Dr. Normal Nagel, in bridging the gap between systematic theology, that is, doctrine, what we believe, teach, and confess, and practical theology, how it is that we express what we believe, teach, and confess, asks two questions of Biblical texts:

• How does this text give us Jesus?
• What prevents us from receiving Jesus in this text?

These are practical Gospel and Law questions which force us to delve into a text and explain how it is that we get from it to what we believe, teach, and confess.

It’s the night of Jesus’ resurrection. 10 of His disciples are in the upper room, and the doors are locked. Things have happened just as Jesus had told them, but they are still stunned at the events which took place. It wasn’t but a week ago that they were triumphantly entering Jerusalem. Crowds had gathered and hailed Jesus: Hosanna; save now! But, in the span of four days, Jesus went from being heralded as a hero to considered a villain, crucified as a common criminal, between two common criminals, on the fifth day, taking the place, as it were, of another common criminal whose release was demanded by pretty much the same people who hailed his entrance into the city. Now, this small mass huddles together behind locked doors, afraid and confused, wondering, perhaps, if a blood-thirsty mob might be out to get them, too.

“Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” This wasn’t an appearing; Jesus wasn’t a mere apparition. Jesus was verily, bodily present with His 10, and the doors were still locked. Much as was mentioned last week, the stone that closed His tomb was not rolled away for His benefit—He would have been raised to life regardless of the position of the large stone; it would not have prevented His resurrection. So here, the doors are locked in the upper room that night, and Jesus stood in the midst of them. He shows them His hands and His side. It’s really Him; I mean, it’s really the real Him, in His very flesh and own blood. So, it’s not locked doors that prevents the reception of Jesus.

Why did these 10 cower in the upper room? Because they didn’t believe. Fear has a way of doing that in opposition to faith. This fallen creature is unable to counter fear. Fear is a force to be reckoned with, and prior knowledge of fearful events does little to nothing to remove fear. Case-in-point, if you knew the exact time, place, and circumstances of your own deaths, I would wager that you would not fear it any less than you already do.

You see, Jesus had told His 12 that He was going to die and rise again. He told them that was exactly what He was going to Jerusalem to do. Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times, and Peter did just that. Yet, there they were in the upper room afraid and confused.

Earlier in the same day, some women told them that Jesus had arisen. Peter was even singled out among the 11 in St. Mark’s resurrection account as one to be told (cf. Mark 16:7) as a special comfort to him following his denial. Peter and John had even seen the empty tomb and the burial cloths folded and put away neatly, and Mary Magdalene tells them that she had seen and spoken to the Lord. (cf. John 20:18) Still, there they were in the upper room afraid and confused.

No, locked doors and stones before graves do not hinder Jesus from giving Himself to man. What we learn from the disciples and from the wondering women is that our own fallen nature, with which we participate, keeps us away from Jesus, blocks us from hearing Him, even has us out-right deny Him, as Peter and Judas did—even and especially if we count ourselves among the faithful. Sometimes, it’s simply that natural reaction of the fallen man, such as with fear that we are powerless to overcome. However, it often becomes an active and conscious act of our fallen will—something that we do consciously and willfully. It’s not that we’re not in control and that something somehow has overpowered us, but we willfully contradict and deny what Jesus has said and done. However, do not be confused, both the natural reaction of the fallen man and our active participation in his fallen-ness is sin—sin for which you are guilty, regardless of the circumstances. “By my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault,” we are sometimes taught to confess, or, “I, a poor, miserable sinner...” Put simply, you are not a sinner because something caused you to sin, but because you sinned. “This is a hard saying, who can understand it?” (John 6:60)

While sin and unbelief prevent us from receiving Jesus, it does not prevent Jesus from giving Himself to us. Furthermore, He has the power and will to overcome and destroy that barrier which prevents us from receiving Jesus. See what Jesus did in the upper room on both nights, for there the disciples’ own sin and unbelief did not prevent Jesus, and they received from Him that which He had won for them and stood in their midst to give them, which is precisely why He stood in their midst in the first place. The first words out of His mouth were a declaration that He had overcome it all. As much as when Jesus said, “It is finished,” from the cross declared an end to sin’s dominion over humanity, that night in the upper room He said, “Peace be with you,” and gave them, right there and then, the benefits of the work of His death on the cross. You can always put those two words of Jesus together: “It is finished; peace be with you!” τέτελεσται; εἰρήνη ὑμιν!

