THE RISEN CHRIST

Peace, Presence, Purpose, and Forgiveness

Keith O’Connor

Woodland Church

April 12, 2026

(John 20:19-23, NLT) “That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.  Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!  Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”

1.  The Power of Peace

(John 20:19, NLT) “That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said”

a.  Peace from God

• There is no peace like the peace that comes from the risen Christ

b.  Peace with God

c.  Peace of God

(John 16:33, NLT) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world”

(Isaiah 26:3, NLT) “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

2.  The Power of Presence

a.  The presence of the risen Christ brought the disciples from fear to peace

(John 20:19-20, NLT) “Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!”

(Luke 24:38-39, NLT) “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”

(Luke 24:41:43, NLT) “Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched”

(Isaiah 41:10, NLT) “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand”

a.  Isaiah gives us the promise. John 20 shows us the fulfillment in Christ

(John 20:20, NLT) “They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord”

3.  The Power of Purpose

a.  The purpose of the risen Christ brought the disciples from hiding to mission

(John 20:21, NLT) “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

(John 17:18) “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world”

(John 20:22, NLT) “Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”

4.  The Power of Forgiveness

a.  The forgiveness of the risen Christ is offered to all who put their trust in Him

(John 20:23, NLT) “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

(1 John 1:9, NLT) “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”

(Isaiah 1:18, NLT) “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow”

(Psalm 103:12, NLT) “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west”

(Colossians 2:13-14, NLT) “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross”

Growthwork

1.  Receive His Peace (Faith in Christ)

2.  Walk in His Presence (Life in the Holy Spirit)

3.  Proclaim His Message of Forgiveness (The Gospel)