Jesus Appears to Disciples and Thomas
Notes
Transcript
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.”
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.”
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.
For the next few weeks, we’re going to take a look at the post-resurrection narratives in the Gospels. As we transition from the season of Lent, to the season of Easter, and point towards the celebration of Pentecost in early June, we’re going to look at some of these early encounters with the risen Christ. What was it like to encounter him? What kind of Dangerous Hope did his presence inspire? What would it be like to live in the aftermath of Jesus’ death? Would you believe the reports of his resurrection, or would you need to see if for yourself?
These are aftermath stories, post-script stories. John has a particular narrative he is trying to close here, moving from the rushed narrative of Resurrection Sunday at the tomb, now to the mysterious appearance of Jesus with the disciples.
This morning, I’m going to talk about what happens after the thing, after the event, after.
And then we’re going to look at how important it is to have tangible, lived, felt, touching experiences of Jesus. Where flesh and bone get involved.
And lastly, this text challenges us to consider how we live as inheritors of this story, these narratives of surprise, confirmation, bewilderment, and sending. How will we interact with the Risen Christ when they arrive to us? Will we hear the word of Peace? Will we offer it in return?
Aftermath
What happens in the aftermath is so important. It tells us whether the idea took hold, the protest made progress, the celebration honored — does the hope of the event endure?
And in this sense, the event is wide-reaching. We’re talking about the aftermath of the crucifixion, obviously. This was not a happy time, not a celebration. What happens in the aftermath of this public execution? We’re also talking about the aftermath of Jesus’ past week, the events leading up to Passover. The peaceful march into the city. The teaching and rebuking in the temple. The last supper, the Garden of Gethseneme, the mockery of a trial.
If you’re Peter, for instance, you’re living in the aftermath of your public denials of your mentor and friend, along with the peculiar news from Mary that the body of Jesus is missing.
If you’re maybe one of the friends of the disciples, maybe the aftermath looks like packing up and heading out, leaving that life behind, trying to salvage some of the hope and way of being that Jesus shared.
If you’re one of the roman guards, perhaps you’re the one whose eyes were opened on the Mountain of the Skull, where Jesus was murdered. Perhaps you saw something that made you realize this was not a charade, but that this man truly was the Son of God.
The Apostle John opens up this reading with a description of how the followers of Jesus we’re doing in the aftermath — they were afraid. Consider again the context — maybe you’re one of the disciples who thought Jesus was going to bring about an uprising…and he didn’t…and now you’re scared, because obviously the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman occupiers are paying attention now. You were with him, weren’t you? So they’re gathered in fear. Doors locked.
These moments, after the death, after the storm, after the bomb drops, after the car crash. These are pivotal moments. What’s the next move? Can we keep going?
So certainly there’s exhaustion and fear.
But this story takes a different trajectory. To the exhaustion and fear, Jesus says, “Peace be with you.”
Peace. Eirene, in Greek. The word spoken throughout the Scriptures as the shalom that God will usher in in God’s kingdom reign. Particularly, it’s the same word that Jesus instructs the disciples with, as they go out to share the Good News in the Gospel of Matthew, two-by-two. It’s the word we use when we pass the Peace — peace be with you. Jesus told them that if I home greeting the wandering disciples in Peace, they were to trust in their hospitality and welcome.
Peace.
Into the uncertain aftermath of this time, Jesus speaks peace to us.
And what kind of peace is it? What does that shalom peace look taste feel sound like?
The peace that Jesus speaks upon his disciples is the peace of the descending Holy Spirit. It is a peace that calms our fears.
Do you ever get really worked up and just need to sit and breathe for a minute to collect yourself? No, just me?
To hear the calm words of, Peace be with you, in a moment like that. I know when I can pause and breathe that calm word, Peace, something can begin to shift in me. My pulse slows. My breath gets steadier.
