Sermon for Easter 5: "Staying Connected to the Vine" (John 15:1-8)

LISTEN

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

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

Jesus said: “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

 

It’s officially spring! I don’t know about what you’ve been up to, but in my free time, I have been preparing my lawn to be mowed. And it sure has been blustery lately. So, I have been raking those leaves that blew over from our neighbor’s yards. But I haven’t been only raking, as I have been playing the age-old game “pick-up sticks.” 

 

For each stick that I picked up, I am reminded that they are good for very little, except for maybe being added to a burn pile, since they are no longer connected to the tree. And even if I buried that stick in the ground, it could never become a tree again. It’s dead.

 

Today, on this Fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus focuses us on Himself as the true and living vine, as He says, “Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (John 15:5a).

 

Last Sunday, Jesus referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd and to us as His sheep. Today, we hear Him calling Himself the Vine and us “the branches.” Jesus uses imagery, such as this, to build us up and to announce how dearly He loves us. Terms such as sheep and branches show our purpose in life, as His beloved people.

 

Jesus calls us “branches.” As a branch, this shows us a sense of connectedness, a unity that now exists when we are living our lives as part of Christ rather than apart from Him. Apart from being connected to the Vine, a branch can do nothing.

 

Just as a branch that is removed from the vine or tree soon withers and dies, so we have no life apart from Jesus, the true Vine. Surely, we can claim to be Christians and tout our church membership or show our confirmation certificate, but apart from the life-giving nourishment of God’s grace in Jesus Christ – the true Vine, we cannot live or bear any fruit.

If we neglect our fertilization through Word and Sacrament, we become much like our lawns and gardens that without fertilization, they dry up, go limp, lose color, and eventually wither and die. So, those who continue to live apart from the Vine, who do not gladly hear, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest His Word and receive His Sacraments, are like withered branches that are of no use other than to be picked up and thrown into the fire.

 

Like plants, we too, need nourishment! And as I said last week, sheep need a shepherd to lead them to food, since they cannot feed themselves. In a like way, our Good Shepherd, the true Vine, provides nourishment for us through His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments. We become “in Christ,” through our Baptism into Christ. In Baptism, the triune God washes away all of our sins. There, we are crucified with Christ and rise again with Him to newness of life. It is through regular attendance in the Divine Service that the Holy Spirit feeds us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

 

For those who separate themselves from the Means of Grace, we, who are in the Vine, ought to pray for them and reach out to them, since apart from the true Vine, we only wither and die.

 

But connected to the Vine, the branches live! You see, the sap that flows from the Vine nourishes the branches. Our very lives sprout from God, who created us, but so often we cut ourselves off from the source of life. Yet, by His grace through the spilled blood of His Son, shed on the cross for the sins of the world, we have been reconciled to God the Father. 

 

As branches, through Christ’s atoning death and bodily resurrection, we have been grafted back into the true Vine. The life that flows from the side of the Crucified and Resurrected One now nourishes us with His life and forgiveness, so that by grace through faith in the true Vine, we might live in union with Him.

 

Unfortunately, not everyone connected to the true Vine wants to hear God’s unchanging Truth. As Christians, we are always simultaneously saint and sinner. And because our sinful nature remains, there is a constant battle between our sinful flesh and the new man that we became when we were grafted into Christ at your Baptism.

 

So, instead of receiving the teaching joyfully as good branches, some branches become lazy. Yes, they have God’s Word and His pure doctrine, but they refuse to live in conformity with it. They refuse Christ’s teaching and become wild branches. For these wild branches who claim to be Christians but refuse to live out the Christian faith, when they are pruned by God the Father, the Vinedresser, the pruning frightens them, since they don’t want to repent of their sins. They would rather just go through the motions of the Divine Service and then live their life no different than a heathen.

 

Now, God the Father could just cut off these wild branches immediately, but He doesn’t. He doesn’t because He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Like their fellow branches, these wild branches are baptized, they hear the Gospel, and they have the forgiveness of sins. The Vinedresser, God the Father, is always giving every branch – even hypocritical branches – a chance to repent and become good again, since He desires the salvation of every branch. But there will come a time when His steadfast love comes to an end. For those wild branches, this means being cut off and thrown into the fire. 

