Apostolic Witness – Easter 2

INI

Alleluia, Jesus is risen!

He is risen indeed, alleluia!

As the Passover Lamb given on behalf of sinners, Christ gave Himself up for all humanity on the cross. His blood paid the ransom payment for the sins of the whole world. His resurrection from the dead proved who He was, and what He taught to be true. For all other religious “teachers” from history remain dead in their tombs. Yet Jesus lives.

This is the great news of Easter. But here comes an important question for you to consider: how do you know that YOUR sins are forgiven in heaven? Yes, the blood of the Lamb atoned for the sins of the whole world, that they would repent of their sins and find life in the redeeming blood of Jesus. But how do you know that you’re numbered with those saints who have life with Christ, and not eternal death? And how can you be so sure of God’s forgiveness?

Jesus instituted the Office of the Keys and commissioned the Office of the Holy Ministry, that we may have certainty of God’s forgiveness. The Office of the Keys is the teaching from Luther’s Small Catechism which teaches exactly what Jesus gives to the disciples in John 20:23. Luther taught, “The office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.” And why is this comforting? Luther asked the question: What do you believe according to John 20:22-23? He instructs, “I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.”

To be sure, these keys to heaven, if you will, don’t belong to any particular man. Rather, Christ gives them to the church body as a whole.  The Lutheran Confessions teach this, as the Scriptures teach. For Jesus gave the Office of the Keys to Peter, who represented the whole assembly of apostles by His confession. In Matthew 16, Jesus gave the promise “On this rock, [that is, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ], I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The fulfillment of this promise is now given at the end of John’s Gospel, so that the fruits of Christ’s resurrection continue on to today. For YOU!

In the beginning of the text, the disciples were locked in a room. They were scared. So, they hid away. Yet Jesus comes in the middle of the room and says “Peace be with you.” But it isn’t the words that gave them joy. They saw Jesus’ wounded hands and His side. Once they saw this evidence that the crucified one is now the risen one, they were gladdened, just as Jesus predicted in His Maundy Thursday Upper Room discourse, when He said “You will have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take that joy from you.” – John 16:22

The peace that the resurrected Christ gives would just be a past event given to the disciples, and would have no implications for us, if Jesus’ next words weren’t this: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” The Father sent Jesus to manifest His will on earth. So, now Jesus sends out the disciples, you, and me – the whole church – to manifest the peace which He won through His innocent suffering and death! He sends us out. Not to remain comfortable in a room locked away – but to distribute and share this peace of God. Jesus then breathed on His disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit, that they may be well-equipped in their task, and then He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

Here, Jesus instituted the Office of Holy Ministry, through which He sends out pastors, that on behalf of the public church, they may publicly exercise the Office of the Keys. That’s why when you confess your sins at the beginning of the service, I will then say “In the stead and by the command of my Lord, I forgive you…” The Office of the Keys aren’t mine to use however I wish. They aren’t Zion Lutheran Church’s to be exercised however the church may wish. They belong to Jesus to be used according to the Scriptures, and He gives them to the church. I exercise them on your behalf, as one who dedicates Himself to the Scriptures that sin may be discerned within the congregation, and absolution given to the congregation by my mouth. Though, it is God who speaks.

This is the comfort that the Office of the Keys in confession and absolution give. Even individual confession and absolution alone with the pastor. Because Satan wants you to think one of two ways about your sin. He either wants you to despair over your sin – thinking that there’s no way that God could forgive me for THAT. Or, He wants you to be comfortable with your sin and continue in unrepentance. But the Office of the Keys is a remedy against this –it’s valuable against unrepentance – for forgiveness cannot be given to the unrepentant, lest they hold on to and love their sins so much that they don’t ever let the cross crucify their sinful desires. Yet for the Christian who hates their sins and desires freedom from them, there’s a remedy. Confess your sin that causes you despair and hear the sweet word of forgiveness spoken. Though, as Jesus Himself institutes, this isn’t earthly forgiveness. This is forgiveness as before God Himself in heaven. THAT’S how you know YOUR sins are forgiven in heaven. You hear it spoken over you. About you. Yes, even about THAT sin, that was confessed openly. This is the work of the Church. To go out. To forgive the repentant, and to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant.

Paul asks a very good question to the whole Christian Church in Romans 10:14-15 – “how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” This is what Easter Day commissions YOU to do. The crucified, yet risen one sends out messengers to tell all the Good News of Jesus.

Some may not believe the apostolic witness you share. Later in our text we hear the familiar story of Thomas. He didn’t believe the apostolic witness at first. The others told Thomas that they saw Jesus, that He had risen. But Thomas didn’t have faith. And perhaps, he should’ve. For He was told the apostolic witness to the resurrection. Yet, by God’s grace, the risen Christ came to unfaithful Thomas, and gave Him faith.

In the last two verses of the Gospel, John wrote “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.” By writing this, John places us, the reader of His Gospel, in the place of Thomas. He says, ‘I’ve now told you about the Christ, the Son of God. I’ve told you this that you might have life. Do you believe?’ Are you going to reject this apostolic witness?  And reject the absolution given by God’s messengers? Or will you have faith in the testimony of the apostles, and all the messengers sent by God, that you may have eternal life in His name?

John’s Gospel was written to be an apostolic witness to you. And through it, the forgiveness of God is made known. And through the Office of the Keys, you may have confidence knowing that your sins are indeed forgiven in heaven. And through the continued preaching of the ones sent by God, others may be presented with the Gospel message and have life in the name of the crucified and Risen Christ.

Alleluia, Jesus is risen!

He is risen indeed, alleluia!

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston