John
20:19-31
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.
[Because of an unfortunate post-Easter illness, I had just about lost my voice, but that wasn't the only reason for a 'dialog' -type sermon.]
"Peace be with you."
· I really only have
two points to touch on this morning, then I might just open things up for
anyone else to say something.
· With these words,
Jesus greeted his friends in the room where they had all but barricaded
themselves on the evening of that first Easter.
· With these words,
Jesus again greeted them all on the next Sunday and this time, Thomas was
included. We all know the story. In truth, it’s our story as well.
· Thomas shows us that
the earliest church struggled with the Resurrection, what it was, and what it
means. Thomas wants proof and says he won’t believe 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… Well, I’d like to have that sort of proof as well!
· I won’t get it unless
something REALLY special happens. That’s okay. I have this story, which is my
story and your story.
· We hear this story every
year because it is meant for us. None of us have put our fingers in the nail
marks or our hand into the spear wound. Neither did John’s readers. His was the
last Gospel written and it was done possibly 100 years after the Resurrection.
· John wanted to let
his readers know that they are not second class Christians for not having seen.
They were permitted to believe without seeing and without the verbal testimony
of eye-witnesses. Those people would have a blessing of their own. Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.
· And so it is with us.
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.
· As my second point,
we can look at what Jesus says when he enters the locked and barricaded room. Jesus
says “Peace be with you.” It isn’t a wish or a polite
greeting, but a blessing. Important things in the Gospels are always revealed after
the peace is conferred. The Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – say “Don’t
be afraid!” Look at the greetings of the angel to Mary or to the
shepherds in the story of the Nativity. Here John says “Peace be with you.”
Something special is about to be revealed. In this case, the Spirit is breathed
on the disciples and they are commissioned to declare the forgiveness of sins.
· Now how about you?
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