375: DEPLOYED TO THE FIELD, NOT THE BENCH | Quigg Lawrence+

Introduction

So, before I get myself in trouble, does anybody here belong to the Virginia Defense Force? It's a militia that's been around since 1607. Anybody here belong to it? Anybody's father or grandfather belong to it? Okay, good. Then I can throw them under the bus, and that's perfect.

So, what is the Virginia Defense Force? It was a militia started in 1607 when the British, you know, that other country, kind of controlled the US or our country. There were a lot of people that were part of it, but then as time went along, it shrank down to like 200 people. They're mainly Vietnam vets, a few Civil War vets, who gather and wear uniforms. They don't use guns, but they drill. A man in our church named Charlie, not Charlie Tall, another Charlie, was a Vietnam vet, and he told me he was drilling with the Virginia Defense Force. I said, well, what do you actually do in a militia? Because you're not carrying guns, you're not really military. Like, what are you doing? He said, well, here's the thing: me and my buddies, we just like hanging out together. We used to be soldiers, and we're not anymore, but if there's ever an emergency and the governor declares a state of emergency, we could be called up to fill in after the National Guard fills in for the reserve.

He said, honestly, before we're ever activated, they'll call in the Boy Scouts, the Civil Air Patrol, the women's auxiliary, and others. So these guys, they've all dressed up and trained, but they're never on the field. They're never on the field. Could you imagine from 1607? Most of these guys will never do anything in the military, never be made active duty. They have a uniform; they just never get on the field. And it honestly reminded me of my high school sports career.

The Reality of Being on the Bench

Now, there were some moments—there were some moments, you know, highlight reels and cool plays. Always laughing, he goes, Craig, stop telling about your football thing. It was pretty bleak, I admit. But have any of you ever sat on a bench, like, most of the season? Is that ever your experience? Or did you just go to a school where everybody got trophies and everybody played? Have you ever been on a team where you almost never got to play?

Long-time Holy Spirit parishioners will remember this, but honestly, I was so embarrassed in eleventh grade when I was hardly getting any playtime in football. We would do calisthenics before the game, and so we had white pants. How many games did I come off the field? My pants were just as wide as they came out of my mother's washing machine with bleach. It was so humiliating that during the warm-up and stretches, I would scratch my knees in the grass, and I would stain those pants as good as I could.

But the reality is, it stinks to be a Maytag repairman. It stinks to be mothballs. It stinks to be on a team and never play, and it stinks to be in the Virginia Defense Force and never get to do the thing you really want to do. That's exactly what today’s scripture lesson is talking about.

The Scripture Lesson

If you have a Bible, I think it's page 906 in the Pew Bible. It's John 20:19 and following. So, let’s set the stage:

At this point, Jesus has been captured, tortured, whipped, and died an awful death on a cross. He was buried, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. These verses describe what happened next—the beginning of the church.

Here we read:

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. The doors being locked.

The first thing I looked up was, were there locks in those days? Yes, there were. Locks had been around for about a thousand years before that—Egyptians and others used them. The main point isn't that they had locks, but what they represented. What they pointed to. Why were the disciples, sons of the Most High God, locked behind a door? Why? Fear.

Well, the Bible tells us, doesn’t it? It says, for fear of the Jews. Some fears are bad, and some are good. I'm scared of snakes and pit bulls too. You can tell me everything you want about snakes or dogs, but I freak out. I have a real fear. But this isn't a silly fear.

Why would the disciples be so afraid of the Jews—so much so that they locked themselves in a building? Because they’d just watched their rabbi get brutalized—died a horrible, excruciating death on a cross. They’re there, locked down, for fear of the Jews.

Then, verse 19 continues:

Jesus came and stood among them.

You may say, what's the big deal with that? Well, he had been dead. That's the big deal. He stood in front of them. He said to them—so he's speaking—he’s not an apparition, he's not a ghost. He’s speaking, right? Just like he later ate fish.

And what does Jesus say when he comes into the room?

Peace be with you.

He keeps saying it over and over. Why do you think Jesus always says, peace be with you?

Yeah, right. Well, you might say that was the greeting of the day. Fair enough. But I think there's more to it.

Why does he keep saying peace to the people he loves? Because he knows they're struggling. Their peace is elusive. It’s elusive for a lot of us.

Even this week, right? We had some hard things. Very hard things. We look at the world and wonder, Lord, that mountain's awesome, but the other things going on—they're not as they ought to be. It’s not the Garden of Eden. It’s not what we’ll have at the end of time when we all feast, as Isaiah 25 talks about.

So Jesus comes and stands among them and says, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Why do you think he did that? So they would know it's actually Jesus—really, really Jesus—and they could see the marks in his wrists or hands and in his side.

