“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘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.’ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ 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, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

If you read the gospels in the order they appear in your Bible, it may occur to you as you pass through Matthew and Mark that after so much time spent on the life, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus, the post resurrection accounts almost feel rushed by comparison. Matthew, after 27 chapters, stretching from the genealogy of Jesus to the guards placed around His tomb, fits everything pertaining to the resurrection into the twenty verses of chapter 28. Mark, which history indicates was written before Matthew, has an even shorter account, especially if we stop at 16:8, which some manuscripts do. Counting 16:9-20 (which without getting into a lot of historical particulars, isn’t in some older manuscripts, but is appropriately included in the cannon of Scripture), it provides some information not relayed in Matthew, but still, not what we might call an overabundance. Luke’s account gives further insight, going into great detail about Jesus’ appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, which Mark mentioned, as well as showing the ascension itself at Bethany. But if we read any of the gospels straight through, none of them make it explicitly clear how long Jesus was alive on the earth before His ascension. Matthew and John both end their accounts in Galilee, while Mark and Luke both take us to the ascension near Jerusalem, none of them giving us a clear timeline. Luke would later provide this information in Acts 1:1–3,

“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

In his second address to Theophilus (the first being his gospel account), Luke gives us the duration of forty days between resurrection and ascension. Paul gives us some context for the scope of Jesus’ work and appearances during this time in 1 Corinthians 15:3–6, saying,

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”

To be clear, no gospel is lacking, but we see each do with the resurrection what they have done throughout their writing, in that they provide different details and particulars around the same events. As we look at today’s passage in John, we see him relay in no uncertain terms what his motivation, his driving force in writing the fourth and final gospel account is. The lessons and events are recorded with singular purpose – that they may foster belief, and that in that belief you may know salvation.

That you may Believe

““On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’

1. Belief through Peace

John starts by providing us with a day and time – it’s still resurrection Sunday. Jesus has passed from death into life, He has appeared to a group of His women followers as recorded in Matthew’s gospel, and to Mary Magdelene independently as we saw from John last week. Using what Paul said in 1 Corinthians for context, it seems that Jesus has also appeared to Peter at this point, though we don’t see that occur. We also know that John saw the linen wrappings and the face covering set aside in the tomb and believed, but John 20:10 tells us that Peter and John returned to their homes. We don’t get a clear picture as to whether or not these two are present here when Jesus appears, only that Thomas is absent, but I’m inclined to think that they’re missing as well, as their belief is missing from the position we see these disciples in. Jesus has risen as He said He would, and the news of this has been relayed to these men, if not through Peter and John, then at least through the report of the women, and specifically Mary Magdalene. But we find them locked away, filled with fear. Unable to see that Jesus went to the cross of His own will, in keeping with the plan of the Father, they are afraid of the ruling Jews who had their Master put to death. In this place of uncertainty and fear Jesus comes to them. There is never a point in time where we can call Jesus “limited,” however after His glorification on the cross and His resurrection, He seems to operate with less restraint. Jesus is fully God and fully Man, entirely flesh and entirely Spirit in a way that our minds can’t completely comprehend, though He helps illustrate it here. Walls and locked doors are not a barrier to Him – something that gnostic teachings would take and use to claim that Jesus was not flesh, but spirit. Luke’s gospel shows us that this is exactly what the disciples think when they see Him, just as when He walked on water, defying what we know as the laws of nature, that He is a ghost. But Jesus is not merely spirit, but is very much alive. This is conveyed by Luke, as with John, in Jesus showing the wounds on His body to attest to who He is, and as John would later show, Jesus eating, marking Him as not purely spirit. But John drives this home in a different way beyond the wounds of nails and spear. Jesus appears in the midst of His disciples and says, “Peace be with you.” After showing them His hands and His side He repeats again, “Peace be with you,” now adding that “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” Isaiah 9:6 prophesied of the coming Messiah saying,

