Life in His Name

​2nd Sunday of Easter – B                                                                         LSB #’s 420:1-3, 704, 475
Text – John 20:30-31
 
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, & that by believing you may have life in His name.
 
LIFE IN HIS NAME
 
 
When writing sermons on this Gospel text,  preachers often  focus on the standout feature – commonly referred to as  Doubting Thomas.   Some preachers claim that Thomas got a bad rap,  because all  the disciples had doubted originally.   Other preachers distinguish Thomas from the rest  because he stated that he would not believe,  unless he could see…
The events surrounding the unbelief of Thomas,  & his return to faith in Jesus,  make for a compelling lesson  on how  following Jesus  is not a simple  nor a constant & linear  process.  Instead,  it’s full of highs & lows,  mountaintops  & valleys,   moments of exhilaration  & moments of despair. 
Our sinful nature  is a powerful force  in our daily lives,  constantly corrupting even our best  intentions.  When we desire to grow in our ability to trust Jesus,  it’s not something we do on our own.  There is no plan or program  guaranteed to protect you from temptation or struggle.  Our sinful nature must die  & that will always be a painful experience. 
It was the sinful nature of Thomas speaking  when he said, “Unless I see in His hands  the mark of the nails,  & place my finger into the mark of the nails,  & place my hand into His side,  I will never  believe.”  (John 20:25b ESV)   You & I  can take a cue from Thomas  when we find ourselves making demands  of God. 
As that attitude overtakes us  the time is ripe  to stop,  to look  & to listen.   In those moments,  God is asking us to see things  not as you or I want them to be,  but as they truly are  in His Kingdom.  Jesus actually was risen from the dead,  but  Thomas did not  want to believe it  unless he saw evidence & proof.    What Thomas did not understand  is that God’s Son  is life itself.   The first verses of the Gospel of John,  written long after this event,  clearly make that point concerning  Jesus: “In the beginning  was the Word,  & the Word was with God,   & the Word  was God…  In Him  was life,  & the life  was the light of men.”  (John 1:1 & 4 ESV) 
Then, as John is bringing his Gospel to a close, he reiterates the point, “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,  & that by believing   you may have life  in His name.”  (John 20:30-31 ESV) 
Our sinful nature is a powerful force  for death.   John wants you to know  that believing in Jesus as the anointed Son of God  guarantees  that you are  actually  alive.   As Jesus stated, “I have said these things to you,  that in me  you may have peace.   In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33 ESV) 
John also wrote in 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness, & the darkness has not overcome it.”  We need to hear words of assurance & comfort  because the darkness often seems to be winning,  in the world around us,  & also in our heart  within.  Looking at the world & our heart  brings fear.   What will come of us,  of our children & grandchildren  if this continues? 
Jesus calls us  to look at Him rather than  the world.  Our risen Savior calls us  to look at Him  rather than our own heart.  St. John calls us to look at the signs & the miracles he wrote in his Gospel so that we, “…may believe that Jesus is the Christ,  the Son of God,  & that by believing  [we] may have life  in His name.”  (John 20:31 ESV) 
Fear sucks the life out of us.  Jesus is inviting the disciples  & us  to extend the same peace He spoke  when He entered into their fear behind those locked doors.    Do you see forgiveness needed in your life,  in your community,  in your congregation,  in your workplace,  in the world?   What would it look like  for you to be a bearer of that forgiveness?   How might you be called by the Holy Spirit  to embody the peace that Jesus brings,  not only for yourself,  but for the people that God brings into your life?   All of us  are doubting people in this sinful world,  & chiefly,  what people are doubting  is that God could love them. 
And because we have doubts  about God’s love for us,  we live in fear   & we live   in death.   Jesus came that [we]  may have life  & have it abundantly.  (John 10:10b ESV)   Those are great sounding words,  & in heaven we will experience that fully.   However,  you know  from your own experience  that living just isn’t  all sunshine & roses in the here & now. 
While we’re normally tempted to blame others,  the reality is  that our sinful nature makes it impossible for us  to appreciate  the life & the abundance  that Jesus gives to us.   Yes, there are fleeting moments of satisfaction,  but then we’re off to the races again.  And Satan doesn’t give up  just because of a sunny day  here & there. 