Then, verse 20 says:

The disciples were glad.

Okay, I don't have to admit—I hate that word in English. They were glad. I’m glad when my football team wins. I’m glad when Annette makes me a steak with baked potato and butter. I don’t remember the Greek for this word, but I’m sure it's a lot bigger than glad. If your friend is dead and he's raised from the dead and you see the one you love, you're more than glad. They were exuberant.

And so, they were glad, and when they saw the Lord, Jesus says to them again:

Peace be with you.

Why do you think he keeps saying it?

Because he knows we who follow him get off the path, and we're in a broken world. Things are hard, and we need to remember that the prince of peace is with us. He’s with us. He's not left us as orphans.

The Bible says:

He will come to us—really, really.

So Jesus has a message. After he says, "Peace be with you," he says:

As the Father sent me, even now, I’m sending you.

Called to Deployed Ministry

As the Father sent Jesus—he had a pretty good gig before he came to earth, right? It was amazing. No sin, no ugliness, no pettiness. My mind cannot conceive of the glories of heaven. The Bible says he was in perfect fellowship with his Father, in perfect fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Yet, it was the Father’s will to send him on a mission—a rescue mission. So we could be saved. So we could become children of God.

See, somewhere in America, you've been lied to—actually. They've told you, oh, we're all God's children. That is the biggest lie in the world. I know because for twenty-one years I was not. Even my own dad, on his deathbed, received Christ, but earlier he told me, "The church, the Catholic church, told me I was saved when I was baptized. The Episcopal Church told me I was born again or regenerated when I was confirmed." He said, "But I can tell you, I am no Christian."

As Jesus says, "As the Father has sent me, even now, I’m sending you." Sometimes I think the analogy might be that we're all on mothballs. Now, there are some that really have a heart for Jesus and are serving God here—through Care Portal, bringing meals, praying with neighbors, opening homes for ministry.

But I think most of the body of Christ just seems to be like they’re on mothballs. They're like, in Roanoke, the Lord may have ten thousand Maytag repairmen dressed in uniforms, but they never get on the field. They never do anything for the King.

And Jesus says, oh, I love you guys. And I not only want to bring you to heaven, but I want to deploy you. I want to deploy you. I want you to be part of what I’m doing—the King and his kingdom. I want you to be part of that.

So Jesus says,

As the Father has sent me, even now, I’m sending you.

Are you the Maytag repairman? Every day, every week—how are you being used by the Lord? Rather than guilt-tripping, I want to frame it the way Jesus would: It is a joy to serve the master. It is perfect freedom. It is life-giving. It’s way more life-giving to serve the King of kings and Lord of lords than to sit on the bench or to be mothballs.

And Jesus, in his love and grace, is saying, you guys, I’m putting you on the field. I’m sending you. Put me in, coach.

The Holy Spirit and Mission

Verse 22:

When Jesus had said this, he breathed on them.

Well, I don't know about you, but I hate it when people breathe on me. Do you ever know that person—usually at church? They’ve had a cigarette or a cup of coffee, and they’re like, "Good morning." I’m like, dude, have a breath, Matt. Why did Jesus breathe on them? That’s kind of weird.

I'll give you a hint. It goes back to Genesis 2:7, where God did something with dust:

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

So, there’s precedence of the Lord breathing and breathing life. Here, he says, "Look guys, I am going to give you my Spirit." Because in fact, I don’t even want you to leave Jerusalem. I don’t want you to try any ministry until you receive power from on high. If you go out in your own cleverness—quote Jim Simbela, pastor in Brooklyn, buy his book; it’s excellent—you might think, “Too much ministry is done in human ability and cleverness.” But the Lord would give you his power.

He sees all, knows all, is so powerful. He says, “Don’t leave Jerusalem until you get the Holy Spirit.” Jesus breathes on them, a foreshadowing of what will happen on Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell and everyone heard the gospel in their own language, and many were brought to Christ.

We cannot do kingdom ministry without the Spirit of God.

He breathed on them and said:

Receive the Spirit.

Now, look at verse 23.

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

That’s a strange verse. I want to read it again.

Because this is one of those verses I find puzzling:

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

But hold on—I thought only God could forgive sins. So, what is Jesus talking about here? Do I have the ability and right to forgive someone’s sins?

Every Sunday, when we do the confession of sin, I don’t literally forgive you. I remind you of what you already have if you're a Christian. I remind you of the forgiveness that’s yours. I don't give forgiveness. Most commentators say that, as children of God, your life is hidden in Christ. So, in that sense, as Christ forgives, you can forgive. But what you're really doing is just announcing and speaking truth.