 

For good branches, this demands patience and perseverance in the faith. For the Vinedresser does not cut off the wild branches as soon as they emerge from the stalk. No, He permits them to grow until it is clear what they are. This is why Judas Iscariot was among the apostles. For this reason, heretics are among us today teaching us that salvation is your work, not God’s; teaching us that that the Sacrament of the Altar is not the Body and Blood of Jesus, but instead only a symbolic meal; teaching us that what really matters is your heart’s desire, so you be you in your self-centered pride.

 

Again, we must distinguish what is good, right, and salutary from all those loud and alluring voices of lies and deceit. Without Christ as the true Vine connecting us to Himself through His Word and Sacraments, we would all wither and die.

 

Elsewhere in Matthew 7, Christ, our true Vine, says, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20). So, by the nourishment the true Vine provides, the branches bear fruit. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul speaks of these fruits as the fruit of the Spirit: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These are all the characteristics of the true Vine, our Savior Jesus Christ in His relationship with us. He is perfectly loving of us; He rejoices over us; He is patient, kind and good to us.

 

However, the opposite is true of those branches that chose to fall off the true Vine, or even those wild branches that remain on the Vine. St. Paul writes, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). This is a warning from love. Again, God desires all to be saved, but if one continues in such sins without repentance, you will not inherit the kingdom of God, but instead be like dead branches that are “gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).

 

As Christians, who are connected to the true Vine, we are to bear fruit. Again, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20). So, by being loving, patient, and kind to us, Jesus the true Vine creates in us the same fruit of the Spirit. Connected to the true Vine, we become loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.

 

As we are pruned and watered by God’s Means of Grace, He produces good, sweet fruit not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of our neighbor. You see, Jesus makes us His branches through His Words, and we in turn reveal that we are His branches through our fruit – our attitudes, our words, our actions. So, knowing Jesus and living in Him affects how we talk about others, where we go, what we do with our time, how we spend our money. As branches connected to the true Vine, we live with purpose and in hope that is sure and certain. Those who are not connected to the true Vine will wonder why we are a little different from them. We can say that we are different because we are connected to the Savior Jesus Christ, who suffered, died and rose to forgive their sins, too!

 

Christ is the true Vine and we are His branches. He daily nourishes and strengthens us with the forgiveness of sins He earned for us on the Cross. He died, so that we would have life. He rose, so that we would flourish. As long as we are connected to Him, we have an abundant and never-ending source of life. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 4: "The Lord is My Shepherd" (Psalm 23)

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

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

“The Lord is my Shepherd…” (Psalm 23:1a)

 

Psalm 23 is the most familiar psalm. It is familiar to us. It is familiar to the fallen world.  Psalm 23 is like an old friend that many of us have known from childhood. We hear it spoken in movies and television shows as the actor preacher stands in the rain reciting Psalm 23 as the casket is lowered into the ground. We hear it spoken even by non-Christians. Psalm 23 is among the most well-known chapters in all of Scripture, right along with John 3 and John 10.

 

Among Christians and non-Christians, Psalm 23 is what we want to hear when we are stricken with grief. This is the psalm that we want to hear when our bodies fail us. We welcome it from our hospital bed. We lean on it when we stand at the grave.

 

But Psalm 23 isn’t just about death, it is also about life. In fact, Psalm 23 is about our life now as we live in this valley of sorrows with sin and death surrounding us, and Psalm 23 is, indeed, about our future life in the Church Triumphant.

 

Whether it be now, or in the future, we depend on Psalm 23 because of what those Words of God give us: strength to go forward by propping up our weak faith. Those words of Psalm 23 remind us that the path we are walking now while following Christ is sure and certain. “He leads [us] in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3b). This path, led by the Good Shepherd, is a path without visible road signs, but this path is certain, because He leads. It is our Shepherd’s path, along which we are being led.

