JOHN 20:19-21 SO JESUS SAID TO THEM AGAIN, "PEACE TO YOU! AS THE FATHER HAS SENT ME, I ALSO SEND YOU."

 John 20:19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested. The Jewish Sabbath is associated with the Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, and then there will be works. We also see how our Lord transformed His disciples fear into courage. First, not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side so they would know it was Him, and they would know He had risen from the grave. Lastly, Jesus gives them a new purpose.  The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That also is our purpose.

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

Mr. 16:14; Lu 24:36; 1Co 15:5

John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter morning to those that happened that evening.

There were at least five Resurrection appearances of our Lord on that first day of the week:

“the first day of the week” Sunday was the first work day, like our Monday. This became the meeting day of the Church to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection. He Himself set the pattern by appearing in the Upper Room three Sunday nights in a row (cf. vv. 19, 26; Luke 24:36ff; Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:2).

The first-generation believers continued to meet on the Sabbath at the local Synagogues and at the Temple on set feast days. However, the rabbis instituted a “curse oath” that required Synagogue members to reject Jesus as the Messiah. At this point they dropped the Sabbath services but continued to meet with other believers on Sunday, the resurrection day, to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection.^[i]

Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the church epistles, but the Sabbath commandment is not repeated.

"The seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, commemorates God's finished work of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3). The Lord's Day commemorates Christ's finished work of redemption, the 'new creation.' . . . God the Father worked for six days and then rested. God the Son suffered on the cross for six hours and then rested.^[ii]

"For centuries, the Jewish Sabbath had been associated with Law: six days of work, and then you rest. But the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, is associated with grace: first there is faith in the living Christ, then there will be works."

It was on the first day of the week—the same day that Mary saw Jesus—and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors. They were afraid of the Jews. They were disciples of Jesus, and He had just been crucified for sedition. And now, the story was circulating that they had stolen the body of Jesus (Matthew 28:11-15). Remember that the tomb was sealed by Rome, and guarded by Roman soldiers. The disciples may have felt in greater danger here than on any previous occasion. They must have been deeply troubled by the reports they had heard that Jesus was alive. What were they to think of all this? What were they to do? They did not know.

And so the disciples met together behind locked doors. The PLURAL implies that both the downstairs and upstairs doors were locked. This was mentioned to (1) accentuate Jesus’ appearance and (2) to show their fear of arrest.

The disciples' initial reaction to Jesus' unexpected appearance was terror Lu 24:37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not I am with, be not dismayed, I am your God, I will help you”

He told them 3 things in Chapter 14 and other comforting things in Ch. 13-17, if they had only listened and believed, they would not be hiding and afraid as they are now.

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I.

Mark 16:12-14 - 12 After this he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. 14 Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected .

We are told that one disciple was missing—Thomas. What we miss when we do not assemble with the believers like we ought to. Heb 10:24-25.  We are not told why he was absent. There is no particular blame cast on him for his absence. In some miraculous way, Jesus enters the room, even though the door is locked. We do not know what the disciples saw, but John certainly leaves us with the impression that our Lord’s entrance was unusual—one more proof of His resurrection. Our Lord twice repeated the words, “Peace be with you” (20:19, 21). This certainly reminds us of what Jesus had said earlier to these men:

Jesus would have appeared to Mary and the other women by now, and they have already announced to the disciples that Jesus was alive. But the disciples refused to believe. Then, the two men who talked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus arrived to tell the disciples of their encounter with the risen Lord. Once again, the disciples refused to believe:

Jesus' greeting was common enough (i.e., Heb. shalom 'alekem). However, He had formerly promised His disciples His peace (14:27; 16:33). Consequently He was imparting rather than just wishing peace on them. This seems clear because Jesus repeated the benediction two more times (vv. 21, 26). "Shalom" summarized the fullness of God's blessing, not just the cessation of hostility

But the wounds meant more than identification; they also were evidence that the price for salvation had been paid and man indeed could have “peace with God.” The basis for all our peace is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He died for us, He arose from the dead in victory, and now He lives for us.

1. Rom. 5:1; Phil. 4:7

"'Shalom!' on Easter evening is the complement of 'it is finished' on the cross, for the peace of reconciliation and life from God is now imparted . . . Not surprisingly it is included, along with 'grace,' in the greeting of every epistle of Paul in the NT."

