Scared of the Gospel?
by MTS Associate Director Michael Langer
The Gospel of John records that soon after his resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.” As Jesus stands in their midst, he tells them, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:19-21).
This statement directed the disciples, as it does the modern reader, to ask, “How did the Father send the Son?” Which would, of course, force a reflection upon the life of Jesus that they had just seen and we have just read.
We have seen his answer at football games for years. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).” Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus tells those he encounters to believe. John presents Jesus as a walking spokesman for the path to reconciliation to God. “I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The other gospels present a similar picture of Jesus’ call to faith.
The gospels also present a picture of Jesus offering foretastes of life in the Kingdom of God. Through Jesus’ many miracles, people encountered his ability to restore those broken by leprosy, blindness, isolation, paralysis, and even death. He invites the poor and brokenhearted to come to him so that he can give them rest.
So when Jesus tells his followers that he is sending them as the Father has sent him, he is making it clear that we are to be spokesmen of the good news not only in words but also in deeds.
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