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Jesus is the Christ, the One Isaiah wrote of. He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and He is the Prince of Peace. His words to the disciples, “Peace be with you,” is to say, “I am with you.” Jesus is the very manifestation of Peace. What’s more, coupled with this same news that Peace is upon them, we see a summary of the great commission, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” This too doesn’t gel with human logic – Jesus was sent by the Father to die, brutally, sacrificially for the sins of man. He was also sent to bless the world, to deliver the good news of the Truth, and to bring Light to those lost in darkness. If we look back to the book of Jeremiah, things are not going particularly well for the southern kingdom of Judah, and it’s entirely their fault. They have turned from God, and their worship of pagan idols has entirely corrupted them. As God speaks through Jeremiah of the coming judgement, Jeremiah 16:5 says,

“For thus says the LORD: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the LORD.”

In a very different set of circumstances, Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 10:16–23,

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

Jerusalem looked on toward death by sword, pestilence, and famine, with the remnant of survivors facing exile and captivity. The disciples looked on toward the persecution they would face in sharing the name of Christ – a mission Jesus reemphasizes in telling them that they are sent as the Father sent Him. But though both paths lead to great suffering, the differences are night and day, because while Israel had forsaken Gpd and had His peace stripped from them, Jesus who goes forth with His followers is the Peace of God. This is how Paul could write in Philippians 4:11–13,

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

Our peace is not governed by worldly prosperity or suffering, but by whether or not we go forward with Christ. Ephesians 6:10-17 is a heavily quoted passage that speaks of the armor of God. I meditate on this passage frequently, because as I pray and contemplate this, I keep being opened to new qualities and connections in the implications of each piece of armor. Something that struck me recently was that Isaiah 59:17 makes reference to God putting on, “righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head.” I always read Ephesians as “this is the armor that God has given us,” but what Isaiah made me realize is that the armor of God is God’s armor, which He has given us. This is a correction and a perfecting of what we see king Saul try to do in 1 Samuel 17 when he dresses David in his own armor to fight Goliath. The gesture is wonderful, but the armor was unfamiliar and ill-suited for David, and so the shepherd boy who will one day be king goes forth without it. God clothes us in His own armor, and it’s perfect, it meets every need. I draw attention to this because Ephesians 6:15 says of the armor,

“And, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.”

You put on armor for combat. We’re called to dress ourselves in this to go forth to war against the spiritual darkness of the world. And yet we’re shod in peace… As we march toward and through conflict, every step we take is marked by peace – because though there will be battles in the world, the outcome is already decided, the work is finished, Peace already won when He gave up His life on the cross, and then took it back up out of the tomb. And this Peace is who stands among the disciples, coming to them in their fear and grief and delivering the message to them to take heart, “Peace be with you.”

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’”

This raises a question, or a few questions depending on how you want to approach things. Mainly, did these disciples receive the Holy Spirit twice? It may seem like a silly question, but it does in many respects look like Jesus is blessing them with the Holy Spirit now, but then we see Acts 2:1–4 say,

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

It doesn’t fit that the disciples in John 20 (who are not even all of the eleven remaining disciples), would somehow receive a double measure of the Spirit. Ephesians 4:4–6 tells us,

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

And so ruling this out, some theorize that this is Jesus temporarily giving them the Spirit until they receive it permanently at Pentecost. There is some precedent in Scripture for specific or temporary blessings through the Spirit. Exodus 31:1–5 says,

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.”

In this instance, we see God fill Bezalel with His Spirit so that the tent of meeting and all the items to accompany it could be properly made as the Lord had commanded. In a somewhat similar way, we see Samson in Judges 15:14,

“When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands.”

