Sunday, April 12, 2026
Second Sunday of Easter
Text: John 20:19-31
Sermon Audio
As we gather… Peace is hard to come by in the world. You need only to look at the most recent news headlines to see our lack of peace. Jesus came in to the midst of His disciples after His resurrection saying, “Peace be with you.” He brings a peace that goes far beyond world peace. Jesus pointed to His hands and His side as the evidence of the peace that He brings. Our risen Lord brought peace with God through His death and resurrection. The proof He shows in His body. By His wounds we are healed. By His wounds we are given the forgiveness of sins. Only in the forgiveness of sins, that Christ won for us, do we have peace with God. This is the peace that goes beyond any earthly understanding. The world will continue to rage until Jesus returns on the Last Day. You can stand in this world in peace with God that Jesus continues to give to you in His body through the forgiveness of sins. This is the peace that you bring to a world searching for peace.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We live in a world in desperate need of peace. A quick glance at the latest news reveals all of the wars and rumors of wars that surround us. Whether it be the next bombing in the war in Iran, another terrorist attack on American soil, or a violent crime in La Crosse; peace seems to be far from us. Even in times of peace, the world still rages with all sorts of violence. The world doesn’t know peace. As long as sinful people live in it, they will look to assert their own sense of sin-tainted morality on one another. From your neighbors to world leaders, and if we are honest, even ourselves; all want to assert their own sinfulness upon others. “If only everyone would just do things my way we would have peace in this world.” Everyone is inclined to think like this to one extreme or another. This will always be the case until Jesus comes again. As a Christian, this gets even more difficult for us to bear. We think we have it bad here with our social persecution in the US, which certainly isn’t fun, but there are Christians dying daily for their faith in places like China and the Middle East. All of this is enough for us to want to lock ourselves in our homes or maybe together here at Faith, in fear, and wait for the second coming of our Lord. The world is anything but peaceful.
The disciples had locked themselves into hiding on Easter. The Jews had just put Jesus to death and I am sure the disciples were hunkered down waiting for their enemies to come after them with clubs and swords. They were filled with fear. Who could blame them? Then He came. Jesus came in and stood in their midst. “Peace be with you.” Our risen Lord comes in the flesh, and not only speaks to them peace, He shows them the source of their peace in His hands and side. By His wounds we are healed. With His wounds He won peace for the world. Jesus now shows them the victory. He shows them the peace that His resurrection brings. They now have peace with God, because of Jesus’ work on the cross. The sacrifice of the One who lived a life fulfilling the Law of God perfectly, now brings peace for all. This is a peace that the world can’t give. Any peace in the world is not a real or lasting peace. It’s a mutual agreement to not be overtly nasty to one another for a while. That is a worldly peace that will perish when the world perishes. Christ brings a peace that surpasses all understanding by atoning for our sins before God by His life, death, and resurrection. Only peace with God can give any semblance of peace while we sojourn in this world. Peace given in the forgiveness of sins. This is the peace He wants to share with the whole earth.
That is what Jesus showed to His disciples this day. He shows them what forgiveness of sins looks like. Not only did He show them peace, He sent them out into the fearful world with a message of forgiveness. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” They were not to cower in fear from the world that was out to get them. They are eyewitnesses of the resurrection and they have a job to do. After all, if they have peace with God in the forgiveness of sins, what is there to fear in the world? Well, I can still think of plenty of things to fear… Thankfully Jesus breathed on them and gave them help, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Their forgiveness is His forgiveness. Our forgiveness is His forgiveness.
Jesus sent His first pastors out with a message of forgiveness of sins that is seen in the wounds of our crucified and living Lord. He sent them into the world that hates them. He sent them with His Spirit and the power to forgive sins in His name. He sent them with the message of peace that unlocks the doors of fearful hearts; hearts that fear the wrath of God and need to hear that by the wounds of Christ they have been healed and have peace in His resurrection. They start by going to Thomas. That should be a slam dunk. He is one of them. They proclaim, “We have seen the Lord!” … Yeah right. I know the brutal death He just went through on Friday. I know what Jesus told us what was going to happen, that He was going to die and be raised, but that death… No one is coming back. “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
This was supposed to be a slam dunk. Now to be fair to Thomas, this is unbelievable, by all human understanding. Jesus was crucified. How could He be risen? I’m sure Thomas wanted to believe them. The disciples were his friends and brothers in Christ and he loved his Lord. He was heartbroken when He died. He wasn’t there with them when Jesus came on Easter. It all sounds too good to be true. At least a quarter of the disciples were fishermen once, and who hasn’t heard fishermen tell stories of the giant catfish swimming around French Island. I’m sure they saw something, but there is no way the fish was that big. As much as we want to believe the story, we all want proof. We weren’t there. We need to see.
