John 20:19-31; Seeing and Believing

"When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin*), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27 Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name."

Introduction

This familiar and remarkable passage describes the first appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the assembled disciples. The text stresses the fear felt by the Twelve, even though it doesn't specify precisely what their fear consisted of. Were they afraid of the Jews because the Jews suspected them of stealing the body? Of leading some kind of insurgency movement? In the midst of this fear Jesus appears, calms their fears, gives them the Spirit and a mission and then, a week later, appears again to them to convince a doubting Thomas. The theme of the whole is how belief is confirmed first by touching, then by seeing and then by neither touching nor seeing. In other words the author is trying to create a sort of chain from those who were actually present with Jesus to those of us who must believe without seeing. He does this through the instrument of Thomas. But the Thomas theme appears in the midst of an even greater theme--that of the giving of the Spirit for the forgiveness of sins (vv. 22-23). Thus, three ideas that would be useful to develop and explore are: (1) From Spirit to Mission (19-23); (2) From Seeing to Believing (24-29); (3) From Not Seeing to Believing (30-31).

I. Mission and Spirit (19-23)

Jesus' first words to the disciples on the same day as his resurrection are "Peace to you." This is a biblical greeting to allay fear. For example, when the angel of the Lord appears to Gideon, the Lord says: "Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die" (Jud. 6:23; see also Dan. 10:19). This peace is mentioned by Jesus earlier:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives" (14:27)

The disciples' rejoicing to see Jesus is reminiscent of Jesus' words in ch. 16:

"Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the word will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy...So, you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice" (16:20-22).

In fact, the entire passage for this morning might be seen as a fulfillment of the words of promise of Jesus in his last meeting with the disiciples (John 13-17). The gift of the Spirit, which comes in v. 22, is also hinted at earlier: "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everyting, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26). Thus, the eager reader and disciple will recognize that Jesus' resurrection appearance to the Twelve was a fulfillment of all he had said to them.

But the noteworthy point in John's story is the connection of Spirit with mission. Jesus' breathing on the disciples is reminiscent of God's breathing life into the first humans to create a "living soul" (Gen. 2:7). Here, however, we have the promised Spirit. While Jesus earlier spoke about the teaching or reminding function of the Spirit (14:26), he also mentioned the forgiving or convicting nature of the Spirit (16:8-11). That work of the Spirit will now be transferred to the disciples. If they forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if they retain them, they are retained. Interesting to note are the tenses of the verbs in v. 23. Forgiveness is in the aorist, which indicates a one-time past action. If we forgive in that way, forgiveness happens. But, if we "hold" them, they continue (present tense). Commentators point to the unusual appearance of the word "hold," but it is probably intended as the opposite of "forgive" (which, literally in the Greek, means "let go" or "cast away"). The Spirit isn't given without a task following in its wake--to release others from sins.

II. From Seeing to Believing (24-29)

But John is dealing with a very tangible problem--how to convince people to believe who don't see or who weren't present when Jesus first appeared to the disiciples. Hence, we have Thomas. The words Thomas speaks in v. 25 are amazingly detailed and precise. Just as Judas is the treasurer of the group who wants to make sure that someone keeps track of money (cf. 12:4-5), so Thomas is the one who will not be carried away by "appearances." He is the skeptic, the one who only believes the testimony of the senses. Every groups needs both a treasurer and a skeptic. Verse 25 is said in the strongest possible language. Here is a literal rendering:

"Unless I see on his hands the very mark of the nails and put my finger right into the very mark of the nails, and put my hand right into the very (part of the) side, I will never, never believe."

The language of casting or throwing lies behind the verb "put." People cast spears; Thomas wants to cast his fingers into Jesus in the same way. He will not be impressed by "mere" testimony.

When Jesus came back on the next Sunday (and some scholars think that these passages were among the first statements of the early Christian community for the importance of Sunday as Christian sabbath), Thomas was present. Jesus mimics Thomas' words, but changes them a bit. Instead of saying "plunge" or "cast" your finger here to touch his hands, he says, "bring" your hand here. But he will use the verb "cast" for what he wants Thomas to do to his side. Jesus accommodates Thomas' (and our) weaknesses by acceding to the unusual request.

But what is significant is that Thomas confesses "My Lord and my God" apparently without plunging his hands into Jesus' side. The one who is the most precise speaker; the one who demands to see and touch; the one who had the opportunity to do both, didn't actually need to touch in order to believe. That is the point the author is making. In the face of the revelation of the living Lord all objections even of the most skeptical person are washed away. One can only confess "my Lord and my God." Thomas is no longer "Doubting Thomas" but "Believing Thomas." He fully embraces the living Christ by not indulging the sense of touch. And that is really the message of the author.

III. From NOT Seeing to Believing (30-31)

Now we understand the last two verses of the passage clearly. We, the readers of John's Gospel, don't have the advantage of a resurrection appearance or the chance to plunge our hands in Jesus' side. Yet, for the author of the Gospel, that is not an excuse for unbelief but it may be an advantage. Why? Well, it isn't said in this passage, but if we again go back to that great six chapters (13-17), we see that those who believe in Jesus:

"will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father" (14:12).

Thus, the benefit of believing is that it will enable even greater works to flow. Who needs, then, a visual appearance of the risen Lord? Who really needs to plunge the hands into the side of Jesus? When we believe, which is what Thomas ultimately did, we not only have all that we need to live but we will in some mysterious way be able to do greater works than Jesus. That is the message of the 2nd Sunday of Easter. We believe without seeing, and it is for our, and the world's, benefit.

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Easter II--March 30, 2008
Easter II--April 15, 2007