Sermon Tone Analysis

Copyright November 21, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

It may seem on the surface, that a sermon on the appearances of Jesus is not a very good Thanksgiving message.

And yet, what greater blessing do we have than to be forgiven and made new by our Lord who died and rose from the dead?

The mercy, the grace, the new life, the living hope that is ours because of these events, are blessings so great, they are beyond comparison.

I would go so far as to say that any “giving of thanks” that does not include some of what we are talking about today, misses the mark.

Last week we looked at the resurrection of Jesus.

Mary and the other women saw Jesus.

Peter and John saw the empty tomb and the grave clothes and are convinced He has risen.

This morning we look at later in the day on Easter Sunday (remember all the events at the tomb happened relatively early in the morning).

We pick up our text in John 20:19.

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders.

Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them!

“Peace be with you,” he said.

20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side.

They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!

21 Again he said, “Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.

If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Apostolic Doubt

Isn’t it interesting that in spite of what happened earlier the doors are still bolted shut and fear still permeated the room?

Let’s not be too hard on the apostles.

They did not know they were all going to see Jesus.

They did not know He was going to be around for 40 days to open their minds in a new way or that the Holy Spirit was coming or that the worldwide church was not many years away.

The focus of the disciples was on what the leaders of Israel MIGHT do when they really should have zeroed in on what God DID do in bringing Christ back from the grave.

And isn’t this the same problem that we have?

Our anxiety, our fear, our apprehension, and that feeling of impending doom enters our life because we look at the sinful decay and depravity of the world around us instead of focusing on God’s victory achieved at the cross and the empty tomb.

We look at our weakness and vulnerability in a world becoming more hostile, instead of putting our focus on the fact that God lives in us through the Holy Spirit and is leading us to an eternal future that nothing in this world can touch!

As the disciples worried, Jesus entered the room.

Some have concluded Jesus must have been able to walk through walls.

That may be the case, but it also may be the case the God opened the locked doors so Jesus could join them.

We must always be careful of not making the Bible say more than what it actually says.

That is the recipe for false teaching!

,

“Peace be with you” or “Peace to you” was the standard greeting of one Jew to another; even to this day, one Jew will say to his friend, “Shalom aleichem,” or “Peace be upon you,” and the other will respond, “Aleichem shalom,” or “Upon you be peace.”

Jesus showed his disciples His hands and the wound in his side.

This is the same thing he does for Thomas a week later.

He wanted them to know they were not seeing a ghost or part of some vision.

The real, living, breathing, touchable, Jesus was alive and standing among them.

He wanted to calm their doubts.

“They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!” Talk about understatement!

I bet they could barely contain themselves.

If someone you loved (say a parent, a spouse, or another family member) came into your room after you knew they were gone you would be so overjoyed, even the strongest of us would likely begin to cry.

HOW MUCH GREATER the joy when that someone who returned was the One you believed was the Savior of the world but you had watched Him die!

I imagine tears of joy.

The Commission Jesus said to the disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”

The image here is like a relay race in track.

The first person takes the baton and runs at top speed until they reach the next person, and they pass the baton to them, and they run with all their might!

Jesus has passed the baton on to us.

In 2 Cor 5:18-20 we are told

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.

And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.

We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Our assignment, given by our Savior, is to go and tell others!

Proclaim the good news that God has provided a rescue plan.

Think about this, “Who do you know that needs to know about God’s love for them?”

What are you doing to build a bridge to these people?

Is it possible to pick that person up for church some Sunday?

If the answer is yes, then get to it!

Life is oh so short!

22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.

If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

The power One of the best ways to nip doubt in the bud is to take a step of faith and let God use you.

But that can be a terrifying experience.

I think Jesus is addressing this reality when He breathed on the disciples.

He was giving them intermediate power to motivate them to tell others.

Throughout the Old Testament men were given the Holy Spirit for a particular task.

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to stay and reside in every believer.

I believe Jesus gave these disciples the Holy Spirit in this Old Testament situational setting, until the Holy Spirit came more fully.

God doesn’t simply send us out into the world, He equips us for the work He has given us to do.

Every believer is given the Holy Spirit to help, guide, and use us for the building of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

The meeting with Jesus ended with these words:“ If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven.

If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

These are confusing words.

We know we do not have authority to forgive sins.

God is one offended so only He can forgive.

However, as His representatives in the world, we can announce and proclaim the reality of forgiveness and new life in Christ.

We can also tell someone who refuses to repent that they are not forgiven.

We are HIS ambassadors, not mavericks making up the rules as we see fit.

The Reluctance of Thomas

The story continues in the verses that follow,

24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.

25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”

26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them.

The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them.

“Peace be with you,” he said.

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands.

Put your hand into the wound in my side.

Don’t be faithless any longer.

Believe!”

28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me.

Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

We know Thomas best as “doubting Thomas” because of this account.

However, listen to Luke’s account,

Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them.