John 20:19-31

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

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.’ 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. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’

Jesus and Thomas

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, 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 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.’

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.’ 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.’ 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 come to believe.’

The Purpose of This Book

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. 

John is the only Gospel writer to include the Easter story of doubting Thomas. Thomas is not with the other disciples when the risen Lord appears. He refuses to believe their testimony unless he can see and touch for himself the wounds on Jesus’ crucified body. Interestingly, Jesus shows the other disciples his hands and side too and it is only then that they rejoice. The implication is that they also needed to see these wounds before they could believe. 

This is one of only two resurrection accounts that take place in the evening. The other is the appearance of Jesus to Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-25). Some churches have sunrise services to remember the discovery of the empty tomb early in the morning. If you are not an early riser, take heart that Easter can also be celebrated in the evening!

Jesus’ greeting to the disciples, repeated three times in this passage, is “Peace be with you”. The gift of peace to troubled, fearful hearts has been offered by Jesus earlier in John’s Gospel too, in a passage often read at funerals.  “Peace be with you” has become a liturgical greeting for us, but Jesus was simply saying “Hello”. Muslims greet one another with the same words today. “Salaam alaikum” means “peace be upon you”.

Thomas’ acknowledgement of Jesus as “My Lord and my God” is a clear declaration of faith and understanding and some scholars believe that this was originally intended to be the climax of John’s Gospel. Verses 30-31 certainly read like a concluding statement of purpose and verse 29 is a closing blessing from Jesus to future readers like you and me:  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Be safe!  Be well! The Lord is Risen Indeed!

 To Ponder:

• Why was Thomas not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared? Where do you think he had gone?
• Try saying “Peace be with you” instead of “Hello” when you call or message people this week and see what response you get.