Is it really him? Who is this Jesus that has risen from the dead? What form has he taken? What is his message after the cross? “On the evening of the 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.” John 20:19-20 What a state of confusion their minds must have been in! How did Jesus get in? But we can touch him. He has the scars that would be there from what happened to him on the cross. He looks like Jesus. He acts like Jesus. Very quickly their minds come to rest that he is indeed the Lord. He has risen from the dead and is standing here with them. Joy and elation!
“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.’” John 20:21-23 Jesus is again preparing them for another transition. He will not stay with them in this physical form. He is sending them in his place and giving them authority to forgive. They are to carry his love and forgiveness to others. Are they up for the task? Jesus seems to believe they are. Will they remember what he has taught them over the last three years? Will they be able to apply those teachings in different situations?
“Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.’” John 20:24-25 For this, he earned the name ‘Doubting Thomas’. Not that I can blame him. It is an incredulous idea that someone could walk out of a tomb after three days and they sure wouldn’t have taken him down from the cross if he wasn’t dead! I know that he brought a few people back to life over the last couple of years, but who is to bring the life back into him if he is dead? Wait a minute. What did he say in his prayer about him and the Father being one? Was it the Father in him raising people from the dead? Could it be that the same Father would actually raise Jesus from the dead as well? But I want to see it for myself and know that he really is alive.
“A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” John 20:26-29 Thomas is blessed to have been able to put his finger on the scars – to feel the flesh of the risen Lord. But what about me? Can I believe in a risen Lord that I have not physically touched?
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31 John has given testimony after testimony of what he heard and saw and experienced with Jesus. Now he boldly states his purpose – so that whoever finds themselves reading these words would come to believe that Jesus is the Christ.
During this ‘wondering’ through John, I saw something that I had not ever given much thought before. Everything that John chose to include from his experiences with Christ was to convince the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He now clearly states that. He hopes we will accept his testimony and believe so that we can have life in Jesus’ name. His Gospel is different from Matthew, Mark and Luke in that his purpose was not to record Jesus’ teachings, but rather convince us that Jesus is the Christ. Once we get that, then Jesus’ teachings become very important to us and the hunger develops to read, absorb, and understand what Jesus had to say about everyday living. What did he teach about right and wrong? What did he teach about our relationship with God?
I am grateful John took the time to write these inspired words. It gives me grace as I cycle through life with moments of walking boldly with my Lord and moments of doubt. It encourages me to back off the flesh demanding, “Prove it!” And it allows my spirit to connect with the Holy Spirit and experience the peace and assurance that Jesus is indeed the Christ and that his love for me knows no bounds. “Peace be with you. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 20:19; 3:17
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