Easter 2 Quasimodogeniti – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. John 20:19-31 “Written for You to Believe”
April 27, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You, that of Your indescribable grace, for the sake of Your Son, You have given us the holy Gospel, and have instituted the holy Sacraments, that through these we may have comfort and forgiveness of sin: We beseech You, grant us Your Holy Spirit, that we may heartily believe Your Word; and through the holy Sacraments day by day establish our faith, until we at last obtain eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 155)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, appears before you in His Word and sacraments so that you may believe and have life in His name, dear fellow redeemed:
If you were an eyewitness to Jesus’ death and resurrection, how would you write about it? It is amazing, the details that we find in each Gospel writer’s account. While they each cover details that match up with the others, they also record details that pertain to the group they are writing the Gospel for. With all these great details about the Savior, they also wrote significant details about themselves. Details that if I was writing an autobiography about myself, I would not include them. Would you write how your Savior scolded you because of your lack of faith? Would we want to add the details about disowning Him three times? In these details, we see how the disciples were sinful beings in need of help. Their help and our help comes from the Savior who has in fact saved us. And you learn all about Him in the Word written for you to believe.
Upon writing the death and resurrection of the Lord, the disciples also wrote about their location during the discovery of the empty tomb. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. They had earlier confessed they were willing to die with the Lord, but with great distress, they are now barricaded in a room in fear of those whom they watched put Jesus to death. Their minds were not ready for what would come next. Their locked doors could not keep out their Lord. He greets them with the word, “Peace.” This is the word they need in their current time of distress. Peace, they now have as they look on the One who was pierced, and He stands before them alive!
The disciples most likely thought they would never see this peace that Jesus brings them. Their distress was probably a combination of Jesus’ death and their abandonment of Him. While they had heard from Jesus the very outcome of Holy Week, that He would die and live, they could only hide in fear. Even though they did not understand; the fear, distress, and anguish they had in the upper room does find peace. The enemies who worked in the darkness to bring on these events were defeated by the light who destroys the darkness. Jesus told His disciples the light that brings them peace is from the light that comes from seeing God. And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me see him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness (John 12:44-46). The disciples see the light in the flesh once again and this gladness would not be only for them!
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending 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; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” The message the disciples first needed to hear was once again the message Jesus always taught. They heard from their Lord the sweet sound of forgiveness. Forgiveness they needed to hear after the events of Thursday evening. Forgiveness they didn’t deserve, but with Jesus standing before them, forgiveness their Lord has given them through His death and resurrection. Jesus wasn’t done with His disciples. They had much work to do to begin His church, teaching His forgiveness. To begin, Jesus gave them the Spirit to understand the peace He brings. A peace that comes to us even when we might not understand it or deserve it.
Before that first Easter morning, there was much uncertainty even though there shouldn’t have been. The followers of Jesus were told everything that was going to happen. Two thousand years later, nothing is hidden from us, but there are times we think it is. Some will say Jesus hasn’t clarified enough. Jesus tells us that He has nothing to clarify as He is teaching what His Father has already commanded. When it comes to salvation, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). The truth that is hard to swallow is seeing God’s wrath is already bearing down on us. The world wants us to believe that we start off as good and then maybe we fall. The wrath of God which is the absence of God has been passed down to us and is what our sins deserve. Instead of trust in God, we suffer like the disciples. We hear what Jesus teaches, we see Him go to the cross, yet we can either hide our sins from God or we can hide our faith from Him and the world. With our own strength, our fear and distress can be eternally damaging.
So, Jesus reveals in His appearance in the upper room that it isn’t our own strength. He understood God’s plan perfectly. He knew He would not only die for the sins of the world, but He would rise because He is the Son of God. Jesus conquers fear and doubt. He tells Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This blessing would be fulfilled right away. After Pentecost, the church would increase by three thousand. They were not in the upper room on Easter Eve or saw Him in his final forty days on earth. They would take to heart the confession of the apostles. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). The salvation they received is that of newborn infants. They can look, but will never find Him in the tomb, and they can believe in Him solely through faith in the Word.
This is because the apostles would take all of what they had seen, the good Jesus did and the bad they had done, and they wrote it all down. The people would see the apostle’s mistakes, and hear Jesus teach how He will make them new. St. Paul explains, thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45). The apostles would teach the people the work of Jesus, and that Jesus was still with them. He was with them as they gathered in His name to learn of the salvation He won on the cross. Then they would eat His body and drink His blood in the Supper, declaring what took place in the upper room on Easter Eve. Jesus died on the cross for their sins, and He rose from the dead, giving them new life in His name.
This new life would carry them through the persecutions that were to come. Through His teaching, they would know that all would be well because their Savior is alive. He had endured God’s wrath so no one would have to. And since Jesus suffered for the sins of the world, the blessings of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are there for all. The blessing of faith in the upper room is given to you. St. John clarifies when He writes to you, now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. You can’t go back in time to see Jesus walk on the earth. You won’t stand before the cross in the flesh or be in the locked upper room with Jesus appearing before your eyes. You hear Jesus speaking to you now in His Word. You see through the eyes of the disciples your Savior hanging on the cross for you and rising from the grave! So, as John writes and St. Paul confirms, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
You hear the disciple’s fear, distress, and sins. And when you hear how it all looked lost for them, you hear God’s promises fulfilled with Jesus death and resurrection. A grave that is confirmed empty with the glorified Savior revealing His pierced flesh to the disciples. Promises that bring blessings to you here and now. Blessings that bring you together in faith. St. Paul confirms, so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22). Here are the working parts of the Church. A foundation preached by the Pastor from the timeless message of the sure foundation, the cornerstone. Where you come together to hear the Word, receive the sacraments, and by faith, know through them your Savior is coming to you.
As you are joined together with your Savior who comes to you in His Word and sacraments, you see and believe the power of Christ’s Word. It was truly written so that you may believe. As you hold tight to its teaching, you know sin, the world, and the devil will try to poke holes into it. No matter how hard they poke, no matter what fears and trials they try to overwhelm you with, you see in the Word their pain is only temporary. Jesus’ death and resurrection has destroyed them. And when you fall, Jesus keeps coming to you. He teaches you to trust His holy Word. Trust, you have through the work of the Holy Spirit. With His work, you can confidently keep His Word and have mercy on those who have wronged you. St. Paul writes, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7). Jesus cares for others through you. And as the world sees your caring heart, they see what you believe. They see their Savior died for their sins on the cross and appeared in the upper room risen from the dead. The joyous history of your Salvation, written for you to believe. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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