The last 40 years have seen a great increase of persecution of Christianity in the middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, Canada, even here in the United States. Although we see and hear the growing threat to Christians confessing the truths of Christianity here, we still have not experienced persecution to the point of having to deny Christ or be put to death. This kind of persecution is also on the rise around the world by Islamic terrorists, atheists, or corrupt governments.
How are they able to have such a strong and vibrant faith to confess their Lord and Savior even under the threat of extreme torture and death? Could you or I stand up to it? Might we or our children have to experience the ultimate persecution? The flesh is weak, but the power of God is greater.
Take the Apostle Thomas, as an example of God’s power overcoming weakness and unbelief. While the Bible doesn’t tell us much about what happened to Thomas after Pentecost, extra-Biblical histories indicate that Thomas did missionary work to the East.
In fact, historical artifacts place Thomas in the area of Mylapore, India at the time of his death. Thomas died when four soldiers pinned him to the ground with four spears. Before he died, he preached the Word and the Holy Spirit converted many through that Word, so that when the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century they were surprised to find a small Christian community that had survived and spoke of Thomas and even had biblical artwork in their churches. Though it was otherwise unknown by the rest of Christendom, it was not forgotten by the Lord and the power of His Word kept them in the faith during that time.
In spite of all the wonderful work God did through the Apostle Thomas, the world will always remember Thomas as Doubting Thomas. As we heard in today’s text, Thomas had missed the appearance of Jesus on that first Easter evening, and he refused to consider the eye witness account of his fellow disciples.
“Doubting” is not the right word to describe Thomas. He actually said, “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.” Thomas did not say that he wasn’t sure. He said: “I will never believe.” Thomas did not merely doubt. He did not believe.
But let us remember the state of all the followers of Jesus. Grief, fear, sadness, doubt and despair was all their food. Even when the two Marys and Joanna/Salome saw the empty tomb, heard the voice of the angel, and Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and reported these things to the disciples, “these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” So, all the disciples were unbelievers lost in their grief and fear until Jesus revealed Himself to them. Therefore, the first time Jesus showed Himself to the disciples, He was showing Himself to despairing unbelievers.
Jesus would have had the right to show up and scold the disciples. “Hey, I told you over and over and over again that I was going to rise on the third day. You are not my disciples! I am done with you!” Jesus had the right to say that, but He did not. Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They deserved judgement, He gave them peace. Peace to calm their troubled hearts. Peace which is far greater than the peace promised in the politics and materials of this world. It was peace in Jesus Christ. Peace in His presence. Peace in His wounds. Peace from God by the forgiveness of sins. This is the peace of God which can still heavy and burdened consciences. His victorious sacrifice and His love can break through the most hardened unbeliever.
That is why Jesus showed them the wounds of the cross in His hands and side: they were the source of the peace He was bringing. The Law fulfilled. God’s righteous wrath received in Him so that peace could be given to the disciples. So that those disciples, you, me, and all people who have doubted, denied, or disbelieved Jesus could be saved. Though we have deserved judgement, Hell and all misery that could be experienced here and for an eternity, Jesus stands among us here and speaks peace by the forgiveness of sins. Freeing and loosing us from the chains of sin, by His voice of forgiveness; the voice of the crucified and raised conquering son of God and Son of Man. Now despair, unbelief, grief, sadness, ignorance, wrath, and any other anxiety or trouble could be and would be defeated in Him.
Jesus has come to bring you peace between you and God by the forgiveness of your sins, to bring to you eternal life in the midst of death, hope in the midst of despair. This is the most important news of all times and places. This is news that everyone needs to hear. It is this news that can make believers out of unbelievers apologists out of skeptics.
How did Jesus plan to spread this good news throughout the world? Right after He showed Himself to His disciples, Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” To send someone is to make them an apostle. Jesus basically told the disciples, “Up until now, I have been the apostle of the Father. Now, you are to be my apostles.”
Wait! These same men who argued over who was the greatest? The cowards who fled when Jesus was arrested? The ones who refused to be comforted or believe that Jesus had been raised until a moment before? Yes.
Then, as if sending these guys out as His Apostles wasn’t strange enough, He gave them even more authority. 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.” That forgiveness which Jesus just finished earning by His suffering and death a few days ago is now to be administered in Jesus’ name by these men who had lost their faith in Jesus’ promises.
God regularly works in these strange ways … ways that make no sense from a worldly point of view. When Moses was forty years old and was all fired up to be the great liberator of Israel, and killed the Egyptian, God could have called Him to deliver the Israelites then, but Moses showed that His faith was in doing it himself, not letting God do it. God instead sent him out into the wilderness. When Moses was 80 years old and did not want to go, that is when God sent him to Pharaoh. A Pharisee named Saul was arresting Christians for trial and consenting to their executions. Then Jesus knocked him to the ground on the road to Damascus and called him to proclaim the Gospel.
It seems as though God goes out of His way to scrape the bottom of the barrel of humanity in order to find His servants. In every case, God took away any chance of boasting of “worthiness” on the part of the human being. In every case, the odds of human success were so low, that it was absolutely necessary that a miracle of God would have to provide success. The absolute helplessness of God’s servant shows the power of God’s Word of salvation.
God could have set aside a few legions of angels to do His preaching. Yet, that is not what God does. He places foolish, sinful men into the office of preacher. He puts the administration of the forgiveness of sins into the mouths of those same foolish, sinful men. When He needs to proclaim salvation, He sends sinners to proclaim it.
The comfort for Christians in all ages is that no matter how odd or weird or boring or whatever their pastor is, their faith should not be in the man, but in the message from God when it is preached in truth and purity. The effectiveness of the Word does not depend on the pastor. It is God Himself who deserves all the credit for our salvation. Jesus Christ earned it on the cross. The Holy Spirit delivers it in Word and Sacrament. I, as your pastor am merely the servant who administers the gifts God gives to you from the cross of Jesus Christ. In this way, Jesus comes among us here in Baptism, Absolution, Divine Service, the Lord’s Supper, and wherever His Holy Word is proclaimed and taught in its truth and purity. He comes to His people wearied by the world, their sins, their doubts, unbelief, disbelief, and anxieties and says, “Peace to you!” Do not disbelieve anymore but believe! He doesn’t just wish you peace, He actually gives you peace by giving you faith even as He gives you the forgiveness of your sins. God confirms you in that Word of peace as He uses the physical instruments working with the Word to deliver this Grace, this gift of love and mercy to you and me from Himself by His Holy Spirit. As Christ comes to us here in His Word and Sacraments He proclaims His peace and in Christ we freed from the troubles and fears which would overwhelm us.
Then having received from Him mercy and forgiveness in the absolution, having witnessed the crucified body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the altar, we too can be witnesses to the world of Him wherever we are. This is the message of Easter, the message of God’s Passover in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness and hope in Jesus Christ. This message of Christ crucified and raised to pay for our sins in the defeat of sin, death, and Satan turns cowards and unbelievers into believers, martyrs, and apostles. Some witnesses He makes into pastors, but others He calls into lay vocations to reach the world serving the Lord, abiding in Jesus Christ and receiving His gifts and then speaking to people where you are called. You are called by God into His forgiveness, to bear the joyous message of life, the message of forgiveness in Jesus Christ wherever you go. You do not realize how much God can and will work through you as you are strengthened and centered by His peace here given. Do not be afraid. Believe and Rejoice! No persecution can defeat this message of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. He has given you His victory to live in His peace and forgiveness in this world until we live eternally His perfect peace in His heavenly kingdom in Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas