Easter: Peace and Forgiveness

Christ is risen! We are celebrating this. So in our gatherings there is a lot of great music, there is a celebratory spirit, there is a lot of optimism, and there is so much joy.

However, this was not the mood on the first Easter. Instead of joy, there was a lot of chaos. There was a violent earthquake (Matt 28:2). The soldiers guarding the tomb were scared because they saw a man whose “appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow” (Matt 28:3). They were so afraid that they shook and became like dead men (28:4). Mary Magdalene was frantic that Jesus’ body was gone (John 20:1), so she ran to Peter and John who also did not understand what was going on (20:9-10). Mary felt extreme grief that she stayed in the tomb, and mistook Jesus as the gardener who stole Jesus’ body (John 20:15). The religious leaders became scared of the news of the resurrection, so they instructed the guards to spread false news that the disciples took Jesus’ body (Matt 28:11-15). Many the people heard the news of the resurrection, which was why the disciples asked the stranger on the road: “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” (Luke 24:18).

Aside from chaos, there was a lot of fear. On resurrection day, the guards became afraid (Matt 28:4), the women who came to the tomb even trembled and remained mute (Mark 16:8). Even the disciples were afraid (Matt 28:10), and they have good reasons. For the disciples, the resurrection was not good news. It was bad news, particularly because the religious leaders accused them of stealing a dead body in order to propagate a story of resurrection! In the eyes of the religious leaders and the pious Jews who were so eager to have Jesus crucified, the disciples violated so many laws: touching a dead body, desecrating a tomb, teaching about resurrection (the Sanhedrin would have been furious), and spreading blasphemy. We must remember that Jesus got killed for blasphemy. The disciples were so afraid that they stayed together “with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders” (John 20:19).

We are very spoiled today because we only face Easter with all its joyful and victorious overtones, but the early disciples were suffering. The resurrection for us today means life, but for the disciples, it meant their death. Whether the resurrection was true or false, it meant that they were doomed to be pursued by the religious leaders. For them, since dawn, they were feeling anxious about their life. The irony of all these is that Jesus allows them to experience such an uneasiness for the entire day! Jesus appears to them only in the evening. Let us read 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!” 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.”

Jesus appeared to the disciples in the midst of their confusion and fear. I actually like this passage because I think Jesus was trying to re-orient them. So far, the resurrection was bad news to the disciples, but Jesus wants them to understand that the resurrection is good news! Instead of feeling confused and afraid, what they should experience is peace (John 20:19, 21). The disciples did not understand the resurrection, but Jesus wanted them to understand its meaning and significance in their lives.

So what is the resurrection about?

The resurrection is about Jesus’ PRESENCE

“Jesus came and stood among them” (John 20:19)

There is no greater comfort when we are faced with confusion, fear, or sorrow than God making Himself present beside us or among us. Most people, when suffering, feels abandoned by God. They feel as if God has left them alone. What they need is not entertainment that can drown their sorrow, or friends who can make them forget realities, or substances that can numb their emotions. What people need in times of fear is the presence of God Himself. And this was precisely what Jesus gave the disciples. I like the description about what happened to the disciples when Jesus showed up: “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).

Depression is real. Fear is real. Confusion is real. The feeling of being alone is real. But God is also real. He never fails to show up in our deepest pains. He never fails to come to us when we need Him. It can be granted that sometimes Jesus can be late, like in the first Easter, but He will show up anyway. Easter is the assurance that Jesus shows up when we need Him the most.

… bringing PEACE

“Peace be with you” (John 20:19, 21)

What is peace? In Hebrew it is shalom, which means wholeness. Peace is the experience of comprehensive happiness, when everything is at the right place. It means that every aspect of our life is well. It does not mean the absence of pain or struggle; but it means contentment and happiness in the midst of struggle. It is the experience of satisfaction in life.

For sure, the disciples did not have peace. They were confused and terrified. They were anxious about their future.

But most of all, they did not have peace because they were so broken as a group and as individuals. Peace is possible only when we are right with God, right with others, and right with ourselves. Unfortunately, the disciples were not right with God because they knew deep in their hearts that they abandoned the Messiah, the Anointed One, right when He needed them. They disciples were not right with one another; in fact, the probably could not look at each other because they knew that each one of them failed. Maybe they were blaming one another. Maybe they were looking down at each other, particularly at Peter, who denied Jesus three times. They were not right with themselves, because they knew they have failed miserably.

The disciples were feeling condemned, accused, guilty, and ashamed. They did not have peace. But Jesus came to them precisely to offer what they needed. He said, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19, 21) twice. The resurrection is about the coming of Christ to bring peace to our broken lives.

