Full Sermon The Hands of Jesus Give Us Life based on John 20:19-31

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Uncertainty, Baltimore bridge collapse, illness, injury. Nothing seems to be certain in our world today. At one time, the big bridge near Baltimore had lots of people driving over and ships going under. One of those ships lost control and rammed into that huge bridge and the entire bridge collapsed into the water. People have been working night and day to clear that area of debris from the collapsed bridge and to get the shipping lane open. Sometimes people think they have enough money saved to retire, but an illness or an accident can change all that in a matter of minutes. The problems of life can make us feel like some things are “out of our hands.” Things in life are not certain and can change in a hurry.

II. John 20 shows us One person is certain. The Gospel lesson in John 20 shows us that one thing is certain. One person is certain. All of our doubts and fears and worries can be taken care of by Jesus, the Son of God. Not only did Jesus die for all our doubts and fears and worries, He also died for all our sins, trespasses, and wrongs. But Jesus did even more. He arose on the third day to take care of all those doubts and fears and worries and sins and wrongs. Jesus will never die again.

III. Secure in the hands of Jesus. Our life now and life forever in heaven are secure in the hands of Jesus. When we put things in our own hands, then we can face uncertainty and fear. When we think we have all the answers in life, then we can face problems that we do not know how to fix.

IV. Disciples hopes dashed and our hopes dashed. The disciples of Jesus had their hopes dashed when Jesus died on the cross. Their hopes were based on the way they thought God should do things. Their hopes were based on their human plans and not on God’s plans for them.

Our hopes can be easily dashed when we think God should do what we want Him to do. When our plans are the most important, then those human plans will not always go according to our plans, and we can become discouraged. We might hope for an easy retirement, but life’s problems can make life more complicated than we prefer. An illness or an accident can turn our world upside down.

V. Human hopes to win lottery and play pro sports not fulfilled and Romans 6:23. Many human hopes today are not fulfilled. The hope to win hundreds of millions of dollars playing the lottery is usually a waste of money. Even if you win the lottery, then people will be looking for free handouts. Some people end up wasting all of your money and end up with nothing after winning a lottery. The hope to play professional basketball or baseball is something very few people get to achieve. Even if you get to play as a professional, then an injury can end that career and many pro athletes only play a few years before they are finished. The hope for a cure to some deadly illness might lead to a cure, but after that something else leads to death. Worldly hopes are not very long-lasting. “The wages of sin is death”, according to Romans 6:23.

VI. Thomas and doubts in John 20:24-25. Thomas in our Gospel lesson in John 20 at first did not want to believe what the other disciples told him about Jesus being alive again. Thomas was like many people today who think that seeing is believing. If something cannot be seen with one’s own eyes, then that is not worth believing or so many people think. John 20:24-25 tells us, “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘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.’” Thomas said that he had to see the mark of the nails and the wound in Jesus’ side before he would believe the words of his fellow disciples. The unbelief of Thomas kept him in doubt about Jesus’ promises.

VII. More like doubting Thomas. We might be more like doubting Thomas than we want to admit. We are tempted to think Jesus needs to do things our way or we doubt if He answers our prayers. We are tempted to want Jesus to prove Himself over and over by doing what we want Him to do in our lives. We are tempted to want Jesus to show us miracles before we trust His promises.

VIII. Saving hands of Jesus on cross and Easter. Only the saving work of the hands of Jesus on the cross can save us from our sins and wrongs. Only the saving work of the hands of Jesus who was raised from the dead on that first Easter Sunday can save us from our trespasses and failures. Only the saving work of the hands of Jesus who paid the full price to set us free from our iniquities and mistakes on the cross can assure us of forgiveness and mercy from God. Only the nail-scarred hands of Jesus can direct our hearts and minds to the abundant life He offers us now and in heaven forever.

IX. God’s “hope and dream” and perfect love in Christ crucified. The hands of Jesus stretched out on the cross outside of Jerusalem were God’s way to help us deal with our doubts and fears. God’s “hope and dream” for us was Christ crucified, which seems to be weakness and foolishness to unbelievers. God’s perfect love casts out fear. Christ crucified, nailed to a wooden cross, shows us God’s perfect love and mercy for us.

X. No place hands of Jesus cannot reach. There is no place the hands of Jesus cannot reach with His peace and gracious favor. Jesus visited His fearful disciples and assured them of His peace and gracious favor. Jesus brings us His peace and gracious favor as we struggle with our doubts and fears today. No illness can separate us from the peace and gracious hands of Jesus today. No accident can separate us from the peace and gracious hands of Jesus today. No problem can separate us from the peace and gracious hands of Jesus today.

XI. Read John 20:26-29 and comment. John 20:26-29 gives us the rest of the account of Thomas, “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” The hands of Jesus convinced Thomas to believe. The hands of Jesus offered Thomas peace. The hands of Jesus caused Thomas to declare with certain faith that Jesus was his Lord and his God.

XII. Reason for John’s Gospel in John 20:30-31. The reason behind the writing of the Gospel of John is given to us in John 20:30-31, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

XIII. Conclusion. Easter is about more than eggs and candy and lilies. Easter is about life after death. Easter is about the risen Jesus. Easter is about joy after sorrow. Easter is about sure and certain hope. Easter is about forgiveness, grace, and mercy from God. Easter is about life in the saving hands of Jesus. Easter is about life that looks to Jesus alone for salvation and life everlasting in heaven. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.