Easter
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.
Jesus has risen! That sacrificial lamb who was slain is no longer dead. The one who bore our sins and was punished by God rose from the dead. That Sunday evening, 10 of the disciples were huddled in a room with the doors locked, trembling in fear. Then all of a sudden, there he was. Standing there among them, alive.
What does it mean? How did this happen? Why did this happen? It means that there is resurrection from the dead. It means that the intelligent and educated who say there is no such thing as the dead being raised, or life after death, are entirely wrong! If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. (I Cor 15:13). If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. (I Cor 15:16). And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (I Cor 15:17).
But there he was standing there. His body was there. It was not a spirit or phantom; but his body was standing there alive. The holes from the nails still in his hands and feet. So all the scientific theories that death is the end; that there is no life after death. That there is no judgment and punishment for sin. That there is no eternal life; are all proven wrong. All these wise and educated people have been contradicted once and for all.
St. Paul tells us that if Christ was not raised from the dead, we are still in our sin. But since Christ was raised from the dead there is forgiveness of sins. There is salvation. There is eternal life. We now have peace with God. God has set aside his wrath against us. We are reconciled to God. St. Paul writes in our Epistle reading: "he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you."
Going back three days earlier, we see Jesus hanging on a cross. We see him abandoned by God. We see him suffering in hell on account of sin. We see clearly the wrath of God against sin. Today there are many who think that everything is OK with mankind. That God is love and would not send anyone to hell. That God will not punish sin. That he just overlooks our behavior and we can pretty much do as we please. That there will be no real consequences for engaging in sinful lifestyles. But if God did not spare his own Son but punished him in hell for sins of other people, how do you think you will escape his wrath and judgment? If God did not spare his own children in the wilderness but destroyed those who later did not believe, how will you escape punishment? Even the angels who sinned were cast into eternal chains, just as Sodom and Gomorrah who indulged in sexual immorality were destroyed. "These serve us as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire," says St. Jude in his Epistle.
God will not spare the sinner. Without the resurrection of Jesus, there is certain and sure punishment and eternal death. And for that reason, the resurrection of Jesus is such good news. It means that God accepted Christ's sacrifice for sin. It means there is forgiveness. It means there is peace with God. That was the cause of joy for the disciples. That is why Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you." The resurrection means peace with God. It means that God had laid aside his anger and punishment and his warfare was turned to peace. His swords are turned to plowshares; his spears into pruning hooks.
So now the question is, "How does the resurrection get applied to me?" Christ gave these 10 men his peace and they witnessed the resurrection, but "How can I get this forgiveness and have peace with God?" How can we access this forgiveness and peace? I cannot cling to the cross today. It isn't even there in Jerusalem anymore. I cannot go to Jesus today. He isn't walking around in Palestine. I cannot put my fingers into the nail holes or my hands into the wounds on his side. So how can the resurrected Christ have any effect on my life?
The answer is right here in the text: Jesus said to the 10 disciples assembled in that room, "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." "As the Father sent Jesus, he is sending them." Jesus continues his ministry even after his resurrection and ascension back to the Father, through his called and chosen servants. He is passing the torch to the next generation. He is giving them his office and conferring on them his authority. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."
Right here Jesus is instituting the office of the holy ministry. He ordained these 10 men to be the ministers of his church. He bestowed on them his office and authority. And they did the same later on in their lives so that when they died another generation of ministers continued the ministry of Jesus Christ. Men like Timothy and Titus who also were commanded to pass on this ministry to those who came after them.
This is the institution of the office of Holy Ministry. Luther explains this very text in the Small Catechism. Turn to page 326 in your hymnals and read with me 2/3 of the way down on the left side:
"What is the office of the keys? The office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to his church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.
"Where is this written? This is what St. john the Evangelist writes in chapter twenty: The Lord Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'
"What do you believe according to these words? I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by his divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sin and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us himself."
So what? Why does this matter to me? It matters because by nature we are like Thomas who would not believe unless he saw Jesus' hands and feet. How can we see Jesus' hands and feet? Jesus has gone back to the Father, but he is present in Word and Sacrament administered by the ministers of his church. They carry on the work and mission of Christ. Luther again states: "We treat the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ achieved it on the cross. He distributes it through the Word when the Gospel is preached. If now I seek forgiveness of sins, I do not run to the cross, for I will not find it give there. But I will find it in the sacrament or gospel, the word which distributes, presents, offers, and gives to me that forgiveness which was won on the cross." And the Augsburg Confession of our Church states, "So that we may obtain this faith, the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted."
Why does it matter to me that Jesus instituted the ministry and ordained ministers in his church? Because through this office his forgiveness is distributed to us in the word preached and the sacraments administered. He has given his authority to his ministers, whereby we say in the confession of sins at the beginning of the service, "As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
This is our assurance that when we receive the absolution of our sins it is indeed valid. Our sins are truly forgiven. That these words spoken into our ears have the power and carry the authority to really forgive our sins. This is our assurance that when we walk out of church on Sunday morning our sins really are forgiven and we really do have eternal life.
Therefore, we don't have to be like Thomas. He doubted. He said that unless he saw the marks of the nails and placed his finger into the mark of the nails and his hand into his side, he would never believe." But Jesus said, "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." How can that be? Through the ministry of word and Sacrament. On the cross Jesus won the forgiveness of sins. By his resurrection he proves that our forgiveness is complete. By the ministry of word and sacrament he distributes that forgiveness to us today. The assurance Jesus gives us here by instituting the office of holy ministry, takes away that doubt. We know for certain that that same forgiveness and peace with God that Jesus won by his death and resurrection are given to us, right now today, in this place as we have received the absolution a few minutes ago and will be receiving the Lord's Supper in just a short while.
What does the resurrection mean? It means our sins are forgiven. It means we have peace with God. It means we are reconciled. It means there is salvation and eternal life. And today we have access to all that. The assurance of forgiveness, the assurance of salvation and eternal life. The assurance that one day we will be raised from the dead. All these are ours today because Jesus continues to give them to us through the ministry of his Word and Sacraments. Alleluia, he is risen...
Amen.