 

Sheep need shepherds. Sheep without a shepherd are doomed. They scatter and are picked off one by one by wolves and other predators. We, too, are like sheep, as without a shepherd, we would wander off into false worship, which leads to eternal death.

 

If we would remain in our trespasses and sins, we would be doomed, but for us and for our salvation, the Good Shepherd rescued us wandering sheep as He laid down His life for you to only take it up again (John 10:18). The Good Shepherd came down from heaven to save us. The Good Shepherd doesn’t cut and run in order to save His own skin when the fight to save you gets tough. He doesn’t let Satan and his demonic wolves sink their teeth into His sheep. Instead, the Good Shepherd suffers for us. He purposely was betrayed, mocked, cursed, crucified, and damned. He presented Himself as a Lamb going uncomplaining forth to suffer the guilt of sinners in our place (LSB 438).

 

Psalm 23 is the story of Jesus, our faithful Shepherd, who leads His people out of the land of death – our life now – and through His death and bodily resurrection, He leads us into life everlasting. 

 

The first four verses of Psalm 23 describe our present experience:

¹       The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. 
³     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

 

Our whole life here on earth is lived under the shadow of our enemy: death. Certainly, our life has its joys and celebrations. Yet, our life is also lived under a shadow, an overcast sky that won’t go away even as we celebrate and laugh. This shadow of death is the sad reality we have since Man’s Fall into sin.

 

This journey through the valley of the shadow of death can seem like a lonely walk that only ends in defeat. But we who are in Christ have the Good Shepherd’s promise that we do not walk alone. With us walks the Shepherd who has trod this same path before us. This Shepherd is Jesus who stands beside us today in our griefs to give us guidance and direction. But how does the Good Shepherd give us guidance and direction? The Good Shepherd calls His sheep and they follow His voice.

Sheep have impeccable hearing. Multiple flocks can be merged together at night and then separated in the morning, simply by their shepherd’s calling. This is what Jesus says of us earlier in John 10: “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice”(John 10:3-4).

 

Fellow sheep, Jesus leads you by His voice. Jesus first tenderly taught you to recognize His voice at your Baptism, and through Word and Sacraments, He continues to teach you and lead you through this fallen world with His voice. But we must all learn to distinguish His voice – the Word of Scripture – from the loud and alluring voices of our day. His voice calls you to repentance. His voice calls you to remember your Baptism. His voice calls you to feed on the lush pastures of His Word, His two-edged sword of Law and Gospel. His voice calls you to His Table as He gives you His life-giving flesh and blood spread before you, even while Satan, sin, and death still surround you.

 

But take notice: all the important actions in Psalm 23 happen by the Good Shepherd’s work, not yours. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads. He restores. He leads.

 

So, we must watch out as we live in this valley, 

§  for there are wolves and thieves aplenty who would rather teach you that Holy Baptism is your work, instead of the work of God – something you do to show yourself to be a sheep rather than the brand the Good Shepherd puts on you to make you as His own. As if a sheep could brand itself. 

§  There are those who want to teach you that the Lord’s Supper is not the table of the Good Shepherd’s body and blood, but only a symbolic supper as we remember fondly what Jesus did for us. As if a sheep could feed itself. 

§  There are those who would turn you inward to your wants, your beliefs, your feelings, to your self-centered desires, your pride, and away from Jesus and His blood-bought gifts. As if a sheep could shepherd itself.

 

Jesus says, “Flee from them!” (John 10:5). So, we must flee from anyone who would turn us away from the Good Shepherd! Instead, we must all give careful attention to the voice of the Good Shepherd, and gladly hear them, read, mark, learn, and take His Words to heart, so that He feeds us, directs us, leads us, and comforts us.

 

The last two verses of Psalm 23 focus both on the now and on the promise of the age to come.

In these verses, the Good Shepherd prepares a table before us. He is hospitable to His sheep. The Good Shepherd not only gives us our daily bread – all the needs of our body, such as food, clothing and shelter – but He gives us the gift of His very Body and very Blood in the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of our sins and to strengthen our weak faith.

