Easter 2 Quasimodo Geniti

John 20:19-31 – Quasimodo Geniti – April 12, 2015
Jesus Comes through Closed Doors

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead and his ascension into heaven are really essentially the same event.  When Jesus had conquered sin, death, and the depths of hell, there were no longer any enemies to undo.  Nothing kept him from standing at the right hand of his Father in resplendent glory.  Entrance to heaven was open — for him – and to all of us who by faith place our confidence in him.  So here we do see one more enemy, don’t we?  We see one more obstacle that bars sinful flesh and blood from entering the presence of the holy God in his heavenly courts.  We see unbelief.  Or rather, because we don’t see, we struggle with unbelief.   

The devil still roams – not to stop Christ from accomplishing our salvation – that is too late – his head is crushed, his doom is certain.  But between now and the final judgment, he continues to do what he can to keep us from enjoying the salvation that Jesus won.  He seeks to block and destroy faith that receives and embraces this salvation.  The devil deceives with false doctrine and false promises of pleasure.  And the world is under his persuasion.  Now, God loves the world.  The devil hates the world because he hates God.  So it pleases the devil to torture the world with his lies and then use the very world for whom Christ died to tempt and persecute those who love God.  He is wicked.  There is nothing more wicked that the spiritual forces that compel poor sinners to reject the salvation that God has won for them.  And yet we see in ourselves exactly what this wickedness is handcrafted to appeal to.  It is designed by Satan to appeal to you. 

We have our flesh.  We do not by nature love God.  Our flesh is naturally inclined to believe the devil’s lies and to make excuses for our every false opinion and our every immoral desire.  We are of the same cloth as the rest of the world.  So these three, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh – the unholy trinity we call it, these three – are the enemies that remain on earth, roaming around us, living among us, and lurking within us. 

But God is also of the same cloth as we, so to speak.  God became man in order to overcome the devil for us.  As true man, God fulfilled all righteousness, living a perfectly obedient life in our place.  As true man, God died, paying the debt we owed to the righteous judgment against us.  As true man, God rose, securing the Father’s blessing and forgiveness for all.  And as true man, sharing our flesh and blood, he now rules all things in heaven, where he prepares a place for us.  His resurrection was not just a spiritual return to life.  It was a bodily resurrection.  If he had not risen bodily, then he would not have been able to redeem the flesh and blood that he assumed.  But because Christ is truly risen – our Brother, and our God – we see in him our spiritual victory over sin as well as our physical victory over death.  And since it is true man who reigns in heaven, we have hope that we too will reign with him in sinless and deathless glory.  And three bear witness to this against the unholy trinity of devil, world, and flesh – these three bear witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one that our victory has already been won. 

Through faith in Christ alone, all these other enemies are already conquered – the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.  It is faith that lays hold of and benefits from all he has done.  It is faith that overcomes the world and all its false charms.  It is faith that receives the forgiveness of sins.  We need this faith.  We need to not be unbelieving, but believing.  This is what makes it so wonderful to consider that Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension are really ultimately the same event.  Christ does not leave us without the means to gain this saving faith.  He gives us his Holy Spirit. By water and his word he cleanses us with his blood.  Martin Luther puts it wonderfully in his excellent Easter hymn: 

Christ Jesus lay in death’s strong bands,
For our offenses given;
But now at God’s right hand He stands
And brings us life from heaven;
Therefore let us joyful be
And sing to God right thankfully
Loud songs of alleluia!  Alleluia!

See how this seems to just skip over the resurrection?  It goes from Jesus lying in death’s strong bands to sitting at God’s right hand.  But look at why he died – for our offenses given.  And now look at what he is doing at the Father’s right hand – he brings us gifts from heaven.  He brings us what his resurrection made certain.  He gives us what we need to have faith.  That’s what he’s doing in heaven.  And this is what it means that he goes to prepare a place for us.  He is not in heaven building a really awesome house.  He’s in heaven ruling all creation for our good.  He’s in heaven, which means not that he is stuck in some far away place.  It means that he fills all things.  He is no longer confined to one location.  He is in heaven so that he can remain with us here on earth.  He prepares a place for us above by preparing right here the means to receive our salvation. 

And this is why he didn’t just zoom up to heaven once he came back to life.  First, Jesus spent some precious 40 days among his disciples.  He did this so that he might arrange how it is that we would receive the faith that saves us.  These 40 days correspond perfectly to the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness overcoming the devil.  With these 40 days, Jesus appeared alive to many who believed in him, preparing them, as well as us, to likewise overcome the devil as we wander through the wilderness of this world.   How does he prepare us? 

