A New Creation

Perspectives on new creation, missions, and discipleship

In chapters 20 and 21 of the gospel of John, we have three personal stories of ordinary men and women as they encountered the resurrected Christ. In looking closely at these three stories, we find a working model of the church’s mission in this world. As believers in Christ, we are a new creation, a new temple of God’s Holy Spirit, and new image bearers of the resurrected Christ. The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, now desires to be flesh to the world around us. These three accounts teach us about what it means to be a new creation in Christ, what apostolic missions looks like, and true discipleship.

Mary Magdalene – a mission through tears John 20:1-18

Mary Magdalene is the first to discover the empty tomb. She is also the first to be commissioned by Jesus to tell the others about His resurrection, and ascension to the Father. It is notable that Jesus did not ask Mary to go and get Peter, James or John (the inner circle of disciples), but He commissioned Mary in this mission.

Mary comes to this point through tears. She finds herself being addressed by Jesus as Miriam, her Aramaic name as opposed to the Greek form Maria. This reveals how personal the Lord is with His people. Her tears resonate with that memorable scene at the tomb of Lazarus, where God incarnate wept. In so doing, Jesus demonstrated the grief and anger at everything sin had defaced, distorted, and destroyed of God’s creation. In John’s view, this was what the Word made flesh looked like, as much in His tears as anything else. Jesus’ tears tell us more of His divinity than anything else, and now Mary shares in those tears. As believers, we are partakers of the divine nature as we live and do our work. Some of God’s work will only go forward through tears, of disappointed dreams, of loss, of human grief, the frustration when others even church people hinder or destroy a project that is going ahead. Mary is the first apostle (Apostolos or sent one) in that sense, sent to tell others of the new creation that had been launched by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Her mission started in tears and ended with apostolic commissioning.

Thomas – a mission through doubt John 20:24-29

This little vignette paints more than a doubting Thomas we are familiar with. Thomas is not easily convinced; he asks questions that others did not ask, and like Mary who became the first to be commissioned, he became the first to address Jesus as ‘My Lord and My God’ We come full circle from John 1:14 where the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Now Thomas gives a visible testimony of the Word made flesh. Thomas insists on his questions being answered and was able to articulate why he was not able to believe them. He was not content being taken in based on the faith of others.; he needed to be convinced of the truth personally. That pursuit only led him to speak his faith out once he was convinced of the truth. Just as Jesus was seen by Mary through her tears, and was able to comfort others, so too, Thomas was able to see Jesus through his doubts and provide assurance to all those who were scandalized by the resurrection. Thomas mission which began with doubt, ended with a proclamation of Jesus as “My Lord and My God”. Thomas’ account is also a call to the necessity of apologetics for believers, i.e., believers must be able to contend and defend their faith; why they believe what they believe. This is not a hardline, rigid stance, but an engaging approach to a world that is looking for the truth.

Peter – a mission through undeserved forgiveness John 21:15-19

Peter had let down Jesus badly. In chapter 18, Peter stood around the charcoal fire as Jesus was being tried. Now, he meets the resurrected Jesus by the shore waiting with a charcoal fire and breakfast. Mary saw Jesus through her tears, Thomas through his doubts, Peter sees Jesus through his failures. That’s a really important point of John’s theology of the mission to the world. The first two times Jesus asks Peter if he loved Him, Jesus used the unconditional, self-giving love of God, the agape love. Peter was not able to answer Jesus on that level, and used love that a friend would have (phileo). He clings on to what he knows and responds, “Yes Lord I’m your friend.” The third time Jesus responds on Peter’s level, and this time assures Peter that if that’s where Peter is, then that’s where He’ll start. This gives us an insight into how people are called and equipped for missions. Peter was expecting a word of rebuke, but instead it’s a word of commissioning. Jesus says, “Feed my sheep”

As with Mary’s tears, and Thomas’ doubts, here we have a powerful model of Christian missions that flows out of undeserved forgiveness. “Feed my lambs” means that Jesus was trusting Peter apart from his failures.

The outworking of the new creation starts not with perfect disciples but with penitent disciples, who remember their weaknesses and failures too well, but are determinedly clinging on saying, “Lord, I’m your friend’. They build their faith and are open to godly correction. This is how true disciples live and grow to be Christlike.

Peter’s journey that began with a painful denial ends with a commissioning as an under shepherd to the Chief Sheperd. Even the final few verses in the gospel of John shows a man who is wobbly, much like when he walked on water. Jesus admonition to Peter was. “Don’t look at somebody else’s vocation, follow Me in yours”.

As the Father sent Me, so I am sending you. May God give us the grace to hear and to follow.

Background

Kainos Church India, Bengaluru led by Ps. Manoj and Lincy Iype is a gathering open to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church is ideally located for believers in the Koramangala, HSR Layout, Agara, Sarjapur Road, Bellandur areas of Bengaluru and our Church Service in English starts at 10am on Sundays.

These notes are from the Sunday Sermon held on 4th May 2025