John 20.19-29

Easter Two

Hymns: 226, 145, 165, 159

Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, I asked the question, "What is the message of Easter?" We greeted each other by saying, "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!" So, is that the message of Easter... Christ is risen? Of course it is.

However, that’s not the entire message. In fact, I would hope that you would see that there is another underlying message that is inseparable tied to the "Christ is risen" message.

To say that Christ is reason means that he is no longer dead... that he is alive. And so we would say, "Good for Jesus that he’s alive." Good for him. But there is more. "Good for us that Jesus is alive because Jesus’ resurrection was not only good for him but also good for the entire human race, people from every nation and tribe and language, people who live in countries that are on the leading edge of technology and people who live in third world countries. The underlying message of Easter is that because Christ rose from the dead, we are forgiven, our sins no longer condemn us or keep us out of heaven when we die. The message of Easter is all about the forgiveness of sins and the promise of heaven to all who believe that.

And this is the message Jesus conveyed to his disciples one week after his resurrection. But it was more than a message; it was an assignment. Our text tells us that Jesus breathed on his disciples and said (v 23). Keep in mind what was going on here: Jesus was telling his disciples what they would be doing now that he had completed the work of salvation. Jesus was telling them that they, who were the first leaders of the Christian Church, were going to be in the "forgiving and not forgiving" business. This is the message of Easter...forgiveness. And the meaning of Easter is that THE CHURCH IS IN THE FOR-GIVING AND THE NOT FORGIVING BUSINESS.
 

First, the context. It was one week after Jesus’ resurrection when he appeared in the middle of a room where Jesus’ disci-ples huddled together, "for fear of the Jews," we are told. They assumed that some of their fellow Jews, the ones who wanted Jesus dead, were going to hunt them down and kill them, too. So they went into hiding and were so paralyzed with fear that they dropped out of circulation. They knew Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb but they didn’t believe it was because he was alive, risen from the dead. They didn’t believe the women who told the disciples that they had seen Jesus alive. They weren’t ready yet to get out among the people to spread the message of Jesus’ resurrection and what that meant. So Jesus showed up...just appeared in the middle of the room, not by walking through the door...he just appeared. Can’t you see the scene unfold? The disciples had been talking about...who knows what, maybe strategizing about what they would tell Caiaphas if they were brought before his court or how to explain to people who had come to believe in Jesus that he who raised people from the dead was now dead, and then Jesus was standing in front of them! They looked at Jesus...then at each other...than at Jesus again. No one said anything, not even Peter!

When Jesus showed them the nail marks in his hands and feet they believed it was he...that Jesus was truly alive. That’s when he said (v 21-23). Jesus had completed what his Father sent him to do, that is, he died on a cross and rose again to pay for the sins of all people. It was sin that caused Adam and Eve to die. It is our sins that causes our death. "The wages of sin is death," that is, eternal death. The wages of sin is the punishment of hell. That is what every human being is facing after death...eternal damnation in hell. Jesus died on a cross and rose again because his Father sent him to pay for sin so that all of the human race can be forgiven and go to heaven and not hell after we die. That’s why we would say that Easter is all about forgiveness, that Jesus rose from the dead so that all can be forgiven. Easter is all about the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. And now that he finished that work, Jesus’ disciples would be the first Christians to spread the message of Easter by telling people that their sins are forgiven.

There’s one catch. While Jesus paid for everyone’s sins only the people who believe that are forgiven and go to heaven.

That’s what the disciples would tell people and that’s what I tell people and that’s what you tell people. "Whoever believes is saved," the Bible says, and "whoever does not believe is damned." So we say that the church is in the forgiving and the not forgiving business (v 22,23).

It’s quite simple, actually...how it works, that is. We could com-pare it to a doctor by saying that doctors are in the "getting better" and in the "not getting better" business. If your doctor prescribes a certain course of protocol for you to get healthy, and you follow his/her advice, you will get better. However, if you don’t follow what your doctor suggests, you won’t get better (but it’s your fault, not the doctor’s fault). And that’s what you doctor will tell you, too. Follow my prescription and you will get better; if you choose not to follow it, you won’t get better. So we say that doctors are in the "getting better" and in the "not getting better" business.

So it is with the church. When Jesus told his disciples (v. 22, 23), he means this: when his disciples (and today, that includes you and me) tell someone about Jesus...that he is the world’s Savior who paid for everyone’s sins when he died on the cross and rose again, and that everyone who believes this has the for-giveness of sins and everyone who does not believe it does not have the forgiveness of sins. And that’s what you are to tell people. You need to be honest with them, as your doctor would be honest with you. You tell people: Believe in Jesus who paid for your sins and you are forgiven; if you chose not to believe in Jesus, your sins are not forgiven. That’s just being honest when the church, you and I, tell people what will happen whether they believe or don’t believe in Jesus. The church is in the forgiving and the not forgiving business.

The hope is that when you tell people that by not believing in Jesus they are not forgiven, they will ask for more information so they can be forgiven. And that’s your goal. You don’t want to tell someone who’s not a Christian that it’s OK if they don’t believe in Jesus because they will not go to heaven when they die. Be honest. Tell them they will not go to heaven when they die so they want more information. Then you can tell them that Jesus paid for their sins and if they believe, you can tell them they are forgiven. The church is in the business to get people into heaven by telling them what will happen if they don’t believe in Jesus. Thus the church is in the forgiving and the not forgiving business. Both are necessary but the forgiving side of the business is more fun.