John 20:19-31
19 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." 27Then 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.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with
you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his
side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus
said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I
send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the
Holy Spirit.”
·
The first part of this Gospel passage
tells of what happened Easter evening. Jesus comes into the locked room and has
a message for his disciples, beginning with him saying simply “Peace
be with you.” In the face of upsetting, confusing, and even
unbelievable things, his message begins with “Peace be with you.”
That greeting would be not only calming, but reassuring in the face of such a
tremendous surprise.
·
When the angels announce the birth of
Jesus to the shepherds, they begin with “Don’t be afraid.” which is
just about the same greeting. That first Easter night, the disciples may not
have realized how much they will have to face, but they have nothing to fear
from Jesus. He is not simply revived, but resurrected. The wounds he bears
identify him as the one who was crucified and he is not exactly the same. Someone
who had survived crucifixion would not be in such good shape. Things are
different. Resurrection is not just getting up; resurrection is something quite
different.
·
Add to that, his entry into the
locked room. That shows that things have changed radically. He doesn’t knock or
use the door; Jesus came and stood among them. He’s just in the room.
·
When Jesus said “Peace be with you.”,
he greeted his disciples with traditional Jewish greeting: Shalom
aleikhem, which means “Peace be with you.” But there is a lot more.
·
Here “peace” – “Shalom”- as a Hebrew phrase can mean both hello or
goodbye when used as a greeting. As a greater sense however, it means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety,
soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the
absence of agitation or discord. There is a lot packed into that word,
particularly when uttered by the resurrected Jesus. It means far more than
“Calm down!”
·
He is telling them that what they
experience in seeing him is the fulfillment of what he had said. He is also
preparing them for what is next.
·
Jesus has a mission for the apostles
and the assembled disciples. “As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.” Jesus came to preach the Good News of God’s grace and to proclaim
the nearness of God’s Kingdom. His mission has become the mission of the
Church. What he was sent to do, we are also sent to do. We are commissioned to
proclaim the Kingdom of God and to tell the Good News of freedom and grace.
·
Jesus did that and look what happened
to him. After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
His wounds identified him. Although he was resurrected and returned to life in
a powerful way, he remained (and remains) wounded. This is how his disciples
recognized him as the one who had been crucified.
·
There is another point here. If we
have the same mission as Jesus, we can expect the same treatment as Jesus. He
underwent suffering for the Kingdom and the Gospel and for who he is. His
wounds are also an indication to us that his sufferings might be ours as well.
·
What would prepare the disciples for
this on that first Easter night? What could be given to them to see them
through was was to come even though the future was unknown and uncertain?
·
Jesus next words are the answer to
that. “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In this case in particular,
the sending of the Spirit is tied to the forgiveness of sin as part of the
Church’s ministry. But going further, the Spirit is the Church’s life and by
the Spirit’s power and inspiration, everything in the Church’s life is done.
·
Some scripture scholars believe that
the end of this passage was the original ending of John’s Gospel and that what
follows was added later. Whether or not that is true is a question for finer
minds. However the ending of this passage is a message for us here and now.
·
John wrote Now Jesus did many other signs
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 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.
What happens in this passage, including the expression faith by Thomas and
Jesus’ assurance that those who come to believe are no less Christian, no less
called, and no less blessed than those first disciples: “Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have come to believe."
·
This passage was written for all
those who would come to faith by the witness of other Christians, including
each of us here. We are among those who have not seen yet have come to believe.
In the same way, the greeting of peace/Shalom to the disciples assembled that
Easter evening is ours as well. The commission they received is given to us as
well. And the breath of the Spirit reaches to us as well.
·
Our courage might not be as strong as
that of the early disciples and our ability to teach might not measure up to
that of the apostles. That doesn’t matter to Jesus because he imparts peace to
us, sends us, and breathes the Spirit into us as he did to them… just as he did
to them.
Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and
said, "Peace be with you."
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