John 20:25-29

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Kids will argue about the strangest things, won’t they? I’d be willing to bet that on any playground in America, there’s an argument going on going something like this.

“My dad’s so strong that I saw him lift up an entire house.”

“Nuh-uh. That’s impossible.”

“I saw him do it. Really?”

“Well, then prove it.”

As silly as that sounds in the moment, it feels very real to those children, doesn’t it? On one hand, the child isn’t crazy for having faith in his father. In his mind, his father can literally do anything, right? But on the other hand, the kid he’s arguing with he isn’t crazy either, because he wants proof to prove this outlandish claim. In our text today, we have a situation just like this in the Gospel of John, where the disciples tell Thomas that Christ has risen from the dead. And Thomas says,

“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.” (John 20:25)

In essence, this interaction is like the two kids in the playground shouting prove it! I’m guessing that if we were in Thomas’s shoes, we’d be saying the exact same thing. And then eight days later, Jesus appears to the disciples and to Thomas, and the first thing he says is, peace be with you. But the next thing he does is approach Thomas and say,

“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27)

And Thomas replies, my Lord and my God. (John 20:28)

And Jesus later says,

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Now I think we’d all like to believe that we would be one of the ones who would believe without seeing. Right? But the reality is, is that if you and I were at this, in this room that day, it’s very likely that account would be about you and me. They would call me Doubting Scott. And the reality is, is we’re all guilty of that same doubt in our lives. We all doubt the resurrected power of Jesus when we can’t clearly see him. Sometimes we doubt him when we receive that cancer diagnosis, or when our marriage is struggling, or when our prayers go seemingly unanswered, or when we lose our job, or when our child gets sick, and maybe we don’t say it in the same way that Thomas did, but with our thoughts and our sins, we proclaim that I won’t believe it unless I see it.

But notice that Jesus doesn’t rebuke Thomas for having doubts or questions. No, he comes to Thomas with his word, his comforting word of peace. And he says, place your hand into my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. And although we don’t get to place our hands into the side of Jesus the same way Thomas did, Jesus is still approaching you in the same way he approached Thomas through his comforting word, the word that attests that he appeared over 500 people after he rose from the dead and engaged all of their senses to prove to them that he really was the resurrected Christ, the same Christ they had seen crucified on a cross only a few days earlier.

And those people were so moved by what they saw and sensed with all of their senses that Jesus was truly alive. They went around the world proclaiming in an outlandish way that my God is so strong that he raised Jesus from the dead. And today, Christ is proving his resurrection to you today through His Word, through your baptism, and through Holy Communion. He’s engaging all of your senses to prove to you that he really did rise from the dead. And if he really did rise from the dead, then you can have full comfort and confidence and conviction that your sins are truly forgiven, that you too will rise again, just as Jesus did on the last day. And don’t you doubt it.

So may the grace of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Guard and keep your heart in undoubting belief and faith and obedience to him. Amen.

Matthew 27:25

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This is going to change the lives of you and your children forever. How would you respond if someone said that to you? Personally, I wouldn’t know how to respond. Who’s saying it to me? What is the context? Right? If it’s a doctor standing in my hospital room going over my test results, that sentence might make my heart drop through the floor. It’s not just a normal neutral sentence. It would be more like a death sentence, like a generational curse. But if the person saying that sentence to me is sliding a check to me across the table big enough to wipe out all of my debt and fund my retirement, all of a sudden that sentence isn’t a neutral sentence. It’s actually life giving. It’s a generational blessing. But it’s still the same sentence, but two completely different meanings.

In the Gospel of Matthew we find a sentence just like this, where Jesus, the Son of God, is on trial before Pilate. And Pilate, finding no wrong in him, says, I wash my hands of this man’s blood. But the crowd screams at him.

“Then let his blood be upon us and upon our children!” (Matthew 27:25)

You see, the crowd here is willing to take the guilt of Jesus’ blood upon themselves and upon their children, because so great was their hatred for him. They were willing to take on a generational curse to see him die.

Now we might shake our heads at the crowd, but the reality is, is that your sins and my sins are in that crowd as well, screaming the exact same death sentence. Let his blood be upon us and upon our children, and we know how the rest of the story goes. The crowd actually gets exactly what they want, exactly what they ask for. But ironically, the same sentence that they screamed for let his blood be upon us and upon our children was actually the exact thing that they needed most. The blood of Jesus.

You see the sentence the crowd meant as a death sentence toward Jesus, Jesus means it to you and I in a completely different way. He means that same sentence to give you life, a generational blessing upon you and your children. It’s as though upon the cross he is saying, let my blood be upon you and upon your children, and through faith that blood is indeed poured upon you and upon your children abundantly through Holy Communion. His body and blood is given to you to eat and to drink, and it is the very same body and blood that was given and shed for you upon the cross, for the forgiveness of all of your sins.

So yes, let his blood be upon us and upon our children, but don’t shout it as a death sentence, as a generational curse upon you and your children. But shout this life giving sentence to your Savior, who poured out his blood upon you and your children as a generational blessing. So may the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be poured out upon you and your children this Lenten season, and always so that we might grow in true faith and obedience to him. Amen.

