“Peace Be with You” | John 20:19–23

Show Notes

Episode 764: 
In this episode, Chris and Jeff explore the biblical passage from John 20:19-23, where Jesus appears to his disciples, who are hiding in fear behind locked doors. They emphasize the miraculous nature of Jesus' appearance and the significance of his greeting, "Peace be with you." The hosts discuss how this phrase not only conveys a message of comfort but also signifies that Jesus himself embodies peace.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Good morning, everybody. My name is Chris and I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible Guys. Man, we should have done it, and we're the Bible. Guy We sh probably practice it next time. Try practice it tomorrow. Listen, everybody, man, go ahead and tune in tomorrow. We're gon we're gonna nail it. Oh man, We're gonna choreograph our role in. Oh yeah, it's gonna be so good. So hey, today we are actually uh, sort of coming to close. To the end. It's Thursday, next to last day of. Sayings from Jesus. This is actually part of his final words, and today he says peace be with you. This is a good one. It's a big deal. I like this one. It's a big deal, you know, Chris. We're always trying to add value to our listeners. Yes, you know, for taking time. One of the ways we do that is by bringing some of the finest news and specialists. She'll interest articles to think. So we scour the web, yes, and we always always land on the Babylon Bee. We do and So here's some notes from the Babylon b It's an article called Well here's the title. Sound of husband plopping down on couch helpfully reminds wife there's something she wanted him to do. Yeah, that's hilarious. Ah, but that happens to me all the time. Yeah, me too, Me too. Soon as I sit down, me too. Here you go. Here's the Tulsa, Oklahoma witnesses said. Local wife Danielle Mattson perked up quickly after hearing the sound of her husband, Dave, plopping down on the couch, as it instantly reminded her of all the things she needed him to do for her. Well. Her husband had just finished mowing and waiting the yard after spending all day working at his day job. Danielle didn't remember all of the pressing tasks she needed him to complete until she heard his body make contact with the couch cushions. Oh, Dave, she exclaimed, Can you bring in the giant bag of flower I bought from Costco that's in the back of the van in the garage. I need it right now to make bread for dinner. It's so heavy. Dave reportedly sighed, savoring the two seconds he got to enjoy sitting on the couch before slowly standing up and heading out to the garage. I felt my bag contact the couch for a moment and it felt nice. He said, I'd like to try that again sometime, but maybe for longer. It's so good. Danielle thanked her husband for bringing her the bag of flower and paws, holding still to see if she could hear him sit down once again. Dave, are you gonna sit down? I could use some help with the dishes before I start dinner. At publishing time, sources said Dave could be heard trying to quote sneak away to the restroom before daniel Danielle asked him how long he was planning on being gone, as the garbage needed to be taken out. So that's happened to you though, Yeah, so you plopped down on bed or no. This is how it works for me. In my house, my wife had been married for thirty almost thirty three years. Yep, you guys just celebrated your third we did. Yes, you've been married so much longer than us, So we're coming up on thirty three years and. She knows. So I turned my brain off. I have kind of a ritual at night, at my last forty five minutes an hour, I just turn my brain off. And so I promise you. I laid down in bed, I'm ready to turn off the light, and she goes, let me tell about the worst thing that ever happened to me, and it happened today. We got to solve it right now, right. We got to talk about money, we got to talk about how bad the kids are. And I'm like, we've been together for the last four hours. You couldn't think of doing it. Then we got to do it right now. Before I was, I turned my brain off. I didn't think. You know, for a living, that's what we do, is we think. Especially I'm a thinker. That's what I get paid to do. I turn my brain off so I don't have to solve any problems. And once I lay my head on my pillow, now's the time that we must have earth shattering conversation, right, earth shattering yep, yep. That's so funny. Yeah, well, mine are usually like deeds, like chores. Right, So I sit down the couch now, to be fair, the couch is my favorite spot. Yeah yeah, so I am there quite a bit, right, So if I'm not doing anything. Even if I'm not even turning on the TV or anything like that, I'll usually gravitate toward that spot, right, you know, if I'm reading, if I'm on my phone, if i'm talking on the phone, whatever, usually it's there right in this one seat. But either way, when i'm there, it just seems like, oh, you know, let's get up and do this. And I'm like, okay, all right, so you know, of course we do it right. Well, you've been to our house before. So in my room, we have like a TV room attached to it, right, yeah, sitting