HOPE IN CHRIST IN MIDST OF TEARS, FEARS AND DOUBTS
John 20:19-23
19 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!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
John chapter 20 is addressing 3 basic issues of human life
John 20: 18 addresses tears
John 20: 19-23 addresses fears
John 20: 24 onwards addresses doubts
We can see Jesus in this chapter in the midst of fears, tears and doubts with the message of hope and also have the same hope in a situation that we face today. It is about the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the hope which takes over fears, tears and doubts.
The Book of John is written from Ephesus which starts with the hymn of who Jesus and what he does. The incident written over here was a shocking incident about the death of Jesus and his body being kept in the tomb. The natural response to this incident first is tears. And we know in the midst of tears we serve a God who cries with us; he understands the pain that we go through.
Let us look into this as how Jesus works in the midst of tears, fears and doubts.
God works beyond our expectation in tears
We see in the verses above John 19 Mary Magdalene cries in front of the tomb. She runs to the tomb even when it is dark. Here darkness in John’s gospel is a symbol of doubt. She could not expect anything other than death in that situation, everyone around expected the same natural thing without hope of life beyond death. Mary expected a closed tomb but she found an open one.
We see Jesus coming to her and calling her by name when she is in tears and doubts and she recognised that it is The Lord. It is through his word that you understand that the Lord is speaking to each one of us. Every ordinary situation can be changed into extraordinary by Jesus, for example water to wine, dry bones to a big army in the valley, man at Bethesda.
So do not limit God’s power in our ordinary expectations
God reassures, commissions and empowers amidst our fears
Disciples were in fear and they were behind the doors not knowing what will happen but God does not care of the closed doors. God was with Moses, Abraham, Daniel and many others and he reassures us that he will be with us also
> He reassures His presence
How?
> He stands with us in our fears Mathew 28:20
> He reassures His shalom (peace)
> He shows His scars which proves His identity.
We see a community in fear, which is commissioned and empowered to help others out of the fear. We see God breathed into the nostrils of Adam in the Old Testament and here we see Jesus breathed on the disciples
So, in midst of the fear,
God
Reassures His presence
Commissions
Empowers
God reveals Himself and asks us to trust in Him amidst our doubts.
We can see here in the verse that Thomas was the only person who was doubtful about Jesus. And in that doubt God reveals Himself to Thomas. In Revelations God reveals Himself to John as Alpha and Omega. There is authority over our life in Jesus as He had the last word over our fortune, over our life and over our future. So, we just need to trust and hope in Him in the midst of our doubts.
Heavenly Father, help us to have hope in Christ Jesus in the midst of all the tears, fears and doubts in our daily life.
Amen Hallelujah.
Sol.Shibi Lalu