father. They’re question is, ‘Are You going to restore the kingdom right now?’ That's what their expectations are. They’re still not quite getting what Jesus has been saying to them as He's preparing them for what's coming.
““He said to them, “It's not for you to know times are epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,” notice the last statement, “and even to the remotest part of the earth.””
Now it's obvious that these men, these actual specific men, did not accomplish that. Not to the remotest parts of the earth. They may have turned much of the civilized or known world upside down for Christ, but they didn't reach the remotest parts of the earth. The Lord is speaking here of something that is going to go on way past just these few men, though, they would have a very significant role in the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel. So, as we look at this passage we need to really keep this in mind, this context. This is a point in time where Jesus is preparing His disciples for a profoundly important ministry. No way they themselves could have realized the importance of what Jesus was calling them to do. Not at this point in time. Later on, they began to see as it unfolded.
But I want you to think about this for just a moment just these first few words that Jesus speaks to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Try if you can, to put yourselves in the disciple’s shoes for just a moment. What if the Son of God is telling you this, “As the Father sent Me into the world,” “As the Father sent Me…I'm also sending you.” Do you think you be just a little bit intimidated by a statement like that? I mean, I can’t imagine what that would've felt like. Jesus is telling these men that they are going to, by divine appointment, they are going to fulfill a ministry that Jesus Himself had begun. They're going to walk in His steps. Remember, He even told him earlier on in the upper room discourse that they would even be doing greater works. These are things that had to have just gone over their head much of the time. But here Jesus when He first meets them together as a group after His resurrection, He focuses on the future and He tells them that---He gives them this, this declaration, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” I can't imagine how overwhelming such a statement must've been from the risen Christ. These men had witnessed firsthand the Lord's earthly ministry. They had seen Jesus in action, if you will. In spite of all the opposition that the Lord faced, in spite of all the spiritual ignorance, the unbelief, the ridicule, the hatred, the hardhearted hypocrisy, and the blatant arrogance that Jesus encountered, He still spoke faithfully, passionately, and most importantly Jesus spoke with genuine authority. Even those who hated Him, couldn't deny that. What Jesus was saying had the ring of truth that none of their scribes and Pharisees could ever muster in their best speeches, in their greatest, in their most skillful oratory. They had witnessed this. These men had seen Jesus in action. They had listened to His words, they had seen people's response both good and bad, but the recognition that even amongst His enemies, as those soldiers that return without arresting Him, we mention them many times, even they had to admit, “No man ever spoke the way this man speaks.” They just could not bring ourselves to lay our hands on Him.
How could mere mortals ever dream of continuing in a similar manner. Think about this for a moment. Put yourselves in their shoes, “As the Father sent me, I also send you.” They know what Jesus came into the world to do in terms of His proclamation of the gospel. They were beginning to now understand that His real purpose was to atone for our sins, and that is the very heart and soul of the gospel. But now they're being told that, no, the Lord's not going to establish His kingdom right now, these men are going to have responsibility to continue preaching. When Luke begins the Acts of the Apostles, he clearly understands this concept. Does he not? How does he begin the Acts of the Apostles, he says;
“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,”
He understood that there was an incompleteness to the Lord's teaching in this one sense, that is that it needed to continue, and it would continue through those whom He had called to Himself.
So, how are these men to approach this? These faithful followers of the Lord and the countless saints who follow them would surely need something extraordinarily special to turn the world upside down for Christ and to bear witness to the remotest part of the earth. Surely, that's not going to be done in our own strength? And these men would have surely understood that. It would've been difficult for them to even grasp what Jesus is saying. So, in this context we see Jesus providing for them a remarkable assurance and encouragement for what they're about to embark on.
First of all, Jesus promises them the provision of divine power. And not just in some general sort of way, the vague way that many times people speak about God and in some moment that they feel they felt sense the presence of God or His---His power, His provision. This is power where it counts. This is power in the inner man being lived out and exhibited in the proclamation, specifically in the proclamation the gospel of Christ. Jesus is assuring him in this passage that He will follow through with His previous pledge, the Holy Spirit. I don't believe that Jesus is bestowing upon them the Spirit in this moment of time. I believe it what Jesus is speaking of here, the way He is speaking, is symbolic. We’re told in Acts chapter 1, they’re to wait until the Spirit of God comes upon them. If that was the case, if Jesus had already given the Spirit, why are they to wait now, few weeks later---a few days later actually? Jesus is promising them, and He's doing so in a very remarkable physical act of symbolism. He's reminding them of His promise. Remember what Jesus said to these men not but a few days before in the upper room discourse? What does He say in John 14 verse 16?
“I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you.”
The same chapter verse 26,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Chapter 15 verse 26,
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me.”
Chapter 16 verse seven,
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away,” and Jesus had not gone away yet, “If I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
Verse 13,
“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.”
