EASTER – WEEK 1 – SUNDAY

LESSON: JOHN 20:19-31

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19

As Christians, we must apply the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to ourselves individually. It is not enough simply to believe that He rose from the dead, for such a faith in itself will not mean peace and joy for us, nor power and might. You must also believe that He rose for your sake and for your benefit. He was not raised into glory for His own sake alone but that He might help you and all who believe in Him and that through His resurrection He might overcome sin, death, and hell.

This is also indicated by the way in which Christ enters through the locked doors and steps forth and stands in the midst of His disciples. The manner in which He stood here in the midst of the disciples resembles that manner in which He also stands in our hearts. In this way, He is also in our midst, just as He was standing there among the disciples.

When He stands in our hearts in this manner, we hear His loving voice speaking to our conscience, “Be at your ease: there is no need at all for any anxiety. Your sins are forgiven you and removed from you and nothing can henceforth harm you.”

SL 11:725 (2-3)

PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, in Your great love for us, You gave Your Son to suffer and die for our sins. By His glorious resurrection from the dead, You have demonstrated that the sacrifice of Your Son has been accepted and that now all is well with us in time and eternity, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 2:352-63.