"John 20:21"

Any one of the several "2021's" in Scripture might serve as your theme verse for the new year. I've chosen JOHN 20:21 because the setting seems so appropriate for our day. It's Sunday night of Resurrection Day. The disciples have every reason to be celebrating: this past week their Lord and Master had died on the cross to set them (and the whole world) free, and this very morning He had risen triumphantly from the dead! But they are bewildered--and afraid. In fact the Bible tells us that "the doors were locked where the disciples were for fear..." (John 20:19) So here they are, at what should be a most exciting new beginning--fearful, confused, and isolated!

Sound familiar? Yet Jesus suddenly walks in (locked doors notwithstanding) and says these words: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you." That's John 20:21! Just sixteen words. But what a message it is for the disciples--and us, in 2021!

"Peace be with you." If anyone in the world could have been experiencing perfect peace, it would be Christ's followers. Jesus had just fulfilled thousands of years of prophecy. He had been sacrificed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now He was alive forevermore, having conquered death and hell, sin and the grave! But the fearful disciples needed to be reminded that PEACE was available to them. We, too, as a new exciting year opens before us, need to 'cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us.' We need to 'fear not.' We need to know that Covid-19, a crazy election, and stormy times should not shake us because Jesus IS our peace.

You may remember the story of a contest to determine who could best depict the word 'peace' in a painting. One canvas showed a moonlit scene on a smooth, placid lake. Another was a gentle and slow-moving creek with the sun streaming through nearby tree branches. But the winner was surprising at first glance. It was a tree being beaten by fierce winds in the midst of a horrific storm. A bird's nest was tucked between the tree trunk and a large branch. In the nest were four tiny birds with their parent-bird hovering over them, covering them with its powerful wings. The little birds showed no signs of fear whatsoever--teaching the viewer that peace is not the absence of conflict or stormy conditions, but the calm assurance of our Lord's caring presence in the midst of it all.

"As the Father has sent Me..." Jesus is reminding the disciples (and us) of the Gospel. In these 6 words Jesus sums up the CHRISTmas story we've been celebrating the past couple of weeks, that God so loved the world He sent His only Son in the fullness of time, to redeem us from slavery, to save us from our sins! In these most uncertain times, one certainty remains: the Father has sent the Son, the greatest Gift ever given, so that in receiving Him we may become part of His forever family; "ain't that GOOD NEWS?!"

"Even so I am sending you." Now Jesus declares that the Gift goes on, and on, and ON. The CHRISTmas Gift is not just for receiving, it's for re-giving! The disciples at last recognize that their Lord is commissioning them to be His witnesses into their world, to be light in the dark places, salt in a tasteless culture, carrying the Gospel of peace to unsettled and uncertain souls. And that is OUR commission, our command, our mandate for such a time as this.

So, yes, I'm taking the sixteen words of Jesus in John 20:21 as my marching orders for the new year. I recommend them to you as a theme verse for 2021.