I want to be careful here to say this, there is no doubt that these men had been already partakers of the Holy Spirit, and in a significant way, but the unique enablement that Jesus is promising to them, is in relation to the ministry that would be given to them. That power was evidenced at Pentecost I believe, as the Spirit of God was poured out on them, and within an---instant in time, everything changed. Peter is emboldened and empowered and the gospel is proclaimed on the day of Pentecost and thousands respond positively to it. Far more than who then those who have responded to it even when Jesus was proclaiming it. The Spirit of God had come in power, great power, and this is what these men needed to hear. This is what they needed to be reminded of. Jesus isn't simply saying to them, ‘You are responsible to carry on where I left off and you're on your own to figure out how to do that.’ He saying, ‘Receive My Spirit, receive the Holy Spirit of God in anticipation of what you've been called upon and what I'm sending you to do.’
It’s a remarkable thing this matter of power, there's really no, there's no alternative to this. You and I can proclaim the gospel in every which way imaginable, but without, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, it will be in vain. You recall in Acts chapter 1, we’re told---after we’re told that Jesus appeared to these men over a period of 40 days, speaking to them of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Verse four, and, “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait,” Wait for what? “for what the Father had promised, ‘Which, He said, ‘you heard of from Me, for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” You’re supposed to stay here. You’re supposed to stay put. You’re supposed to wait. The day will come very soon, when it’s going to be time for you to go, but you can't go, not now. Not until My promise of the Holy Spirit has been given to you. What a wonderful thing this is, when you think about it. Verse 33, in Peter's message even there on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2;
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
Peter directly relates what's taking place on the day of Pentecost to what Jesus had promised. You and I are partakers of that same promise. Everyone who comes to Christ as a partaker of that promise. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13,
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”
The Lord fulfilling His promise, and apart from that, the fulfilling of that promise, this---this command to go is impossible. It would be---there would be---be no sense in giving this command to these men or to any of us. So, the Lord is assuring them in this symbolic way, that He’s going to come through with His promise.
Secondly, there's a second thing that Jesus emphasizes here to encourage these men in relation to what they're about to face, the responsibility that the Lord Himself is giving them. Secondly, Jesus emphasizes to them the authoritativeness of the message itself. The authoritativeness or the authority of the message itself. Those who proclaim the gospel of Christ are engaged in a most solemn endeavor. Sometimes we forget this. We have a tendency to somehow think of the proclamation of the gospel in sort of almost a lighthearted way, and especially the day and age in which we live is presented many times in a very lighthearted way. ‘Do you want a really neat experience? Do you want a really cool life? You need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.’ This is how it is often presented in this world today. The seriousness of it all seems to so often be lacking, seems to be missing. This is a solemn message and it seems to me that this is exactly what the Lord is emphasizing this passage. This is a matter of life and death, not physical, life and death, eternal life or eternal judgment. In other words, a message of forgiveness or for those who reject it, a message of condemnation. Those who proclaim the gospel of Christ have no authority in and of themselves, to forgive sins, but the truth they proclaim is of the greatest import and power. There's nothing like it. What does Paul say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” There's nothing like it at all. You can try to move and change all kinds of people's minds, and the societies by all kinds of political approaches in various social programs or even all kinds of psychological formulas, but you won't be able to even come close to what the gospel can do in terms of real change. The truth of the gospel changes people's lives because, “it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” there's no distinction. This is one of the things that I think is so important for us to get a hold of in our minds. The proclamation of Christ is not merely a call to join a particular religion, or this particular denomination, or that particular cultural view of God. That's not what the proclamation of the gospel is. As divinely appointed proclaimers of the gospel, the Lord's followers wield an authoritative influence in this world. Sometimes we forget this, we lose sight of it, we get discouraged. So closely are the Lord's ministers connected to the authority of the gospel that the Lord can speak in this way. As you and I proclaim the truth of the gospel, as these men would go on proclaim the truth of the gospel to sinners, so closely are they related to its truth, the Lord says, their declaration of the truth will either result in forgiveness, condemnation. It's interesting to---the word that is translated, retained---retained, here in this passage, is, I think personally that is unfortunate this word is used. Maybe we could---maybe another way to say it is, the word has been abused in this particular context. The word, “krate’te” means, to be strong, to hold something, to hold it fast, and it's never, at least in the new American Standard, it’s never translated this way again. This is the only passage which is translated this way, it is used a lot. To give you some examples: You recall in Acts chapter 3, when the man who had been healed, we’re told in verse 11, that he was, “clinging” to Peter and John. That word, “clinging” is the exact same word in the original. You recall when the women, we were talking about, when they saw the risen Lord on the morning of the resurrection, and they---we are told they “took hold” of His feet and worshipped Him. That word, “hold” there, is the same exact word. Verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 4, were told, to “hold fast the confession of our faith.” Same word, “hold.” The point, it seems to me, should be fairly obvious to us. As we proclaim the gospel of Christ, we are doing something has solemn implications for those who hear. There's either going to be---it will either be a message of forgiveness for them, by the very words we declare we are declaring that they are forgiven, or they are not forgiven, in regard to the way they respond to that message. They are either forgiven, or their sins are still “holding them fast.” They're still clinging to their sin and held fast in its darkness and Satan's dominion.
