It’s A Matter of Ownership

Second Sunday of Easter
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. 
Michael J. Moffitt April 07, 2024

SCRIPTURE John 20:19-31

Today is the second Sunday in Easter. Last week we had the joy to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It was a refreshing time after having spent 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter morning. That was a time of focusing on our sins as the reason that Jesus went to the cross. It was a sobering time where our focus was also on the glory of the Son of God who was willing to take on flesh and live among us as one of us. There has never been nor could there ever be an act of such love and selflessness than Jesus’ death on the cross. However, we also considered that it was at the request of the Father that Jesus the Son of God came to pay the price of our sin. It’s humbling to realize that the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit deliberately came to the rescue and transformation of those who didn’t deserve mercy but judgment. By the way, that’s all of us, in case you wondered.

As to the church calendar, we are in Eastertide, the season of Easter which is 50 days long. It is modeled after the Jewish Calendar where there is 50 days from Passover to Shavuot or Pentecost. For Christians, during this season, the common greetings are, “He is Risen!” and “He is Risen indeed!” Jaroslav Pelikan an American scholar of the history of Christianity and Christian theology at Yale University once said, “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters, and if Christ is not risen, then nothing else matters”

When anyone comes to genuinely believe that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the Father where he rules and reigns in righteousness, nothing else has the same level of importance as that one fact. In truth everything else is to be seen through this truth and all of life revolves around it. To forget that is to end up focusing on other things that in essence become the objects of our worship. Hudson Taylor, a Christian missionary to China and founder of China Inland Mission, once said, “Jesus Christ is either Lord of all, or is not Lord at all.”

During the Easter season the hope is that the truths of scripture will be rekindled in our hearts and renew our focus on the joy and power of the resurrection. As Hebrews 6:18b-19a reminds us, “We who have fled to him for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is still debated by scholars around the world because of all the religions of the world, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. Last week we read from Psalm 118: 22-24,

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

The physical resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of Christianity.

In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis considers the historical background and significance of the Resurrection: “In the earliest days of Christianity an “apostle” was first and foremost a man who claimed to be an eyewitness of the Resurrection… to preach Christianity meant primarily to preach the Resurrection…” You’ll notice that the Resurrection is the central theme in every Christian sermon reported in the Book of Acts.

We must be careful to not allow the truth of the resurrection to become such a familiar theme that we cease being amazed and encouraged by the truth of it. This morning my hope is that God will enable us to see it afresh and have the hope within us made alive as never before.

I believe that this will be our rock, our cornerstone no matter what is happening all around us. For that to happen we must be intentional in our focus and pursuit of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb, and we considered it from the perspective of the gospel of Mark 16:1–8. This morning we will continue this story from John 20:19–31 where we will consider the beginning of the church as the body of Christ.

Let’s look again at John 20:19–21,

“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.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Verse 19 could easily have read, “and later that same day” because this is the same day that it was discovered that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. The disciples have locked themselves in the room where they are staying because they were afraid that the Jewish religious authorities would seek to arrest them because they were Jesus’ disciples. Last week I thought it likely that the angel had rolled the stone away from the tomb in order for the women and disciples to see that the tomb was empty. The truth is that Jesus in his resurrected body could have merely walked through the stone. We see an example of this in John’s account of Jesus suddenly appearing to the disciples even though the door was locked. Jesus appears in the room and says, “Peace be with you”—which was a common greeting, but also would have been most welcome considering that they had each betrayed Jesus.

I want to briefly go back to one part of the beginning of Jesus ministry. You likely remember the temptation of Christ that happened after his baptism by John the Baptist. Immediately after his baptism Matthew 4:1 recalls that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days and nights. It’s the third temptation that I want to briefly mention. Listen to Matthew 4: 8-10,

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

Though God is sovereign over all things and the King of kings, he chose Adam as his representative or some call his role as a vice regent, to rule the earth and have dominion over it. The result of the fall of man is that Adam handed his vice regency of the kingdom to Satan in Genesis 3. In doing so Satan became the “god” of this world. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 4:4, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

In essence Adam handed the “keys of the kingdom” of this world to Satan. Because Satan was a higher being than man at the time of his fall, “man” could never regain the kingdom by himself. Adam, made in the image of God, was to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28) and to subdue the earth and spread the image of God over all creation. But he failed by disobeying God and all of creation fell with him. In essence, this meant that instead of God’s image being spread throughout creation, the image of man corrupted by evil, the image of the evil one was spread.

