Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for our meditation is written in the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to St John: Verses 19–31:
19 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, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but 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.
Christ has risen! He has risen, indeed! Alleluia! Our Saviour who once was dead now lives.
The Gospel that we just heard begins with a time marker, (John 20:19) “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week.” We need to look at the context to see what John means when he says, “That day.” The previous verses give the account of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene near the empty tomb. So, today’s reading is an account of something that happened on the evening of the day of the Resurrection. By this time, the disciples knew that the body was gone. Some of the women even claimed to have seen and talked with Jesus. The fact is though, they weren’t sure what it all meant. They were confused.
The text goes on to say, (John 20:19) “The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews.”The one thing they did know was that the Jewish leaders went to a lot of trouble to wipe out their leader. Now that He was out of the way, there was the possibility that they would try to destroy the entire movement. So, not only were they confused, but they were terrified.
This is another one of those moments that supports the credibility of the Biblical text. If you are making up a history to support your own man made religion, you do not portray the leaders of your religion as confused, frightened, and helpless men cowering in a locked room.
The other thing we learn from this account is that, at the beginning of this account, there was not a single Christian in the room. They had heard reports of the Resurrection, but they did not believe them. If you do not believe in the Resurrection, then you are not a Christian. This was a room full of unbelievers.
Now this is annual “Pick on Thomas Day.” You heard in the reading how Thomas was missing, and he made his assertion of unbelief before he saw Jesus, but the fact is that all the disciples were total pagans before Jesus showed Himself to them on that evening.
Now here is where we see how gracious and merciful Jesus truly is. He had every right to show up and rip into these disciples. He had every right to condemn them for their unbelief. After all, He had told them that after He died, He would rise again. If they had been listening, they should have expected Him to rise on the third day. But they didn’t. They deserved condemnation.
Instead, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, (John 20:19) “Peace be with you.” What a marvellous greeting this is. Instead of getting what they deserve, Jesus gave them His peace. This peace is greater than any other peace for it comes from the very Son of God Himself. This is the peace that Jesus earned with His perfect life and His suffering and death on the cross. This is the peace that Jesus earned while He hung on the cross and endured the wrath of God for the sin of the world. This is the peace we have with God because Jesus took away the sins of the world.
(John 20:20) “When [Jesus] had said this, he showed them his hands and his side”. Jesus verified His identity and certified His peace by inviting the disciples to examine the wounds of the cross that still showed on His body. This was a real bodily resurrection … a resurrection that the disciples could touch and see. Jesus is real and so is His peace.
As the disciples began to realise that their friend and teacher was alive, Jesus gave them even more gifts. (John 20:21) “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” This is nothing other than Jesus installing these men as apostles. The very word apostle comes from a Greek word that means to send. Jesus said that He is God the Father’s apostle, the one sent from the Father. Now He is commissioning these disciples to be His apostles, ones who are sent directly by Him. These apostles will take the very peace that Jesus has given to them and proclaim it to the world.
Do you realise how crazy this is? These are the men who often quarrelled about who is the greatest among them. These are the same men who abandoned Jesus in His greatest need. These are the men who thought the stories of the resurrection were idle tales. These are the men who drew a total blank every time Jesus told them He was going to suffer, die, and rise from the dead. These are culturally influenced men, and even though they had greatest teacher of all, and every good intention, they repeatedly prove themselves to be not the brightest bulbs in the box.
Regardless of all this, they are the ones whom Jesus sent. They are the ones the Apostle Paul wrote about to the church in Ephesus: (Ephesians 2:19–20) “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”. The Apostle Paul states that these men are the foundation of the household of God. Paul is talking about men who were cowardly unbelievers until Jesus showed Himself to them. Now Jesus is sending them. Now they are Jesus’ Apostles.
But wait, there’s more. (John 20:22–23) “When [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Here is Jesus giving the authority to forgive sins to His church. This authority carries with it the authority to administer His peace as well.
I would like you to consider the question in regard to our public confession and absolution in worship services. “Do you believe that the forgiveness as pronounced by the priest is not his forgiveness but God’s?” You see, this question is based on the words we just heard from Jesus in today’s Gospel. He has given the church the actual authority to forgive sins with the forgiveness that He earned with His perfect life and suffering and death. That means that when the priest responds to a public (or private) confession with words to the effect, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” that is Jesus forgiving your sins.
The wonderful thing is that it doesn’t depend on how wonderful your priest is. He could be popular or unpopular, upright or failing. The very words he speaks under the authority of Jesus Christ, ensures that the forgiveness is sure and complete. It is sure because it does not depend on the character of your priest, but on the promise of Jesus Christ … the same Jesus Christ who died on the cross and rose from the dead. The one who kept His promise to rise from the dead, will most certainly keep His promise to forgive all our sins.
This forgiveness not only comes with the actual word forgive, but it also comes with other words … words like peace. During each worship service, the priest announces the ‘peace’. That is not just the priest giving out good wishes, but placing the very same peace that Jesus gave to His disciples on all present. This also happens in the benediction. This is also the very same peace that Jesus gave to His disciples in today’s Gospel. It is another way of placing His forgiveness on us with all its gifts.
We need the gifts of Christ’s forgiveness. We live in a sin-filled world that tempts us continually. Satan continually attacks us with the poisonous darts of His temptations. When we examine our lives in light of the Ten Commandments, we become aware of our many failings … our many sins. Our only hope is the forgiveness that Jesus gives to us. With that forgiveness, we receive His mercy, His grace, and His peace. In His love, He has given His church the authority to administer all these gifts and give them out freely. That is what we do when the Holy Spirit calls us together by the Gospel. In this place and in all the other places His believers gather around the world, He gives us His gifts through His servants in His congregation.
God continues to work in grace and mercy today. At birth, every one of us is a selfish, enemy of God. Never the less, the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus gives His peace to us. The Holy Spirit still works in us by the power of the very Word that Jesus sent His apostles to proclaim. In all of these ways and more, Jesus still comes to us and says, “Peace be with you.” Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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