sitting here, and we have two chairs in there and one of my It's funny how you kind. Of have your spot. That's your spot, yep, yep. And when I get there, man, it's like my happy place. That's where i'm quiet. It's where everything my whole life just kind of slows down. When I'm out to the rest of the house or whatever, it's okay, hey man, I'm here. Whatever you want me to do, that's fine. But once I escape there, that's I want to be heading towards that time when my brain's turned off completely. I just could go to sleep yep, you know, and I've told you before, I fall asleep in like five minutes. Yeah, but it's because I turn my brain off before I go to bed. I'm not scrolling, I'm not doing those things. I just turn my brain off and then go to bed. And that's when she decides. She's saying, you don't watch TV before you go to bed sometimes. But it's not anything that matters, right, It's just like brainless stuff. Brainless stuff. I'm not I'm not involved with it. It's just happening in front of me till I can't stay awake anymore. Yeah, but no, I usually, uh, that's what I do. But Bonnie wants to come in. Bonnie's the same way. We can be running out of gas in the evening, get to nine o'clock, suddenly it dawn's on. Bonnie. Oh that's right. I wanted to repaint the whole house. She just gets into these big projects, read before bed, and I'm. Like, what are you doing? Why don't we do that the whole. I'm not joking, man, Hey, let's bake ten loaves of bread. You know, I don't know what it is. It's so goofy. So yeah, I'm resonating with this article. Is what I'm saying. Yeah, well I will say this too. Uh. My wife does a lot, and I am glad to do whatever she asks me to do. Yeah, yeah, good, good, lean in, just lean in a little bit more of my friend. I'm enunciate, Chris. Yes I am. I'm trying to cover myself for the things that I said. So yeah, no, I am very thankful to my bride as well. Yes, well, Jeff, it's it sounds like when you sleep, you are at peace. I am so much at peace. Yeah. Yeah, And you know, Jesus actually said peace be with you and my piece I give to you. I wonder where you're going with that. I can't figure where you're going. Okay, good, good, Well that's the that's the phrase today. Jesus had a podcast, right, he would say something like this. So in John chapter twenty, verse nineteen. We only have a few verses today, only a few, that's right. But you got a couple more yawns for us. That's good. I've yawned three times already just on. This podcast, in this episode. Yes, by the. Way, people at home who are listening right now, it's actually three in the afternoon right now, three in the afternoon. Sometimes most of the time we record in the morning, right, but this time it's actually in the afternoon, which. Is like, you have a big lunch. It's I did. That's why I had steak. Oh that's why. Yeah, you said that like you were bragging, by the way, Yeah, your face. Was, well I did. I don't usually have big lunches like that, but that was a definite big lunch. Good for you. Yeah, So here's what it says. Anyways, In John chapter twenty, verse nineteen, it says that Sunday evening, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of. The Jewish leaders. Remember yesterday I mentioned the ladies were so courageous they go out. They were with Jesus all the time too. They were at the cross when he was being crucified. These ladies are there and they go out boldly, but all the men are hiding. I'm just pointing that out. I'm not making a point. I'm just pointing it out. Well, I mean they were short of the target, I would think, right, I mean they were the ones that went out too by two Okay, yeah, I mean yeah, yeah, okay doing miracles. That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, and suddenly Jesus was standing there among them. Peace be with you, he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands in his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord again. He said, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. And then he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone sins there forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. And that's that. Well there you go. Yeah, just a few verses. Yes, so let's break it down, shall we. Okay, that that Sunday evening, which means that this is the very Sunday in which. He resurrected, right, yes, Sunday yep. And then other gospels tell us that Thomas wasn't there. Remember, that's correct, it's the very next verse, verse twenty four. One of the disciples. Oh yeah, yeah, Thomas is this gospel we just didn't read enough, that's correct, yep. So Thomas wasn't there, and so then he you know, later on it's actually like almost a week later where Jesus finally appears, and then Thomas believes right, but anyway, so we know Thomas isn't there. But it says the disciples were meeting behind locked doors, and he's referring to the eleven disciples, but apparently in this case it was really twelve ten disciples. He doesn't say all ten or all eleven, but he just says the disciples, right, so apparently there's ten of them, and assuming that everybody else was there besides Thomas, and