John 20:19-31

First Lutheran Church, Houston | Easter 2, 2023 | John 20:19-31 | Evan McClanahan |

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have about six high school and college students visiting with me. Or a more honest way to say it would be that they were challenging me….possibly even mocking me. Two semester of the school year in, they finally had the courage – to their credit – to cross the street and engage in conversation with someone they probably think is nuts. By God’s grace, we ended up having a substantial conversation about issues of life and death.

Though the topics would later become more cultural and moral, there was initially a very basic question on forgiveness at the outset. The common statement, that “basically all religions are the same,” was made, and that opened the door for me to say that, in fact, no, that while all religions may hold aspects of the Law in common, only Christianity offers true forgiveness. That is, only Christianity truly “has” the Gospel because only Christianity has God in human flesh dying on the cross for the sins of the world and rising from the dead.

While most religions agreed on something like moral behavior (perhaps because all men have God’s Law written on their hearts), only Christianity can truly offer forgiveness. God demands payment for sin, and we should be thankful that that payment was made on the cross. Hence, only Christianity can truly offer forgiveness.

This definitely puts Christianity in exclusive, and therefore, “judgmental” territory. And that was the immediate response. “Hey, wait a minute, other religions offer forgiveness, too!” Now, this was an excellent opening, one that any evangelist can only dream of. We were now right in the middle of the Gospel, the corest of core issues. So I asked for an example of another religion that offers forgiveness and the process by which forgiveness was offered. After all, many religions – especially those in the East like Hinduism or Buddhism –  don’t focus on sin and forgiveness at all.

But this student’s answer was that Islam offered forgiveness and the mechanism was by prayer. Indeed, that was accurate. The problem for us is that if the claims of Islam simply aren’t true, then it can’t be a reliable source of information. So the teaching on forgiveness within Islam might be lovely but if Islam is not truly speaking for the one true God, then it is irrelevant. And the idea that a God as holy and just as God is could more or less forgive – only by our asking – is a diminution of God’s holiness. There needs to be a payment made for sin. God requires it. That is why the Son of God was crucified.

So, the twin issues of sin and forgiveness are uniquely addressed and dealt with in Christianity. Sin is seen as the chief problem of man and forgiveness is the solution. The problem is not a lack of knowledge. The problem is not a lack of enlightenment. The problem is not environmental, that is, impoverishment or corruption. Those are symptoms of the problem of sin and its corrosive effects on everything.

The mission of Christ’s Church, then, is to proclaim forgiveness, not only so our individual souls can be at peace with God, but also, we we can find peace among one another. It’s a bit of a cliche, but it’s true: “hurt people hurt people.” Well, forgiven people forgive people. Seriously, it matters.

And while poor Thomas’ doubting is often the piece of this text that is highlighted on the Sunday after Easter, Jesus makes clear the importance of forgiveness. In some of the few words of Jesus recorded after his resurrection, Jesus says to these gathered ten, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” So for the sake of the world, the Church is to let people know that the sins which shame them, which create destructive systems, which break up families and cause societies to collapse…they have been accounted for in Christ. And the Church of the apostles has the authority to pronounce forgiveness of those sins. We are like an army, ready and able to be dispatched all over the world at a moment’s notice, ready with a word of forgiveness so man can be at peace with God, and therefore, his neighbor. Good news, to be sure.

But what about the second part of that statement? It’s equally remarkable, and yet, this teaching is often ignored. “Whatever sins you retain will be retained.” The Church, this side of death, has the authority to make your sins stick to you, to keep you out of heaven because of them. Jesus is saying that the Church speaks for God on the issue both ways. Is that “judgmental?” No, it is exercising right judgment.

What might prevent someone from being forgiven? For starters, there is no admission or even acknowledgment of sin. That which is not confessed cannot be forgiven. Or there may be an admission of sin, but it is only met with a shrug. There is no repentance. Or perhaps the desire is there but there is no change in behavior. The same sin is committed and there is no amendment of life. If a pastor observes any of these behaviors, it could be said that their sins have not been forgiven, but are retained. It sounds harsh, but so are our sins against God.

And this aspect of Jesus’ teaching is something the Church had better get a lot more comfortable with. For the past, let’s say, 50 years, the Church’s PR campaign was only ever concerned with the first half of Jesus’ teaching. We wanted everyone to know that God loved unconditionally, that He forgave everyone everything, and that he wasn’t the nasty, mean God of the 18th century. “You can like God now. He’s nice again!”

And it is true that the second half of this teaching on retaining sins, was abused by Pope’s for centuries. It was used to threaten excommunication – even of kings! – which led some to bargain and compromise with the Pope in the grossest of manners. But that was, like, 800 years ago.

As Church attendance declined, the messaging of “forgiveness only” ramped up dramatically. “No, really, God likes you and you can like Him, too! We promise never to judge!” The world listened when we refused to stand our ground. The brakes were off and the Church lost its moral authority. And now that some of us are trying to get it back, and our fiercest opposition is often within the visible church. Having been trained for two generations in seminary never to say a word against the sinner, they are content to keep it that way.

My father’s congregation is taking a vote today to disaffiliate from their denomination. A majority of the congregation is essentially saying that the Church still possesses the right to name and retain sin. A minority of the congregation is saying the Church can only ever forgive, if sins are even named anymore. Because the church property is worth millions, lawsuits, TV commercials, smear campaigns, and dirty tricks have all been employed to keep the church from disaffiliation.

Here’s the deal: if we aren’t willing to tell our neighbor, in love, that their sins are retained, then we have no authority to pronounce forgiveness, either. There are either these things called “sins” that we need to do away with, or there are not. If they are real, then we need to be honest about them. Lying about them, ignoring them, or even celebrating them has been a disaster for the Church, as she has refused to speak with one voice, and now has lost her voice.

We are, as when Jesus said these words to the disciples, a minority voice in the wilderness, and there are times when it looks like we cannot possibly compete with the powers that be, virtually none of which share our worldview. But over time, when God’s Word was fearlessly proclaimed and defended, when the truth of the resurrection was believed even by those who had not seen, Christianity changed the world by forgiving sins and bringing peace and by retaining sins and striking the rightful fear of God into man.

That is where we stand now. This text is a reminder to get our messaging in order. We proclaim that there is a God, that He has revealed Himself, that His Word is his trustworthy record of his revelation, and the Church of the Apostles functions with the authority of Christ himself. Salvation is truly found in the Church, and death is found outside her walls. To any with ears to hear, let them hear! For the risen Christ claims this authority for himself and for his Bride the Church. Let us be fearless in saying what He has bidden us to say, so an unbelieving world may turn to God and live. Amen.