Ephesians 2:14–18 He [Jesus] himself is our peace, who has made us both one [Jew and Gentile] and reconciled us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. John 16:22

How did our Lord transform His disciples’ fear into courage? For one thing, He came to them. ^[iii]

Not only did Jesus come to them, but He reassured them. He showed them His wounded hands and side and gave them opportunity to discover that it was indeed their Master, and that He was not a phantom.

John apparently focuses on the piercing of Jesus’ side more than the other Gospels (cf. 19:37; 20:25). His feet are not mentioned except in Luke 24:39 and Ps. 22:16. Jesus’ glorified body retains the marks of His crucifixion (cf. I Cor. 1:23; Gal. 3:1).^[iv]

He gave them a purpose a commission to fulfill

21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Mt 28:18; Joh 17:18-19; 2Ti 2:2; Heb 3:1

Jesus repeated His benediction (v. 19). He then commissioned His disciples for their mission from then on. He expressed this commission in terms of the relationships that John recorded Jesus teaching extensively in this Gospel. Jesus was sending His disciples on a mission just as His Father had sent Him on a mission (cf. 17:18). The emphasis here is on the sending and the authoritative person doing the sending. Thus Jesus' disciples became apostles (lit. sent ones) in a new sense.

Jesus uses two different terms for “send.” In John these are synonymous. This is clearly seen in chapter 8, where pempō is used of Jesus’ being sent by the Father (cf. 8:16, 18, 26, 29), yet apostellō is used in 8:42. This same thing is true of chapters 5 and 6. hath sent (send on a mission )me, even so send (send) you.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 ¹⁴ For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that ^of One died for all, then all died; ¹⁵ and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.  

Jesus apparently gave this commission on at least three separate occasions.  The reader of the Gospels can scarcely escape its crucial importance.  It expresses God's will for every believer in the present age.

Some Christians believe that Jesus intended this commission only for His original disciples. They point to the fact that the writers of the New Testament epistles never referred to it.

1. However even though they did not refer to it explicitly they clearly presupposed its validity for the whole church. They simply cast it in different terminology (e.g., 2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2. The universal scope of the commission also argues for its continuation. ( Go into all the world)
3. Third, the repetition of this commission five times suggests that Jesus intended all of His disciples to carry it out.
4. Finally, this was the last charge that Jesus gave His disciples before He returned to His Father (Luke24:46-48; Acts 1:8). This fact also suggests that He intended it for all succeeding generations of disciples.

Clearly on this occasion Jesus was presenting His mission as a model for His disciples' mission. Just as He left His home to go on a mission, He was asking them to do the same.  Many Christians have concluded, therefore, that what characterized Jesus' ministry must characterize the church's ministry. They see this mission including healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry.  They believe that the church's mission is much broader than just preaching the gospel, baptizing, teaching, and planting churches.

However the emphasis on Jesus' mission in John's Gospel has been primarily that Jesus always carried out God's will in perfect obedience (cf.5:19-30; 8:29). Even before His crucifixion Jesus stressed the importance of the believer's obedience as the fulfillment of this paradigm (15:9-10). The purpose of Jesus' incarnation was the spiritual salvation of the world (1:29). That is also the believer's primary, though not our exclusive, purpose

1. Ga 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.).

As Jesus always operated in dependence on the Father with the Spirit's enablement, so should His disciples (cf. 1:32; 3:34;

4:34; 5:19; 6:27; 10:36; 17:4). As He was a Son of God, so are His disciples sons of God (cf. 1:12-13; 3:3, 5; 20:17).

       Since believers no longer belong to the world (15:19), it was necessary for Jesus to send His disciples back into the world. Our mission does not replace Jesus' mission, however.  He carries out His present mission through us.

We must consider all the versions of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to understand our mission correctly, not just this one. The first recorded commission chronologically was evidently the one in Mark 16:15-16 and John 20:21-23. Matthew 28:19-20 appears to be another account of a later event. Likewise Luke 24:46-48 and Acts 1:8 seem to be two versions of one incident, the last giving of the commission.

               What is central to the Son's mission—that he came as the Father's gift so that those who believe in him might not perish but have eternal life (3:16), experiencing new life as the children of God (1:12-13) and freedom from the slavery of sin because they have been set free by the Son of God (8:34-36)—must never be lost to view as the church defines her mission."

“Lord” This title is used here in its full theological sense which relates to YHWH of the OT (cf. Exod. 3:14). Applying an OT title for God the Father to Jesus was one way NT authors affirmed Jesus’ full deity.

Jesus and John reminded all disciples of these central issues in the verses that follow (cf. vv. 23, 30-31).

Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

 John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.

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