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John 20:19-31

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.” ²²And 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.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Easter evening found ten of Jesus’ disciples huddled together behind locked doors. Earlier that morning, Peter and John had seen the empty tomb (Jn. 20:3-8). Mary Magdalene and some of the other women saw Jesus (Mt. 28:9-10). Two other disciples, who are not part of the Twelve, see Jesus on the road to Emmaus and have dinner with Him. At some point, Jesus appears to Peter privately (Lk. 24:34). Jesus is popping up all over the place, but the disciples are scared. They figure they are toast. Since Jesus had been killed, they must be next. At the direction of the religious leaders, Pilate had set a guard at the tomb to make sure they didn’t steal Jesus’ body. Now that He isn’t in the tomb anymore, the disciples expect soldiers can appear at any moment to drag them off to be executed.

And the interesting thing is that when Jesus appears and is reunited with them, He doesn’t promise that they won’t be killed for being His disciples. As it turns out, they will all eventually be executed for their faith in Jesus (all of them except for John). Jesus doesn’t take away the end that they are all afraid of, but Jesus does give them the courage to leave the room.

Jesus does not promise them that He won’t let them be harmed for being His disciples. He does not promise that He has taken care of the threats. Jesus does not give them superpowers to keep them safe from their enemies. Christ does not promise to protect them from dying a martyr’s death.

No, Jesus has this reunion with His disciples to give them courage to simply leave the room. And because of that courage Jesus gives them, you are saved today. How does Jesus deliver this courage? He does it through the peace and the purpose the only Jesus can give.

First, peace. When Jesus is reunited with His disciples, He says, “Peace be with you.” He says it again after He shows them His hands and side, “Peace be with you.” He’ll even say it a third time when He appears the next week when they are still in the same room with the same locked doors and Thomas is with them, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus speaks that peace to them and shows them His wounds. The reason Jesus shows them His hands and side is not only to prove that it really is Him – the one who was crucified and rose again. He shows them His wounds because it was from those very wounds that He shed His holy and precious blood which delivers peace.

Whatever you are afraid of, the answer to your fear is found in the wounds of Jesus. Christ says to you in the face of all your fears, “I died for you. Your sins are forgiven. I have overcome death and the grave for you.” Whenever your courage falters, whenever you cower in fear, Jesus gives you a glimpse of His wounds in the preaching of the Gospel. Those wounds preach to you that God is not mad at you because of your sin. Those wounds preach to you that there is no judgment, no condemnation for you who are in Christ (Ro. 8:1). And this preaching of peace gives you courage. Because of the wounds of Jesus, you can face anything that threatens you now because God is on your side. The worst thing that could ever happen to you is that you die and go to be with Jesus your Savior who conquered and defeated death for you. And in that knowledge, you have peace – peace that surpasses all understanding.

So, first, Jesus gives His disciples peace, then, second, He gives them and you purpose.

A lot of people look for purpose in life. People have always been asking, “Why am I here? What am I to do? What is the meaning of it all?” I would guess that these types of questions are running through your mind even more in these days when our community, our society, our country, and our whole world is threatened by something so small as a virus. What’s the reason to keep going?

Well, dear saints, Jesus has a reason and a purpose for you to keep on. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.” Then, Jesus breaths on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus gives you the peace you need, and the purpose you need. Christian, you have a specific purpose. Your purpose is to go and give out the forgiveness of sins. As a Christian, your life is set apart to be forgiven by Christ and to share that forgiveness with others for the sake of Christ. You are to know and make known the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And in this time of pandemic full of anxiety and fear – when you can’t go to work or school or sporting tournaments or visit relatives and friends – God is giving you the perfect opportunity to share that forgiveness and peace with the people that God has put closest to you, your immediate family. I would encourage you to spend this time rejoicing as a family in the forgiveness of Jesus. Being cooped up together in your house is the perfect time to learn and practice loving and forgiving one another. It will make you better at loving and forgiving others when God sees fit for that to happen again.

This is why you are still here. This is why God is keeping you in this world. Jesus has you here so that He can love you and forgive all your sins. And Jesus keeps you here, in this life, so you can love Him and the people He puts into your life.

Dear saints, Jesus is out of the tomb. The One who defeated death is alive and reunited with you so that you can have a reunion with God. And until the day that you are reunited with God, be reunited with one another. Share the peace and purpose that only comes through Jesus’ forgiveness.

Alleluia, Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.