Text: John 20:19-31
Beloved
in Christ, we spent several weeks in Lent considering the way of the cross. We
saw that we are redeemed by Christ’s death on the cross. We also learned that
Christ’s cross sets the pattern for our lives, for we too are called to serve
rather than to be served. But we live in the days after Easter. We wouldn’t for
a second deny the death of Jesus Christ or say that it was unimportant. But we
know how the story ends. It ends with Christ rising from the dead on the third
day, vanquishing death for Himself and for us. And so we cannot live as if
Christ remains dead and our joys have all been vanquished. What are we to do?
Today’s
Gospel gives us the answer. Here we meet some of the first people to learn that
Jesus had risen from the dead. More importantly, Jesus Himself directs them so
that they would do what the church would do ever since, at least until He
returns in glory. Christ appeared to the disciples twice in today’s Gospel, and
we learn something important from each visit.
First,
we see that Christ commissioned the church to deal with sins—forgiving
repentant sinners and withholding forgiveness from the unrepentant. In fact, that
is why the church exists at all. If we ignore sin or if we ignore the atonement
for sin, we really have no reason for existing at all. We would be just another
club or social organization. But we exist because sin is a serious matter. Sin
is a problem for every human being, for the pious as well as the ungodly, for
the enforcers of the law as well as the outlaws. Sin is a problem that we
cannot extricate ourselves from. The more we struggle, the deeper we fall into
the quicksand and mire of sin. It is for that reason Jesus Christ had to die on
the cross in our place and rise to give us new life.
You
don’t believe that sin is that much of a problem? Just ask your spouse,
who can fill you on some details you may have overlooked. Or, if you are
single, ask any neighbor who knows you well; or consider that you have a number
of ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends who are more than willing to say why you
weren’t perfect. But I would hope that you wouldn’t have to look that far.
Instead, I would hope that you would see that the same problems that we
complain about as prevailing in the world also exist in you, although on a
smaller scale. The same rage that leads nations to war is in you. You may never
harm another person physically, but that doesn’t mean that you are exempt from
that rage. Maybe overall you are overall a fairly calm individual, but don’t
tell me that there haven’t been moments when your anger just bubbled up to the
surface and you vented it. We could say the same about all the other attitudes
that lie behind open rebellion, sexual misconduct, thievery and robbery, and
every other vice that we don’t like on the grand scale.
Nearly
two thousand years of life after Easter hasn’t brought evil to an end, inside
or outside of the Christian church. We continue to stand in need of God’s forgiveness.
We continue to need the words spoken by Jesus, “Peace be with you.”
We continue to need the wounds of Jesus on “His hands and His side.”
Yes, we continue to meditate on them, to poke and to prod, for “by His wounds
have we been made whole.” Easter does not end our need for a Savior.
Instead, Easter proclaims that our Savior has triumphed.
But
Christ does more than forgive us. He commissions the church, especially her
pastors, to forgive sins wherever Christ Himself would forgive our sins. Thus,
Christ sends the church on a mission, just as He Himself was sent by the
Father. The Father sent Him to make atonement for the sins of the world. Christ
now commissions us to bring the benefits of that atonement to wherever it is
needed and to proclaim His Word so that people can come to faith in Him and so
be saved.
It
is with that mission in mind that our Lord imparts the Holy Spirit. Note why
our Lord says that He is doing this. It isn’t so that we can roll around in the
pews or do other crazy antics. It is all about forgiveness and withholding
forgiveness. Let me start with the latter. There are times when the
church (and her pastors) must withhold forgiveness. Given that this is
mentioned last, you would (rightly) assume that this is less common than
imparting forgiveness. But there are still times when we must withhold
forgiveness. It has nothing to do with us adopting a peevish attitude or
bearing a grudge toward someone. Rather, when people are unrepentant, we cannot
give them God’s forgiveness. They don’t want it, anyway, and it would be
pointless to give it to them. Instead, they would come to think that God’s
forgiveness is a meaningless phrase, rather than something won at great
cost—the cost of our Lord’s life.
Therefore,
we explain God’s Law carefully so that everyone will know how holy God is and
what sort of things He expects out of us. When we hear this Law, we should be
moved to see ourselves as sinners who need forgiveness or else we will be
doomed forever. When we see ourselves for who we are—a microcosm of the world’s
problems, as I mentioned before—then the good news of the forgiveness of sins
makes sense. More than that, we desperately want it and greatly appreciate it
when it is offered.
Moreover,
we will see that the thing that most radically transforms people and entire
societies is understanding that they have been forgiven by God for Christ’s
sake. Don’t accept any substitute for that wonderful gift. Don’t substitute
self-forgiveness for God’s forgiveness. You hear people saying, “You’ve got to
learn to forgive yourself.” Poppycock. Only a self-centered, self-indulgent
egomaniac would have the gall to forgive himself or herself. Such forgiveness
would actually be a grave sin. But God’s forgiveness—that’s what we really
want. We want none other than the Creator of the universe to say that our sins
have been dealt with once and for all, and we are now innocent before Him. And
when He forgives our sins, we can look forward to the future. We are no longer
bound by our past sins. Instead we are marked with the new life that He gives
us. We are free to walk in new paths of righteousness rather than in the
well-worn trails of evil. We can strive to live as children of God, not because
we have achieved perfection or soon will, but because we live with God’s favor
and good will.
The
church exists, therefore, as something distinct from all other entities in
society. We are not about educating, networking, creating technology,
organizing activities, providing entertainment, or doing any of 1001 other such
activities. Individual Christians may have callings to do those things, but
that is not the church’s mission. Instead, we provide the forgiveness of sins.
It is as simple as that—and as radical as that.
So
far I have talked about what the church and especially her pastors do. But how
are individual Christians supposed to respond? Here we look at the second time
that our risen Lord appeared to the disciples. From that incident we learn that
we are to live by faith, not by sight.
When
our Lord rose from the dead, He did not continuously stay with His disciples.
He appeared to them now and then until forty days after His resurrection, when
He removed Himself entirely from their sight for good. He had a good reason for
doing this. For the previous three years they had shared all their waking
moments with Him. They had eaten their meals together, wandered from town to
town together, stayed in the same homes together—in short, done everything
together. But our Lord wanted them to know that He would still be with them,
although they would not see Him as before. And so He popped in and out several
times. When He came, He reminded them that He would always be with them and
would leave His peace with them. When He disappeared, He was getting them used
to living by faith, not by sight.
Unfortunately,
Thomas did not understand this truth. He was used to the old way of “seeing is
believing.” He had to see Jesus before he would believe in Him. More than that,
he demanded the right to poke and prod to see that it really was Jesus. The
Greek is rather blunt about what Thomas was asking. He didn’t just ask to “place
[his] finger into the mark of the nails.” More accurately, you might
translate it that he wanted to “thrust” it there.
Jesus
warned Thomas—and us—not to put aside God’s Word in order to demand something
“better” or “more trustworthy.” The Word is all that we have. Few people in
world history would be privileged to see the wounds of Christ. Instead most of
humanity would have to rely on His Word as it was preached by His pastors
throughout the centuries. But Jesus said that that Word was sufficient. As
Jesus noted elsewhere, people really don’t believe even when they see something
miraculous. Yes, even if someone were to come back from the dead, it wouldn’t
mean that people would get over their skepticism. Either people believe that
Word or they don’t. That is the way it has to be until Christ returns in glory.
Beloved
in Christ, our Lord has spoken through the apostles this word of forgiveness.
May you take it to heart and believe and so be blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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