When we look back on the story of the crucifixion and the resurrection, we don’t quite understand what a traumatic event this was for the followers of Jesus.  They were very much afraid.  They had been seen with Jesus in many public places, so they knew that many people knew who they were.

          When he was crucified, they realized that Jesus, their leader, was under attack from all sides.  The Jewish leaders had hated Jesus for a long time, and now they had gotten what they wanted.  They had gotten rid of Jesus.  Not only that, they had convinced the Romans, and it was the Roman government that had crucified Jesus.  For both the Jews and the Romans, the Jesus problem had been solved.  Or at least that was what they thought.

          But on the third day, some of Jesus’ closest followers had discovered the impossible.  They discovered that Jesus had risen from the grave and some of them saw him.

          Do you see their dilemma?  Jesus is out there somewhere walking around, but they don’t know exactly where.  They are still very afraid for their own lives.  Will the authorities be satisfied to have gotten rid of Jesus, or are his followers next on the wanted list?  And what are they to make of this appearance of the risen Jesus?

          So John tells us that on the evening of the day Jesus arose, they were meeting behind locked doors.  John 20:19.

¹⁹On 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!"

²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

 ²¹Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

²²And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

           Suddenly, even though the doors were still locked, Jesus was there in the room with them.  Jesus knew how frightened they were, so he greeted them, “Peace be with you.” 

          He wanted to bring peace to these frightened, troubled disciples after all they had been through in the past few days.  And of course, the disciples were overjoyed to see him.  That’s probably a major understatement. 

          Some of the women and a few of the disciples had seen the risen Jesus that first Easter morning, but the rest were probably still wondering exactly what to believe.

          Then, Jesus appears among them.  He shows them his hands and his side.  He shows them his hands so they can see where the nails had pierced him.  He shows them his side so they can see where the sword had been plunged into him.  The disciples need to see that this risen Jesus is not a ghost; is not a figment of their imaginations.  This risen Jesus is living flesh and blood.  Luke, in his account, even adds that Jesus told them he was hungry, and they gave him a piece of broiled fish to eat, and he specifically says that Jesus ate the fish.

          Jesus then gives them a foretaste of what is coming.  In a few weeks, they will experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the church will be born.  But at this point, they’re not ready.  At this point, they are huddling together behind locked doors, just trying to make sense out of what has happened.

          So it says Jesus breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."  When the day of Pentecost comes, these same frightened disciples will, in a sense, be reborn.  They will receive power, and they will become the witnesses of the risen Christ who form the powerful beginnings of the church.

          Sometimes when I look at the church in America—not just our church, but others as well—I wonder if we are more like the frightened disciples huddled in that room behind locked doors than we are like the disciples at Pentecost.  Sometimes it seems like we are as unsure as those first disciples were as to what the resurrection of Jesus means.  We sit meekly in our pews mumbling the words of the song, “I serve a risen Savior, he’s in the world today; I know that he is living, whatever men may say….”

          If we really know that Jesus is living—that Jesus Christ is alive today and that he is truly our Lord and our God, why are we so prone to huddling behind locked doors?  I ask this of you, but also of myself.  What might we be able to do if we truly understood the power of our risen Savior?

          There’s an interesting part of what Jesus says here that we don’t often look at, but I think it is significant.  Jesus said to them, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

          As the church of Jesus Christ, we are God’s representatives in the world today.  The world doesn’t see Jesus walking around today as he once did; it sees us.  We are his witnesses in the world today.  And what the world sees us doing and hears us saying is the message they see and hear from God.  And Jesus says, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

          I want to reflect just a bit on what this statement might mean for the witness of the church in the world.  What do you think this means?  “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

          I don’t think it means that people ought to line up at the church and we are to decide whether or not they should be forgiven.  Nor do I think it means that we need the forgiveness of the church in order to be forgiven by God.  I John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”  To me, it seems clear that we are not required to receive forgiveness from the church.

