John 20:19-23
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
On the first day of the week, the evening of resurrection Sunday, the disciples were locking themselves in a room to hide, out of fear. Fear of what? Of who? Just that morning Christ had been risen from the dead, just as He said. Just that morning, women preached the gospel of the resurrected Christ to them. Just that morning, they ran to the tomb to see if it was true, and saw that it was.
Perhaps too true. Perhaps at this point it had finally settled upon them that they had so badly misunderstood the purpose of the Messiah. Perhaps the shame of their abandonment of Christ had finally settled in. Perhaps they felt shame, failure, and guilt. But most of all, they must have felt afraid. Afraid of what the Jews from whom they were hiding must have thought – who of course accused them immediately of stealing the body of Christ from the tomb. But most of all, afraid of the resurrection itself.
As you know, no mere man can resurrect himself. Religious leaders cannot resurrect themselves, nor can kings, nor revolutionaries, nor wise sages, nor self help gurus. But Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ has died and yet He is alive. The Messiah, was supposed to live, not die. He was supposed to free the Israelites from civil tyranny and suffering under Rome, not leave them under it and tell them to submit to it. He was supposed to help man attain salvation by the doing of the Law, not increase its already un-do-able standards. And yet He did die,. He did suffer and encouraged us to suffer along with Him, and He did teach commandments that none of us can do. So what might that mean for the disciples? What might it mean for us?
Surely, we’ve been in similar situations ourselves. We’ve heard the gospel, the life, death, and resurrection of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. We’ve investigated the evidence for the resurrection and wrestled with what it means that Christ is truly risen. And I bet there’s been times where you too have locked yourself away from others out of fear after having seen. Afraid of what they’ll say if you believe not only in Jesus and His teachings of love and grace, but also in His resurrection, also in the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, also in the exclusivity of the gospel message. So often we find ourselves caught between the command of Christ and the scorn of the people around us. For the disciples that was the Jews. But for us it might be our family, our friends, or our colleagues. The Gospel is now and was then and forever is going to be a stumbling block to some, and foolishness to others.
There is always much talk among clergy of being sent by God. Sent to do this and to do that. To fulfill the great commission, to make disciples, to teach, to rebuke, to help, to comfort.
But what if, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, Christ sent us out to forgive the sins of others. What if He said something like, Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. Would that change how we do ministry? What if being sent out had more to do with the action of forgiveness, than it did with personal growth, social justice, pro-life action, theological learning, or anything else. What if “go and make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, was to be understood in light of the Nicene creed’s “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins?” Because this is the call given out in the Gospel text for this Lord’s Day. Go, preach, but preach the forgiveness of sins. Go, comfort sinners, but do so through the forgiveness of sins. Go, administer sacraments, and as you do so, do it for the forgiveness of sins. Do it as cleansed leppers, do it as soul doctors. Do it how ever you must do it, however you know how to do it, but for Christ’s sake, do it. It will be provocative, it will be foolish, and you will want to hide away in a locked room. But it will be there, in your weakness and fear that Christ will find you, where He will grant you peace, and from that place of humility He will send you as sheep among wolves, and this He will do so that the sins of the world may be forgiven through the preaching of fools. Peace be with you, in the name of Christ I forgive all of your sins, now go and do likewise.