While the Spirit rushed upon him, this wasn’t a permanent thing. Be neither of these examples seem to fit what Jesus is doing here. The words “receive the Holy Spirit,” aren’t delivered with any qualifiers, and there isn’t a temporary task or mission that the disciples are presented with. Jesus tells them to receive the Spirit and next says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” While we’ll discuss what that means next, it’s not a temporary thing, but a lasting responsibility. So where does this land us on when these disciples received the Spirit? Acts 1 ends with the eleven together, and the promotion of Matthias, another follower of Jesus, who is chosen by lot to be added to the core group and return their number to twelve. It is immediately after this that we roll into Acts 2, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.” It seems fairly simple to conclude then that these disciples who Jesus stands among in John 20 were indwelled by the Holy Spirit at the same time as the other followers of Christ, at Pentecost. So then what are we seeing in John 20? John actually helps us understand through a specific word he uses for “breathed.” Last week I touched on Genesis 2:7 which says,

“then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

I used this (not knowing about the connection to today’s passage at the time), to connect God first breathing life into man, and Jesus drawing the breath of life into Himself, taking His life back up to raise from the grave. The word used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), for “breathed” in Genesis 2:7 is “emphysaō.” We only see this word once in all of the New Testament, and it’s when John wrote that Jesus “breathed” on the disciples. We’ll circle back to this, but He breathes on them, tells them to receive the Spirit, and then says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” This verse is what is largely used by some denominations and groups imitating Christianity to give support to the idea of Apostolic succession, to us still needing priests to intercede on our behalf despite being told in 1 Peter 1:9 that in Christ we are all part of a “royal priesthood.” Jesus breathes the breath of Life, His breath, that He gave to man in the beginning, and that He took back up into Himself when He conquered the grave, out onto the disciples, and He tells them that in His Spirit, the Spirit of Life, they have this authority to bind and loose sin. But while pivotal, this isn’t new information. Jesus said in Matthew 18:15–20,

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Now yes, in this passage as well, Jesus is speaking to the disciples – but if you take everything that Jesus said to the disciples and treat it as though it only applies to them, we’re cutting out a lot of Scripture that most certainly applies to us. The disciples aren’t handed the authority to forgive and condemn based upon their whims, but are granted this under the guiding Spirit and authority of Christ. Romans 6:3–4 says,

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

We have all died to sin, we have all been raised to new life in the Spirit. This is what Jesus exhales upon the disciples, the symbol of the life within His lungs blown out upon them – blown out upon us all. And with this, the responsibility, the weight, and authority, and discernment, not by our own understanding, but in Him, to see, and know, and call with lasting accuracy what is righteousness and what is sin.

2. Belief through Seeing

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘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.’ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”

In any passage of Scripture I read I’m always asking a number of questions. Firstly, what does this tell me about God? Before understanding anything else, it’s important to search the foundation, and build up from there. So, in contemplating what the Word says about the character and nature of God, I can then apply it to myself, to others, and to the world at large. If you twist the order, you end up looking at God through the lens of the world, instead of the world through the lens of God. Thomas gets viewed through a worldly lens all too often. He was a follower of Jesus, one of the original twelve disciples, and was raised to Apostle, martyred according to church history, while sharing the gospel. Did he doubt? Absolutely. Does he deserve to be branded forever as “doubting Thomas,” used often as an insult and rebuke for those with questions? No. Matthew’s gospel shows Jesus foretell His death and resurrection three times. Matthew 16:2,

“From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Matthew 17:22–23,

“As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.’ And they were greatly distressed.”

And finally, Matthew 20:17–19,

“And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’”

You know who heard Jesus say this all three times? Thomas. You know who else heard Jesus say this all three times? The rest of the twelve disciples. They all heard, yet none of them had ears to hear. When the women came, when Mary Magdalene came, when the two who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus came, all to testify that they had seen the Lord raised, none of them believed. Despite His words prophesying His death and resurrection, none of them had believed until Jesus appeared before them. Were they wrong? Absolutely. Should we sympathize with them? Of course. It seems to be the case that it is always easier to imagine having faith in a situation than it is to actually have faith when the time arrives. Peter helped illustrate this when, despite his zeal, he denied Christ, and we should look back on the stumblings of our brothers with compassion and humility. While they all fell short in this regard, Thomas does display a bit more hardheartedness. They all had the benefit of having heard Jesus say what was to come, but Thomas also has his fellow disciples attesting to the truth of Christ resurrected – but in some way, I admire him. He should have been obedient to the words of Jesus, he should have listened to testimony of far more than two witnesses, but he wasn’t convinced, and in his stubbornness, he also shows the depth of his devotion to Christ. He would not give his hope, his joy, his devotion to anything but the One true Messiah, and He had to be absolutely certain before he would believe. In his declaration, Thomas gives a list of qualifiers, “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.” Again, we often look at Thomas and think this is too much, that he’s too cynical and goes too far, but consider for a moment that Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he asks for. Jesus says in Matthew 7:7–11,

