John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But
John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Second Sunday of Easter Sunday, April 11, 2021 “Connected to Peace”
I know that I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself and share that there have been a few times over the past year when I have felt disconnected. I even remember commenting to others about it at the time. Our church family had not gotten smaller, and yet I had seen many people less frequently. From time to time there were phone calls and emails, but I wasn’t running into people at church during activities the way that we quite frequently used to. I wasn’t milling around with as many people after a church service just catching up about what was going on in their lives and in mine. And on a few occasions, I was compelled to be extra cautious about avoiding potential contact, so I didn’t really see anyone in-person except for my immediate family. For someone whose ministry and work involves dealing with people, it was a pretty significant change, and as I said, at times it left me feeling very disconnected. Maybe you haven’t felt the same way, but I suspect that many of you have. Yes, we have options to call people on the phone and to chat over video screens and to worship through live-streaming, but none of those options quite equal the connections that we can make when we see each other face-to-face. I’m not meaning to complain or to suggest that our approach has been inappropriate, and I am also not intending to scold anyone or make them feel worse about the decisions they are making or how they are feeling. I am pointing out that God has made us for connections. He has connected us to parents and spouses and families and friends and communities, and he blesses us in many ways through these connections. But there is one connection that clearly towers over all these others as far as its value and importance. That is our connection to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is the connection we will be focusing on primarily this Easter season as we listen to his words and consider his interactions with his disciples. Today we are considering how Jesus interacted with his disciples on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday as well as the evening one week later. We, like those disciples, are connected to peace. The disciples did not have peace at the start of our Gospel, our sermon text from John chapter 20. Their teacher, their rabbi of 3 years, had just died days earlier. Their entire worlds had been shattered. They hadn’t gotten the message when Jesus told them repeatedly that he was going to die and rise again. Instead, they were fixated on the fact that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death, and they were worried that the Jewish leaders might do the same thing to them. So they hid. They locked themselves in a room. They disconnected. And they had no peace. What they had was fear, uncertainty, sadness, pain, loss. All their hopes had been pinned to Jesus, and now he was dead. And the scary thing was that they could be next. But then peace came, because Jesus came. It was more than a greeting when Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” He brought peace. He gave it to the disciples. He showed them that he was alive. He had nail marks in his hands and a spear piercing in his side. He is the same one who had been dead, but now he is alive. And the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Re-connecting with Jesus meant connecting to peace. If Jesus was alive, then everything he had told them was true. If Jesus was alive, then their sins were forgiven. They had peace with God, and they had certainty, not about every aspect of their earthly lives, but about everything that really and truly mattered. And not only had Jesus proven it to his disciples by appearing to them and speaking with them, he proved it again for the disciple who had not been there. When Thomas doubted, Jesus returned and let Thomas feel his hands and side, to actually and physically grasp his living Lord. And today as we gather, Jesus connects with us. He connects us to peace. He allows us to consider what it would mean if he had not risen from the dead, but he reassures us that he is our living Lord. Go ahead and think about life without the peace that Jesus brings. Think about the fear of death that makes perfect sense if this life is all there is. Think about the terror of what lies on the other side of death if our consciences are right and we have sinned against our Creator. Think about the uncertainty of not knowing whether there is a plan or purpose or meaning to my life. And think about all the time and money and effort that we have wasted if
Christianity is not true and if Jesus is still dead. “If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Those words from our Second Lesson today were immediately followed by these: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is a fact. We have not been disconnected from Christ because of death. He is alive and we remain connected to him. It was for our benefit that he gave many convincing proofs in the forty days after his resurrection. He made it clear that he had died to take away sins and was alive again because sins were taken away. It was for our sakes that he had Thomas’ reaction recorded in his Holy Word, “My Lord and my God!” It was about us Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are blessed. We have peace instead of fear. We have peace with God through the forgiveness of sin instead of impending doom and punishment. We have a peace that cannot be shaken by external circumstances or dangers or uncertainties. We have the peace of knowing that heaven is our home and we will be there with Jesus. That peace is ours to enjoy and to rejoice in. And that peace is ours to share. Jesus gave his disciples, newly connected to peace, a job to carry out. He was sending them just as he had been sent, with the good news of the kingdom of God, with the glorious message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. He equipped them with the power of the Holy Spirit and charged them to go with the forgiveness of sins to forgive others and to warn the unrepentant concerning their unforgiven sins. The disciples were eager to share the message. They immediately told Thomas who had not been there. “They kept on telling him,” we are told. They knew that this message—that they had seen the living Lord—was a life-changing message, and so they were interested in changing lives with it. That is how it ought to be for us, too. But it’s not always the case. There are times that we are like Thomas, doubting if news so glorious could really be true. There are times that we are overwhelmed by the circumstances of life and the sadness and sorrow and uncertainty that we often face in this world. We may not say, “I don’t believe it” or “I won’t believe it,” but we can still act like we don’t know that we have a living Lord. And there are also times that we may very well cherish the message for ourselves, but we don’t see beyond that to all the others who need to hear it. The answer to both issues is the same: Jesus comes to us. We may not be able to physically place our fingers on the nail marks and into his side, but we have the eyewitness accounts of it happening. We have the testimony of Thomas and other doubters and many others whose lives have been changed. And when we are connected to peace in Jesus, why would we not want to share that peace with others? You have come to believe the good news of peace in Jesus because others shared it with you. This account concludes with the reminder that sharing peace in Jesus is the very reason that this account and many others in Scripture have been recorded and passed down. Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written 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. Just like those early disciples of Jesus were connected to peace when they reconnected with their risen Lord, so we have been connected to Jesus and connected to peace though faith, and now we can share that connection and share that peace with others. We ought to pray about it, we ought to think about it, and yes, we ought to act on it. Let us confess with our lips and with our lives. Let us support the work of sharing the good news. Let’s make it our goal to share the peace that has been shared with us. Maybe you have felt disconnected at times. Maybe you have been feeling that way lately. What an opportunity we have to reconnect with one another in our worship services and Bible studies and in the activities we join in together. It truly is the case that the very best of our earthly connections are those that support and encourage our connection to Jesus, our Savior. When we are connected to him through faith, we are connected to peace.
The Text: John 20:19–31 (EHV) 19On
the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus
said to them again, “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 22After
24But
Thomas, one of the Twelve, the one called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, and put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26After
eight days, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Take your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue to doubt, but believe.” 28Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
29Jesus
said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Jesus,
in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book. 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. 31But