In fact,  the Easter season of alleluias  can seem to leave little room for our doubts,  our fears,  & our pain.  For many, the joy & happiness of Christmas & Easter clash  with their inner pain & anguish as they still struggle with the effects of sin.   Whether that’s poor health,  or bad family & economic circumstances,  we can be tempted to believe that God sees us as failures. 
That’s why the unbelief of Thomas,  John describes,  is so important  for us to hear.  Unbelief is not a hopeless situation.   Jesus’ ministry revealed  that He is able to work miracles.  Mark recorded these words of a father so we know  there is always hope, “I believe;  help my unbelief!”  (Mark 9:24 ESV)   All the disciples of Jesus struggled to believe that He was alive. 
 And our fears,  whatever they are,  cause us to struggle with believing  that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.    There are so many other things to love  in this world – so many temptations.  They look pleasing to eye,  making it difficult to grasp  that they lead to death.  To top it off,  they seldom lead to instant death,  so in those second chances that God gives to us,  perversely  we draw the conclusion that we can ‘get away’ with sin.  In essence,  our addiction to sin  is an addiction to death.   We see that play out  to the extreme  with the growing support for euthanasia.  Even the word,  which means good death,  shows the sinful nature’s addiction  to it. 
On earth,  every person you will ever meet  needs the forgiveness & peace that Jesus offers.  The faith we have in Him as our Lord & Savior  is a mystery that cannot be forced upon anyone.  All that we can do  is to invite them into the mystery with us.  It is the greatest of mysteries that believing Jesus is the Christ makes us a new creation,  yet  we still flounder in sin. 
We believe,  yet struggle daily with unbelief.  In the name of Jesus we have life,  yet  we are addicted to sin & to death.  Christ is the life  of all the living  & He is the death  of death our foe.   Through His sufferings, death & merit – we eternal life inherit.  (LSB 420:1)  Faith is a mystery that comes to us only & always  as the most precious gift that can never be earned. 
The life we have in the name of Jesus  is not just life as we commonly speak of it.  It is a distinctive kind of life that is obscured by the English language.  Three different Greek words are translated into English with our word life. 
When John, & the rest of the NT, speak of psyche or bios, those words refer to what anything possesses  simply by virtue of being a living creature.  This is the life possessed from birth to death by animals & humans, whether they be good or bad, righteous or wicked, founders of charities or perpetrators of genocide.  
On the other hand, “life” as used at the end of John 20, is spoken of with the word zoe.  This is eternal life, life given to those who are born of God; life that, in John, transforms us from merely existing to living in the abundance & eternity of God.  This life was present from the beginning & lies at the core of creation.  “In [Jesus] was zoe,  & the zoe was the light of men.”  (John 1:4)   This zoe life connects the deepest purposes of God with the ultimate purpose of John’s gospel: “…these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ … & that by believing you may have zoe in His name.”  (John 20:31 ESV) 
Zoe does not replace the life we have without it; we are still the same creatures we were before.   It does, however, bring us into the fullness of God’s grace – the new creation that comes with believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.   Again,  all of that is mystery  that we can enter into only  by invitation,  & God invites everyone.   Some choose  to say no. 
To have life is to be with the One  who created us  specifically  to be with Him.  Fortunately for Doubting Thomas, the moment He saw Jesus alive  he gave up his refusal to believe.  And on the heels of his confession, “My Lord & my God!”  John tells us what his whole Gospel is about:
“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, & that by believing you may have life in His name.”  (John 20:30-31)   Jesus is life, or zoe, itself, & He reassured us:
“I am the resurrection & the life.  Whoever believes in me,  though he die,  yet shall he live.”  (John 11:25 ESV)   That is life in His name.  Amen. 
 
 
Renew me,  O eternal Light,  & let my heart & soul be bright,  illumined with the light of grace  that issues from Your holy face.    Grant that I only You may love  & seek those things which are above   till I behold You face to face,  O Light eternal, through Your grace.  Amen.  LSB 704:1, 4.