 

The cup that overflows is the grace that we have received by faith in Jesus Christ. For although we were dead in sin, Jesus took upon Himself the death we deserve upon the cross, so that we would be made righteous by grace through faith in Him. So, when we repent and confess our sins to God, our sins are wiped away. We are forgiven. The Good Shepherd gives all who believe in Him this goodness and mercy all their lives, including into the Church Triumphant, as He never forsakes His flock.

 

Now, there are times when you might feel abandoned. There may be times that you think God may be punishing you. There may be times that you think God doesn’t care for you. But what does God say in Psalm 23? You are not alone. He cares for you. He will never forsake His sheep. Jesus is your Good Shepherd, who comforts you, who cares for you. He sends goodness and mercy. He leads you right into His house here today and will keep you who follow Him in His house forever.

 

Again, sheep that are separated from the flock are easy pickings for the wolves. So, Christians do not – and cannot – go it alone, for that would be going against the very voice of the Good Shepherd. Those who call themselves Christians without attending the Divine Service tend to believe in a little bit of everything, and in time will wind up believing nothing at all. So, sheep who don’t learn the voice of their Shepherd will soon follow any voice. Outside the Good Shepherd’s Word and Sacraments is only a world that is cold and deadly, where there is neither forgiveness nor life.

 

But here in the Lord’s house, He restores the joy of salvation to your soul! Here, the Good Shepherd guides us to safety while we live in this dark valley. Here and now, the Good Shepherd gives to you the gift of forgiveness! Here, the Good Shepherd gives the foretaste of the heavenly feast as He serves you forgiveness, life, and salvation through His body and blood under the bread and wine. Here, the Good Shepherd fills our cups to overflowing with His grace and mercy, so that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.

 

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

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 3: "Filled with Christ's Touch" (Luke 24:36-49)

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

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

Jesus says to His apostles: “Peace to you! Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see” (Luke 24:36, 38-39a).

 

Much of today’s Gospel lesson seems like a repeat from last Sunday. Much of it seems like a re-run. We’ve heard this before! A re-run already! Today, we have the same proclamation of peace by Jesus. We have the same showing of His hands and His feet. We have the same touching of Jesus. Could Luke be retelling the events of Easter evening and of the events eight days later from John 20? Maybe. It is certainly possible. Yet, the emphasis of Luke’s Gospel is different, and it is this difference that we are focusing on today.

 

This morning, we continue the celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord! Now, the fallen world may celebrate Easter for one day with its bunnies and eggs, but we continue this celebration with our triumphant cry: Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

 

One day is not enough to celebrate the joy of the life and salvation of our risen Savior, because this is Good News that needs to be shared! Just as we share what happened to our favorite sports team, television show, or premium live event, what Jesus has done is far more important! Jesus has defeated the powers of death, hell, and Satan through His death and bodily resurrection!

 

As important as Jesus opening the grave and rising to life, today on this Third Sunday of Easter, He opens the minds of His apostles “to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). This too, is Good News, for without this opening, the open tomb would be of no benefit to them. They needed their minds opened to the Word of God in order to believe and understand the Good News of the open tomb. Jesus opened their minds so that they – and us – could always touch Jesus.

 

Jesus opened their minds. Now, this is far different from the worldly idea of “open-mindedness.” To the fallen world, to be “open-minded” means to be open to all kinds of thinking, to all kinds of opinions, and to all kinds of views. From this way of thinking, there is no truth, but only different interpretations and judgments, which only lead to confusion and doubt. Not knowing what to believe. Not knowing truth. This is not what Jesus is doing. 

 

Instead, Jesus is cleaning out all the junk that fills their minds. He is cleaning out the cesspool of filth and falsehood and fear and all kinds of wrong thinking and ideas and is filling their minds with His truth and His wisdom. It is only Jesus who can open the tombs of our minds and fill them with the light of His Word and Truth, with repentance, faith, and forgiveness, as we may know Him and believe and be saved.

