Sermon manuscript:
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had
said this, he breathed on the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold
forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
These words were spoken on the evening of Easter day. In the
morning the women had found the tomb empty. The angels told them that Jesus was
not there because he had risen from the dead. Our reading tells us what
happened the evening of Easter day. The disciples were gathered together in an
upper room with the doors locked. Jesus appeared before them and spoke with
them as you have heard.
The words that Jesus speaks are extremely important for us
Christians. There are two things that are shown to us by his words. First, his
words show us the meaning of what Jesus has accomplished during Holy Week.
Second, his words show us what the Christian Church is for, and what it is to
be engaged in. These are very important and practical things that every
Christian should have a firm grasp of: What is the meaning of what Jesus
accomplished during Holy Week, and what is the Christian Church supposed to be
doing?
The meaning of what Jesus accomplished is shown by Jesus’s
words: “Peace to you.” Maybe a more modern way
of saying what Jesus said is, “Everything’s going to be alright.” When there is
chaos, when there is danger, when there is pain and uncertainty, it is a very
good thing to hear: “Everything’s going to be alright.”
It matters who says this, though. If somebody doesn’t
understand what is going on, then them saying this isn’t very reassuring. But
if Dad says, “Everything’s going to be alright,” or the policeman says,
“everything’s going to be alright,” or the doctor says, “everything’s going to
be alright”—someone with knowledge and authority—all of a sudden the troubles
and fears look more manageable. Everything’s going to be alright.
In the case of Easter evening, the one who is speaking is
Jesus. He is true God, begotten of the Father from eternity. As he says in the
last chapter of Matthew: “All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to him.” So if he says, “Peace to you,” or “Everything’s going to be alright,” you would do
well to believe that. God is speaking.
So what is troubling you today? Has money been tight? Have
relationships been strained? Are you depressed? Are you dying? Everything’s
going to be alright. Maybe it’s not much comfort to hear just a pastor say
that. What does a pastor know? I’ve known some pretty foolish pastors. But you
should not take these words as though any mere human being is saying them, but
that Jesus, the Son of God, is saying them—and all authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to him.
And it’s clear that if I or any other Christian should say
to you, “Peace to you,” or “Everything is going
to be alright,” this is not just the Christian who is saying this. Jesus is
saying this because he sent out his disciples to say this.
Listen again to what Jesus said:
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And
when he had said this, he breathed on the disciples and said to them, “Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you
withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
Jesus says, “As the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you.” That means that a pastor’s or a
Christian’s forgiveness is not just Joe Schmo’s forgiveness. They are doing
what they’ve been told. They are but the instrument through whom Jesus speaks. A
pastor’s forgiveness or a Christian’s forgiveness is not just their
forgiveness. It’s God’s forgiveness.
Perhaps you noticed, though, that Jesus does not just speak
about forgiving sins, he also speaks about not forgiving sins. He says: “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you
withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” Who, then, should be
told that they are forgiven, and who should be told that they are not forgiven?
Those who must be told that they are forgiven are those who
repent of their sins, who want to change their ways and do better. On the other
hand, those who are unrepentant, who do not want to change, must be told that
they are not forgiven until they do repent.
This requires a good, sturdy backbone. I’ve never come
across anyone who has gotten upset by being told that his or her sins are
forgiven. I’ve experienced several people who have gotten very upset at being
told they must repent and change their ways. This is not surprising, because we
are all like that. Not a single one of us likes to be told that we are wrong,
that we must change our ways.
If the goal of being a Christian was merely to have everyone
like you and always to say nice things about you, then there’d be no sense in ever
telling anyone to repent. But I think I can show you the necessity of speaking
both words that Jesus gives us to speak by using an analogy.
Suppose that someone had a very bad fall and ended up with a
very badly broken leg. The break is so bad that the bone is sticking out of the
skin—really nasty. Where do you go when something like that happens? You go to
the hospital.
But let’s say at this hospital they had all made it a rule
that they should never, ever cause anybody any pain. You shouldn’t even hurt
anyone’s feelings. So this guy comes into the hospital and the doctors and
nurses take a look at him and they all say there’s nothing wrong! The patient
says, “Look! My bone is sticking out of my leg.” These doctors and nurses say,
“No, that’s just how some bones are. You have perfect health! Go, be happy and
healthy!”
A person could die from medical treatment like that. The
wound could become infected and so on. Those doctors and nurses are horrible at
what they are supposed to be doing. They don’t know what they are doing. They’re
completely confused about the mission that has been given to them.
But let’s make the analogy a little less dramatic. There’s a
break again, but not as bad. The bone isn’t sticking out, but the broken bones aren’t
lined up anymore, and they need to be set. Have you ever had to get a bone set?
If the bones don’t match up they can never heal, or at least they can never
heal very well. But to set the bone can be very difficult and painful. Tremendous
force needs to be applied to the limb to bring the bone back into alignment.
I’ve heard stories about people howling in pain as the doctors and nurses tug
and pry at them to straighten out that which is crooked.
The Christian Church is meant to be a hospital for souls.
Our goal is spiritual health, that is, a good relationship with God. The tools
we have been given for this are plainly laid out for us in our Gospel reading.
The newly resurrected Jesus tells his disciples that they have the Holy Spirit.
Whosoever’s sins they forgive, they are forgiven; whosoever’s sins they retain,
they are retained. It is by the preaching of God’s Law, of what is right and
wrong, that sinners come to an awareness of their condition. Sometimes this
takes some harsh speaking and unpleasant discipline. Maybe an unrepentant
member of the congregation will no longer be able to take communion. Maybe a
member could be removed from membership or excommunicated.
Actions like these are not done very often or very
energetically these days because most people don’t believe that spiritual
health or spiritual illness is real, or maybe such things are not seen as unimportant.
Plus it takes a lot of faith in Jesus’s words. Jesus tells us how we should be
Christians and act as the Christian Church, but our own ways seem like they
would work better for making the church grow. Telling someone that his or her
sins are withheld does not seem like it will grow a congregation.
But I’m afraid that we Christians have become like those
silly doctors and nurses that I talked about. We are not clear about our
mission, about what we should be doing. Our mission is to help people get to
heaven. What good is a Christian congregation that doesn’t believe that sins
are serious, that sinners, without repentance, will go to hell? What help can a
congregation like that provide?
We must be a congregation that actually helps sinners
instead of a congregation that tells lies to sinners. And here’s the amazing
thing: the truth is actually on the side of us sinners. It is not our sins that
bar us from heaven. Jesus has died and completely atoned for all sin. It is
unrepentance and unbelief that bar us from heaven and leave us in our sins. The
only way unrepentance and unbelief can be overcome is by the Holy Spirit
working through the Word of God with its retaining and forgiving of our sins.
No project, no activity, no popularity, so special music—nothing that a
congregation might try to do can substitute what Jesus gave us Christians to do
on Easter evening.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had
said this, he breathed on the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold
forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
If we have the courage to follow Jesus’s words—if we forgive
the sins of repentant sinners and withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as
long as they do not repent—if we have the courage to do this as a congregation
then good must come to us. It has to come to us because we will be following
Jesus’s words. We will be a true spiritual hospital, helping sinners to leave
their sins behind and to find peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Stand to receive a blessing:
There is a peace that the world cannot give. This peace is
yours in our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything is going to be alright.
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