This statement from the Lord, it seems to me, should have---would have greatly encouraged the disciples. And especially later on as they look back on it. There's no doubt there---there's no doubt in my mind they could not have possibly fully understood what they were---what Jesus was saying to them at this point in time. But surely, they would have remembered, and we know that that's part of the ministry of the Spirit is to remind us of what we've already heard and Jesus said that the Spirit would do just that. These men would indeed be reminded of this reality and then they would make declarations in---in accord or in collaboration---or corroboration I should say, with what Jesus had said to them. Notice what Peter says in chapter 3 in his message and Acts of the Apostles, in verse 19, “Repent therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” This is a declaration of this very thing. Come to Christ, you’ll be forgiven; you don't, you won't. It reminds me also, this matter of this meanest solemn declaration, it reminds me of the way Paul responds, the way Paul---the way Paul actually proclaims the message. You recall in Acts chapter 24, Felix arrives, Paul’s imprisoned, and Felix wants to hear Paul, and he sends for Paul and he hears Paul speak about faith in Christ Jesus. This is acts 24:24. Verse 25 says this, and “as he,” that is, Paul, “was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come,” notice Felix's response, “Felix became frightened.” Now there's a proclamation of the truth of the gospel. A person who doesn't--- who refuses to accept it, and ends up instead be frightened. Paul was proclaiming the truth in the power of the Spirit of God, and this man was frightened. And he said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you.” lf recall later on in the 26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is called upon to give a defense before Festus and Agrippa. While Paul was speaking in his defense, Festus interrupts him with a, loud voice and says, ““Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” but Paul said,” Paul doesn't miss a beat. He said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth.”” These men understood, as we ought to understand and need to understand, that the message of life is a solemn proclamation. With it comes only two possible responses. It reminds me of what the Lord said, even in John chapter 8 verse 12, He says, “I am the light of the world. He follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” This is the positive. The negative later in the same chapter, He says, verse 24, “I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins, for unless you believe that I Am, you shall die in your sins.” Forgiveness or not.
I'm reminded to--- as I was thinking---as I was contemplating this, is what the Apostle John says in 1 John chapter 5 verse 11 and 12, “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has a life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” I want to just remind you and encourage you this morning that the message that we proclaim, that we seek to proclaim I trust, and that I trust that we confirm in our living, is a solemn message. By the very words that we proclaim, we are proclaiming forgiveness or not to people who hear and listen. That is, if we’re proclaiming the message in truth. There's an authoritativeness to the gospel, and I would submit to you that you see evidence of this in many ways. People many times in in response to or in being confronted with the gospel, and especially people who don't hear it hardly ever, you will notice a difference in the way at that they listen to it. There's a ring of truth, and they recognize that. I’ve seen this especially be true in funeral situations where there are unbelievers who come with a very---from a position, from a great---of strong opposition to the gospel, who can even demonstrate, I've witnessed this first hand, someone demonstrating in their body an aggressive hatred of the gospel, and as the gospel is being proclaimed, a settling down, a submission that---to the fact that this has the ring of truth. That’s not to say that people can't in other instances, rise up and rail against it, but that to, because it has the ring of truth. There---it offers genuine hope but it also results in painful conviction. It elicits very strong responses. It's hard to be ambivalent when the truth of the gospel is being proclaimed. It's hard for the lost to simply say, ‘Well, whatever.’ Sometimes they do. Who knows what's going on in their heart? You see this oftentimes, this very thing that Jesus is speaking of. Have you ever noticed this, you might be talking to somebody, you might not even be talking to them at the moment about the Lord, but maybe you have in the past, or maybe you are right then and there, and you've never made one mention specifically of what will happen to them if they reject the gospel and they will come up with this and say this to you, “I suppose you think I'm going to hell?” Why would someone say that? I've seen---and I I've heard people testify to it, and I've seen people who will say this, and you aren’t even proclaiming the gospel at that point in time. Why is that? It's because of the authoritativeness of the message. It’s a solemn word of truth, and for those who are part from Christ brings painful conviction and for those who are honest enough to recognize what that proclamation is, they may indeed be very wise in saying, “I suppose that means I'm going to hell.” At least they are recognizing what the message is. Sometimes those people recognize the solemnity of the message more than God's people do today. We need to be careful, very careful. This is a message of life or of death. If you have the Son, you have the life, and if you do not, you do not have life. You’re perishing. You're facing an eternal condemnation. I'm thankful for these words of the Lord to His disciples, and I trust that they should be great encouragement to us. It’s not an easy thing to proclaim the truth of the gospel. There's all kinds of different responses and things that were going to face, obstacles. But let it never be---one of our greatest obstacles, that we are---have become passive or we have become nonchalant about the truth as it is in Jesus. Let’s bow together.
