Sermon -- 2nd Sunday of Easter (Apri 12, 2026)

THE RISEN SAVIOR BRINGS PEACEFUL ASSURANCE.

JOHN 20:19-31

In the name + of Jesus.

      “On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together behind locked doors because of their fear of the Jews” (John 20:19).  The Jewish religious leaders had demanded the crucifixion of Jesus.  Jesus’ disciples feared that they were next.  So, they locked themselves in this upper room while the pilgrims in Jerusalem were still celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  But the disciples of Jesus had other fears weighing on them.  By the evening of that first Easter, they had already heard the reports of the women.  The women spoke of the angels at the tomb.  They could even report they had seen the risen Jesus.  Peter and John could report that Jesus’ tomb was, indeed, empty.  This should have resulted in joy; it did not. 

     The disciples remembered the last time they had seen Jesus.  For most, that was in the Garden of Gethsemane.  While Jesus was being apprehended, they fled into the night.  Peter had seen Jesus from Caiaphas’ courtyard right after Peter had denied him three times.  John witnessed Jesus’ death from the foot of the cross.  All had failed him.  If they saw Jesus risen from the dead, what could they say to him?  What would he say to them?  They may have feared the Jews, but they probably feared seeing Jesus, too.

     “Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.  So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20).  The risen Savior brought a peaceful assurance.  He did not come to express disappointment or regret.  He did not bear a grudge.  Yes, they all failed him, but he had paid for that sin and for every other sin they had committed. 

     “Peace be with you!” he said.  While our translation says that he showed them his hands and side after he declared peace to them, it is also possible to translate it this way: “As he said this, he showed them his hands and side” (John 20:20, emphasis added).  This gesture would have been more than just an identifier, that is, Jesus showing himself as the crucified one.  It would also have been the proof that God’s peace was theirs.  The marks on Jesus showed that this is how their sins were paid for.  Jesus’ risen body is the proof that the payment was sufficient.  The Lord was not angry with them.  He sought no vengeance against them.  The risen Savior brings a peaceful assurance.  Sins are forgiven.  The Lord blesses you.  His face shines upon you.  He gives you peace.

     Unfortunately, peace eluded one of the apostles.  Thomas was not there.  Thomas had just as much reason for fear and guilt as the other apostles.  Sadly, his fear and his guilt still ruled over him.  He would not believe the testimony of the women.  He would not believe the claims of his fellow apostles.  None of them had a reason to lie to him.  And certainly their joy and enthusiasm should have convinced Thomas that they were telling him the truth.  But when someone is consumed by fear and guilt, that is the only thing they believe.  The prophet Isaiah declared, “There is no peace, says the LORD, for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22).  If you are weighed down by your sin, you have no peace.  That is when the devil will seize you with unbelief and despair.

     Judas Iscariot is the chief example of this.  Judas had betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.  But St. Matthew notes, “When Judas … saw that Jesus was condemned, he felt remorse.  He brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’  But they said, ‘What is that to us?  That’s your problem’” (Matthew 27:3-4).  The priests did nothing to atone for his sin.  For Judas, there was no pardon, no peace; therefore, there was no hope or comfort.  Since Judas could not fix or reverse what he had done, he chose to kill himself rather than to live with the burden of guilt.

     Judas’ suicide was tragic enough, but dying in unbelief and despair meant that Judas perished eternally.  Judas’ story is especially sad, because the risen Savior had come to bring peaceful assurance to sinners.  It is also sad that Judas’ story is repeated by so many.  Perhaps you know the terrible burden of sin, the likes of which haunted Judas.  Perhaps you are weighed down by guilt that will not lighten up.  People who are hounded by such guilt often deal with it in destructive ways.  Some medicate with drugs or alcohol.  Some figure they are a lost cause and choose to continue in their sin.  If you’re going to hell anyway, why not?  Others, like Judas, feel the only way to escape guilt and despair is by killing themselves.  But there is no forgiveness in any of these.  There is no peace.  And, saddest of all, there is only hell that awaits those who die in their sins.

