Unlock Your Locked Doors

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.
John 20:19-22

The locked doors kept out the Jewish leaders. However, they did not hinder Jesus from entering. The disciples had locked the doors because they were afraid. Jesus wanted to alleviate their fear. He came into their presence and extended peace. But He didn’t stop with just a greeting. He had several messages to share.

We have already highlighted that He offered them peace. Peace was the first word Jesus spoke to the disciples after His resurrection. He spoke this greeting twice in three verses for emphasis. He did not criticize them for being afraid – He extended peace. Maybe the disciples remembered Jesus’ words of John 14:27. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. The peace Jesus offered was the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom refers to wholeness and completeness in mind and body. In Israel today, when you verbalize shalom, you are literally saying, “may you be full of well-being” or “may health and prosperity be upon you.”

Next, He showed the disciples His scars. He did not condemn them for deserting Him during His crucifixion. He came to confirm His identity after His resurrection. In Luke 24:39, Jesus said, “Look at My hands and My feet. It is I myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Perhaps the prophecy of Isaiah 53:5 came to the disciples’ minds. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

Jesus also told them He was sending them somewhere. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” “All nations” was a big somewhere!

Jesus concluded by breathing the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in verse 22 of John 20. I wonder if they recalled an earlier conversation. Jesus had previously told them in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

This is the disciples’ story. Jesus met them where they were at. However, He did not allow them to stay in a locked room. He equipped them to step out beyond their fears.

My Reader, what is your story? Have you prevented Jesus from coming into your life because of fear? What specific doors have you locked hindering Jesus from coming into your heart? He is knocking for permission to enter. Revelation 3:20 says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.”

Jesus extended peace to the disciples, and He offers the same to us. II Thessalonians 3:16 says, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” According to Philippians 4:7, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The disciples visibly saw Jesus’ scars. We have the privilege of experiencing the power of His scars. I Peter 2:24 says, “‘He himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by His wounds you have been healed.’”

Jesus spoke personally to the disciples. He also wants to speak to each of us. He has plans and power for us. The LORD declares in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” And, Acts 1:8 promises, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”

My Reader, do not allow your fears to keep Jesus locked out of your life. He wants to enter.

SCARS

After Jesus arose from the dead, He appeared to the disciples. But they had trouble believing it was Jesus. They needed proof. Jesus provided the proof – His scars.

Luke 20:36-43 tells of Jesus appearing to the disciples who were hiding behind closed doors. They thought they were seeing a ghost. Jesus says in Luke 20:39-40, “‘Look at My hands and My feet. It is I myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet.”

The disciples had watched as Jesus was nailed to the cross. They knew nails had pierced His hands and feet. These wounds led to His physical death. He was buried in a tomb by Nicodemus. (see John 19:39-40) Three days later He was alive. He had risen from the grave. (see Luke 24:1-8) Jesus’ risen body was transformed – no longer emaciated. However, He body revealed scars. Jesus’ wounds could have been totally healed without scars, but that was not the Father’s plan. Jesus’ scars were the undeniable evidence of His death and resurrection. The scars the disciples saw confirmed Jesus’ identity.

In John 20:27 Jesus personally appeared to Thomas saying, “Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Nail prints and scars convinced even Doubting Thomas.

Luke 24:28- 31 tells the story of two men encountering Jesus while they were traveling on the road to Emmaus. They invited Him to stay and share a meal. Verses 30-31 says, “As they sat down to eat, He took the bread and blessed it. Then He broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. And at that moment He disappeared!” I suspect they may have seen the scars on Jesus’ hands as He broke the bread.

Wikipedia describes a scar as a mark on the skin after a wound has healed. It is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scarring is a natural part of the healing process. Jesus experienced wounds three days before scars were revealed. Jesus’ scars were proof of the suffering He had endured. His scars were healed wounds. He arose to live victoriously.

