19 On 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!”  20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.  21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”  24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  25 So 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.”  26 A 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!”  27 Then 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.”  28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”  29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  31 But 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.
- John 20:19-31, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

If asked, I think that most people here this morning could give me a good working definition for the word, "persecution."  We know what persecution is, but do we know how persecution feels?  Do you know what persecution really feels like?  To the point that your freedom is taken away.  To the point that you are in serious danger.  To the point that you lie awake at night knowing that your enemies could break in and take you away at any moment.

Most, if not all of us, would have to answer that question with a "No."  We don’t face this kind of persecution today.  We are not in any danger because we have chosen to attend church this morning.  We don’t look over our shoulders in fear because of what we believe.  Physical persecution is not a part of our reasonably comfortable, safe lives.

Jesus’ disciples, on the other hand, knew exactly what persecution felt like.  On Easter Sunday evening, on a day that should have been a day of open celebration, where were the disciples?  They were huddled together in a dark room with the doors locked.  They could feel danger all around them.  Only two days earlier, the Jewish leaders had gained the upper hand.  At least, it looked that way.  They finally got rid of Jesus, they killed him, but they weren’t satisfied with that.  Jesus was gone, and now was the perfect time to go after his followers.

The situation must have looked hopeless to the disciples.  Their Lord was dead, and it would only be a matter of time before they would be found.  The disciples were afraid, afraid of the Jews, afraid for their lives.  Why were they so afraid?  What terrible crime had they committed?  They were guilty if believing in Jesus was a crime.

Imagine the joy they felt in their hearts when Jesus himself appeared in that room.  The same eyes that had witnessed Jesus’ suffering and death, the same eyes that shed tears of sorrow, now saw Jesus alive. They touched him with their hands.  They listened to his words of comfort.  What had looked like a desperate situation was no longer so threatening.  Into a room filled with doubt and despair, the risen Lord brought a message of peace.

We may not face the same kind of dangers today, but our lives are not trouble free. Even though we are Christians, free to worship God wherever and whenever we choose, we still face more subtle forms of persecution.  When we are discouraged, when we feel like we are fighting a losing battle, when we feel like we are all alone, Jesus fills our hearts with joy.  This morning our risen Savior proclaims:

If you had to choose one word to describe the mood of the disciples on Easter Sunday evening, that word might be confusion.  Jesus’ disciples were confused.  That day there had been several Jesus’ sightings.  Mary Magdalene claimed that she had seen Jesus outside the empty tomb.  Peter and John raced to the grave only to find it empty.  Two of the disciples hurried back from Emmaus with the report that Jesus had appeared to them too.

Why were they so shocked?  Why were they so surprised?  Hadn’t Jesus told them that all these things were going to happen?  Hadn’t Jesus made it perfectly clear to them that he would suffer and die and rise again?  Still Jesus’ followers mourned his death.  They were still filled with sorrow.  They were still afraid.  That’s why they were hiding.  That’s why the doors were locked.

But now some of them were saying that Jesus was alive.  Could it be?  They wanted to believe these reports, but they sounded too good to be true.  Even when Jesus himself appeared to them that night, they doubted that he was the Lord.  Luke tells us that they were frightened because they thought that Jesus was a ghost, an evil spirit trying to trick them.

Jesus was finally able to persuade the disciples, but one of them was not there.  When Thomas returned, the others told him, "We have seen the Lord! (25)," but he refused to believe.  You can almost see the disciples going back and forth.  Th disciples: "Thomas, we really have seen him.  Jesus is alive!"   Thomas: "Sure he is. You might be that gullible, but I’m not.  Maybe you guys are beginning to crack under the pressure, but not me.  I have my two feet planted firmly on the ground."

Thomas doubted that such a miracle was possible.  He refused to believe that Jesus was alive unless he had proof.  He demanded not just one, but two forms of proof.  First, he had to see Jesus for himself, face to face.  And just to make sure, he wanted to feel the wounds marks on Jesus’ hands and side.

Doubt is a slippery sin.  It is not an "end" sin.  In other words, doubt is usually not the last sin we commit.  Doubt wears down the foundations of our faith.  Doubt causes us to question what we believe.  Doubt often leads into other sins and, if it is allowed to grow out of control, doubt can destroy faith.

Satan can smell doubt.  He knows when we are weak.  He strikes when we are most susceptible to our fears.  When the peace of God is what we need most, Satan tries to replace it with doubt.  He may strike when you are going through a difficult time in your life.  He may try to gain a foothold when you are struggling with a particular teaching in the Bible.

The Devil may even consider your prayer life the perfect place to attack.  That might sound strange because prayer is a gift from God.  In prayer, God gives us strength and comfort.  In prayer, believers have direct access to God in heaven.  But doubt breaks that connection.   If the Devil can get you to doubt that God is able to give you what you are asking for, if he can convince you that you are worthy of God’s blessings, then he has won a victory.

