John 20:19–31

¹⁹On 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." ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus 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. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." ²⁴Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So 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." ²⁶Eight 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." ²⁷Then 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." ²⁸Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but 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.

Behind locked doors. Chained by fear. Cowering in dread of those horrifying sounds of terror lashing at the windows and pounding on the doors. No, it's not an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It's us, joining the disciples on Easter evening, huddled behind the doors of fear, locked inside by our own apprehensions as the enemy stalks us outside, roaming around looking for a way to devour us. Our doubts, our worries, our fears about the future, our insecurity about where we are heading. Trapped in depression; burdened with guilt—what will tomorrow bring? What will next year bring? Has God abandoned me? Why does everything seem to go so wrong? Am I really a believer? Why are my thoughts and words and actions so selfish, so cold, so unloving?

We are the ones who are locked behind closed doors, trapped by fear, uncertainty, doubt, and guilt. We are the ones who tremble in fear at the sounds of the devil accusing us of all our failings, our sinful attitudes, our sinful thoughts. Reminding us of things past. Things we have done wrong, making us feel guilty all over again. Bringing to mind the things others have done to us, others we once forgave but now with his reminders, all the old feelings of hatred, hurt, and pain come back and we have to try to forgive all over again.

We are behind locked doors; trapped by fear. Trapped by insecurity. Trapped by feelings that we are not worthy of God's love. That God has withdrawn his blessing from us. Then our eyes are opened, and we behold the risen Jesus standing in our midst, right here in the room with us. His resurrected and living body is here with us ready for us to receive him at the altar of Holy Communion.

Standing here with us today, he speaks to us. We hear the sound of his words: "Peace be with you." This is the sound of Easter; the sound of Jesus giving his peace to you. He is here with us today to calm our troubled hearts; to give us his peace. Peace with God the Father.

For if Jesus had not died on the cross and risen from the dead, God would still be our enemy. There was war between us and God. The anger of God burned hot against us. The breath of his wrath came burning down our backs. But now we hear the sound of Jesus' voice speaking words of peace. "Peace be with you." The war has ended. Peace has come. We are restored to friendship with God. The weapons of war are laid down and we have peace. The spear is hammered into a plow. The arrow sprouts into an olive branch.

The basis for this peace is forgiveness. Peace is founded on the forgiveness of sins, because sin is what has caused war between man and God. But now, because sin is paid for, that war has ended. We have peace. So Jesus commissions his apostles, his ministers, to forgive the sins of all who hear and believe. The sound of his words echoes in our ears on Easter: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them." He sends us into the world to carry on his mission, just as his Father sent him into the world, he sends us into the world. When he ascended back to the Father, his work did not end. It continues to this day. He continues working until the day he returns. He continues his mission by sending us out to do his work: to forgive the sins of those who repent.

"Go, make disciples of all nations..." he tells us. He accomplished forgiveness on the cross; through men, equipped with the means of grace, he distributes that forgiveness to people.

Luther explains it this way: "We treat of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ has achieved it on the cross, it is true. But he has not distributed or given it on the cross. He has not won it in the supper or sacrament. There he has distributed and given it through the Word, as also in the gospel, where it is preached. He has won it once for all on the cross. But the distribution takes place continuously, before and after, from the beginning to the end of the world...if I now seek the forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it given there.... I will find in the Sacrament or gospel the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross...." When the pastor makes the sign of the cross and the sound of these words, "by the power and authority given to me, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," you are hearing the sounds of Easter. This is the gospel in its purest form. These words are the power of God unto salvation. These words, spoken into your ears, are the "words of eternal life." For these words are the words of Jesus; words which carry with them the power to do what they say. The power to forgive sins and save people.

This authority, given to the church, is called the "office of the keys," because it is the authority Jesus gave Peter to open and shut the doors of heaven, and which is given to the church, and which the church administers through its pastors. We hear these words spoken to us personally and individually when we are baptized. We hear them in the Lord's Supper. We hear them one-on-one in confession and absolution where they are spoken to us. This is the real work of the church.

Forgiveness means not taking your sins into account. They are not counted against you. It is these words that make peace between man and God. For these are the words of reconciliation. These words create all things new. If anyone is "in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." And all this is from God, "Who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." "That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation." You are reconciled to God. The enmity is gone, the warfare is ended. Peace has been restored. And "We are ambassadors for Christ. God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." These words are the sound of Easter, the words of reconciliation: "Your sins are forgiven."

Yet, we humans fail so miserably at saying these words. How often we withhold them. When we are offended by a brother in Christ, we don't want to speak words of forgiveness. We harbor grudges. We speak curses instead. Sometimes we hold back these words for years. We are silent when God has sent us to speak forgiveness. We bear grudges when God has sent us to be reconcilers. The sounds of Easter do not come from our lips easily, rather the sounds of Good Friday, the sound of condemnation, of accusation, of harshness, of denial, of treason and treachery. And for this reason we must continue to hear the words of forgiveness spoken to us over and over.

Because of the hardness of our hearts we need always hear the sound of the words, "Your sins are forgiven," until they drown out the sound of hatred, grudges, and bitterness. For these are the words of life that draw us back into Christ and reunite us to his death and resurrection. These are the words of the gospel that have the power to transform our lives and hearts and to save all who believe them. That is why weekly worship is not just a command; it's a necessity. We must hear these words over and over ourselves else we die. It is these words, and only these words, that keep bestowing life and nourishing our souls. It is only these words that change our sinful hearts and preserve our faith. Our life depends on keeping these words in our ears until Jesus returns, for without them we die.

Because Jesus sends us out to proclaim these words, they must be spoken. They cannot be stopped. The Sanhedrin and the chief priests tried to stop these words. They put Peter and John in prison. They threatened them, they beat them, but they could not stop these words. They could not stop Peter and John from proclaiming the Easter words of peace and forgiveness. And they cannot stop the church today. Yes, the church is often persecuted, it often looks weak and dying. But it has the words of Jesus, the power to forgive sins, the power of salvation to all who believe, and it cannot be stopped. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it. No matter what powers, what evil, or what hatred oppose it. No matter what authorities, kings or rulers or princes or presidents or governors try to stop the sound of these words, they cannot be stopped, because they are the power of God. They will sound around the world until the day Jesus comes back.

Thomas did not at first believe these words. But he could not stop them. And Jesus pronounced a blessing on all who hear these words and believe them, for in these words is life. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Therefore, Luke tells us, "These things are written in this book 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." Amen.