     No one should have to live with such a burden of guilt.  No one needs to wallow in despair.  You have a Savior whose wounds testify that your sins have been paid for.  The feet that took Jesus to Mt. Calvary were nailed to the cross for you.  The hands that brought healing to the hurting were driven into the wood to bring healing to your troubled conscience.  Jesus’ heart—so filled with compassion for sinners—was pierced for you.  It brought forth a flow of blood and water which provide cleansing for all sin and guilt.  The Savior who died to rescue from sin, death, and hell now lives and declares, “Peace be with you!  You have been acquitted of all guilt.  You have received a full pardon.  The cloud of guilt has been lifted.  The sun of grace shines upon you now!”  The risen Savior brings peaceful assurance to you.

     To further assure you of that peace, Jesus had commissioned his ministers to deliver it to you.  “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you!  Just as the Father has sent me, I am also sending you.’  After saying this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whenever you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven.  Whenever you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven’” (John 20:21-23).  Jesus has given charge to his ministers not merely to talk about the forgiveness of sins, but to administer it. 

     If you were a defendant in a court of law, you could ponder the idea of being acquitted.  You could dream about it, pray for it, and hope for it.  While such thoughts would be appealing, none of them would acquit you.  Nor would it do you any good if the judge sat in his chamber and thought good thoughts about you.  Even if he sat at his desk and muttered to himself, “That guy should go free,” how would that help you at all?  The only way you can be acquitted in a court of law is to have a judge formally declare you “Not guilty.” 

     Likewise, you don’t find forgiveness in your own private thoughts.  And it would not do you any good if God sat in his heavenly glory and thought good thoughts about you.  How would you know if he did or didn’t?  To know that your sins are forgiven, the judge must formally declare you, “Not guilty.”  All judgment has been entrusted to the Son.  Jesus will come again and sentence people either to everlasting life or everlasting damnation.  His verdict is the only one that matters.  Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have won your pardon from all sin.  But to know that you are forgiven, it must be formally proclaimed to you.  The Lord Jesus has commissioned his ministers to do just that.  You have forgiveness delivered to you as the minister speaks in the stead and by the command of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The “I forgive you” is the voice of your Savior, delivered through the mouth of his minster.  In this way, the risen Savior brings peaceful assurance to you.

     You know Jesus’ words and promises.  They were applied to you in your baptism.  So, day after day, you can be confident that you stand forgiven before the Lord.  However, like the apostles, you may have a sin that haunts you and will not let you go.  For such times, the Lord summons you to private confession and absolution.  It is private; you are the only one present.  So, there is no confusion about who is meant when the absolution is proclaimed.  Jesus, through his minister, brings the peaceful assurance, “I forgive you.”  Jesus sends you home justified; you get to depart in peace.

     The apostle Thomas was not present that first week to hear Jesus proclaim peace.  On the next Sunday, Thomas was with them.  Suddenly, Jesus stood in the midst of his disciples again.  And what did he say to Thomas?  “Tsk, tsk, tsk.  You should have listened to these guys.  I am so disappointed in you”?  Rather than shame Thomas for his guilt, fear, and doubting, Jesus declared, “‘Peace be with you,’ he said.  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands.  Take your hand and put it into my side.  Do not continue to doubt, but believe’” (John 20:26-27).  Once again, the risen Savior showed the wounds that he received to take away the guilt of sinners.  Once again, the risen Savior showed himself the victor over death and the one who has the right to pardon all offenses.  Once again, the risen Savior brought peaceful assurance. 

     Now, if Jesus’ appearance to Thomas was for his sole benefit, it would not have been recorded for yours.  The Holy Spirit guided St. John to record these things to give you further assurance and greater peace.  John acknowledged that there is much more that he could have written.  No doubt, it would have been fascinating.  But the Holy Spirit does not waste his breath with anecdotes and trivia.  He is intentionally selective about what is written and about what we need to know.  St. John acknowledged that.  He wrote: “Jesus, in the presence of his disciples, did many other miraculous signs that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31). 

     The risen Savior brings peaceful assurance.  It was shown in the wounds he sustained in making the payment for our sins.  It was shown in the immortal, resurrected body which proves the payment is sufficient.  Jesus’ risen body also provides a glimpse of the immortality that awaits us at our resurrection.  That peaceful assurance is proclaimed when sinners are absolved by Christ’s ministers who speak and act in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ.  And it is bestowed on the pages of Scripture which are written for your hope and comfort. 

     Jesus Christ is risen.  He lives to bring peaceful assurance.  You get to live in peace.  You get to die in peace.  And you will receive everlasting peace.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.