“Do not cling to me,” Jesus told Mary Magdalene, “for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” Jesus wanted her to cling to him in his word alone, since that was the only way that she could hold onto him forever.  He was preparing her.  So Mary Magdalene did just as Jesus had told her.  But did the disciples believe? 

I think we are hard on poor Thomas.  We can almost imagine the other disciples responding to Mary the same way that Thomas later responded to them.  Mary had only recently come to the disciples, weeping about how somebody had stolen Jesus’ body.  Upon returning to the tomb, Jesus appeared to her.  And now she came right back.  How do you think the disciples reacted?  “Unless we see in His hands the print of the nails, and put our fingers into the print of the nails, and put our hands into His side, we will not believe.”  Perhaps something like that?  The disciples were just as unbelieving as everyone else. 

St. Mark tells us that when Jesus did appear to them, “He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen” (Mark 16:14).   St. John begins with sweeter words when recording what Jesus said to them: “Peace be with you.”  With these words, Jesus forgave everything they needed to be rebuked for.  “ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ”  They were glad because instead of further berating them for their lack of faith, Jesus gave them the faith that they needed.  He let them see and feel what they could not believe.  With Thomas it was no different. 

Except with one difference.  Jesus had told the other disciples something that he had not told the women.  He breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit.  He then told them to forgive and retain sins.  He had given them the command and promise that whoever’s sins they forgave were forgiven, and whoever’s sins they bound were not forgiven.  Surely the disciples explained this to Thomas.  But Thomas would not believe.  Thomas’ sins were bound.  They were retained.  This means they were not forgiven.  It means that although Jesus died for his sins, since Thomas believed that Jesus was still dead, he didn’t believe that his sins were paid for.  And if he would not believe that his sins were paid for, that means that he was stuck with all his sins.  This is what it means to have your sins retained.  It means to be stuck with a sin that you will not repent of. 

This is why we are hard on poor Thomas.   He would not repent of his unbelief.  He demanded to see.  He was the very first to reject the absolution.  And he serves as an example for us.  The means by which Jesus would rule his Church to this day consists of words.  This is how the risen and ascended Christ serves us.  He does not invite us to see his wounds or to put our hands into his side.  He invites us, and yes commands us, to listen with our ears to the forgiveness that is spoken in his name.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

But we are not left with empty words.  We are not challenged to find strength within where Thomas had failed.  This is not the lesson of our Gospel lesson. Rather, we are encouraged to find strength in the words themselves.  This strength is outside of us.  But it is brought to us.  Jesus did not rise and ascend to heaven leaving his Church to imagine him up there on a throne – waiting for him to return.  No, our confidence in the resurrection of Jesus, and of our own, is given to us where Jesus comes to us.  He promises to be with his word.  His word is powerful.  With his word he breathes life into us.  It is the life that conquered death.  It is the life that conquers unbelief, because it gives us the Holy Spirit who works faith.  He gives us the peace that we do not find in the world.  He gives us peace with God who is reconciled to us and we to him by the blood of his dear Son. 

Are you a sinner?  Do you know and feel your sin?  What evidence do you have that your sins are forgiven and that you will live forever?  Do not look for what Thomas looked for.  Do not find within some reason that it must be so.  Do not demand to see some evidence.  Jesus knows what evidence you need.  He knows how you ought to cling to him.  That is why he gives you what to cling to.  You have clung to lies that the devil has spoken.  But Jesus gives you the truth to cling to.  The truth is that your sin is paid for and your life is found in him who bore it on the cross and rose the third day.  You have clung to the desires of your flesh – what suits your pride, and ego, and raises you above your neighbor.  Jesus gives you his body and blood that bore your sin and says, “Cling to this.”  – the body and blood that lowered itself beneath you – the body and blood that is now raised above the highest heaven.  Yet he is pleased to give it to you to cling to saying, “Take eat, take drink.” 

And as you struggle with your sin and your doubts you see the grave ahead that most certainly will swallow you in due time.  So you cling to your new birth in Holy Baptism.  Here you were buried with Christ and raised with him.  You cling to the words that join you to him who swallowed death for you and gives you life.  It is to this Baptism that you return when you hear the words that Jesus commanded his disciples to speak to you. 

We don’t believe in rebaptism, a new baptism for as many times as we sin or fall away – because Baptism is not our work.  It is God’s.  And so we go to where God commanded words to be spoken, that your sins are forgiven, that if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved.  So these are the words that are spoken to you when your sins are forgiven – because Jesus said, “Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” So you are forgiven.  Jesus had paid for them.  And here is your confidence for spiritual life today and eternal life tomorrow.  Amen.