(life or death, forgiveness or not)
I’d like to ask you to turn, if you would with me, to John's Gospel once again---coming back to our study in John's Gospel, after couple weeks being away from it. We’re going to be focusing our attention this morning on the 21st through the 23rd verses in John chapter 20. I want to begin though by reading---begin in verse 18:
Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her. When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send 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, their sins have been forgiven them; If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
Once again, this morning, we are looking into the first time, after His resurrection, that Jesus appeared to His disciples. This is the evening of the first day of the week. This is Sunday evening, and Jesus on this resurrection day had already appeared, if you recall, to Mary Magdalene, to---separately to the group of women who had come early morning to visit the Lord's grave. He had appeared to Peter. He had appeared to the two men who were on the road---walking on the road to Emmaus. As we noted last time and focused our attention last time on this greeting that the Lord gives to His disciples, ‘Peace be with you.” He greets them with another assurance of His peace even as He had done during the upper room discourse immediately preceding His arrest. This morning we want to move a little further on and look at the rest of our Lord's words to His disciples on this Sunday evening. These are the words that the Spirit of God led John to record. These are not all---these are not the only words that Jesus spoke to the disciples, we know that from the account, the parallel account in Luke chapter 24. And we also know from that account, that it was not just Jesus disciples alone who were there, there were others who were gathered, and specifically we know the two that were on the road to Emmaus were there as well on this evening. This is a passage like so many others that often get taken out of their biblical context, that has been distorted to justify dangerous abuses in the organized religious exploitation of many unsuspecting and vulnerable souls. Because of the widespread spiritual deception associated with this particular passage, we need to be very careful in the way that we consider it and the first thing that we need to be careful to examine, is to understand what Jesus is not saying here. We’ll start with a negative, if you will. These words that Jesus speaks, verse 22 and 23, I'll go over them once again,
When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
What is Jesus not saying in this passage---in this statement?
The first thing we can say is this; Jesus is not saying that there is to be a special class of leaders in the church who themselves possess the authority to forgive or not to forgive the sins of others. That's not what Jesus is saying. There's absolutely no corroborating evidence in the word of God to support such an assumption. Indeed, the biblical evidence is clearly to the contrary, as we’ll look at in just a moment. But from a broader perspective, we need to recognize that this is a very prevalent problem---in our relationship to the word of God. People tend so often to allow humanly contrived traditions, practices that they are used to, that they’ve become familiar with, to override any serious inquiry as to their actual biblical legitimacy. This is a tendency that can creep in so very subtly. After all, it's the easiest way to go. Isn’t it? This is the way things have been done. This is the way we do things. This is the way the church does things. Who am I---Why do I need to rock the boat? It becomes the default position, even if it is blatantly unbiblical. We are all very guilty of this, at least to one extent or another. This is our tendency. This of course got the Pharisees into so much trouble. And those who listen to them into so much trouble. These traditions had been established by man and men began to believe in them and began to elevate them more and more to the point with elevated them even over and above the word of God. This was the Lord's accusation against the religious leaders of His day. We tend towards spiritual slothfulness many times when it comes to these things. We don't want to rock the religious boat that our friends and our family may be placidly floating downstream in. There are several passages that I want to direct your attention to in relation to the many distortions that you---that abound, regarding the statement that the Lord makes here.
The first thing that I want to draw your attention to is the record in Luke's gospel. It’s recorded in the other gospel---synoptic Gospels as well. But in Luke chapter 5 you recall, we have a record there of a man who is on a bed. He was paralyzed and he was not able to get up close to Jesus to be healed because of the crowd, and they brought him in, finally, and were able to get him in front of the Lord. Not finding any way they lowered him down from the roof and got him in front of the Lord. “Seeing their faith,” in verse 20 of Luke chapter 5, Jesus says this, “He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”” Verse 21 says this, “The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk.’ But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”” In other words, Jesus doesn't argue the point that they make. They’re right. Nobody but God alone can forgive sins. And then Jesus uses that very truth to establish once again His deity. He has the authority. Because it's true, only God can forgive sins.
The Lord in the seventh chapter of Luke's gospel, we have a record of a woman that came---we’re told she is an immoral woman. She comes to the Lord for forgiveness. And Jesus says in verse 47,
““For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he is forgiven little, loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?””
