“Peace Be With You”
John 20:19-31
Easter 1

 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

The disciples are behind locked doors.  They are afraid, full of fear.  “If the authorities killed Jesus, what are they going to do to us who followed Him?  And what about all these rumors that Jesus is alive?  That seems crazy, but what if it’s true?  What will He do to us?  Peter, you denied Him.  The rest of us abandoned Him.  Take a look outside.  Is anyone coming?  Double check the locks!  Make sure they’re secure.”
 
What fear there was on that first Easter evening!  The apostles were like Adam and Eve hiding in the bushes, sinners hunkered down in their dread and terror, afraid to face anyone, especially the Lord.  After all, their sin is immense—not just the denial and abandonment, but their failure to trust in Jesus, their failure to remember or believe how He said that He must suffer like this, and that He would rise again on the third day.  What will happen to them now?  Both God and men seemed to be against them.

Then Jesus shows up.  Right into the middle of that room full of fear filled sinners comes the gentle, wounded Shepherd, once for sinners slain, even though the doors are locked.  The One who came forth from the tomb without needing to roll away the stone cannot be stopped by locked doors.

 And the first words that Jesus says to the disciples are “Peace be with you.”  Those are His words of absolution and forgiveness to them.  They might have been afraid that Jesus would come to chastise them for their failings.  But Jesus holds no grudge.  He is not their enemy.  He is not out to get them.  He’s their Savior.  He has put away their sin, buried it in the black whole of His empty tomb.  “Don’t be afraid,” Jesus is saying.  Everything has been made right.  You are forgiven, Peter, for denying me.  You are all forgiven for running away, for you’re your failure to trust in Me.  Peace be with you.”

 And then Jesus shows them where this forgiveness flows from, the wounds in His hands and side.  Of course, He didn’t have to keep these wounds; they could’ve been undone in His resurrection.  But He chooses to let them remain.  For these are His glory; these are the signs of His sacrificial love for His people.  These are the precious treasure of the church for all eternity.  For by His wounds we are healed and saved.  When Jesus shows the disciples His wounds, then their fear is turned to gladness.  Jesus is known by His scars.  This is no impostor.  It’s the same Jesus who died and who is now alive again in the flesh.  Jesus is with them; and so there is nothing to fear.  Nothing can be done to us that hasn’t already been done to Jesus.  And He has done it all to death on the cross and triumphed.

So what are you afraid of?  Whom do you fear?  What are you hiding from?  Who are you hiding from?  “Nothing, Pastor.  Everything’s fine, Pastor.  No need for you to worry about me or keep checking in on me or asking me these questions.  I’m just fine.”  But, of course, I know that’s not true.  That’s one of the frustrating parts about being a pastor.  The last person most people want to reveal their problems and their sins to is the pastor.  You want him to think that you’re moral and upright and spiritually together and that you have no struggle with any sins, right?  But don’t think that you’re fooling anyone.  For I know the reality of sin too well.  I know myself and my own sinful nature too well to believe the façade that everyone puts up.  The truth of the matter is that we are all like these locked-behind-closed-doors disciples, in one way or another—sinners who, when push comes to shove, think about denying the Lord Jesus and running away as fast as they can, people who have a hard time trusting Jesus with their lives, their sin, or with their death.  Too often we act as if Jesus is woundless and that He will crush us if He finds out about what we’ve thought or said or done, if the truth about us is revealed.  And so we hide behind the delusion that everything’s fine.

That’s our way of staying behind locked doors, covering up the real truth before the Lord with flimsy excuses, being afraid to trust Him with everything, especially our sins.  But to do that is to act as if Jesus is your bitterest enemy.  To do that is to be without joy and full of fear, no matter what face you put on.

But right into your midst comes Jesus.  The crucified and risen One, the Savior.  He’s not your enemy, but your best and closest friend.  He comes and speaks a Word that’s full of the life-giving Holy Spirit, not just for back then, but for all time, right down to us today.  “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you!  As the Father has sent Me, I also send 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.’”