Now this is very important. The life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed all that. He regained his kingdom on earth and made it possible for redeemed man to once again, through the preaching of the Gospel, to spread God’s image throughout the world. Satan was now bound in that he could no longer deceive the nations. The gospel was to go out to all the world. Satan though defeated continues to try and deceive all that he can. The day will come when the spreading of God’s image is complete, and Christ will return in glory to take his church to the new heavens and the new earth.

I wanted to make this clear because without that important emphasis Jesus’ sudden entrance into the place where the disciples were hiding lacks the powerful entrance that it was. Within the process of Jesus’ death and resurrection an important change of ownership and a change of title had taken place. He was not merely their Master and teacher, but the King of kings and Lord of lords. He was the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end. He was the Son of David who continued on the eternal throne of David. He was the Creator of the universe, and as the Apostle John would later declare in John 1:3-5, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The disciples then were to resume the task given to Adam, and they would be the redeemed sons and daughters of God, the inheritors of the Kingdom. So as they huddled in the room covered in fear, guilt, and shame, Jesus comes to bring them the assurance of peace with God.

This is the most amazing event to ever transpire on the earth. Jesus, the new owner of the earthly kingdom would send back the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to seal the deal. This event must be understood for the thing that happened when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” while on the cross is that creation that had fallen with Adam, responded.

Matthew 27:51, “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” Creation itself responded to the glorious Saviors cry because through his death sin was atoned for and even creation responded to the hope that through this event all things would ultimately be restored. The veil being torn into from top to bottom removed the barrier that separated men from God. Heaven had now been open to a new royal priesthood in Christ (1 Peter 2:9). The sacrifice to appease the justice of God had been accepted. When Jesus said “peace” , “it’s done” was the message.

“Boot Camp” was over- the warriors of the kingdom were being commissioned and prepared for spiritual battle. In 50 days at Pentecost, the attack against the kingdom of darkness would commence. The enemy would re-act badly because once again he had lost the war against the creator God. Jesus had defeated sin and death. Man had given away the keys of the kingdom in the Garden of Eden. Now man redeemed by the blood of the Lamb would recover what was lost, returning it to the rightful owner. This was the way that God revealed his power and his love by restoring those who would bow before the risen savior. Those would be the ones who would help prepare the earth for the coming of the Heavenly kingdom.

This time Jesus was going to lead them into the kind of peace that went beyond the sentiment of a greeting but would be nestled deep within their hearts and would provide lasting comfort. The Prince of Peace is standing before them and the greeting “Peace be with you” is to be seen through the words of Jesus “It is finished” on the cross, because now through his finished work there is peace with God for those who embrace him by faith.

In John 16:22 Jesus had told them,

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Now for the second time Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Jesus in giving them his commission, gives them his peace to let them know that he hasn’t come to chastise them for running away at his arrest. The Father had sent the Son which meant that in the words, works, and person of Jesus, men were confronted not just by a Jewish rabbi but by God himself. It would then be true that in the apostolic mission of the church the world is not confronted by a mere human institution but by Jesus the Son of God. In the same way that Jesus in his humanity was totally dependent on and obedient to the Father, the church would need to follow the same path as Jesus and therefore would need the same power and authority to accomplish all that he was sending them to do. Let’s read verses 22-23:

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus imparting the Holy Spirit by breathing on the disciples was a major event in the Gospels, but it does not fulfill the promises that he made earlier in the Gospel. Jesus had promised that the Spirit would be sent to the disciples after he returned to the Father and this would be the Helper, Counselor, and the one who would bear witness of Jesus. What John is describing is Jesus’ ordaining the disciples for mission—not just for them, but for the whole world.

The actual beginning of the call on their lives will begin at Pentecost where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit changes the disciples completely as they are empowered to fulfill the calling to go into the whole world in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. In the breathing of the Spirit upon the disciples Jesus is preparing them for ministry. Remember that Thomas is not present when the Spirit is given, yet he is the one who confesses Jesus as Lord, which is a confession that is the work of the Spirit. This would suggest that the breathing out of the Spirit was not simply directed to those within the room but was the Holy Spirit being released into the world in a new way that begins to bring about new life where faith is found. The disciples enter into a new phase in their life with God, but until the outpouring of the Spirit, he is commissioning them to be his witnesses.