Revelation 5:12 says, “In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’”

Jesus, the Lamb of God, still bears scars. All of us have scars.

Everyone has been wounded. Scars are healed wounds. Scars are the proof of our hurts and healings. Our scars may be caused by physical, emotional or spiritual wounds. Scars are the leftover proof of the wounds we have encountered. Some scars are visible physical marks. Other scars may leave invisible trauma marks.

Jesus’ wounds did not prevent His resurrection. His scars were the proof that He died and rose again. His scars remind us of the pain He endured. We will encounter hurts and wounds. We will have healings and scars. I Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” Our scars form after our wounds are healed. Jesus is our Healer.

Let’s look at a progression of scriptures depicting the process from wounds to scars. First, we can echo the words of Jeremiah 17:14. Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Then we remember Psalm 147:3 telling us, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Finally, Revelation 12:11 says, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Our scars and Jesus’ scars combine creating our testimony of the healing of our wounds.

Let us always remember that scars are healed wounds.

HOSANNA – HALLELUJAH – GLORY

Last Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday. We shouted, “HOSANNA!” Hosanna is the Hebrew word meaning “he saves.”
Matthew 21:9 says, “The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’”

This Sunday we will celebrate Easter. Resurrection Sunday. We will shout, “HALLELUJAH!” Hallelujah is the Hebrew word that literally means “praise the Lord.”
We will proclaim, “Hallelujah! He has risen! He has risen indeed.”

Both are powerful praise words. Now let’s add another word of praise – GLORY.
The Hebrew word for glory is kabod meaning “be glorified.”
Honor, magnificence, dignity, worship, praise, adoration and splendor.

When I first think about glory, I remember Jesus’ birth. The story of angels appearing to shepherds is recorded in Luke 2:8-20. Verse 9 says that the glory of the Lord shone around the shepherds, and they were terrified. However, the shepherds were told not to fear because the angels had good news. Jesus Christ the Lord was born! In verse 14 the angelic multitude praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”

Jesus was born and God is given the glory! This is the Christmas story. However, we are celebrating Easter this weekend. Let’s connect glory at the end of Jesus’ life with glory at the beginning of His life.

Jesus emphasized glory when He tried to explain to His disciples that He must die. In John 12:23, Jesus revealed, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”

Earlier we defined glory as honor, worship, praise, adoration and splendor. All edifying terms. This is not my first interpretation when I look closely as John 12:23. When Jesus said that His hour had come, He was referring to His death. How could loss of life be edifying to the Father and to Him? It sounds more like pain. Jesus expanded what He meant in verse 24. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

In John 12:28, Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify Your name!” These 4 words link together Jesus’ life from the beginning to the end. His birth – His ministry – His approaching crucifixion, death and resurrection. Jesus always desired to glorify His Heavenly Father.

Jesus prayed for Himself in John 17:4-5, I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.

Jesus had to pay the price for the sins of the world. He had to die a sacrificial death so that when we believe in Him, we will not perish but have everlasting life. He relinquished glory from a human perspective to return to glory in His Father’s presence. He was glorified in Heaven when He ascended after His death and resurrection.

Eugene Peterson has described glory as a resurrection word. Glory ties together Jesus’ birth and life with His death and resurrection. Glory involves both pain and praise. Philippians 2:6-8 summarizes how Jesus glorified His Father through His earthly life. Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross. Glorifying His Father required pain on Jesus’ part. But it did not stop with pain. Praise would follow. Verses 9-11 reveals how His Heavenly Father glorified His Son. Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 60:1 NLT says, “the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you.” Let us shout with the heavenly multitude, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God…. Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!” (quoted from Revelation 19:1 and 6)

Two Men – Two Trees

Two men. Two trees. Zaccheaus (Zac for short) was a man who climbed a tree. Jesus was a man who was placed upon a tree. Zac’s tree was a sycamore tree. Jesus’ tree was a cross. Climbing the tree resulted in a new life for Zac. Climbing a tree resulted in death for Jesus. Zac’s encounter with a sycamore tree is found in Luke 19:1-9. Zac, a small guy, climbed a tree so he could see Jesus amid a crowd of people. Jesus saw Zac perched on a limb and asked him to climb down. Jesus invited Himself to Zac’s house. He wanted to spend time with Zac and help him understand his sinful life. Zac was not only short in stature. He also had some shortcomings in his lifestyle as a tax collector.