So, in their day, if someone belonged to Christ—that was just the truth—and they spoke it out. If someone did not belong to Christ—again, just truth—and they spoke it out. It’s in that sense that Jesus is speaking in verse 23.

Let's move on to the next section.

Doubting Thomas and Genuine Faith

This is a "buy one, get one" story—resurrection stories. What follows after Jesus is born. Who knows what this next section is about? Look in your Bible.

You might know him better as Doubting Thomas. I’m so grateful the Bible records these stories.

Remember the first time you read the Bible, and you're like, "Whoa..." Can't believe everybody put that in their family history. Here's what happened:

Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, is called the twin. Curious—how many twins are here? I hate to have you raise your hand, but since you’re a twin and I am too—I just want to know. You got any twins? Yes, sir. Yes, you're a twin. I didn't know that.

Anybody else? Twins on this side? You're a twin? Anybody else? Twins? Yes.

It’s pretty special, isn’t it? Did your mom or dad dress you in little sailor suits? I’m serious. I have a picture—I’ll show it on the bulletin, maybe next week if I can find it. My sister and I in little sailor suits. The point is, Thomas was a twin.

And he was not with them when Jesus had been previously there. He hadn’t seen him. Verse 25:

The other disciples told Thomas, "We have seen the Lord with our own eyes."

Remember, Jesus told us what would happen. He said, “I’ve got to go to Jerusalem, I’m going to die, be buried, and raised on the third day.” But now they’re actually saying, “We’ve seen it. It’s true.”

And how does Thomas respond? Does he go, “That’s awesome”? No. He probably did what we would do. He was like, “I don’t believe that. That’s ridiculous. It doesn’t even enter my mind.” Like, that possibility doesn’t seem possible. But then he goes on, and at least he’s honest. He says:

Unless I see his hands—the mark of the nails—and I place my finger in the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.

Why was Thomas called Doubting Thomas? Why did he want to put his finger into his hands or wrists? It’s a strange thing.

Evidence. Because when Jesus was crucified, he wasn’t tied there; he was nailed there. Remember, during Passover time, they wanted to get the people off the crosses, break their legs, but they said Jesus was already dead. But to be sure, one soldier took a spear and pierced Jesus’ side.

Out came blood and water—showing Jesus was truly dead.

What verse are we on, y’all?

Thank you. Here it is:

So, Thomas is basically saying, “God, here’s the thing—I need you to do what I need you to do. If I’m going to believe and trust this, I need you to do it on my terms.”

I relate to that—quids pro quo. God, I need you to do this. What happens is God ends up being our concierge.

Thomas is telling God what God needs to do to make it all better. The crazy thing is, Jesus doesn’t yell at him. That’s amazing. He doesn’t yell at him and call him a knucklehead or say, “Where’s your faith?” Instead, he lowers the ramp for this man. He meets him where he is—that’s the gospel.

And so, Jesus says here, in verse 26:

Eight days later, disciples were again together. Thomas was with them. All the doors were locked; they’re still afraid. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he saw or said to Thomas, “Put your fingers here and see my hands; put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Rather than yell or chide him, Jesus’ goal was that Thomas would believe. Just like he wants you to believe. He wants you to know it and trust it and bet your life on it.

And once Jesus did that, what did Thomas do? Same as anyone who’s in the presence of God: he never put his hand into the side. He never put his finger into the wounds. It’s like scales fell off his eyes. Thomas could see.

And Jesus wants to do the same for you. He knows life is hard. It’s broken and messed up—because we’re messed up, too. You can’t see what you can’t see. The amazing thing about the Lord is that he lowers the ramp. He’s not trying to set something so high that you can’t jump over. He’s trying to win you.

Conclusion

Last verse:

If you skip to the end of John 20, it says this: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe.

Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing, you may have life in his name.

I always thought the target was to get you to believe. That’s awesome—get you to heaven, become a child of God, that’s incredible. But what’s the purpose of that belief? The Bible tells us:

These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing, you may have life in his name.

Friends, that’s what the Lord wants. He wants you to have life—abundant life. I had this idea when I became a Christian that all the bad stuff would disappear, that happiness would come instantly. But what I realized is, day by day, I need to say, “Lord, you are king, and yours is the kingdom.” I’m called to something much bigger and better than just existing, making money, and doing things.

I want to live for him and his kingdom. The Lord wants us to believe so we can have life. I’m tired of us not having life, y’all. Doesn’t it seem messed up? I want real life for you, not just religion. I want kingdom life.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Church, we’d love to move into a time of worship. We invite you to stand and sing with us. As always, as we worship, we also invite you—if you would like prayer right now, if you want to respond to the Lord—take a moment and do that.