John 20 is the resurrection chapter. The darkness of Calvary is gone, the battle against sin, against Satan, and against death has been fought to the finish, and the risen Lord stands upon the battlefield in the undisputed might of resurrection. The Sabbath is past, and all that was connected with the dim shadows of the Old Testament has given way to the brilliance of the sunrise of a new day–the first day of the week.
There are four dark shadows that have lain with appalling might across the pages of human history. These are dispelled at once in the sunrise glory of the resurrected Lord in this chapter. The shadows are these: our sorrows; our fears; our sins, and our doubts.
First there is the question of our sorrows. Perhaps never in the world’s history has there been such a weight of sorrow laid upon individual hearts of so many millions of people across this old earth as at this present hour. And one of the greatest sorrows that can enter the life is that of bereavement. When death’s cruel hand reaches into the circle of our human affection, snatches from us one who is dear to us, it is then, I believe, we understand the consummate of human woe. This is precisely what happened to Mary Magdalene.
The Lord had one day come, like sunshine, into her darkness. He had set her free from the cruel bondage of sin and Satan, had delivered her from the devil’s snare, and had loosed her as a prisoner from a dungeon. Out of her were cast seven demons (Luke 8:2). Her heart had been filled with joy and gladness unspeakable, and she had followed her Lord with that devoted attachment with which an affectionate slave waits upon his adored master. Her very life consisted now in paying homage, and honor, and service to the One who had brought about her miraculous deliverance.
Then, suddenly, into the sunshine of her gladness, an exceedingly black cloud had come. Her day had been turned into night, her joy into sorrow. In that dark hour on Calvary’s mountain when Jesus, her Saviour, had been nailed to a gibbet and had bowed His head in death, the light of her life had gone out. Now she lingered in the cold night shadows of the garden, bereaved, destitute, hopeless, her heart like lead within her breast. Earth’s garden to her had become a cemetery, desolate, friendless, and dark as the tomb itself.
She stood in the night of her desolation and loneliness when suddenly she heard a footstep behind her. She turned to face the Person who came through the shadows, and, thinking Him to be the gardener, she inquired: “Sir, if Thou hast borne Him hence, tell me where Thou hast laid Him and I will take Him away.”
Notice she uses no proper name–she just speaks of “Him.” To her heart, His Name is unnecessary. There is no other! Only one Person fills all her thoughts. She has lost “Him” in death, and her soul is bereaved in the desolation of despair. Then she hears the music of her own name from this unknown stranger. Just one word–“Mary.” Suddenly her tears are dried at their fountainhead; her Master has risen from the dead; this is He! Her sorrow takes the wings of the morning–it is gone! Thus this first dark shadow, the shadow of sorrow is dispelled by the presence of the risen Christ.
Are you under such a cloud today? I would direct your heart to the risen Christ, whose imperishable words come like balm to the wounded spirit; “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” If your faith is in Christ your Saviour, you are indissolubly linked with the Person on the other side of death, the mighty Conqueror of that dread foe. Yes, Jesus is a Friend indeed who sticks closer than a brother! A brother may be separated from me in death, but nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).
The second great shadow that lies across human life is the presence of fear. Here were the humble followers of Christ assembled. They had journeyed with Him those past three years along the country lanes of Israel; had sailed the turbulent waters of Galilee in His company; had seen Him dispense blessings by the way, and had built their hopes upon His ascension to power in His earthly kingdom. But the cruel hand of rejection had cast Him forth, and spiked Him to a cruel cross on Calvary’s brow. He was dead.
Suddenly, a report was brought to these disciples by Mary Magdalene that He was risen from the dead! But their half-hearted faith failed to grasp it. Now they were gathered together to grieve over their tragic loss in an upper room in the city of Jerusalem. They had bolted the doors and locked themselves within the chamber of their disappointed hopes. Such lovable men they were, too: Simon Peter; John, the evangelist; Matthew, the one-time tax-gatherer; and probably a few faithful women who had attached themselves to Christ. There they were, huddled together like frightened animals cornered by a relentless foe, their hearts filled with fear. Suddenly a Person appeared in their midst. He said: “Peace unto you.” It was their Lord! They were hearing the voice of the One who had slain their foe. He was telling them now that the field was His, that they were safely sheltered by the power of His might.
Yes, Jesus, the risen Saviour, was greater than all their fears! Perhaps your heart is disturbed today with fear and misgiving. The little ship of life for you is being tossed upon the turbulent waves of adverse circumstances, and you wonder about tomorrow. The thought of impending calamities fills you with fear. May I remind you that the Lord Jesus is alive! He who went to the Cross to die for you is alive today. His voice echoes across this old world: “Peace unto you.”
To the believing sinner, God’s word is this, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1); and to His own beloved people, who are troubled by the avalanche of fear, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Yes, the risen Christ is greater than all my sorrows; He is greater than all my fears, for perfect love casts out fear! The Lord Jesus loves us perfectly! Why should we be afraid?
The next mountain of difficulty that comes before us is in John 20:23. It is the question of our sins. But the risen Christ is the great answer to that question also. Paul tells us, “He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). The fact that the Lord Jesus is risen from the dead is the demonstration that redemption has been accomplished, and that the Lord Himself has paid all our debts at Golgotha. “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” “Jehovah laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:5-6). “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Christ risen is the proof and attestation that the work of redemption is complete, that you and I have nothing to do but to accept it as God’s way of salvation. “Through this man,”–this risen Man–“is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). “He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). So we see that the risen Christ is first of all greater than all our sorrows, greater than all our fears, and greater than all our sins. “He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.” In John 20:23, the Lord sends His followers to proclaim the Gospel of the remission of sins.
The last great question-mark presented to us in this wonderful chapter, John 20, is the question of our doubts, and these seem to find their way into the hearts of all of us sometimes. We are living in a day when Satan is seeking to cast doubt upon the “faith once delivered to the saints.” That is why I am so glad we have the story of Thomas in John 20. Like ourselves sometimes, he was a doubter, and the Lord chose a wonderful way to dispel his doubts. He showed him His hands and His side. Now I am not suggesting that we can see with human eyes the marks of the love of our Saviour upon His Adorable Person, but I do want to suggest that, if we will only go back to a realization that the nail prints in His hands, the spear wound in His side, are ever the tokens to our hearts of His love for us, our doubts will soon go. “I lay down my life for the sheep,” He said; then “I give unto my sheep eternal life and they shall never perish.” The One who died for you on Calvary’s tree is never going to let you slip out of His hand. If you are His, you are His forever for He is the author of eternal salvation. No room for doubts there! Our salvation depends upon His mighty hand and not upon our feeble efforts at all.