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Love
Teaching Text: John 20: 19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
A Lasting Peace
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
This text records a moment that changed everything
They went -
From fear to being overjoyed
From cowering behind locked doors for fear of death to changing the world
From scared of death - to willing to die
So it’s worth us asking: What changed?
They encountered the resurrected Jesus
They received his peace
They were commissioned and empowered by Him
They encountered the resurrected Jesus.
The resurrected Jesus had overcome the thing they were most afraid of:
Paul says it this way:
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Cor 15:55
They received His peace
His people, the resurrection people will be marked, distinguished & identified by peace.
To receive His peace, we need to know how and what He came to restore:
Sin caused relational fracture between:
God and me
Me and myself
Me and other humans
Me and the world
Jesus came to restore these fractures.
He did so by trusting the Father all the way to the cross.
It’s easier to believe in God than to trust Him.
Soloman directed us to this same place:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight
Two paths to peace
A peace received - God and man relationship is restored.
“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.” – Col 1: 19:20
We are now children of God… no longer slaves
A Peace co-labored for - through which the other three relational fractures are restored
My identity is renewed
John 1:12
But as many has received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name
I reconcile with humans and live at peace with them
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” – Rom 12:18
We see injustice in the world restored
“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” – Heb 12:4
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8
They were commissioned and empowered by Him
We are called to be a non-anxious presence in our world.
He empowers us by His spirit to be this and gives us His peace because He has overcome the worst we could face on this mission.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.”
– John 14:27
What fears, concerns and anxieties do you have?
What does trusting God look like for you in these situations?
Where do you feel you try to keep control and trust your own understanding rather than trust God and his way?
