John 20: 19-31 * March 30, 2008 * Second Sunday in Easter * Rev. Harold Hagedorn

Greetings to you in the grace and victory of our living Lord Jesus Christ, my dear fellow redeemed of Him.

We have before us for these moments of sermon meditation the Gospel Lesson for this second Sunday in Easter. Please hear again the last verse:

“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” v. 31

In the 21^st Century, from and including 2000, this is fifth time that this text is being used for the sermon on this second Sunday in Easter. I know this because of going to our website at sjtosa.org and clicking on the Sermon file. There is a valuable resource for your personal study and devotion time. There are sermons posted from mid 1999 to the present. Beginning with the Second Sunday in Easter in 2000, the portion of Scripture before us, John 20: 19 – 31, is reflected on by each of our pastors and now by a guest speaker for a third time.

Why so popular? Why, with all the wonderful words of the Lord our God and all the emphasis on the resurrection – Each of the four Gospels report the resurrection and the rest of the New Testament applies its value – why does it seem useful to pause at these words yet again? Because this Scripture presents the heart and core of the Christian faith! You recall perhaps that in that great Resurrection Chapter of the Scripture, 1 Corinthians 15, the Holy Spirit stirred the Apostle Paul to write: ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins… ²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. The incredible value of that blessed reality is presented so plainly in the account before us. We implore the Lord’s grace and blessings as we marvel that

WE ARE ALWAYS AFTER EASTER!

1. There is Peace for our fears.

2. There is Certainty for our faith.

3. There is Focus for our mission.

It’s an incredible account. ¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. I can’t begin to imagine how frightened the disciples must have been. Terrified that they too would be rounded up, tortured and crucified. So afraid because their Hope, their Master, their Friend had died. And then boom, it’s after Easter!!! “Peace be with you!” There is peace for our fears. The Lamb of God, who bore the curse and the guilt of all sin, has risen just as He said!

What has you frightened? What things and thoughts make you afraid? I’m not going to provide a list, not even some possibilities of what might fill us with fear, lest I mention something you had not thought of and it causes you fear. The Lord’s after Easter message is the same to us. I’ll let the Lord our God tell you the value of knowing that we are always after Easter: - ¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings (that which causes us fear would be included), because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. (Rom 5) Because we are always after Easter there is peace for our fears. Of us too it can be said: The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Yes, but…can we be sure? This side of heaven our sinful, cynical self may doubt. Poor Thomas carries the label, “Doubting,” but we are grateful that the Lord caused this account to be recorded for us. Yet another reason why John 20, 19 – 31 is a special portion of Scripture to which we should turn frequently. ²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"  But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." ²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

There is Certainty for our faith. We can spend too much time and energy trying to analyze Thomas. Let’s instead dwell on our doubts. Our questions? Doubts of faith? Failure to trust? Again, I’m not going to provide examples or suggestions lest it stir some doubt you haven’t had before. But know the answer: He has risen, just as He said. (Mt 28:6) You know and believe that by God’s amazing grace. Do you thrill that our living Lord calls us, “blessed?” Did your “heart of hearts” thrill when pastor read the Epistle Lesson this morning? Peter, who had his doubts and fears even though he doesn’t have to bear the label of being uncertain, was stirred by the Holy Spirit to write these words to Christians. Again, let’s have the Lord explain the value of knowing that we are always after Easter: ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1)

Our next hymn, “Jesus Lives! The Victory’s Won” (CW 145) is positioned after these moments of reflection on this portion of Scripture so we might marvel that because Christ is risen we have and live the refrain of that hymn: “confidence.” There is certainty for our faith. Let us seize the glorious fact with which the hymn concludes, that because we are always after Easter “Jesus is my confidence!”

Because we are always after Easter we have such peace and certainty. In addition, There is Focus for our Mission. ²¹Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Our purpose is to proclaim what the Savior God has done. To enable us to do that the risen Christ promises that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Christian, we don’t have to proclaim the whole counsel of God every time we speak with someone to serve as His witnesses. Rather we are able to declare, “I believe that Christ Jesus is risen. That means a great deal because we are always after Easter. I’d love to tell you about what it means to me.” Then share the fullness of your heart. Perhaps it some fear for which you have peace in Christ. Perhaps it is some struggle that you face with confidence because your faith is made certain in Christ crucified and arisen for the forgiveness of sin. Once again, we are able to declare what the Apostle declares in 1 Corinthians 15: Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is our comfort, hope and joy, AND the focus of our mission. ⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor 15)

That we might have this peace, certainty and focus brings us back to where we started with: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” Since we are always after Easter and all that means for us, we want to be enveloped by this glorious Good News about our Savior.

Do you have special messages from someone special? Perhaps an envelope that you pack when you travel or keep in a special place where you can find it when you want it? Do you maybe have a message folded in your wallet? If it is a special message from a special someone perhaps it is worn because of being pulled out frequently and read and reread? Is it that way with our Bibles, Christians? Are especially the four Gospels a portion of our Bibles that are worn and underlined and highlighted through use? Read one of the Gospel each year. Better yet, read them all each year. If our Bibles were taken away, could we gather together and write down much of their detail because we are so familiar with our Jesus and His Gospel? I pray so. If you didn’t read John 13 – 17 in preparation for or in the midst of the Lenten season, read it now. This is our dear Jesus teaching us the value of His death and resurrection and how we can praise and proclaim Him for loving us so much. John 20: 19 – 31 is a special message. Read and reread it and marvel at What a Friend we have in Jesus! He is our Comfort, our Confidence and our Cause because we are always after Easter! Amen.