Based on John 20:19-23 (New King James Version)
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.’ 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”
Do we truly understand the reason for why the Lord did and suffered everything He went through here on earth? Unfortunately, a great number of believers still do not understand, because either there never was the focus that should have been there to start, or because they lost their focus along the way. We will try to explain through this passage what should occur in our lives, and what should never be lost, because these are the moments (per se) when these problems occur.
Through this passage, and even though the disciples had believed to a certain degree (but not completely yet) in the Lord, we see one of the greatest symptoms that shows the problem: fear. In the true believer and follower (because we shouldn’t just believe; we should also follow the Lord), there should be no fear. Fear, principally the one that involves proclaiming faith in Jesus, should not be a part of our lives. If there is fear, it’s because something very crucial hasn’t quite happened yet; the Holy Spirit has not yet entered in the life of the person. When the Lord gave them the Holy Spirit, fear exited their lives, and that only happens through a genuine conversion. If we read the disciple’s actions after this event, we can see that they left their hideout and started living a normal life, without fear. So then, the Holy Spirit is the One that takes fear away, for it is written: 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. When the Holy Spirit is fully operating in a person, fear leaves, and love, power, and a sound mind along with the other fruits of the Spirit start filling the void fear left.
The Bible shows us clearly that when the Holy Spirit comes and fills someone, what should start happening is that they start speaking openly about their faith in the Lord, because that is the most important part of the Lord’s mission: the sharing of the Good News of salvation with people, just like the Lord did with the disciples, and just as He instructed them to do, and so on. For it is written: 31 “And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Acts 4:31. The word “boldness” in the original means: confidently, without fear, with courage. So then, speaking God’s Word with boldness implies that there is no fear, and that if flows freely because there is confidence.
So then, what is the problem that surges at the beginning or along the way, with relation to the focus that we should have on the Lord? The problem is the heart’s intent, what has to do with the “reason” for why the Lord is sought after or followed. The “why” is what determines everything in a person’s life, and that is precisely what God sees. As it is written: 9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10. And so, what does the Lord see in many people? Unfortunately, He sees nothing related to what is most important. This is what we read as well: “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:1-4. There are simply just too many people being greatly influenced and governed by the world, like at the beginning, and also deviating again to the world with the progress of time. This is the true friendship with the world that displeases God. The problem is that there is more of a desire for the things of the world than for the Lord, so then, at the very least, there is spiritual adultery in people’s lives. This is the question we should ask ourselves: “Are we friends with God or friends with the world?” “Is God our priority or what we desire to obtain from the world the priority (because they are two completely different things)?”
Here is where we see what the focus of our faith and hope in the Lord should be. The Lord did not come to this world with the purpose of us having the things of this world, nor what involves that which is temporary. The Lord came for only one reason: to deal with sin. There was really no other purpose. He did not come so you could have a better job, or so you could have money, or so you could have the relationships you desire to have, or so you could accomplish your worldly goals, or so you could excel in your environment, or to make you smarter, or to fulfill whims. He didn’t come for any of that. He did not allow Himself to be mistreated, nor to be spit on and whipped, nor to be crowned with thorns, nor to carry a cross while He walked bleeding with his skin and flesh torn, nor to be nailed to the cross He carried so that you could enjoy the delights and vanities of this world. He did not come to this world so He could be your life coach or your motivational speaker. Are you getting the point? The Creator of Heaven and Earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords died so He could deal with your sin, so you could have eternal life. For it is written: 9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:9-11. It is also written: 23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. This was the Lord’s mission (He came to fix your problem, because this was not His problem), and this should become our mission as well, when we have come to understand the “why” God did what He did. So then, if you don’t understand what your greatest problem is (sin) and that He came to solve that problem, then you have another big problem, because you are still then under the influence of the world and the sin that dwells within, the same sin that will cause your eternal destruction, sooner or later, if you do not repent and convert completely to Him.
So then, is the Holy Spirit working in your life so you can continue fulfilling the Lord’s mission? Lord bless! John