Victoriously Arisen, the Unbelievable Made Believable

By Khen Lim

Based on John 20:19-23

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Today we celebrate Jesus’ victorious triumph over death. In conquering death and sin for all time, Jesus took to task to appear before different people at several instances and at each and every one, the unbelief was palpable. By His appearance, none of them recognised Him; at least not right away. How could this be, you wonder.

If we had someone very famous walk into our church one Sunday and sit down quietly without making a fuss, how would it impact us? If the person wasn’t exactly dressed to the nines but was decent but not spectacularly attired. If you felt sure that you’d seen him from somewhere but you couldn’t place him. If you then thought, “No, it can’t be him!” what would you do next? Why do you find it so hard to believe?

Is it because he’s so famous and we’re not exactly prime target for someone like him to visit? Or is it because it just doesn’t add up in your head? After all, why? Why our church?

So many people witnessed Jesus dying on the cross. They KNEW He died. They knew that when a person dies, there is no way he would return alive. And so in their mind, it was improbable that Jesus would be standing in front of them three short days thereafter. In at least one sure case, God had purposely kept the people from recognising Jesus.

Jesus appeared before Mary Magdalene. She didn’t know Him at first but on realising who He was, she rushed out to tell the disciples. And they didn’t believe her for they had not seen Him with their own eyes (Mk 16:9-11, Lk 24:10-11). Jesus then was on the road to Emmaus when He happened upon two of His disciples where He then began with Scripture, explaining that He was the Messiah and God’s plan to remove the sin in all who believe in Him. Jesus had desired for them to understand the Father’s plan and to stake their faith in Him. Like Mary, the two ran back to tell the other disciples that Jesus was indeed alive. Yet they did not believe. Because they did not see with their eyes (Mk 16:12-13). Talk about faith, this is a lesson for all of us.

Following the tumultuous weekend, Jesus’ original disciples – minus Thomas and of course the demised Judas – were all huddled together, locked in a room to hide from the Pharisees and the other Jewish authorities who had wanted to hunt all of them down. Because they were ardent followers of Christ, they felt the danger more so than anyone else. And since the Roman guards lied and accused the disciples of stealing Jesus’ body, they certainly had enough reasons to be anxious and afraid.

“May peace be with you!”

Imagine that. Suddenly Jesus was stood among them. He simply walked right through the locked door! His appearance would have scared all of them to have leapt out of their tender skin. With eyes bulging and hearts trembling, the disciples were in awe – frightened but not in a threatening sense because Jesus’ greeting were precious words of comfort.

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Jesus then showed them His pierced hands and sides and only then, the disciples were contended that they were indeed in the presence of their Lord (Jn 20:19b-20).

“May peace be with you!” Jesus said again as if to reassure His disciples.

“The Father has sent Me. So now I am sending you.”

And He then breathed upon them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (Jn 20:21-23).

In Matthew 28:18b-20, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptise them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”

And here in the room were all these people. People who deserted Him in the hour of need. People who ran helter-skelter in fear. People who did not brave the circumstances and who found themselves cowering in fear behind a locked door with windows shuttered. And Jesus was here with them but instead of giving them a haranguing, He simple said He was going to send them to teach men and women how to be saved from their sinful nature.

Isn’t this amazing? Jesus chose these cowards for the mission that would change the world forever as we know it. He sent these men away even though it had looked for all the world that they had already blown their chances. In the real world, our bosses would have fired us for abandonment and desertion like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

These men had neither the boldness nor the strength when reliant on their own selves; yet Jesus chose them because He was not going to rely solely on them to get the job done. Jesus breathed into them as a symbol that He was soon going to send to them the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). And the Holy Spirit would be poured forth onto them. It would fill their souls as they each breathed in with their lungs.

The power of the Holy Spirit would be with them as they reached the farthest corners of the world in search of people who would listen and have their sins cleansed from them by Jesus. Which ultimately means all of us here.

Have a meaningful Easter Sunday.