Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Last week, we had the privilege of celebrating our Lord's resurrection. But we have to understand at the beginning of our reading from John chapter 20 that the disciples have not seen the risen Lord yet. He appeared to the women, Peter has seen the empty tomb, but they have not seen the risen Lord at this time. They're still afraid, locked in the upper room for fear of the Jews. They think maybe what happened to Jesus is going to happen to them as well. So that confidence that we talked about last week that we have in the resurrection, that in the resurrection we don't need to fear anything because Christ has risen from the dead, that hasn't quite reached the apostles yet and they're stricken with fear. And this is the state that Jesus comes to them in. He comes into their midst in the upper room and declares peace to them. He declares God's peace to them. And this peace isn't just for them. He doesn't just appear to them so that they have a special moment to keep to themselves. No, He gives them His peace so they can declare that peace to everyone. That's what Jesus says when he sends his apostles in Matthew chapter 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Jesus declares “peace” to His disciples so they can declare His peace to you, His Church
Theme: Jesus appears to His disciples and declares His peace and his forgiveness to them, and through them He declares His peace and His forgiveness to you.
Jesus declaring peace to His disciples seems like a very simple statement, but there's really so much packed into it. For one, this is the assurance that they are at peace with Him. Remember that before Christ was crucified, they all abandoned Him in the garden. Peter denied that he even knew the Lord. Maybe they had a thought when they first saw Jesus come back that He would be angry with them and punish them. But Jesus doesn't do that. Rather, He gives them His peace.
But there's so much more packed into that statement. He's also telling them that they are at peace with God through the forgiveness of their sins. God no longer counts their sins against them. They are no longer enemies of God. Their sin has been atoned for, and they are at one with God once again. That's what St. Paul's talking about in Romans 5, “But God shows His love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” Because of our sins, we are enemies with God, separated from God, actually opposed to God in His will. But because of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, our sins have been washed away. The sins that separate us from God have been atoned for, and we have been reconciled, joined back to God once again. We are no longer enemies with God, but we are at peace with God. That's the message that Jesus declares to His disciples with just this little word: “Peace”.
Jesus then sends His disciples to bear that peace throughout the whole world. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’” First of all, He sends the disciples in order to declare that they have seen Him, the risen Lord, and that death has been crushed under his feet and could not hold him any longer. They are sent to declare that He is living. They are sent to declare that because He died and rose again, you have forgiveness and life in Him.
Jesus even gives the disciples the command and privilege of giving His forgiveness directly to people. This is what in the Small Catechism we refer to as the Office of the Keys. If you know your Small Catechism, you can say it with me. “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.” That's what Jesus is talking about here in John chapter 20 when he says “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” That's a gift that God gives to his church. We know that we're forgiven in general. But then we have the promise from God that when that word is spoken by His apostles and His ministers in the church, He’s speaking directly to you. It's the word of Jesus spoken directly to you that you hear with your own ears and receive in your own heart. We have the wonderful privilege of hearing Jesus’ words of forgiveness spoken directly to us through His minister. That's why I get up here every Sunday and say, “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 the Holy Spirit.”
Furthermore, in private confession, we have the privilege of saying the things that are bothering us out loud to the pastor and then hearing Jesus’ forgiveness directly for that thing. Sometimes the devil tries to tell us, “God would never forgive that.” The gift of private confession is that the pastor hears the terrible sin, but then announces that Jesus says, “Yes, I heard what you said, and even that is forgiven.”
People who don't know about John chapter 20 get confused when they come to a Lutheran service and see the pastor speaking the Absolution or when they hear that Lutherans still do private confession and absolution. They might say, “Who do you think you are getting up there and saying that?” I see where someone might be confused about that, but the purpose of the pastor speaking the absolution is never to say “I’m so much better than everyone else.” It also does not mean that the pastor gets to decide who is forgiven and who is not. On the contrary, the pastor is only authorized to proclaim what Jesus has already done. If you repent, you receive forgiveness, and I declare that forgiveness to you. If you do not repent, you are not forgiven, and I cannot declare that purpose to you. I cannot override Jesus; I can only proclaim what He has done. The purpose of the absolution is not for the pastor’s self-exaltation; the purpose is for the hearer. I receive great comfort and assurance when I hear the words of forgiveness spoken from the pastor as from God Himself, like Luther says in the Small Catechism and like Jesus says here in John 20.
Jesus always wants to give you His forgiveness, His life, and His salvation. He wants you to cling to His salvation in faith, and that is why He gives you His Word through the apostles. As St. John said at the end of our reading, “These things 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.” The Word of the apostles is powerful, because we have the promise from Jesus that when we hear them, we hear Him. They saw Jesus with their own eyes. We see Jesus by faith which comes by hearing their Word. Jesus gave this assurance to His apostles and to us when He said, “Whoever hears you hears me” in Luke 10:16. Dear friends in Christ, what a wonderful gift our God has given His Church! When we hear and read the Words of the prophets and the apostles in the Holy Scriptures, we don’t just hear the words of men, we hear the very Word of God. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God is speaking to you through the Scriptures. God is speaking to you through the preaching of the church, which declares to you the apostolic teaching. And God gives you that word so that you will have His forgiveness. All of it is given so that you may believe in Christ and have life in His name.
The account of Thomas is given so that you may believe. Thomas did not believe at the mere word of the apostles, but then did believe when He saw and touched Jesus. When Thomas was sent out to preach the resurrection of Jesus, don’t you think he would beg you to believe the Word even though you have not seen? This is what Jesus declared at that time, “Blessed is the one who has not seen and yet has believed.” That's referring to you. We believe because of the Word of the men who did see Jesus. Jesus promised that when you hear their Word you hear His Word. Jesus gives all of His gifts to His church for the forgiveness of sins. He declares that forgiveness to you in the Word. He washes you with that forgiveness with the water combined with the Word in Holy Baptism. He feeds your faith and gives you forgiveness with His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, which He promises with His Word. In all these ways, Jesus stands in our midst just like he did for the disciples on that day. As He said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Likewise, He promises in Matthew chapter 28, “Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” Through His Word and Sacraments, He does stand in our midst. He is with you, calling you to faith, and granting you His peace.
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