and so Jesus appears, and I love how it gives the detail that the doors were locked, which means that Jesus does magic power things. Jesus, you know Jesus' magic powers. In his resurrected body, Yes, and his resurrected body. Sure, yeah, so he appears in a locker room. It's not magic powers. It's miraculous. But that's okay. I know, I say powers tongue in chek. Yes, there is miraculous abilities. I wish the people who were only listening to this podcast and not watching you can see the disgust on Christmas face when I when I I took away my fun, I get all serious and I'm like all of a sudden I'm like throwing a wet blanket on all of your funny You're. Like, yes, his miraculous powers. Yes, yes, it was such a discussing. Was it not discussed disappointment? Like okay, yeah, you know, I say a tongue in cheek, right. That was great? Now, I know, And I was playing with you. You should listen, by the way, to the podcast this morning. Did you listen to this? I listened to the wh that played today. I actually talked about you while you were gone, and I actually said it said that Jesus knew their thoughts and responded to them. When when me Andy were talking about it, and I said, see in cargoes, man, he goes Jesus knew their thoughts and responded to them. He's like, He's like, we don't have the ability to do that. And I said, see, that's what I was talking about. I said, I said, uh, I said, I said, I always said that Jesus had abilities that he said that I'm doing these things to prove I'm the Messiah. I said he had abilities beyond us. But Jeff's contention is that he was doing things for the power of the Holy Spirit, which is true. But it was the same things that we can do. I said, but as far as I know, I can't read somebody's thoughts and respond to them. And then I did a one eighty on the air in your favor. Oh, spiritual gifts of knowledge of knowledge discernment said. I said, good for you, yep, And I said, I have a convert yeah. I said, well, I'm. Not sure about that, but but I did. I did, uh come back around and I said, okay, I can see it on that part that point right, because I said, Jeff would be sitting here and he would say, here's here's the way. I said, I go, I go, I'm gonna put myself in jeff shoes and he's probably gonna say, yeah, Chris, they call that discernment. And I said, and I go, okay, I said, all right, I'll concede. I'll concede, and then we moved on. Yeah. So it would be a it would be a split between the two spiritual gifts of knowledge. God can give you supernatural knowledge and which seems to be that he knew what they were thinking, or discernment knowing what somebody's thinking. Gifts that would lend lend themselves to. That, but I did one idea on that point. Yeah, that's awesome, dude. I'm so proud of you. Thank you have never been. Proud of thank You's appreciate that. So anyways, you were saying, here's Jesus doing this really incredible moment when he walks through the door. Yeah so so he so he miraculously appears, And I love that because it gives us the insight thousands of years later that even even appearing in the room as a miracle. Yeah right, So it wasn't just him walking or knocking, it's him demonstrating I'm the resurrected Christ. Yeah. So, so I believe in the in the the physical resurrection of Jesus, the bodily resurrection of Jesus. This wasn't just a spiritual resurrection, right. But and one of the reason why we say that is he ate food with the disciples, That's right, right, He cooked breakfast even after this for the d after this. So this is a bodily resurrection. But this is also a resurrected Lord in this moment, and so he was not simply bound by all of these things, but rather he was still choosing to live in the body and so to walk through a door or whatever. This just and this would probably be the version of Angelic at this point. Yes, because this would be the version of Jesus that we're going to meet. Yes, right, So he's the Jesus who has a physical form of a human body. Because even in the Book of Revelation it says he comes back as a warrior right on the horse, so he has a physical body. It also says that he is sitting at the at the right hand of God the Father, and it also describes God the Father as spirit. Yeah, the Bible says it will be fleshing, we'll have bodies of flesh, and that's right, right, which is a different thing. But anyways, so to fit along with that theory that I have, I believe I believe that this is perfectly congruent with the idea of Jesus doing God things as God. Now, whereas we just needed him to be a man through the crucifixion and resurrection, right, and so that was the he had to pay the price as a man for us. And so I believe that all of that was in the power the Holy Spirit. Now he's operating in the power of God, is what I think is happening there. It's very cool. Yeah. And then and then it says he showed them the wounds in his hand and the wounds in his side, and again that confirms the bodily resurrection, right. Yeah, so that's literally his actual body, the one that was pierced, the one that was crucified, and they were filled with joy. And he says peace be with you, and another