… as a result of PARDON of sins

“If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven” (John 20:23)

We can experience peace—or wholeness—only if we experience forgiveness. Let us remember that the disciples felt guilt and shame before God for their sins. They also felt ashamed with one another, because they were not faithful to their Master and supportive of each other. They felt ashamed of themselves, because they were not able to live up to their own confessions. The night before Jesus was crucified, one of the conversations among them was this (Matt 26:33-35):

Peter said, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

³⁵ But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

I am sure that this particular conversation was still fresh in the minds of the disciples. The memory serves as biting judgment against them. Judas hanged himself because of his guilt, and the disciples felt the same heavy guilt. So when Jesus came to them and said, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven” (John 20:23), he was offering them a way out. He is saying that He has already forgiven them, but they need to forgive each other and forgive themselves. They can only experience peace if they accept God’s forgiveness and if they also learn to forgive. 

Jesus did not only give them hope for themselves. Jesus has given them a mission to preach forgiveness and lead others to experience forgiveness. Our mission is to find others who have no peace, and lead them to experience the peace that comes from forgiveness. The resurrection is for us, but also for others through us. 

Conclusion

What is the resurrection for the disciples? It is about Jesus’ PRESENCE bringing PEACE that comes from PARDON of sins. My prayer is that at Easter, each one of us will experience this. May Jesus come and visit our homes. May Jesus come and manifest Himself today so that those who have no peace might experience peace, and those who need forgiveness might also be forgiven.

Easter and the Holy Spirit

For many of us, it is easier to pronounce "Christ is risen" when things are going well, or when we are experiencing the happiness of life. We think of the resurrection as a message of victory; therefore, we think of it as a reason for celebration. But this means that celebrating the Easter can be a bit awkward when life is not turning out very well. This is especially true right now that the world is facing a pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives and continues to bring anxiety to the heart of everyone.

Today, as we think of Easter--which is about life--we are being confronted by the reality of death. As Christians, we face the paradox of believing in the God of life while surrounded by forces of death. We audaciously proclaim victory while struggling with a powerful enemy. Today, at Easter, we express the joy of the past while living in a painful present.

So, what is it about Easter that makes us so confident and bold in the here and now of April 2020? 

First, we must realize that most of the New Testament books were written during the time of persecution. The biblical writers were not writing in the context of wellness. Their situation was actually very bad. The Roman empire sought for their cruel and undeserved deaths. The threat to their life was even more imminent--near--than our struggle with the coronavirus today! They were living in a period where homing missiles were invented to obliterate Christians!

This means that the New Testament writers were writing the message of resurrection to a group of people whose love ones have been killed and were themselves in great danger of dying. This means that the message of Easter is precisely for a world of death, suffering, turmoil, fear, and anxiety.

This 2020, I would like to highlight one specific aspect of Easter that is most often neglected: THE LIFE-GIVING WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Easter is not just about Jesus Christ; it is also about the Holy Spirit who made the first Easter possible. Let us look at two verses: "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you" (Rom 8:11, NLT), and "[Jesus] suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18, NLT). The work of the Holy Spirit is to give life.

This is the message of Easter: The Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is active in the world today to give and sustain life! In the same way that God breathed life into Adam's nostrils (Gen 2:7) and in the same way that He breathed life into the vast army that stood at the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel's vision (Ezek 37:1-14), He is sustaining life on the planet right now! If the Holy Spirit is not in the world, we all would have already died: "If God were to take back his spirit and withdraw his breath, all life would cease, and humanity would turn again to dust" (Job 34:14-15, NLT). This means that although there are deaths in the midst of the pandemic, there are also many recoveries. Yes, there are deaths, but majority still keep their lives.

Samuel Rayan wrote: “The Spirit’s outpouring is there on all struggles against oppression, on all movements for justice, equality and freedom, on all strivings for a sane, human and gentle history” (Renew the Face of the Earth, 32). What does this mean? This means that if the Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, then he is actively working precisely where there is death, oppression, struggle, pain. Because the Spirit's work is to give and sustain life, He is active where and when forces of anti-life are active and evident!

This further means that the best way to celebrate Easter--when the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead--is not to gather around and sing celebration songs to remember a glorious past. The best way to celebrate Easter--as the people of God--is to participate in the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit in the world. So what we must be asking today are these: How can I participate in the Spirit's work of sustaining the life of babies who have no access to milk? How can I participate in the Spirit's work of sustaining the life of the poor who have no food? How can I participate in the Spirit's work of sustaining the life of the elderly who has no one to rely on? How can I participate in the Spirit's work of sustaining the life of the vulnerable, the oppressed, the abused?  In short, what are the implications of the fact that "the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you" (Rom 8:11, NLT)?

Today, we celebrate Easter. We celebrate the fact that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and whose work is to give and sustain life is actively working in the world today. Yes, the Holy Spirit is at work! This is our message of hope. But Easter, is not just an event that reminds us of hope. It is an event that demands us to participate, in our puny capacities as humans, in the life-giving work of the Spirit. This is our responsibility as worshippers of the risen Christ!

He is risen! Let us worship Him responsibly.