There's a recognition amongst even the hardhearted and hypocritical religious leaders of the day, theologically speaking, they knew that it was impossible, no one can forgive sins, but God. This is an established reality or an established an understanding amongst the religious leaders. But the real question I suppose for us is, how did the disciples behave themselves, how they conduct themselves after the Lord's ascension to heaven, to the right hand of the Father? How did they conduct themselves in relation to this matter of forgiveness of sins? I want to point out several passages to you if I could in the Acts of the Apostles. This is very important. If in fact what Jesus meant in these verses--- if He was in fact establishing some kind of very unique apostolic authority by which they would in fact be able to forgive or not forgive people’s sins, then surely, we would have some evidence of them practicing that. Would we not in the Acts of the Apostles? Especially in instances where you come into direct confrontation with sinners and their sin and their need of forgiveness. I direct your attention to several passages. Acts chapter 5, verse 31 Peter and the apostles say in verse---29. “We must obey God rather than men.” Verse 30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” Now verse 31, “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” This is the one in the apostle’s minds, whom God has appointed to provide forgiveness of sins. Acts chapter 10---Acts chapter 10, we have a record of Peter speaking in the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. The Lord had through a vision convinced Peter that the gospel was meant for Gentiles as well, and he went into this man's home, and then he says after having proclaimed---at the end, I should say, of his proclamation of the gospel to the people that are gathered in his home, verse 43 of Acts 10, “Of Him all the prophets,” Him referring to the Lord Jesus, “all the prophets bear witness that through His name, everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Peter does not encourage these people to come to him to have their sins absolved. It’s through His name that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sin. Let’s move on to a passage where we have the apostle Paul speaking. Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, Paul’s message at the city in Antioch, in the 38th verse, he says this, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him,” that is Christ, you can see in the context this is who he is speaking of, “that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” This is the focus that you see with the apostolic ministry in the record that is given to us. Their focus is on this one thing, that forgiveness of sins comes from Christ directly and exclusively. There's no---there's no evidence whatsoever that these men took what Jesus said as meaning that they would have or possess the authority themselves, in and of themselves, to forgive or to not forgive sins. I take you to one other passage in Acts chapter 8, you recall, you recall that after---after the martyrdom of Stephen there were--- there was a great persecution that arose against the church in Jerusalem, and many of those were scattered and they went around they went to different places preaching the word. Philip went down to the city, of to the city of Samaria. And you recall there's a man there and by the name of Simon who was a magician. A man who had been impressing people with his magical powers. But it says that even Simon himself believed. Verse 13, “…and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip and as he observed signs in great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.” And, of course, then they sent Peter and John down to Samaria when they heard of what was taking place there. The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon them, any of them, “they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then may begin laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” I want you to notice Peter's response. “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”” What does he instruct him to do? “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” Peter's instruction to this man who has sinned is not, you need to come to me for absolution from your sin's. His instruction is to go to the Lord. And this man---in fact, Simon answers in verse 24, and he says, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves,” Simon doesn't ask Peter to forgive him of his sins. He understands that there's only forgiveness with Christ, only forgiveness through the Lord. So, we see these, to me, very obvious passages where clearly the apostles did not take what Jesus said as meaning that they would have the authority themselves to forgive or not to forgive sin. This is not how they conducted themselves. That's not how they proclaimed the gospel. It's not how they dealt with those who were in sin.
And this of course is in keeping with the truth. It is established again and again throughout the New Testament. Several passages that I remind you of in this regard I think are very familiar with us all---to us all. 1 Timothy chapter 1, or I'm sorry, chapter 2 verse 5;
“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
You take that into---in conjunction with what John says. The apostle John says in 1 John chapter 2 verse one;
“My little children, I'm writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,”
Who? The local priest? The local apostle? “Jesus Christ the righteous.” That's our advocate with the Father we have no other advocate.
So, what then is Jesus saying to His disciples then? We’ve look just briefly at what it is not saying. The rest of the Scriptures are very clear and we could spend a lot more time looking at other passages but these are some that come to mind. So, what is it that Jesus is saying to His disciples? The first thing that I want you to consider, and this is extremely important, and that is the immediate context of the Lord's words. He's---He greets them with a greeting of peace, ““Peace be with you. And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Therefore, Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”” I want you to notice that almost immediately here, the Lord is focusing their attention, not to the past, but to the future. Is He not? “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” He's looking forward, He's directing their attention to something that's about to take place, what's coming next. There's a divine appointment for followers of Jesus to minister in a way that is similar to the Lord's earthly ministry. Notice how the Lord puts it here, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” We’re not sent of the Father in the same way, exactly the same way as Christ, obviously. We are not Deity. We don't become God in Christ. But Jesus is saying there's a very real sense in which, in the same way the Father had sent Him, He is sending them. He's---they’re looking forward, they’re looking ahead to the Lord's---to a ministry that would be similar to the Lord's earthly ministry. I want to direct your attention to the first chapter of Mark's gospel. You recall what Jesus says---Mark's description, and then we'll look at what Jesus says further on. In Mark chapter 1 verse 14 we read, that,
“after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””
Later on, in Mark's---in this first chapter of Mark's gospel, Jesus says to them in verse 38,
““Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for.””
You recall Jesus instructing his followers to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. The laborers are few, harvest is plentiful. Here is this thrust, this emphasis on making the truth of the gospel known. The apostles, as we know now looking back, they couldn't have known at that point in time, when Jesus is speaking to them---remember, we---the Acts of the Apostles haven’t occurred yet. These men are men who have just come off from an emotional roller coaster that's hard for us to imagine. Their despondency and dejection when they see Christ die in such a shameful way, and now here He is alive, and He’s speaking to them of something that's going to take place. He's preparing them mentally, spiritually. The apostles were going to play a very special role in this matter of making Christ known, of preaching and proclaiming the gospel. It clearly extends though, to others who would also become followers of the Lord Jesus. You recall what Jesus had said, John chapter 17 in His prayer of the Father, He says in verse 18, and this of course is very closely related to the words that He speaks here, He says, “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” And this is the passage, the context in which he is speaking of this fact that we are in the world even though we are no longer of the world. We’re not taken out of the world we’re still in the world, even though were not of the world. “As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” This is almost identical to what the Lord is saying to these men. And then He says this, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.” Jesus is looking ahead, He’s looking forward to the witness these men would bear and to those who would respond savingly to that witness, to the proclamation of the gospel. We could see that same thing implied in Acts chapter 1 verse eight. I will begin with verse seven. The Lord of course there---this is just before for the Lord's ascension to the Father. They’re question is, ‘Are You going to restore the kingdom right now?’ That's what their expectations are. They’re still not quite getting what Jesus has been saying to them as He's preparing them for what's coming.
