[Hermann Herzog 1831-1932]
Sermon
Text: John 20:19-31
Title: “Sailing the Sea of Sin.”
I. Without Christ there is only doubt and
death.
II. With Christ there is faith and life.
BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO
HAVE NOT SEEN AND YET BELIEVE IN THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST FOR THEIR
SALVATION.
In
the name of the Father and the Son + and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace,
mercy, and peace from God our Father, and from our LORD and Savior Jesus
Christ. Amen.
The
text for the homily for this Second Sunday of Easter, is taken from the Gospel
lesson appointed. I would read again a portion of these verses…
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,[c] 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.”
24 Now Thomas, one of
the Twelve, called the Twin,[d] was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the
other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “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.”
26 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.” 27
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.” 28 Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed
because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed.”
30 Now Jesus did many
other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book; 31 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.
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I.
Poor
Thomas. Throughout the history of the Church the disciple known at Thomas has
been connected to this moment – this place of doubt. So you get the phrase,
“doubting Thomas.” Earlier in the text Thomas was out when Jesus first appeared
to the disciples, and later when they were telling him what they had seen and
heard, Thomas basically said a line from a famous RUSH song – Show me, don’t
tell me!
Then
our text next tells us that eight days had passed and again the disciples were
together and this time Thomas was with them - locked in their room, and Jesus
appears to them once again. After greeting them with the peace, Jesus immediately
turns to the doubter and shows him and then tells him to believe!
And
upon seeing and touching and hearing, Thomas’ answer is one of deep and profound
faith. He says to Jesus My Lord and my
God!
Thomas
– upon seeing Jesus, at being able to put his fingers where the nails were, at
being able to place his hand where the spear had pierced our LORD’S side, after
all of this Thomas, who said he would not believe – now believes. And although Jesus is pleased as punch to
hear this proclamation of great – you can hear the disappointment in Jesus’
voice when He says to Thomas…
“Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have believed.”
But
let’s give credit where credit is due. Thomas wasn’t always doubting. He had
his bright moments too.
Remember
back to the time of Lazarus’ death in John chapter 11 – right about two weeks
before Jesus is in the upper room. Jesus had heard of the death of His friend
and after a couple of days He said to the disciples that they should leave and
go to see Lazarus and his family. But the disciples objected to the journey.
John writes
Rabbi, the Jews were
just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?
They
knew that Jesus was in danger – that He walked with a big target on His back
and they were protective of their LORD. In John chapter 10 just before going to
Lazarus, the Jews – after hearing Him preach – sought to stone Him. Judea was a
very dangerous place for Jesus to be at this time.
But
after some discussion on Jesus’ part, He tells them that is exactly where He is
going to go, to Judea, a place filled with hate and murder for Him.
And
it is in this moment that we hear and we see the devotion, faith, and love that
Thomas has for Jesus. But Thomas surprises here doesn’t he? No – he doesn’t try
to persuade Jesus not to go. No. Knowing exactly what he is getting into by
being associated with Jesus, Thomas speaks up and says to the other disciples…
Let us also go, that
we may die with him.
Doesn’t
sound like a doubter to me! I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to say
that. It doesn’t sound like the other disciples were daring enough to say such
a thing. But here we have Thomas willing to die for what and who he believes
in.
Who
does Thomas sound like? Thomas sounds a bit like us doesn’t he? One minute
ready to set the world on fire for Jesus, maybe even ready to die for the
faith. The next minute? When something doesn’t go our way, when some tragedy
comes into our lives, there we are like Thomas again – only this time
doubting.
Such
is the life of Thomas – a believer in Jesus – and such is the life for us
believers too. This – unfortunately – is the life we lead as Christians. One
day we are praying and going to church and attending Bible study and we are
overjoyed in the lives we are leading in Christ – and the next day we find
ourselves overcome by the world. We’ve missed church a lot, we haven’t prayed
in days or weeks, our Bibles are getting dusty and the joy has fled away.
One
time during the week following Easter I had an email exchange with someone from
my church and was ecstatic to hear this person pour out her heart to me and to
hear how on fire she was for the LORD. It brought tears to my eyes to hear such
devotion for her Savior. When I wrote her back I told her how happy I was for
her. At the same time I warned her. I told her to be on the lookout, for it is
now that the devil will try and snatch all that is good away from her.
The
devil is on the prowl, like a lion as St. Peter says, waiting to pounce on us
and devour us. Who are his eyes set upon? Who are his prey? Christians. Us. We
are the ones that are on their way to heaven. And this heaven is something he
can’t have anymore. And therefore, he hates us like nothing else and is looking
for a way to pull us away from our Savior and His salvation.
Take
a boat for example. A tiny leak in a boat can be devastating. It can cause the
boat to sink and the person in the boat to drown.
This
is what the devil is looking for, that tiniest leak in our boat. He is trying
to sink us. And he will do any and everything to exploit that leak, to make it
grow, to destroy it and all who are inside of it, to sink us in the sea of
sin. That’s what he was doing with
Thomas, and that’s what he does to us too.
II.
And
you know what? We have nothing to worry
about. Jesus is on our side and He is there to see us through the tough times. He
is there to pick us up when we are down. He is there for a shoulder to cry on. He
is there, always.
Yes,
like Thomas, we will have leaks in our boats of faith. But Jesus is greater
than the devil. Jesus gets into our boat and He patches the hole in our boat
with the wood of His Cross – sealing it with His love and forgiveness.
And
He gives us gifts to help us along the way. He gives us the Bible, His Holy
Word. He gives us faithful pastors to teach and preach that Word for better
understanding. He gives us Holy Baptism to wash the sin right off of us. He
gives us Holy Communion to feed us and nourish and sustain us. All of this He
gives us for the forgiveness of all of our sins. These are the great gifts we
have been given to help us on our way.
And
you know what else? Now that He’s in our boat, He will do all of the work. You
can read your Bible every day. You can go to church every Sunday. You can be
baptized and you can go to the LORD’S table, but none of this stuff that you
do is good enough to get you in to heaven. Jesus has to do all of
that work Himself. And He has done that work on His Cross. And so Jesus picks up the oars of our lives
and He rows us to that heavenly shore. And there standing on that bright
white shore of heaven is the Father, waiting to greet us, ready to welcome us
home from a life on the sea of sin, a place we will never see again. Amen.
The
peace of the LORD – which surpasses all understanding – will guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.
+ Soli Deo Gloria +
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