Stop Disbelieving and Believe the Gospel: He's Risen! :: John 20:19-31

Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them: Peace to you. And when he said this, he showed [his] hands and [his] side. Then, the disciples rejoiced (vv 19b-20a).

I hear the same answer all too often. When asked, “What’s the Gospel?” ... too many of us will respond by saying simply, “Jesus died for me.” To which I am compelled to respond, “What’s good about that? 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus isn’t dead! 

BELIEVE THE GOSPEL! HE’S RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED! HALLELUJAH! THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD.

While it’s true and extremely important that you know that Jesus died on the cross for you, sacrificing himself for not just your sins but for those of the entire world, it is equally important to remember and to proclaim that he is risen! As Saint Paul reminds us, For I gave to you in priority what I also received, that Christ died on behalf of our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared. ... If Christ was not raised, then our preaching is empty and your faith is empty. Then we would be found [to be] false witnesses against God because we testify that He raised Christ (1 Cor 15:3-5a, 14-15a). 

Stop disbelieving and believe. On account of his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection ... and as we will be reminded soon enough ... his ascension, and his promise to come again the same way ... death has no dominion over you. You who believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead will be saved. Eternal life is yours right now! We not only died with Christ in baptism, we have become participants in his resurrection as well. That’s why we publish peace: Announcing the forgiveness of sins to you. That’s why we remember in our baptism that He has given us new life. That’s why we celebrate the Sacrament of the Altar: The body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthens and preserves you in body and soul unto life everlasting. Through this Gospel we have communion with our Lord. In his Word he comes to us and lives in us. He casts out fear. He casts out darkness. He casts our sin. He sets us free. Thus, we have his full blessing: True Peace. 

I The problem is, believing this good news isn’t ... at all ... easy.

Until the Day of Pentecost, which is still 43 days away, even the disciples struggled with fear and doubt. Even after they saw their Lord standing before them, showing his hands and side, declaring to them that they had the forgiveness of sins, they still all struggled to believe the Gospel ... that Jesus Christ is risen today! 

The women had told them. But they didn’t believe (Lk 24:11). When Peter saw the empty tomb, he struggled to believe (Lk 24:12). The Emmaus disciples even saw him, walked with him, and talked with him, but didn’t believe he was raised until they had the Lord’s Supper. 

And we are no different. It’s why we confess that we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, or come to him. 

So, as Saint John writes, on the evening of [Easter Sunday], with the doors having been locked because the disciples were afraid of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them: Peace to you. And when he said this, he showed [his] hands and [his] side. Then, the disciples, seeing the Lord, rejoiced. 

Then eight days later ... when they were right back where they started ... again behind locked doors, Jesus did the same, coming into their midst to be seen and touched and heard ... to give them all sufficient evidence to believe ... touch me and see ... because like the other disciples before him, we all struggle like Thomas to believe ... even after his brothers in Christ not only began to say ... but continued to say ... that We have seen the Lord. 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!

I am going to say this right now: Thomas gets a really bad rap for doubting here. The title we give him ... “Doubting” Thomas ... is so unfair ... as if someone else is a better Christian. I suppose we find a kind of welcome kinship with a disciple of Jesus who had trouble believing that Jesus really is the embodiment of the resurrection and the life. But the truth is, all the disciples doubted. They all disbelieved. They all hid from their sin. They all kept their mouths shut, afraid to tell anyone anything.

More than that, we all know plenty of people whose faith is not very strong and whose confession is weak. Some of us struggle to hear the Gospel ... some of us may not hear it all. Too many of us don’t read the scriptures ... Too many of us don’t go to church. Before long, we too can start saying things like Thomas. If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the mark of the nails and touch my hand into his side, I will certainly not believe. That is to say, Prove it to me! Still others say it this way: How can bread and wine and water and absolution do such great things? 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that’s why these things are written: so that you will repent of your unbelief. These are written so that you will believe in Jesus Christ and that by believing you will have life in his name. These are written so that you will believe it isn’t just the elements that do these things, but the Word of God that delivers to you the first importance: the Lord’s peace ... the forgiveness of your sins. 

To help us believe, John writes, after eight days, again his disciples were inside and Thomas was with them. And though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, Peace to you. Then he said to Thomas, bring your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and cast it into my side. Stop disbelieving and believe! Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and My God! 

II. We can believe because we have the testimony of Christ who showed himself to us.

Jesus isn’t just a spirit. And when we die, we won’t be just spirits either. Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen, as the firstfruit of the resurrection. Here’s the evidence. He appeared among them as they cowered behind locked doors (v 19). He showed them the wounds inflicted on Good Friday. He blessed them with his peace, which is the forgiveness of sins, and he breathed out the Holy Spirit upon them (vv 21–22). The Jesus whom we know and trust is revealed as the risen, living ... and yes, even scarred ... Lord. He even showed himself to more than 500 brothers.

Somehow we must understand that the resurrected Christ is the wounded Christ. He who lives is none other than the same one who died. There has been no exchange. No one is playing with smoke and mirrors. The very one who was crucified is now alive! 

And now there can be no doubt: Jesus has secured our complete and perfect redemption. You who were separated from God by your sin have been reconciled to God ... by God in the flesh himself. He has paid the price for all sin ... your sin, my sin, the world’s sin, yesterday’s sin, today’s sin, tomorrow’s sin. The blood of Jesus covers us all. God in Christ, True Man and True God, has conquered all enemies and risen so that we live and reign with him through all eternity. 

The deaf have a sign for this. Using the middle finger of each hand, they touch the palm of their other hand. They make this sign many times during their worship. Jesus is the one with the marks of the crucifixion. When they touch those places they remember Jesus, the Crucified One, and what he told Thomas, because you have seen me, you believe. Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. 

III. This is why we believe: Because we hear the testimony of God’s holy Word (vv 29–31).

Having stood in their midst, Jesus deals with the fact that succeeding generations would not see him until he returns in glory. He showed himself to them so that they could bear true witness to the world ... to you. Faith in The Christ who died and now lives is created and maintained by hearing this Word of Jesus ... this Word of God ... this Word who works through the Holy Spirit. God uses these means of grace, first the proclaimed Word to lead us all to confess that we are sinners for whom Christ died ... and that he is our Savior. 

By this same Word, we will believe that he joins visible means of grace to nourish and nurture our faith. He uses these means to unites us, in baptism, into the death and resurrection of Christ. And now we can wear the robes of Christ’s righteousness to his Supper, where he feeds us with his body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of sins. 

Through his means of grace we receive strength and comfort to overcome doubt, and fear, and disappointment, and loss. Through his means of grace we can join the angels and archangels evermore praising Yah with Thomas, confessing both by our words and our lives that Lord and God! 

Who will overcome this body of death? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!

You have life in his name ... in Jesus’ name.