 

And this is what the risen Christ is still doing today, here, in this place! 

 

But first, just like last week, we need to know who Jesus is. Just as the apostles were, we are. We are troubled and full of doubts. So, what does Jesus do? He shows them Himself! He says, “See My hands and My feet, that is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).

 

You see, the apostles were convinced that they were only seeing a spirit – a ghost! Even now, there are many people who are convinced that Jesus only rose from the dead spiritually. These people say that the spirit is more important than the body. In the early church, this is what the Gnostic heretics believed. They believed the spirit was good and the body was evil. And this heresy remains today through the transgender movement.

 

But here, Jesus is proclaiming that to be human is to be both body and soul. After woman was created by God in the Garden of Eden, Adam – after the rib was taken out of his side – said, “This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). He didn’t say, “Ahh, she is only flesh,” “Ahh, she is only spirit,” or “Ahh, she is only bones.” No, Adam said, “[She] is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

 

As it is with Jesus, so it is with us, we are flesh and bones, we are body and soul. To be complete, we are never only one and not the other.

By His physical presence, Jesus stands among His apostles after having overcome everything: sin, death, and the devil. Jesus is standing among them as the Resurrected Crucified One. 

 

The apostles had fears and doubts, just as we do. We pretend to be bold and courageous, but Jesus sees right through us. He knows every one of our doubts and fears. Just like the apostles, who witnessed miracles and signs, we too, hear of Jesus through the Word in the Divine Service and at Bible studies, but we still don’t fully believe and trust. To that, Jesus says, “Touch Me and see! I’ll show you that My resurrection and My living body are for real!”

 

So, this is precisely what Christ does with His apostles. Yes, they see Him, and they touch Him, but is it really Him? To this doubt, Christ says, “Have you anything here to eat?” (Luke 24:41). They gave Him a broiled fish, and He took it and ate. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

 

Jesus is no spirit! Spirits are not flesh and bone. Spirits cannot chew, swallow, and digest. Jesus is fully man with body and soul!

 

Now with that assurance, Jesus not only opens their minds to His presence, but He also opens their minds to His Word. Jesus says: “These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

 

First God acts and we receive, then we act. For just as children learn how to speak by being spoken to, and learn to act by first imitating their parents, so do we as children of God. It was only after Jesus opened and cleaned out their minds by filling them with the Truth, that Jesus calls them to be eyewitnesses: to speak of what they have seen and what they believe. And through the work of the Holy Spirit, they will speak just as they were spoken to, to love just as they have been loved, to forgive just as they have been forgiven, and thus to open minds, which are filled with confusion and doubt, filled with sin and death, so that the light of Christ’s cleansing forgiveness might shine on them and all people. 

 

Yet even though the apostles – and you and me – are doing this work, it’s not really us doing it, it’s the Holy Spirit working in us who gives us the courage and strength to tell of Christ and welcome others here to receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament.

 

Yet even though the Holy Spirit is working in us, this doesn’t mean that when we speak of Jesus that everyone will listen. I wish that was the case, but Satan has blindfolded so many people from the light of Christ. Worldly wisdom, false gods, and false truths of the prince of this fallen world cloud so many hearts and minds in order to deceive them and mislead them into false belief, despair, and other great shames and vice. We too, can easily become deceived by this fallen world.

 

So, how do we not become deceived by this fallen world? Well, we must open our minds to understand the Scriptures! We must be filled week in and week out with Christ’s touch. But we appear to be at a disadvantage. Today, we don’t have the privilege of seeing Jesus face-to-face. But is that completely true?

 

Remember last week when Christ appeared to His apostles in the locked upper room? What did Christ prove by His appearance? He proved that His kingdom on earth is no longer bound to this world. His kingdom is no longer limited to place, space, or time.

 

Christ is here! You may not see Him just as the apostles did, but He is here. He is always where He promises to be! Today, we see the Crucified Jesus through our Holy Spirit-created faith. Today, Christ is here as He fills you with His gift of His Word. In His Word, we see the Crucified Jesus through Scripture. In fact, we not only see Him, but touch Him. There in that Book, we feel Christ and hear His Word, cover to cover, as He says to us: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations” (Luke 24:46-47a).