Pastors are commanded by the Lord Jesus to speak absolution, to absolve penitent sinners who struggle with sin, who lead locked up and fear filled lives.  “I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

When you hear those words you’re hearing the living voice of Jesus Himself.  There’s only one forgiver.  And that’s Jesus who died and rose.  Absolution is His.  And He speaks it through the pastors He sends to serve in His Church.  You are to receive the absolution from the pastor as from Christ Himself, believing, trusting that your sins are forgiven—totally, completely, that His Word of Absolution does and gives to you what it says.

On Sunday mornings we confess our sin in general and all together as a congregation.  And Christ’s living voice is heard in the Holy Spirit-filled absolution that is spoken.  You also have the freedom to confess specific sins that bother you in private confession and absolution.  You are free to go to the called and ordained servant of Christ and confess sins that oppress your conscience, sins that won’t let you rest, sins that lock you in fear and cause you to want to hide from Jesus.

And if you can’t think of anything to confess, or if don’t have any sins that bother you, then your sin situation is much more of a problem than you believe.  You need Jesus more than ever.  Examine your place in life according to the Ten Commandments.  They are God’s “Cath Scan” machine to help you diagnose your condition.  And soon you will see just how deep the poison of sin actually goes, how big of a sinner you are, how shockingly desperate is your need for mercy.
But there’s something even more shocking.  Jesus forgives you, with no conditions or small print.  Your sins are not too big or too many for Him.  In private confession you have the privilege as the died-for people of God to hear the living voice of Christ in the absolution.  Whether it’s the Word of God proclaimed here or absolution spoken in private, you can actually say to others with certainty, “Jesus spoke to me today.  I heard His voice, for real.”  That comfort and assurance is why Jesus instituted the office of the ministry and holy absolution as He did in today’s Gospel, so that His peace might be spoken until the end of the age.

 Of course, some say that private confession and absolution is unnecessary, that a Christian can go directly to Jesus in prayer and confess his or her sins.  And that’s true.  But what you can’t do in private is hear the absolution, the voice of Jesus responding to and addressing your confession of sins.  And the absolution is really the more important part, isn’t it.  It’s not only our confessing, but also Jesus’ forgiving that counts.  And so Lutheran churches like ours keep private confession and absolution available for its members, as another opportunity for sin to be addressed by the Gospel of the risen Jesus, concretely in the flesh.

The order that we use for private confession and absolution is included on p. 292 in our hymnal.  Why don’t we look at that briefly now; turn to p. 292 . . .   A very simple order to apply the simple yet rich forgiveness of Christ to us personally and specifically.

 One more thing before we finish:  Thomas wasn’t there that day when Jesus appeared.  He didn’t gather with the other disciples.  He missed church.  You miss out on the gifts of Christ when you miss church.  However, even though Thomas refused to believe without evidence, Jesus was still gracious to him.  The following Sunday Jesus again Jesus appears in their midst and speaks His word of peace.  Again He shows them His wounds, and He invites Thomas to touch them.  “Be not unbelieving but believing.”  Jesus’ words and His wounds have their faith-creating way with Thomas, and he says, “My Lord and my God!”

 In a moment you will hear it said in the liturgy, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.”  And then the risen Jesus will invite you to touch His hands and His side in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.  Like Thomas, He bids you to come into contact with His own living flesh and blood, so that your faith may be strengthened.  You feel the nail marks in His hands.  For with His own hands, Christ Himself gives you His true body, imprinted with the mark of the cross.  And you reach out your hand and put it into His side.  For what was it that flowed from Christ’s side but His precious blood?  Therefore, when you reach for the blessed cup of Christ and receive His life-giving blood, you are truly touching His holy side.  Like Thomas, you, too, know Jesus by His scars.

 Listen, then, to what Jesus says to you this day and take it to heart, “Blessed are you who have not seen Me and yet have believed.  For by believing you have everlasting life in My name.”

 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

(Some of the above was adapted from a sermon by the Rev. Brent Kuhlmann.)