The First Sunday after Easter
April 27, 2025
(John 20:19–23, NIV84) “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.””
The disciples had heard that Jesus was alive. But they were gathered in fear.
Jesus gives them peace. “Peace be with you!” And he repeats it.
There is really nothing to fear on earth that God cannot help us with. Men can kill us but then we will be with our Savior in heaven.
And that peace comes because God is not angry with us because of our sins. And he gives to his disciples the message of the forgiveness of sins.
The words here are the foundation of what we call “The Use Of The Keys” or “The Ministry Of The Keys”. Heaven has been unlocked because of the forgiveness of sins. Believe that and it is yours!
Prayer
Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we who celebrate the joy of the Lord’s resurrection may by the renewal of thy Holy Spirit rise again unto everlasting life because of that same Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
