The Gospel of John - Outline Part 48 - The Peace of the Savior

TITLE

John 20:19-31 – The Peace of the Savior

EXPLANATION

The evening of the very same day, the disciples were together, behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jews.  Jesus appeared among them and said “Peace be with you.”  He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side.  Then, Jesus forecast the giving of the Holy Spirit that would occur in a few weeks’ time, at Pentecost.  He charged them with the mantle of leadership, in correctly diagnosing sin, and He gave them their mission of being sent to the world to proclaim the Gospel.

Thomas, one of the twelve, was not present at this meeting.  When the other disciples told him what had happened, he refused to believe.  In fact, Thomas stubbornly insisted that he would only believe Jesus was alive if he could touch the wounds on Jesus’s body.  And so, the following week, Jesus appeared to the men again.  This time Thomas was with them.  Jesus challenged him to believe.  Thomas of course did.  Then, Jesus gave a blessing to all those in the future who, having not seen Him, still would believe in Him.

At this point John also revealed his purpose in writing his gospel.  That is, he wanted his readers to truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and through their belief that they might have eternal life through Him.

APPLICATION

It is interesting to me that the first thing Jesus said upon being reunited with His disciples was “Peace be with you.”  This was an echo of His sentiment to them back in chapter 14, verses 1 and 27.  It seems that front and center in Jesus’s concern for His followers was that they would know true and lasting peace.  He knew the trials and tribulations they were to experience in the future.  Almost every one of these men would suffer the death of a martyr, just like their Master.  And, in the midst of all that, Jesus wanted them to be content.

He has desired the same thing for every Christian who has ever lived, including us today.  Like Paul would later find out (2^nd Cor. 12:7-10; Phil. 4:11-13), we can find true and lasting peace and contentment by truly embracing our relationship with Christ as the ultimate treasure of our lives.