 

Christ is here to also fill us through His Sacraments. He is here to forgive you of your doubts and give you peace. He is here to fill you with His life-giving body and blood, that once received, you go and share this good news with others! You share God’s good news with Christ’s words, His truth, His love, and His forgiveness. 

 

Through the Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament – the Holy Spirit is working in you and through you as you speak His Word, as He opens the Scriptures to you, as He works in you to open the Scriptures to others, as He opens and fills hearts and minds in the crucified and risen Jesus. Through Word and Sacrament, Christ fills us with His touch! Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Easter 2: "Bringing True and Lasting Peace" (John 20:19-31)

AUDIO: POPcast

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

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

 

“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…” (John 20:19a).

 

Last week’s Gospel lesson from Mark 16 left us with some questions. Yes, we heard the angel’s Gospel proclamation to Mary Magdalene: “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified One. He has risen; He is not here” (Mark 16:6). But we were left without a sighting of the resurrected Jesus. Now, Jesus knows that we need His physical presence. And He did show up for us last week in His Word and Sacrament, but we are still wanting more. 

 

For the apostles on that Resurrection Day, they didn’t know what to think. To be sure, they had heard from Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, that Jesus is risen from the dead, but they were still sitting in fear and fright behind locked doors. Their hearts are too weak and heavy to believe the news they have heard. They didn’t know what to believe. Then all of a sudden Jesus stands among them and says: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19b). Jesus didn’t sneak through a broken window or use a spare key. He just appeared. He arrived to bring peace to His weary apostles.

 

With Jesus in their presence, He gives them “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, [that] guards [their] hearts and [their] minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Now, this peace is not worldly peace. As Christians, like us, they will continue to daily suffer misfortune and hostility. Like us, Satan will continue to oppress them and afflict them. Like us, the fallen world will continue to alarm them with persecution and tyranny. And, like us, their own sinful flesh will continue to alarm them with their own weaknesses and impatience.

 

For these apostles, they are sitting there behind locked doors in great fear of the Jewish authorities. Except for Thomas, they will not go out. All they see is death before them. But even before Jesus arrives, they are at worldly peace. Nobody is there threatening their lives. Nobody is there attempting to kill them. Yet inwardly their hearts tremble. Inwardly, they have no peace or rest.

It is in this fear and anxiety that Jesus comes. It is in this fear and anxiety that Jesus comes to soothe their hearts. It is in this fear and anxiety that Jesus sets His apostles at peace.

 

Now, don’t misunderstand. Jesus is not taking away the danger. Jesus is not removing the malice of the Jewish authorities. Outwardly, everything remains unchanged. But now, through Jesus’ words, “Peace be with you,” their hearts are no longer afraid. 

 

Outwardly, like us, all the misfortunes remain: sickness, poverty, sin, the devil, and death. These evils do not cease. But inwardly, the apostles are at peace. The apostles are strengthened. The apostles are comforted. Through those words, “Peace be with you,” they no longer care about any misfortune as they become more and more courageous and bold.

 

The same goes for us, when Christ comes through His Word and Sacraments, He lets all our external adversities remain, but strengthens our faith. Out of timidity, He makes a fearless heart. Christ makes a trembling heart bold. He makes a restless conscience peacefully quiet. Through Word and Sacrament, the Holy Spirit makes us confident, courageous, and cheerful in the things that would otherwise frighten us, such as the power of sin and death, and all other distresses. Christ’s peace is a true and lasting peace, which remains forever and is invincible as long as you cling to Christ.

 

However, this peace only happens and comes when Christ points His apostles and us to His hands and His side. It is only when Christ shows us through the Word that He was crucified for us and shed His blood and died for us. Through His death, He has paid for our sins and appeased and warded off God’s wrath for us. This is the sign that comforts our afflicted consciences and hearts, which assures us of divine grace and the forgiveness of sins.