Genesis 22

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In the early 1800s, there was an evangelist by the name of Müller who ran a network of orphanages in England, and it’s estimated that over 10,000 children came and went through those doors. So you can imagine how much food it would take to feed all those hungry mouths. But one day, one of his cooks came to him with some unfortunate news, and he said, we have nothing to give these kids. We have no food. Should we send them away?

And Müller’s response was quite interesting. He said, no, don’t send them away. In fact, get them ready for the meal, set them down, prepare the table and we shall pray and give thanks to God for the meal he is about to provide. It wasn’t long after when the front doors of the orphanage burst open and a baker came through with trays and trays and trays of bread, and he said, God came to me in a dream last night alerting me that you guys would need food today. Soon after that, the door burst open again and a milkman came in and he said, my milk cart just broke down. Can you drink this milk before it spoils? You see, the Lord himself certainly provided for Müller and those orphans on that day.

This reminds me of one of my favorite passages in Genesis. (Genesis 22) It’s the account of where Abraham is commanded to give a sacrifice upon the mountain, but with a little twist, because he’s commanded to sacrifice his own son, Isaac. So as they go up the mountain, Isaac notices. He goes, dad, where? Where’s the animal? For the sacrifice? And Abraham, in a very Müller way, responds. The Lord himself will provide the sacrifice.

See, we examine this text in the Lenten season because it’s so clearly foreshadows the coming sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. You see, in Abraham’s case, God commanded a sacrifice. But in my case, and in your case, our sin, your sin demands a sacrifice. Your sin must be punished. Even that secret sin that you’re so ashamed of, it must be punished.

But instead of God placing you upon the altar to sacrifice you, to punish you for the sins that you committed. The Lord himself provides the sacrifice. Yes, the Lord himself provides the Holy Lamb of God caught in the thicket of the crown of thorns, who goes uncomplaining forth and crawls up upon the altar of the Lord’s own, providing where his blood is shed to atone for my sin. The sins of Abraham and Isaac, and you as well. Your sins are forgiven.

So this Lenten season, we cling to the words of Abraham. The Lord himself will provide the sacrifice. Yes, the Lord himself provides the lamb for your sacrifice. He forgives your sin. The Lord himself does it, and the Lord himself is preparing for you a heavenly home where there is no more hunger. There’s no more sorrow, no pain, no suffering. And where the Lord himself will wipe every tear from your eye.

So may we go forth, not only in this Lenten season, but always in the boldness and the thanksgiving for the sacrifice and the provision the Lord is about to give you. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who provides himself as the sacrifice guard and keep your hearts and minds in true faith and obedience to him. Amen.

John 1:14

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Hello and Merry Christmas, my name is Scooter Fassett.

Okay, maybe my name isn’t really Scooter, it’s Scott, but if you heard someone call me Scooter, you would know that they really knew me. You see, the adults in my childhood who knew and loved me most called me Scooter because they knew that from the moment I woke up, the time I went to bed, I sprinted everywhere I went. I scooted from point A until point B until I utterly collapsed. But that’s the funny thing about nicknames. They often reveal something unique or interesting about someone’s past or someone’s personality.

So today on Christmas, as we get to celebrate the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, he comes actually with a load of nicknames the Bible gives us. Just in the Advent season he’s given nicknames such as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the first and the last, and the Alpha and the Omega. And I left names off of that list, but I think there’s one particular nickname that we neglect to often associate with Christ, and that name is given to us in John chapter one, verse 14, where it says,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (John 1:14)

I love this verse not just because of the promise that it gives us, but because of the imagery it gives us. When I hear the Word became flesh. I literally envision a heavenly scroll of God’s Word, like a roll of parchment billowing down to earth. And as it does, it condenses and it narrows into a cord, which then forms the umbilical cord of our Savior in his mother’s womb. I love that verse, and I love that image because it actually shows the Word is flesh.

And because we find it in His Word, we know that it’s not merely an analogy, it’s a reality. And that’s why we celebrate Christmas so intimately, because we’re even closer than a first name basis with our Savior, Jesus, we’re on a nickname basis. And we know from His Word that The Word that was made flesh lived a perfect life for you and for me. We know from His Word that The Word made flesh died on a cross, dying the death that you and I deserved because of our sin. And we know that from His Word that The Word made flesh really did rise again on Easter morning, giving us the greatest possible gift the gift of life, salvation, forgiveness of sins, and everlasting life itself.

Yes, even the Lord now claims you through your baptism. And when he baptizes you, he cleanses you of your sin. But he also gives you a new nickname. But when The Word made flesh gives you a new nickname, it’s not just an analogy, it is a reality. Yes, when you are baptized, you were given the name Beloved, Cherished, Forgiven, Redeemed. And most importantly, you are called a Child of God.

That’s not just an analogy. It’s your identity and it’s a reality.

So may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Word who became flesh, guard and keep your hearts and minds in your true identity this Christmas season and always. Amen.