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

And He says again and again in the upper room, in a number of slightly varied ways what we see in John 14:13–14,

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

Should Thomas have had greater faith, a more tender heart, and a keener ear for the words of Jesus? Of course, but if Thomas’ request had been wrong or immoral, Jesus wouldn’t have met his needs so specifically. And Thomas, for his part, responds appropriately. He touches the wounds of his risen Savior and proclaims, “My Lord and my God!” When the scribes and Pharisees came to question Jesus, they didn’t seek Truth or knowledge, but wanted to entrap Jesus and discredit Him publicly. So when He answers one question, they slink off to think of another. In John 6, when Jesus multiplied bread and fish to feed thousands, the crowds followed after Him seeking more food. When He called them to something beyond mortal nourishment, obeying the One whom God has sent, they ask Him in John 6:30,

“… Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?”

They followed Him because of the sign that He performed, but now that Jesus calls them to obedience, they want another sign. Thomas, for his faults, doesn’t do this. He asks, Jesus answers, he believes. There’s no wheedling, no bargaining, or backtracking – Thomas receives the blessing of the assurance of Jesus, and believes as he said he would. Thomas isn’t perfect – none but Jesus are. But there’s much that we can take away from him if we look past the doubting caricature so many of us hold him as, and see him for the flawed but committed follower of Jesus that he was.

3. Belief through Faith

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ 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, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

I mentioned earlier that I spend a fair amount of time contemplating and praying on the “Armor of God” passage from Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6:16 says,

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”

Some time ago I had a conversation with a young woman where she told me, “I don’t believe everything the Bible says, but I believe in Jesus – I’ve got blind faith.” We are called to have faith certainly, but nowhere in scripture are we told to have “blind” faith. That conversation still picks at me, and it led me to think on and appreciate the shield of faith in a different light. Stemming from my childhood and reaching far beyond, I pictured a knights shield for a very long time – a quick image search for “crusader shield” and you’ll see what I had in mind. Then I realized at some point that the knights armor I was imaging was in use somewhere in the 1400-1500’s and that certainly wasn’t what Paul was referencing in Ephesians. Rather a first century Roman shield was a large rectangle, roughly two feet by four feet, made of layers of wood glued and braced together for stability. The outer layer was made of leather, which could be soaked in water before battle to extinguish flaming arrows – and in case the faith symbolism of this shield wasn’t enough already, the shields were designed to be locked together with one another for even greater protection. This layered construction is supported Biblically with how our own faith is to operate. 2 Peter 1:5–9 tells us,

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

Virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love. To have them is to be covered and protected by a properly constructed shield, a shield formed and braced by God. But to lack them… To lack them is to be so lost that we don’t even know who we are as forgiven and changed children of God. And this is why John writes his gospel account. Thomas saw Jesus and believed, but we are blessed when we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, when we who have never seen Him in the flesh are affirmed by the working of His Spirit, revealed to us by eyes He has opened, spoken to us from His Word. John tells us, as we’ve discussed multiple times, that he’s not writing an exact history, not delving into every matter on every subject, but pens his account with the express purpose that you may have faith in the life, and death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, that in this faith you would believe, and that in this belief you would know life, to the glory of God the Father.

Pastor Chris’ sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCHEMkdyE3E