A Ministry of Peace and Forgiveness

When Jesus Christ was crucified, His disciples must have believed they had lost everything. They had forsaken all to follow Him and now He was dead. They had placed their trust in Him as the Messiah and they had left their jobs, their families, and their friends believing Jesus to be the One. They probably feared the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman government officials would be searching for them next. As they pondered their seemingly hopeless situation, Jesus Christ appears!
You can pick up the account in John 20 and Luke 24, Jesus appears and offers peace. "Peace be with you" He said as He stood in their midst, and in an instant everything changed! The fear, the worry, the discouragement, the helplessness, and the insecurity of the disciples turned to joy when their focus was on Jesus Christ. He offered them peace, the Hebrew idea of shalom; well-being, wholeness, security and prosperity, what an offer! His offer still stands today for believers who put their focus on Jesus Christ, we receive His peace. Everything changes when we experience His peace, the shalom that is beyond understanding.
Jesus also provided perspective to His disciples, Luke explains, "He opened their minds that they might understand the Scriptures." They understood the Truth! Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we are able to understand the Scriptures, they point to the Truth. As we look to Jesus Christ we receive His peace and we are able to have a proper perspective on the circumstances in our lives.
Not only did Jesus provide peace and perspective but He also gave them a purpose; to extend His forgiveness to others. The idea is simple, they were to know God and make Him known, to love God and love others, to understand they are forgiven and to extend His forgiveness to others.
As Christ followers today we are offered a similar opportunity, we can experience God's peace, His perspective and His forgiveness. We have the privilege of passing along to others in our lives the peace, perspective and forgiveness of God. As we turn our focus to Jesus Christ and receive His perspective, may our lives be filled with His ministry of peace and forgiveness.
Link to sermon:
A Ministry of Peace and Forgiveness