Emanuel Lutheran Church.  April 27, 2025

Second Sunday of Easter

John 20:19-31

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¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were 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 his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
  ²⁴ But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
  ²⁶ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
  ³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, El Adonai, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The last verse in our Easter reading from the gospel of John last Sunday stated that Mary Magdalene brought the following news to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” she declared.

And the very next verses are the ones that were just read today.  It’s important to note that Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples in the room behind the locked doors happens that very same evening.  Earlier that morning Mary had gone to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for burial, but found it empty.  Moments later Jesus appears before her and after cautioning her not to hold on to him, he tells her to go to the disciples and declare that Jesus has risen from the dead.  We read that the disciples are behind locked doors, for they were in fear.  Now, once again acknowledging that today’s reading describes what happened in the evening of that first Easter, it’s a bit overwhelming to consider all that occurs.  We might want to take a moment to review the several aspects of what happens in this passage before we decide to settle on some particular facet we deem of the greatest importance.  Just what is it that John wants us to focus on?  What part of these events does Jesus desire that we devote ourselves to?

Let’s lay out the specifics and try to ascertain how we should respond to what we read in this passage.  Mary tells the apostles that Jesus’ tomb is empty and that she met Jesus in the garden beside the empty tomb.  This morning’s gospel reading takes place later that same day.  The disciples are gathered in a room with the doors locked; John tells us they are in fear.  Jesus appears among the disciples, even though the doors are locked.  He bestows his peace to them, breathes the Holy Spirit on them, and sends them out to continue his work.  For some reason Thomas isn’t with the others.  When the disciples tell Thomas that they have seen the risen Jesus, he refuses to believe them unless he touches Jesus’ crucifixion wounds. 

A week later, Jesus again appears to the disciples, who are once again gathered behind closed doors.  Thomas is now among them; Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds, he declines and declares Jesus as, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus declares that those who believe in his resurrection without having seen him are “blessed”.  Let’s face it, this has been one extremely busy week, filled with a resurrection, fear, disbelief, peace, blessings, doubt, and a declaration of divinity.  Again, where should we put our focus, because there isn’t going to be enough time during a single Sunday sermon to address everything that takes place in John’s gospel reading this morning.

But, before we select which element we should direct our attention to, it might be worthwhile to at least take a cursory look at a few of the individual occurrences that John describes for us in his narration of the first Easter and the week that follows it.  We may not be able to answer some of the questions that arise, but we would be remiss if we didn’t at least raise them.  Why did the apostles not believe Mary when she told them she had encountered the risen Christ?  He told them on several occasions that he would, in fact rise again.  Why were the disciples hiding behind locked doors?  Who were they in fear of; other non-believing Jews, the religious authorities, the Romans?  Where was Thomas, and why was he the only disciple who was absent?  Does Thomas deserve a reputation as “Doubting”?  After all, he simply asked for the same in-person encounter with Jesus that the other disciples experienced.

When Jesus visits with the disciples a week later, they are still in a room with closed doors.  A week earlier Jesus had appeared to them and proved he had risen from the grave; why weren’t they out among the crowds in Jerusalem, proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection?  After all, John writes that they rejoiced when Jeus appeared among them that Easter evening.  Why did Thomas suddenly change his about his need to touch Jesus’ wounds and what prompted him to be the first person in all of John’s gospel to proclaim Jesus as “Lord” and “God”?  And, lastly when Jesus announces that those who believe in him through faith, without seeing him in the flesh, why do bible translators write that these people are “blessed”, when in fact the Greek word John uses, “makarios”, means “happy”?  Now, I apologize for raising all these questions, but the fact is that everything that happens in this gospel passage is open for a deeper discussion.  For most of the actions taken by the disciples we are not offered any insight as to why they behaved as they did.  It will remain a mystery as to why the disciples didn’t believe Mary’s account of meeting with Jesus at the empty tomb, even though he had previously assured them that he would come back.  We will likely never know why Thomas was absent on that first Easter evening.  We will be hard-pressed to understand why the disciples remained hidden, even though they had met with the risen Christ a week before.  Which brings us, I think to the one aspect of these events that are firm, concise, and not open to discussion.

Jesus rose from the grave and the very first thing he does when he visits the disciples is to give them yet another commandment.

He grants them his peace, breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, and sends them out to continue the work that he began.  “As the Father has sent me, so I send you”, Jesus declares to his apostles.  And I submit to you that this declaration ought to feel a bit familiar.  On Maundy Thursday, when Jesus gathered with his disciples at the Last Supper, when he had washed their feet, he commanded them to “love one another as I have loved you”.  And now as he encounters them immediately after he has risen, he sends them out to finish the work that God set forth for Jesus to accomplish.  They are blessed with Christ’s peace, they have the presence of the Holy Spirit with them, and they are tasked with forgiving the sins of others.  “Love others as I have loved you” and “be servants to others as I have served you”.  No room for interpretation here!  Quite simply, Jesus has tasked the disciples, and by extension us, to live as he lived, to love as he loved, to serve as he served.  And all this comes about in the evening of the very day in which he has been raised. 

So, we can try to figure why the apostles didn’t believe Mary; what the disciples were afraid of; where the heck Thomas was, instead of being with the others.  Or, we can just set these issues aside for some other time, and simply put into action all that the risen Christ has commanded us to do.  For, unlike Thomas we believe without having seen; and like him, we too proclaim that Jesus is Lord and God.  And, while we do acknowledge that Jesus commands us to serve as his hands, and feet, and heart in the world, his resurrection serves as the fulfilment of a promise made to all who believe.  In the final verse of John’s gospel this morning, he writes,            “these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”  And the life that Jesus desires for all people is life abundant; a life that celebrates all that God has provided for the faithful.  And, whether we translate “makarios” as “happy” or “blessed”; either way, let us always rejoice that our belief in the risen Christ secures for us abundant life in this world, and in the one to come.              

Will you pray with me?  Good, and gracious, and Holy God,.  And we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ,.  Amen. 

God is Good, all the time.  All the time, God is Good.  Amen.