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

The disciples would bear witness to Jesus by being the presence of Christ through the Spirit. In this way they would be the prophets and teachers who confront the world about their rejection of God and his word, just as Jesus had done. As the disciples faithfully bore witness to the Lordship of Jesus both in word and through the examples of their lives and love for each other, the world would be forced to choose for or against Jesus, in the same way that a decision was made for or against him during his ministry. Those who repent and believe in Jesus could be assured of forgiveness and those who refuse to surrender to the Lordship of Christ would be assured that their sins are not forgiven. This is the consequence of rejecting the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. In restoring the ownership of the kingdom back to the true King, to reject him would have the effect that Adam and Eve experienced when they were kicked out of the Garden for choosing the deception of the serpent over the command of God..

The ancient church understood this to be demonstrated through the teaching of baptism as the sacramental sign of forgiveness of sin and the exercise of church discipline on those who continued in their flagrant sins while refusing to repent and turn back to obedience to God in Christ.

Unfortunately, most in the modern church have lost the will to show this kind of love for God’s word and for their members, and the consequences are that many within the institution of the church continue to live without regard for the word of God or the witness of their testimony. They consider themselves forgiven for their sins while continuing to mock God through disobedience to his word. The true act of God’s love is to confront those who feel such comfort and call them to faith lest they die in their sins.

Thomas had not been present on the first day when Jesus entered the room where they were staying. So when he returned the disciples told him about Jesus appearing to them suddenly, though the door was locked. I think his answer reflected his frustration over the events of the last week. Listen to verses 25b -29,

“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Often we hear Thomas referred to as “Doubting Thomas for his stubborn refusal to believe that Jesus was alive after having seen him put to death and buried. The other disciples didn’t believe Mary or the two disciples that testified to having seen the resurrected Lord in Mark’s account, but now in John’s account they have already seen the resurrected Lord and in that sense have moved forward in their faith. Thomas on the other hand has not seen Jesus alive and makes it clear he needs tangible proof that what they is not an illusion.

John doesn’t say whether or not Thomas actually touched Jesus’ wounds, but the impression is that when he encounters Jesus there is no longer a need for proof because he is standing right in front of him. Instead Thomas responds with a confession of faith, “My Lord and my God!”.

Jesus invites Thomas to catch up with the other disciples in their faith but instead he shoots past them with the confession that he now sees Jesus for who he really is. He confesses Jesus as God when he sees the crucified one alive. He now accepts the revelation that Jesus is God in the flesh, but he gets no brownie points from Jesus because faith would be the foundation of Christianity. Like the rest of the disciples, Thomas found Jesus willing to forgive and to impart his peace and power upon him in spite of his initial unbelief.

When he sees the risen Lord, all that Jesus has taught over the years now becomes clear. At the day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit is released upon the believers, and Thomas until his martyrdom was an outspoken Apostle and evangelist for his Lord.

John closes out chapter 20 with an explanation of the purpose for his Gospel. Let read John 20:30–31,

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so 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’s explanation as to the purpose of this book is best understood in light of verse 29, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.” Jesus lived and ministered in the presence of his disciples, and they recorded many things that he did as signs that he was indeed the Messiah and the Son of God. The disciples were to speak and teach about these things so that others “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

They modeled what happens when you encounter the resurrected Lord. It changes everything because everything else is seen and understood through the Lordship of Jesus Christ as seen and experienced through his Word and Spirit.

Do you have that joy and peace that comes through a relationship with Jesus? If not do you want to know him personally? That’s what he offers each of us this morning, even for those who have followed him for many years but have grown tired and need the refreshment of a renewal of faith. Not just a passing acquaintance but a personal, deep-seated, and powerful relationship with God that is only found through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s ours for the asking. In the early church it was the powerful testimony of the disciples through the joy, peace, and power of the Holy Spirit that God used to transform lives and that is still the call upon Jesus’ disciples today.

The invitation of peace and power is still held out to all who would receive it. This Gospel informs us as to the revelation of Jesus Christ as our Lord and this is to be the testimony that we share with those around us. That should be the number 1 priority of our lives and it is abundantly clear that the only hope for our world, our country, our state, our county, our friends, and our church is in the living Lord who resurrected from the dead that we might have life. This season my prayer has been and will be that we become more alive in Christ than ever before and more desirous of sharing our story than ever before.

Let’s pray.