John 20:19-31 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
“Going Home: House Keys”
Easter 2 Sunday, April 28, 2019
One week ago, we gathered together as a congregation for two Easter worship services as well as other activities. In our sunrise service in the Courtyard, we read the first 18 verses of John chapter 20, the account from John’s Gospel about what took place early on the first Easter Sunday morning. Those verses focus on Mary Magdalene, who went to Jesus’ tomb, found the stone rolled away, and ran back to tell Peter and John. They record how Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves that it was empty except for the cloths that had wrapped the body of Jesus. And then those verses tell us about Mary weeping outside of the tomb until Jesus spoke to her and gave her instructions. And then she went back to the disciples again to tell them what had happened. When we revisit that account on Easter Sunday morning, it is an exciting time. It is a special time. More people make a point of coming to church on Easter than on most Sundays. Many dress in a special way for the celebration. Many participate in a number of church activities. Some go on to celebrate in other ways later that day. But what happens after that? What happens for us as a congregation and as individuals? What happened to those disciples so many years ago? What comes after Easter? This year we are looking to answer those questions by talking about going home. These several weeks after Easter in the Church Year lead to Ascension, when Jesus visibly left his disciples, went up in the air, and was hidden by a cloud. He was going home to heaven, from where he had come to earth in order to do his work. But going home is not just for Jesus. After Easter as well as before, a very significant aspect of the work of Jesus was to prepare his disciples for what was going to happen. He wanted them to be prepared for when he ascended, for that “going home.” And he wanted them to be prepared for the day when they would go home. And it is fitting for us to turn our attention today to the very next verses in the same chapter of John’s Gospel to see what comes next, to see the how on the very evening of his resurrection, Jesus immediately set about to preparing his disciples. And one of the ways that Jesus prepared his disciples was by giving them the house keys. And what he did he did for their benefit and so that they could benefit others. Let’s look at the circumstances of that first Easter Sunday evening. After all that had taken place in the morning, the evening found the disciples locked together in a room because they were afraid. They were afraid, John tells us, of the Jews. They were afraid, no doubt, because their leader had been put to death just days before and so they were worried that something similar could happen to them. That’s when Jesus appeared. The doors were locked, but that didn’t matter to the risen and glorified Jesus. He stood among them and greeted them, “Peace be with you.” That was a rather standard greeting, only this time there was nothing standard about it. All the restless fear of the disciples was to be overcome with the peace of Jesus. All their concerns, all their troubles, all their difficulties, could fade away because Jesus would give them peace. He was standing with them. It was really him. They could look at his hands and his side and see the familiar marks of the crucified. But he was not dead; he was clearly alive. And he repeated his greeting of peace. And that was exactly what the risen Jesus had brought to these disciples. A commentator on these verses notes that when Jesus appeared to his disciples, nothing about their outward circumstances changed. They were just as vulnerable to the Jewish authorities as they had been. They were just as uncertain about what their enemies might try to do to them. They were still hiding behind locked doors. But everything had changed for their hearts and souls. Their Lord was alive, just as he had promised. The Jews could attack and even take their lives, and in the end the disciples would be fine. They would be better than fine. They would be with their Savior in heaven. They were at peace with God; their sins were forgiven. That’s what all of the events of those days had meant. Jesus went to the cross bearing the sins of the disciples, and he appeared to them to assure them that their sins were left in the grave.
What Jesus had done was presented the disciples with their heavenly house key. God’s demand for entrance into heaven is perfection. They did not have it on their own, but they had it because Jesus gave it to them. He gave them forgiveness. He gave them peace. And that was true even for the disciple who is now known for the unfortunate reaction he had to this news: doubting Thomas. Thomas wasn’t there that evening with all the other disciples. We don’t know for certain why, though many have felt that he should have been there. What we do know for certain is that the other disciples told him what had happened and he didn’t believe it. And, yes, we will readily admit that it is hard to believe that someone who died came to life again, but what reason did Thomas have to doubt? These were his companions, his friends, his co-workers for years. They told him the good news. They were changed. They were overjoyed. And he refused to believe. Don’t the doubts of Thomas say something about how deeply sin is ingrained in us? Don’t his doubts unveil the ugly reality that even with reliable testimony, even from caring sources, even when the news is the very word and promises of God himself, we human beings will so readily reject it? And since Thomas was in that situation, Jesus went out of his way to give Thomas the same peace of forgiveness, the same comfort that the other disciples had received. One week later, all were together, Thomas included. And Jesus appeared again. And Thomas could touch his side and put his finger on the nail marks. He could see and believe. This is the love of God that Jesus goes above and beyond to give certainty, to give comfort, to give faith, to give forgiveness. He did not leave Thomas with his doubts. He opened the door of heaven to his doubting disciple. And he spoke about all those disciples to come, followers of Jesus who would benefit not from seeing Jesus in person or touching his nail-pierced hands, but those who would know that Jesus has risen by faith and not by sight. We still benefit from what Jesus did for Thomas. We have one more eyewitness to rely on, one more sinner who gave his testimony by going to his martyr’s death in the confidence of seeing his Savior alive, in the confidence that heaven’s door was open because of what Jesus had done. No matter what our outward circumstances, that same assurance is ours. Yes, we still live in a world that requires us at times to lock our doors from the danger that surrounds us. We still battle with doubts in our own hearts. We still have loved ones who suffer from dreaded diseases, and we still have to know that our own lives are fragile. Our consciences still rightly accuse us of so many wrongs. So Jesus comes to us in his Word and says, “Peace be with you.” He pours water over us in his name to wash away our sins. He feeds us with his own body and blood for the nourishment of our faith. He tells us that the house key is ours; the door to heaven is open. We will live in perfect peace with him forever. And that assurance is not for us alone. It is ours to share with others. Jesus has not only opened the door of heaven to his believers, he has equipped them to open that door for others. He has given them the keys. Our catechism speaks about the “Ministry of the Keys” as the power and right that Jesus gives his disciples “to forgive the sins of penitent sinners but refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.” Jesus himself used this metaphor comparing the forgiveness of sins to the keys of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 16:19. And again here, after his death and resurrection, Jesus renewed his commission to his disciples: “Peace be with you! Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.” After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus came to his disciples to give them peace and forgiveness on the first Easter Sunday evening. But the time would come when he would not be there visibly to proclaim these things. And so he commissions his disciples, he commissions you and me, too, to speak for him, to share his message, to proclaim his Word. What happens after Easter? Jesus offers comfort and assurances to his disciples. He gives them certainty of peace and forgiveness. He gives them the keys to heaven. What happens after our celebration of Easter? We keep on celebrating by listening to our Savior and receiving from him his gracious gifts to us. He has given us the house keys to our home in heaven. They are ours to know and ours to share. We and all who believe have life in his name.
The Text: John 20:19-31 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