““He said to them, “It's not for you to know times are epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria,” notice the last statement, “and even to the remotest part of the earth.””
Now it's obvious that these men, these actual specific men, did not accomplish that. Not to the remotest parts of the earth. They may have turned much of the civilized or known world upside down for Christ, but they didn't reach the remotest parts of the earth. The Lord is speaking here of something that is going to go on way past just these few men, though, they would have a very significant role in the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel. So, as we look at this passage we need to really keep this in mind, this context. This is a point in time where Jesus is preparing His disciples for a profoundly important ministry. No way they themselves could have realized the importance of what Jesus was calling them to do. Not at this point in time. Later on, they began to see as it unfolded.
But I want you to think about this for just a moment just these first few words that Jesus speaks to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” Try if you can, to put yourselves in the disciple’s shoes for just a moment. What if the Son of God is telling you this, “As the Father sent Me into the world,” “As the Father sent Me…I'm also sending you.” Do you think you be just a little bit intimidated by a statement like that? I mean, I can’t imagine what that would've felt like. Jesus is telling these men that they are going to, by divine appointment, they are going to fulfill a ministry that Jesus Himself had begun. They're going to walk in His steps. Remember, He even told him earlier on in the upper room discourse that they would even be doing greater works. These are things that had to have just gone over their head much of the time. But here Jesus when He first meets them together as a group after His resurrection, He focuses on the future and He tells them that---He gives them this, this declaration, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” I can't imagine how overwhelming such a statement must've been from the risen Christ. These men had witnessed firsthand the Lord's earthly ministry. They had seen Jesus in action, if you will. In spite of all the opposition that the Lord faced, in spite of all the spiritual ignorance, the unbelief, the ridicule, the hatred, the hardhearted hypocrisy, and the blatant arrogance that Jesus encountered, He still spoke faithfully, passionately, and most importantly Jesus spoke with genuine authority. Even those who hated Him, couldn't deny that. What Jesus was saying had the ring of truth that none of their scribes and Pharisees could ever muster in their best speeches, in their greatest, in their most skillful oratory. They had witnessed this. These men had seen Jesus in action. They had listened to His words, they had seen people's response both good and bad, but the recognition that even amongst His enemies, as those soldiers that return without arresting Him, we mention them many times, even they had to admit, “No man ever spoke the way this man speaks.” They just could not bring ourselves to lay our hands on Him.
How could mere mortals ever dream of continuing in a similar manner. Think about this for a moment. Put yourselves in their shoes, “As the Father sent me, I also send you.” They know what Jesus came into the world to do in terms of His proclamation of the gospel. They were beginning to now understand that His real purpose was to atone for our sins, and that is the very heart and soul of the gospel. But now they're being told that, no, the Lord's not going to establish His kingdom right now, these men are going to have responsibility to continue preaching. When Luke begins the Acts of the Apostles, he clearly understands this concept. Does he not? How does he begin the Acts of the Apostles, he says;
“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,”
He understood that there was an incompleteness to the Lord's teaching in this one sense, that is that it needed to continue, and it would continue through those whom He had called to Himself.
So, how are these men to approach this? These faithful followers of the Lord and the countless saints who follow them would surely need something extraordinarily special to turn the world upside down for Christ and to bear witness to the remotest part of the earth. Surely, that's not going to be done in our own strength? And these men would have surely understood that. It would've been difficult for them to even grasp what Jesus is saying. So, in this context we see Jesus providing for them a remarkable assurance and encouragement for what they're about to embark on.
First of all, Jesus promises them the provision of divine power. And not just in some general sort of way, the vague way that many times people speak about God and in some moment that they feel they felt sense the presence of God or His---His power, His provision. This is power where it counts. This is power in the inner man being lived out and exhibited in the proclamation, specifically in the proclamation the gospel of Christ. Jesus is assuring him in this passage that He will follow through with His previous pledge, the Holy Spirit. I don't believe that Jesus is bestowing upon them the Spirit in this moment of time. I believe it what Jesus is speaking of here, the way He is speaking, is symbolic. We’re told in Acts chapter 1, they’re to wait until the Spirit of God comes upon them. If that was the case, if Jesus had already given the Spirit, why are they to wait now, few weeks later---a few days later actually? Jesus is promising them, and He's doing so in a very remarkable physical act of symbolism. He's reminding them of His promise. Remember what Jesus said to these men not but a few days before in the upper room discourse? What does He say in John 14 verse 16?
“I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him, because He abides with you and will be in you.”
The same chapter verse 26,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Chapter 15 verse 26,
“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me.”