Luther compared the doubting Christian to a man on the street who holds out an offering plate for donations, but refuses to hold the basket in one place.  If he keeps moving the basket all over the place, back and forth and up and down, what will he have in the end?  Probably nothing.  Luther wrote: "So it is with a wavering, unbelieving heart.  God would like to give what we need.  But there we stand, like a foolish beggar, holding out our hat for gifts but not holding it still."

The sinful nature wants us to think that proof is what we need.  If we have proof, it will make it easier for us to believe in God’s promises.  If we have proof, it will be that much easier to trust that God is who he says he is.  But God does not work that way.  If God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want him to, if he doesn’t send down lightning bolts from the sky as visible proof, that doesn’t mean God isn’t listening to us.  If we demand answers and don’t get the answers we are looking for, then it is easy for doubt to take over.  If a heart is filled with doubt, then there is no room for peace.

It is when we are most vulnerable that Jesus calls out to us.  He calls us to flee from the doubts and fears that threaten to destroy us.   He leads us back to himself and repeats his words of comfort, "Peace be with you."  Doubts threaten to destroy our peace, but Jesus has destroyed all of our doubts.

A message of peace was definitely what the disciples needed to hear.  They must have had terrible feelings of guilt.  They deserted Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  They turned and ran at the first sign of danger.  Where were they during Jesus’ trial?  Probably hiding somewhere, maybe in the same locked room.  None of them protested.  Not one of them spoke in Jesus’ defense.  The days after the crucifixion must have felt like an eternity.  They had plenty of time to think, time to ponder questions like: "What have we done?" and  "What can we do now?"

And then, Jesus appeared.  The living Lord stood among them.  Jesus was there with a real physical body, and he greeted his disciples.  Notice that Jesus didn’t give his disciples a tongue lashing.  He didn’t express his deep disappointment.  He said: "Peace be with you!"  The Hebrew word for peace is "shalom."  "Shalom" is a common Jewish greeting.  Jewish people still use "shalom" today as a wish for peace and wellbeing.

But when Jesus stood before his disciples and said "Peace be with you," his words were much more than a hollow greeting.  Jesus did not wish peace on them.  He established peace for them.  The terrible events of Holy Week were all part of God’s plan.  Jesus willingly humbled himself.  He suffered and died on the cross to take away their sins and the sins of the whole world.  Jesus’ sacrifice gives us peace, eternal peace with God.

Jesus sealed our redemption on Good Friday, but Jesus wasn’t finished when he died.  He gives us proof of his victory.  He has given us proof to remove all doubt.  Jesus appeared again to the disciples a week later in order to take care of some unfinished business.  This time Thomas was with the disciples.  Jesus used the same greeting, but you get the feeling that that he was looking right at Thomas this time when he said: "Peace be with you" (26)!  When Thomas came forward, Jesus gave him all the proof he needed.  "Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe" (27).

In a way, you have to feel for Thomas.  All of the disciples doubted that Jesus was really alive, but Thomas has been singled out as the disciple who lacked faith.  Even today, if you don’t believe something that is generally held to be true, you are quickly labeled a "doubting Thomas."

Thomas wasn’t perfect, but who is?   He showed a lack of faith, but who hasn’t?  When Jesus appeared to Thomas and destroyed all of his doubts, Thomas responded with a beautiful confession of faith, "My Lord and my God" (28).

According to Christian tradition, Thomas later carried the gospel all the way to India.  Thomas was a sinner.  Thomas made mistakes.  But to only call him "doubting" Thomas is unfair.  He is also Thomas, the Apostle.  He is Thomas, the missionary.  He is Thomas, the redeemed child of God.

Jesus told Thomas: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (29).  We count ourselves among the blessed ones Jesus is talking about.  We have not seen Jesus.  We were not eyewitnesses of any of his miracles.  Still we believe.  Still we trust that Jesus died for us.  Still we know that he is risen and he is coming back.

This is not a credit to our superior faith.  Faith is a gift from God.  Jesus may not perform miracles today, but God has revealed himself to us in His holy Word.  What God has revealed to us about himself is all the proof we will ever need.

There is no such thing as a perfect faith.  There are times in our lives when we don’t trust, when we question, when we doubt.  Satan’s goal is to wear us down, to rob us of the peace that Christ has won for us.   Jesus has removed our doubts once and for all.  He destroyed our doubts and fears when he died on the cross.   Jesus has given us peace.  Peace is knowing that our sins are forgiven.  Peace is knowing that absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love.  Peace is knowing that death is only a door to eternal life.

Last Sunday, we heard the good news of the resurrection, but the gospel is not reserved just for Easter.  That’s why we call this Sunday the second Sunday of Easter, not the first Sunday after Easter.  The Easter gospel is God’s message of peace for today, for tomorrow, for Good Friday, for Ash Wednesday, for every day of our lives.  Jesus proclaims to his disciples: "Peace be with you."  In faith, we respond: "My Lord and my God!"  Amen.