Enter Thomas. He was not with the 10 that first night. During the week, the 10 find him and tell him that Jesus came to them and stood among them. “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Remember what I said about the natural reaction of the fallen man becoming something in which we actively and willfully participate—here is Thomas expressing just that, likely saying what everyone would want to have said had they witnessed the crucifixion and heard of Jesus’ resurrection.

The next week, the night of the Sunday after the resurrection, Thomas is with the other 10 in the upper room. Once again, the doors are shut. “Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’” Again, the locked doors are not preventative; Jesus stands in the midst of His disciples. Thomas is singled out this time, and for good reason, having vocally denied Jesus, as Peter had done 10 nights ago. “It’s really Me, Thomas. Peace be with you, be not unbelieving, but believing. Your sin is forgiven!”

So, dear hearers, what prevents us from receiving Jesus? Well, look around. Are we not, now, as it were, in our own upper room. Here we are huddled behind closed doors. We seek respite and recluse from the world beyond these walls. Here, we are safe, because here is different than out there. Out there there are murders, lies, and deceit. Out there is adultery and theft. Out there is all sorts of evil. Out there is a world out to get us—I mean, we certainly feel the pressure as religious liberty is under increasing attack. God did say that He is in control. (cf. Psalm 47:8, Revelation 19:6) However, seeing what is “out there,” are you not tempted to say, “Unless I see Jesus come again in the clouds, I will not believe.” You, by your sin, prevent your reception of Jesus!

So, how does Jesus give Himself to us? Just like in today’s text, despite the closed door, Jesus does come again, and stand among us bodily. And, just as then, He comes precisely because you sin and are in need of a Savior. He is that Savior, right here and now, and He has overcome sin and darkness and death for you—your sin, your darkness, your death. The difference, dear hearers, is that you do not see Him as His disciples did. But, you do hear Him! τέτελεσται; εἰρήνη ὑμιν! It is finished; peace to you!

• Case-in-point, every time someone is baptized, you hear the voice of Jesus, even as at your own baptisms: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” The voice is that of your pastor, but it is Jesus saying it, for He has instituted and given us this sacrament.
• How about every time you are forgiven in the stead and by the command of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Even this morning, you heard the voice of your pastor, but Jesus was saying it. In today’s text, he institutes Holy Absolution according to His Word and command when He tells His disciples (to become apostles), “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
• You heard Him in the Word proclaimed to you, at the lectern and here in the pulpit. Again, it is my voice you are hearing, especially now, but Jesus is speaking, especially insofar as He is proclaimed to you for the forgiveness of your sins, life, and salvation.
• And lest we forget, it is in the Lord’s Supper that you receive Jesus, bodily and bloodily. Again, you hear your pastor speak, but it is Jesus’ doing, as He shows you by way of the mouth and hands of His called minister His own hands and feet and side, the wounds of His crucifixion and death for you, and you take into your mouths His body broken for you and His blood shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins, life, and salvation.

This, you take from here to your places out there that He has given you. Out there, you are assaulted, left and right, by the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh. Even as you hear your Lord and feast on Him, you begin to doubt whether He will truly do as He has said, even as He has truly done has He had said. At times, you even express as much: “Unless something happens, I will not believe.” But, Jesus does come to you, certainly every Sunday, but also in the days between, because He is here and there as in all times and places, body-and-blood present for you. He comes to you despite closed doors, because you need Him. He overcomes your sins, even as He has defeated them at the cross, and He has defeated your death by His glorious resurrection from the dead. “Peace be with you,” He says to you, because you are forgiven for all of your sins.