Chapter 16 verse seven,
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away,” and Jesus had not gone away yet, “If I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
Verse 13,
“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.”
I want to be careful here to say this, there is no doubt that these men had been already partakers of the Holy Spirit, and in a significant way, but the unique enablement that Jesus is promising to them, is in relation to the ministry that would be given to them. That power was evidenced at Pentecost I believe, as the Spirit of God was poured out on them, and within an---instant in time, everything changed. Peter is emboldened and empowered and the gospel is proclaimed on the day of Pentecost and thousands respond positively to it. Far more than who then those who have responded to it even when Jesus was proclaiming it. The Spirit of God had come in power, great power, and this is what these men needed to hear. This is what they needed to be reminded of. Jesus isn't simply saying to them, ‘You are responsible to carry on where I left off and you're on your own to figure out how to do that.’ He saying, ‘Receive My Spirit, receive the Holy Spirit of God in anticipation of what you've been called upon and what I'm sending you to do.’
It’s a remarkable thing this matter of power, there's really no, there's no alternative to this. You and I can proclaim the gospel in every which way imaginable, but without, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, it will be in vain. You recall in Acts chapter 1, we’re told---after we’re told that Jesus appeared to these men over a period of 40 days, speaking to them of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Verse four, and, “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait,” Wait for what? “for what the Father had promised, ‘Which, He said, ‘you heard of from Me, for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” You’re supposed to stay here. You’re supposed to stay put. You’re supposed to wait. The day will come very soon, when it’s going to be time for you to go, but you can't go, not now. Not until My promise of the Holy Spirit has been given to you. What a wonderful thing this is, when you think about it. Verse 33, in Peter's message even there on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2;
“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”
Peter directly relates what's taking place on the day of Pentecost to what Jesus had promised. You and I are partakers of that same promise. Everyone who comes to Christ as a partaker of that promise. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13,
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”
The Lord fulfilling His promise, and apart from that, the fulfilling of that promise, this---this command to go is impossible. It would be---there would be---be no sense in giving this command to these men or to any of us. So, the Lord is assuring them in this symbolic way, that He’s going to come through with His promise.
Secondly, there's a second thing that Jesus emphasizes here to encourage these men in relation to what they're about to face, the responsibility that the Lord Himself is giving them. Secondly, Jesus emphasizes to them the authoritativeness of the message itself. The authoritativeness or the authority of the message itself. Those who proclaim the gospel of Christ are engaged in a most solemn endeavor. Sometimes we forget this. We have a tendency to somehow think of the proclamation of the gospel in sort of almost a lighthearted way, and especially the day and age in which we live is presented many times in a very lighthearted way. ‘Do you want a really neat experience? Do you want a really cool life? You need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.’ This is how it is often presented in this world today. The seriousness of it all seems to so often be lacking, seems to be missing. This is a solemn message and it seems to me that this is exactly what the Lord is emphasizing this passage. This is a matter of life and death, not physical, life and death, eternal life or eternal judgment. In other words, a message of forgiveness or for those who reject it, a message of condemnation. Those who proclaim the gospel of Christ have no authority in and of themselves, to forgive sins, but the truth they proclaim is of the greatest import and power. There's nothing like it. What does Paul say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” There's nothing like it at all. You can try to move and change all kinds of people's minds, and the societies by all kinds of political approaches in various social programs or even all kinds of psychological formulas, but you won't be able to even come close to what the gospel can do in terms of real change. The truth of the gospel changes people's lives because, “it's the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” there's no distinction. This is one of the things that I think is so important for us to get a hold of in our minds. The proclamation of Christ is not merely a call to join a particular religion, or this particular denomination, or that particular cultural view of God. That's not what the proclamation of the gospel is. As divinely appointed proclaimers of the gospel, the Lord's followers wield an authoritative influence in this world. Sometimes we forget this, we lose sight of it, we get discouraged. So closely are the Lord's ministers connected to the authority of the gospel that the Lord can speak in this way. As you and I proclaim the truth of the gospel, as these men would go on proclaim the truth of the gospel to sinners, so closely are they related to its truth, the Lord says, their declaration of the truth will either result in forgiveness, condemnation. It's interesting to---the word that is translated, retained---retained, here in this passage, is, I think personally that is unfortunate this word is used. Maybe we could---maybe another way to say it is, the word has been abused in this particular context. The word, “krate’te” means, to be strong, to hold something, to hold it fast, and it's never, at least in the new American Standard, it’s never translated this way again. This is the only passage which is translated this way, it is used a lot. To give you some examples: You recall in Acts chapter 3, when the man who had been healed, we’re told in verse 11, that he was, “clinging” to Peter and John. That word, “clinging” is the exact same word in the original. You recall when the women, we were talking about, when they saw the risen Lord on the morning of the resurrection, and they---we are told they “took hold” of His feet and worshipped Him. That word, “hold” there, is the same exact word. Verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 4, were told, to “hold fast the confession of our faith.” Same word, “hold.” The point, it seems to me, should be fairly obvious to us. As we proclaim the gospel of Christ, we are doing something has solemn implications for those who hear. There's either going to be---it will either be a message of forgiveness for them, by the very words we declare we are declaring that they are forgiven, or they are not forgiven, in regard to the way they respond to that message. They are either forgiven, or their sins are still “holding them fast.” They're still clinging to their sin and held fast in its darkness and Satan's dominion.