          So what does it mean, that “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

          I wonder if the judgmental attitude of the church has, at times, been a terrible barrier that has kept people away from God.  If the church acts in an unforgiving way towards people, do we not become a barrier between them and God?  If we fail to welcome sinners and show them the way to receive forgiveness, are we not preventing them from knowing the gracious forgiveness that is available to them through Jesus?  And in so doing, are we not refusing forgiveness to them?

          I think it is quite possible that we, the church, have a lot more power than we realize.  We see ourselves as small and weak and not very important in the world.  The truth is that God has given great power to the church.  We have the power to bring the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ to our world.  We have the power of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.  And here, Jesus tells us we have the power to forgive.  I think this is something we need to really ponder and pray over. 

          Now, Jesus had appeared to the disciples, but not all of them were there.  There was one of the twelve disciples, Thomas, who was missing when Jesus appeared to the rest.  We don’t know where he was—perhaps he had some family obligations—we only know that he was not there.  That’s where our passage continues.     

 ²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

²⁵So 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."

 ²⁶A 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!"

²⁷Then 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."

 ²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

 ²⁹Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

 ³⁰Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

³¹But 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.

          I really like Thomas.  Everyone else claims they have seen Jesus and that he is alive, but Thomas just doesn’t buy it.  I’m sure he wants to believe, but really—ask yourself—would you believe this story?  Thomas probably thinks his fellow disciples, in their fear and in their confused mental state have had some sort of experience with a ghost.  Thomas is the one who looks for facts and hard evidence.  And even though everyone else believes, Thomas says he will not believe unless he sees for himself.  He says, "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."

          So Jesus, demonstrating his great kindness to one who doubts, comes to Thomas.  Jesus knows what has been going on in Thomas’ mind and heart.  And he speaks directly to Thomas. Jesus says to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

          And Thomas said to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!"  Can you imagine how Thomas feels?  Jesus has come to him and shown his wounded, risen body to Thomas.  And Thomas can only respond in worshipful awe:  “My Lord and my God!”

          The risen Lord is not an apparition; not a ghost; not a figment of the disciples’ imaginations.  The risen Lord is Jesus, and he shows his wounds to Thomas and to the rest of the disciples and to us.

          Jesus says to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;” and then Jesus speaks to all those who have come after, down through the centuries and all the way to us and says, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

          Jesus understood that many of us would not find it easy to believe.  But if we believe, we will be blessed.

            Then John adds this:  “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 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.”

          We don’t have the firsthand experience of Jesus’ disciples, who saw him and ate with him after the resurrection.  So in some ways it is more difficult for us to believe.  We, on the other hand, have the witness of the church.

          For me, personally, the witness of the church is powerful.  To be honest, I think I might have been a lot like Thomas.  I might have needed proof in order to believe.  It might not have been enough for me that everyone else was so sure that Jesus had risen from the grave. 

          I was raised in the church, and I think the most powerful witness of the resurrection for me has been the faithful witness of those ordinary saints who sat in the pews of my churches over the years.  They may not have been perfect, but they knew the risen Jesus Christ in their hearts.

          Beyond that, I have studied a fair amount of church history.  Like the stories of people in the Bible, the story of the history of the church is full of people with flaws.  Sometimes the church went pretty far astray.  Sometimes the church has survived against all odds.  Even today, there are things going on in the church that disturb me.  But in spite of the faults of its people, the church of Jesus Christ survives and grows, and people still find salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  What helps me believe is that the church has survived both because of its saints and in spite of its saints, because Jesus is the head of the church.

          We here today are just one tiny part of the church of Jesus Christ, both today and throughout history.  But we are called to be faithful followers of Jesus.  We are called to be the light of the world here in this place in this time where God has gathered us together.

Prayer:

Jesus, we are truly humbled by your gift of love for us on the cross.  You are amazing almost beyond our ability to comprehend.  Your love absolutely confounds us. 

It’s mind-boggling for us to imagine the pain you suffered on our behalf on the cross.  All we can do is say thank you.  Thank you for your wounds that Thomas touched. 

Thank you for inviting Thomas and us to stop doubting and believe in you.  Thank you for the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

God, we thank you for the church.  May we as individuals and as a church be faithful to you, our Savior and our Lord.

Amen