version might say shalom, right, So shalom is the is the Hebrew word for peace. And what's ironic about this? And I don't know if Jesus meant it this way, but what he was really communicating is he is peace. Right. So I don't know if he meant peace be with you or I am peace among you, right, But both are true, aren't they? Or peace is with you? Peace is with you? Yeah, that's right. It could be peace is with you, but he is peace. And so it's the same peace by the way that we have available to us. And John chapter what is it, thirty No? Fourteen? John Chapter fourteen, verse thirty something where he actually says my peace. I give to you my peace. I give like the world cannot give. Right. I do not offer peace as the world gives and so yeah, and so it's the same peace that surpasses understanding. If he's just says, it's the peace that you and I have as believers, and so it's offered through Jesus Christ, and which I just I love connecting those dots as well. So there's a somewhat of well, it's not a clunky translation in all fairness, but it's clunky wording in this receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. And you feel like, oh, wow, Jesus just gave the disciples the ability to forgive sins. Well, Jesus is really clear. Only God forgives sins. Yep he said that, ye, right. So only God forgives sins. But when you take this whole inner action, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I'm sending you so you receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone sins, they're forgiven. If you're not forgive them, you're not forgiven. This is really in the context of it is the Father sent me to bring the gospel. Now as you go bring the gospel, you're going to need the power of the Holy Spirit, the peace of God in your life, and then you're going to be able to confidently help people know that their sins are forgiven. That's kind of the connotation there, right. So the translation is a touch clunky the wording of it, but the meaning is not that the disciples would forgive sins, but rather the disciples would have the privilege of telling new believers. Their sins have been forgiven. Yea, does that make sense? As a matter of fact, there's this really great note here in the Life Afication of Society Bible says Jesus was giving the disciples their first spirit powered and spirit guided mission. He says, peace be with you. I'm sending you you need the Holy Spirit. Right, That's what he just did. And this mission, this spirit powered and spirit guided mission, was to preach the good News so people's sins might be forgiven. The Disciples did not have Oh, here you go. The Disciples did not have the power to forgive sins. Only God can do that. But Jesus gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins have been forgiven because they have accepted jesus message. And he does the same thing in Matthew chapter sixteen. So I think it's this is why we know this is a consistent concept. All believers have the same privilege. We can announce forgiveness of sins with certainty when we ourselves have come to repentance and faith. Right, that's what he's doing. So he's not saying that the twelve Disciples or these eleven Disciples can go around forgiving sins. You're forgiven, and you're forgiven, and you're not forgiven. Right, right, that's believe. It's kind of how it reads in English. Yeah, that's right, but in the Greek, and I had a Greek professor say this. In the Greek, it says those words. It just doesn't read it that way. It doesn't feel that way when you read it in the Greek. Right. So I'm not a Greek expert, but I remember having a professor say, it's really this idea that what Jesus is saying is on this mission, this Holy Spirit mission that you're going to be on, have confidence that when you inform them that their sins are forgiven, they are forgiven. If they reject Christ and they decide instead to go with Buddha or they choose to go with some other religion or they don't have Buddha. Back then I'm saying they decide to go with Apollo or Aphrodite, Well, then their sins aren't forgiven, right, that's what he's saying, that's the intent behind it. But when we read these words just in the English like that, sometimes it feels a little bit more like it's Peter gets to go around to side. You're forgiven, you're forgiven hell like Doug dot Goose forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, not forgiven Goose Goose, right, And that's that's not it. So and then I love the fact he sends him on a mission. Yeah, that's right. Jesus isn't done right, So his mission was done, and the day his mission was done was the day ours began. Right, And in our life, the moment that he rescues us is the moment he sets us free to be able to go and live out the purpose and the mission the plan he has for for us, and that is to go tell everybody else their sins have been forgiven. The place of faith and trust in Jesus. That's great, and that's why we need the power of the Holy spirit. Yep. And I also want to point out that it says then he breathed on them and said, re see the Holy Spirit. I listened to a speaker one time in Atlanta, and he did an entire