It’s a good thing our Lord is patient. Here we are, on the 8th day of Easter, and the disciples are locked away again. This time at least Thomas is with them; and talk about proof. Not only did Jesus come into their midst again with, “Peace be with you.” He instructed Thomas to put His fingers and hand into the very wounds that brought Thomas peace through the forgiveness of sins. “My Lord and my God!” This is the reaction of anyone who has seen, who has touched the forgiveness of sins that comes from the wounds of our resurrected Lord. This is peace.
I think Thomas gets a bit of a bad wrap here. Ok. He should have remembered all that Jesus had said in His life and believed his brothers when they told him that they saw Jesus. Fear and doubt easily cloud our sinful minds. They blind us. He had every reason to be fearful and doubtful. Jesus had just died and the Jews wanted him dead, too. He didn’t tell his friends to keep their mouths shut and go off and join the world. He stayed with them. He hid with them from the world, again. Jesus comes to them all, again. Jesus won’t leave His chosen disciples in fear and doubt. Jesus comes into their presence in a physical way, yet in a way that goes beyond our understanding of physical presence. He comes into their midst through a locked door. He comes into our midst through bread and wine. Next week at the altar, the Lord will come into your midst in a way that we can’t understand. When Pastor finishes the Words of Institution he will say, “the Peace of the Lord be with you all.” You will receive the body of our wounded and risen Lord and His blood that was poured out for you for the remission of your sins. Here you place your fingers and your hands into the side of our Lord. Here you receive the forgiveness of sins that gives you eternal peace with the Father. From here, you take this message of peace and forgiveness out into the world. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
His disciples did eventually leave the locked room to bring the message of forgiveness of sins through the hands and side of the risen Christ. Not all who hear the words of forgiveness from the mouth of Christ’s messengers will believe it. Thank the Lord that He has called you by the Gospel of Christ and given you eyes to see in your baptism that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. You believe Scripture. This truth of peace with God through the wounds of Christ you take with you from this altar to a world who can’t know peace without Jesus.
This is a fearful job. There will be times that you will go back into your locked room for fear of persecution from your friends and family who still seek only a self serving worldly peace. You can live your life in this world that is consumed in violence and fear as one who has received the selfless peace of Christ. This will stand out. People want this peace, they just just don’t know that this is the peace they are truly looking for. They will ask you about the hope that is in you. Then you can show them the hands and side of our Lord as you reveal to them the love of God that brought peace through forgiveness earned by Christ. Yes, the forgiveness of their sins. This is scary. This message brings hatred from those who don’t want to admit that they are sinners. You won’t know how they will react. Maybe they will hear and believe, maybe they will hate you, or maybe they will stick around until they do see. Regardless, the Lord is the one who acts in your words and actions. It is His revelatory Word. He has given you His Holy Spirit to go with you in this world that doesn’t know peace. He will protect you and guide you. We have a peace that calms all fear. When fear overtakes you, kneel before the risen Lord and receive His forgiveness of sin. His peace.
You will go through many dangers in this world. The wars and violence will always be here. Sadly, most will refuse to see the peace that comes through the forgiveness of sins earned on the cross of Christ. Our Lord has come into your midst, shown you His hands and side, forgiven you your sins, and given you the peace that surpasses all understanding. He will come again to end the violence and give eternal peace. He will continue to show you His wounds at this altar as you go through this world until He does return. He has won the victory and brought peace with God. Whether you leave this world through death or you are living when Christ returns, our dear Lord will greet you and show you His hands and His side in the flesh! You will know His eternal peace. You will see Jesus face to face and proclaim with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” Thanks be to God!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.