 

But what could it mean for Jesus just appearing inside a locked upper room? Well, Jesus came to His apostles this way to point out that after His resurrection, His kingdom on earth will no longer be bound to a bodily, visible, tangible, and worldly way of life, to time, place, space, or the like. Rather, Jesus is now present and rules through His power everywhere, in all places and at all times, when and where we need Him, and He will always be with us and help us unhindered through His Word and Sacraments.

 

 

This Christ did on that first Easter evening, but not every apostle was there. Thomas was missing. As for where Thomas was, we do not know. But for some reason, Thomas was the only apostle who wasn’t frightened enough to remain behind locked doors. Even though Thomas made his way outside, He still had the same anxieties as his fellow apostles. He still had the same doubts of his fellow apostles. Those anxieties and doubts that Jesus calmed for the others.

 

After Jesus departed, Thomas returned. Immediately, the other apostles told him, “We have seen the Lord” (John 20:25a). After all that the apostles have gone through, Thomas likely thought that his fellow brothers were playing a joke on him. How could this be? Jesus was dead. So, Thomas said, “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” (John 20:25b). Thomas is hedging His bet. This is as if Thomas said, “You can say you saw Him, but I don’t believe you. Prove it!”

 

Eight days later, all the apostles were together, including Thomas. While the doors were locked again, Jesus appeared and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you” (John 20:26). Then Jesus, knowing Thomas’ heart, 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” (John 20:27).

 

With those same calming words, “Peace be with you” and His gestures toward His hands and His side, Jesus calmed Thomas’ anxiety and fear. Now with confidence and courage, Thomas says, “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:28).

 

A lot of times, we like to criticize Thomas by calling him “Doubting Thomas,” forgetting that Thomas was of the same mindset as the other apostles. They all doubted. They all lived in fear and anxiety. Peace only came when the Crucified and Risen Christ appeared. Peace only came when Jesus showed them His hands and His side and said the words, “Peace be with you.”

 

This morning, Jesus is offering us peace. He is bringing us true and lasting peace, the peace which this fallen world does not understand. He is bringing to us “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7a). Jesus brings us this peace to all repentant sinners through the gift of absolution that He instituted. 

Following that second announcement of peace, Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you. 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” (John 20:21-23). This peace Jesus gives to His apostles in connection with His wounds is peace won for all mankind. This is what Jesus is declaring with this second announcement of peace. Like the apostles, we too, have been sent out by Jesus as His disciples. Jesus is calling us to tell this good news of peace to all who would hear it as we have received this peace from Him.

 

As redeemed and forgiven in Christ, the Church is commissioned by the Crucified and Risen Christ to forgive repentant sinners in His Name. When we do so, those sins are also released in heaven. They are wiped away, as if those sins never occurred. At the same time, the Church is also commissioned by Christ to retain those sins of the impenitent sinner in His name. The impenitent sinner is one who is not sorry for their sins against God and their neighbor. They have no guilt or any need for Jesus. They refuse to repent of their sinful life, but instead choose to continue in sin. For such a person as this, those sins are not forgiven, but remain on the sinner, who must account for them before God.

 

True peace and lasting peace is only received through faith in the Crucified and Risen Jesus. This Word of forgiveness is spoken by the Church in the stead of Christ through the Office of the Holy Ministry. To reject it is to reject the benefit of forgiveness.

 

Jesus pronounces this blessing of peace only on those who believe upon hearing the Word of peace from the Church without requiring visible or tangible proof. Thus we, who have not seen, may with certainty trust the same word of peace the apostles did. 

 

Jesus’ third announcement of peace is for us. “These words 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” (John 20:31). Unlike the apostles, we cannot see Jesus’ hands and His side, but the Crucified and Risen Christ has not left Himself without witness. We can open our mouths to receive His very Body and Blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins. In this blessed Sacrament, Christ assures us again and again that our sins are forgiven. May Christ’s Word and Sacrament fill you with the true and lasting peace only Jesus can give. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  + SOLI DEO GLORIA +