message on that one phrase, Jesus breathed on them, and he sort of like poked fun of the idea of like somebody walking over somebody, somebody go small my breath like this. But he talked about all the other places in the scripture about the breath of God. Right. He talked about Ezekiel and the dry bones and how he breathes life, how he breathed God's breath breathed into the nostrils of Adam and gave him life. Right, So this is a spiritual breathing of new life of you know, it's the same thing when we as Christians, uh, you know, first receive God, it first become Christians, we receive the Holy Spirit. Right. So that's what that's what the Baba says. Theologically, the theology is is that we trust Christ, we cross from death to life, we are reborn, and we received the Holy Spirit. And so that is a rebirth Jesus would call it, right, John Chapter three there's a rebirth, and we are spiritually born become alive, right, and so it is it is, it is that, it is. It is the breathing of spiritual life into the disciples. Well, we were dead, that's right, and dead in our sins, and then God made us alive in Christ. And this is this is that idea, and it's the Holy spirits, the one who in dwells us and makes us alive, which is very similar to the way that God did the creation thing. There's a note life application study. Bible deals with that, and here's the way it says what you just said. The breath of God has life. The first man was created, but did not come alive until God breathed into him the breath of life. This is interesting. In time, there was a moment when the body was completed but was not alive. That's correct, right, which is we see bodies not alive all the time. Yeah, So God had created Adam's body, it was not alive. Then he breathed into into Adam, and Adam became became a living soul, the Bible said. So it says, uh, but it did not come alive until God breathed into him. The breath of life, and this is chapter two. God's first breath made humans different from all other forms of creation. Now, through the breath of Jesus, God imparted eternal spiritual life. With this in breathing came the power of God's will, took the power to do God's will on earth. And so this is what God's saving breath brings life into the dead spirit. Because the Bible says when Adam and Eve sinned, that they would die, and what died was the spiritual connection to God. And now he's rebreathing that spiritual connection back to him. In that moment, we come alive so we can know him. I think that's what's happening here. This is for many of them. I think the salvation moment for his disciples in this moment, and then the Holy Spirit comes upon them a few days later, but he'd already told them received the Holy Spirit, so he's letting them, you know, you receive the Holy Spirit at salvation, and then the power of the Holy Spirit coming on you is a surrender, right, And that's that's the difference between those two moments. I love I love this because there's a lot of people that would have a theological alignment with you and me. Who would say the Holy Spirit didn't come until Acts chapter two, right, But Jesus gave them the Holy Spirit right here, he did, same guys, by the way. The same guys right right right. This is not a redate. But both of them, both moments are for the mission, right. So this one peace. You're gonna need God's peace because this is going to be tough. But I got a mission for you, just like God sent me. I'm going to send you go and tell people their sins are forgiven. That that's that's sure, right, But first you need the Holy Spirit right for them? I think this was the salvation moment for most of them, I questioned Peter. Peter might have been because Peter said, you're the son of God. Right, so, but they couldn't have understood the resurrection. So this is a post resurrection maybe confirmation of that. But now they receive the Holy Spirit. Then one hundred and twenty days later or not tw one hundred twenty days later, but there's one hundred and twenty of them in the upper room, what fifty days later? And the Holy Spirit comes on them like a mighty rushing wind, and there's flames of fire over the head, and this moment they feel this in dwelling of the Holy Spirit, the power the Holy Spirit on them, and they begin to speak in what thirteen different languages is mentioned, and they go out and they spread the gospel. Three thousand people trust Christ. And these now are the men that had been following Jesus, that had received the Holy Spirit. That now a number of days later, they step up and in the power of the Holy Spirit they begin to do the mission. Jesus was on this mission. He just said, I'm sending you for and that is to tell everybody. Yeah, yeah, that's great. It's the main purpose of the Holy Spirit. So the main purpose Holy Spirit is to seal you and me in Christ until you know, into eternity, and to teach us and comfort us, Jesus said, and to empower us for the mission. Great, that's great, definitely, But that's our time. So hey, we appreciate you tuning in and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow to wrap up the week with us on the Bible. Guys,