We do not hear their conversation. But we know the outcome. In Luke 19:9 Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus’ death upon the cross is recorded in all four gospels. (Matthew 27:1-54, Mark 15:1-40, Luke 23:1-49. John 19:1-30) A crowd of people gathered to watch His crucifixion. John 19:17-18 says, “And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called The Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.”

John 3:16-18 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Jesus died on a tree (the cross) seeking and saving the lost.

One man, Zaccheus, came down from a tree – a sycamore tree. He welcomed Jesus into his heart and home. His life was changed. He developed an intimate, eternal relationship with Jesus. One man, Jesus, was nailed to a tree – a cross. Because Jesus knows our sinful hearts, He didn’t come down. He died on the cross to save all who believe in Him. Jesus invites us into a life-changing encounter. There is an intimate, eternal relationship availaable for us with Jesus.

Jesus spoke to Zaccheus by name. My Reader, He personally speaks to you today. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to climb down from your tree of a sinful lifestyle and accept Jesus as your personal Savior. He died on a tree for you.

More than a Religious Ritual

It was just before the Passover Festival.
Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him
to leave this world and go to the Father.
Having loved His own who were in the world,
He loved them to the end.
John 13:1

Jesus had been arrested. Proceedings were taking place for His crucifixion. John 18:28-29 tells of Jesus being taken to Pilate. Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So, Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

I find something ironic in this scripture. Those arresting Jesus wanted to observe the Passover meal. But they also wanted to hand Jesus over to Pilate. These men would not go into a place that would cause them to be ceremonially unclean. They required Pilate to come outside. If they met with Pilate in the palace, they would not have been able to celebrate the Jewish festival. These men did not truly know who Jesus was. They were unable to see the connection between the Passover Festival and Jesus’ crucifixion.

Let’s take time for a quick review of Jewish history. The Passover story is recorded in Exodus 12. The Passover meal was the Jewish reminder of how God protected them from the death angel. The lamb’s blood over their door allowed them to flee from Egyptian slavery. The Lord says in Exodus 12:24-25, “And you are to keep this command as a permanent statute for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as He promised, you are to keep this service.” The Jewish Passover was more than a religious ritual. It was a reminder of God’s provision for their freedom.

Now, back to our story in John 18 with the Jewish leaders, Jesus and Pilate. This scene was one step closer to Jesus’ crucifixion. The leaders were actually assisting in the death of the One who would free them from their uncleanness – their sins. Jesus was soon to become the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb. The did not comprehend John the Baptist’s declaration about Jesus in John 1:29. Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The blood of lambs on door posts. The blood of Jesus on the cross.

Freedom from Egyptian slavery. Freedom from sin’s slavery.

These Jewish leaders wanted to celebrate the Passover festival. However, their comprehension was only superficial. They only remembered their Egyptian freedom. In reality, Passover was only a foreshadow of what was to come. They wanted to keep themselves ceremoniously clean while it was their hearts that needed cleansing.

Within a short time, Jesus would die on the cross. He died at the same time the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. While the Jews celebrated their freedom from slavery by eating the Passover lamb, Jesus, the Lamb of God, died to free them from the slavery of sin. They remembered the past but did not understand what was happening before their eyes.

My Reader, do you fully understand what happened that day? Jesus died for you! Romans 8:2 says, “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Take time to meditate upon upon the fact that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is your personal Savior. Allow your understanding to go deeper than that of the Jewish leaders who brought Jesus to Pilate.