This statement from the Lord, it seems to me, should have---would have greatly encouraged the disciples. And especially later on as they look back on it. There's no doubt there---there's no doubt in my mind they could not have possibly fully understood what they were---what Jesus was saying to them at this point in time. But surely, they would have remembered, and we know that that's part of the ministry of the Spirit is to remind us of what we've already heard and Jesus said that the Spirit would do just that. These men would indeed be reminded of this reality and then they would make declarations in---in accord or in collaboration---or corroboration I should say, with what Jesus had said to them. Notice what Peter says in chapter 3 in his message and Acts of the Apostles, in verse 19, “Repent therefore, and return, that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” This is a declaration of this very thing. Come to Christ, you’ll be forgiven; you don't, you won't. It reminds me also, this matter of this meanest solemn declaration, it reminds me of the way Paul responds, the way Paul---the way Paul actually proclaims the message. You recall in Acts chapter 24, Felix arrives, Paul’s imprisoned, and Felix wants to hear Paul, and he sends for Paul and he hears Paul speak about faith in Christ Jesus. This is acts 24:24. Verse 25 says this, and “as he,” that is, Paul, “was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come,” notice Felix's response, “Felix became frightened.” Now there's a proclamation of the truth of the gospel. A person who doesn't--- who refuses to accept it, and ends up instead be frightened. Paul was proclaiming the truth in the power of the Spirit of God, and this man was frightened. And he said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time, I will summon you.” lf recall later on in the 26th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul is called upon to give a defense before Festus and Agrippa. While Paul was speaking in his defense, Festus interrupts him with a, loud voice and says, ““Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” but Paul said,” Paul doesn't miss a beat. He said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth.”” These men understood, as we ought to understand and need to understand, that the message of life is a solemn proclamation. With it comes only two possible responses. It reminds me of what the Lord said, even in John chapter 8 verse 12, He says, “I am the light of the world. He follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.” This is the positive. The negative later in the same chapter, He says, verse 24, “I said therefore to you that you shall die in your sins, for unless you believe that I Am, you shall die in your sins.” Forgiveness or not.
I'm reminded to--- as I was thinking---as I was contemplating this, is what the Apostle John says in 1 John chapter 5 verse 11 and 12, “And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has a life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” I want to just remind you and encourage you this morning that the message that we proclaim, that we seek to proclaim I trust, and that I trust that we confirm in our living, is a solemn message. By the very words that we proclaim, we are proclaiming forgiveness or not to people who hear and listen. That is, if we’re proclaiming the message in truth. There's an authoritativeness to the gospel, and I would submit to you that you see evidence of this in many ways. People many times in in response to or in being confronted with the gospel, and especially people who don't hear it hardly ever, you will notice a difference in the way at that they listen to it. There's a ring of truth, and they recognize that. I’ve seen this especially be true in funeral situations where there are unbelievers who come with a very---from a position, from a great---of strong opposition to the gospel, who can even demonstrate, I've witnessed this first hand, someone demonstrating in their body an aggressive hatred of the gospel, and as the gospel is being proclaimed, a settling down, a submission that---to the fact that this has the ring of truth. That’s not to say that people can't in other instances, rise up and rail against it, but that to, because it has the ring of truth. There---it offers genuine hope but it also results in painful conviction. It elicits very strong responses. It's hard to be ambivalent when the truth of the gospel is being proclaimed. It's hard for the lost to simply say, ‘Well, whatever.’ Sometimes they do. Who knows what's going on in their heart? You see this oftentimes, this very thing that Jesus is speaking of. Have you ever noticed this, you might be talking to somebody, you might not even be talking to them at the moment about the Lord, but maybe you have in the past, or maybe you are right then and there, and you've never made one mention specifically of what will happen to them if they reject the gospel and they will come up with this and say this to you, “I suppose you think I'm going to hell?” Why would someone say that? I've seen---and I I've heard people testify to it, and I've seen people who will say this, and you aren’t even proclaiming the gospel at that point in time. Why is that? It's because of the authoritativeness of the message. It’s a solemn word of truth, and for those who are part from Christ brings painful conviction and for those who are honest enough to recognize what that proclamation is, they may indeed be very wise in saying, “I suppose that means I'm going to hell.” At least they are recognizing what the message is. Sometimes those people recognize the solemnity of the message more than God's people do today. We need to be careful, very careful. This is a message of life or of death. If you have the Son, you have the life, and if you do not, you do not have life. You’re perishing. You're facing an eternal condemnation. I'm thankful for these words of the Lord to His disciples, and I trust that they should be great encouragement to us. It’s not an easy thing to proclaim the truth of the gospel. There's all kinds of different responses and things that were going to face, obstacles. But let it never be---one of our greatest obstacles, that we are---have become passive or we have become nonchalant about the truth as it is in Jesus. Let’s bow together.