Of course, you’ve heard me say it before — the way we breathe is a clear way we can encounter the Holy Spirit. Ruah, the Hebrew word for breath and Spirit; pneuma the Greek counterpart. To breathe and to receive the peace — this is to be changed, renewed, resurrected ourselves. The spirit’s peace descends and the disciples rejoice. From fear to gladness. Seeing and feeling Jesus’ hands and feet. From fear to peace.
As a child, I remember holding my fathers hands and tracing the scars across their surface. Where did this one come from, Dad? How did that happen? A mixture of fear, as a child worried about his parent’s wellbeing, followed by peace, knowing that the cuts had healed.
In therapeutic terms, Jesus helps the disciples regulate and reset.
I want to talk specifically about Thomas, because John draws his questioning into sharp focus. But before, let me say this: These are resurrection accounts. And I know that there are many of us today who hold some pretty fair skepticism about the veracity of these claims. We don’t see resurrection happening here and now. We don’t get to have our loved ones back from the grave and until we get all the wacky biohacking and longevity science figured out, we all know we’re headed to the grave ourselves someday. Reality check.
I want to encourage those of us, who struggle to “buy” the whole resurrection thing, to not check out in these stories. Instead, I invited you to be curious. What do these stories tell you about living in the aftermath? Is there a way for us to see restoration and new life bubbling up in these accounts? What if the resurrection is now being passed, like the peace, into these followers of Jesus, so that they themselves can speak renewed life into the world?
And what if we could be people of the resurrection already, but not yet. Meaning, what if we can hold the tension of the possibility that this did in fact happen, along with the reality that resurrection does not truly happen until all things are restored. Already, not yet. This is the way of Christianity. Waiting in hope, living in the now.
But ok, let’s talk about Thomas. Blessed blessed Thomas.
Let’s give Thomas a fair shake today. I’m not interested in beating the drum of “oh silly doubting Thomas. If only he’d just believe without seeing.
Thomas embodies these skepticisms that so many of us feel. I’ll believe it when I see it. Seeing is believing. However you want to say it, we get the sentiment.
Materiality
We need to touch, taste, feel — we have these God-given senses and want to employ them to verify the nature of what’s happening in this moment.
We understand this need.
I think about 5 years ago, when we were in the earliest days of the COVID pandemic. I think of how much we all realized our need for in person, physical interactions. The thisness of other people. Touch, sound, presence. Zoom didn’t translate those very well, did it?
Truly, Thomas wants what the other disciples received. Presence. Touch. He doesn’t want to just take their word for it.
Again, for those of us who struggle with how to reconcile resurrection with our modern understandings of science and life and consciousness. We want to see the proof.
Thomas is called the doubter. And we might consider that a putdown, a pejorative. But in reality, isn’t Thomas so much like us in the aftermath? Thomas the doubter? How about Thomas the deeply faithful, to a point that he doesn’t believe it unless it’s something he experiences with his body. Thomas the contemplative, wondering at the mystery of this new life in Christ, but skeptical at it all the same. Thomas the courageous, who demands more. Don’t you want more? More presence, more truth, more confirmation that this is actually the good news we sense it might be?
There’s a stream of philosophical thought which discusses the material. Basically, it’s this premise that all knowledge is contained in the material, the physical, and to truly know, one must interact with physical, material reality. The rest is just conjecture. What we know comes from what we experience. Materialism.
To be a Christian is practice a dance between faith in something more and the intimate interplay with materiality. Yes, we believe in the resurrection from the dead. We just want to see the scars.
Interacting with Resurrection
I know that these texts may not convince you one way or another in your stance on what resurrection truly means. That’s ok. Skepticism, doubt, questions, curiosity — these postures are welcome here. You don’t have questions or doubts if you don’t care. I genuinely grow in my faith when I embrace and explore my doubts. Not because they go away, but because they deepen the truth we find as we explore the mysteries of faith.
But I want to close with the material, the real.
How can we learn from Thomas? How can we learn with these disciples as they receive the peace?
Jesus tells a parable in his ministry that gets to the heart of these questions.
Jesus tells a story about when God will come in glory, when all the promises of resurrection and restoration come to bear fruit. Hear Matthew 25:31-40
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’
You want practical, tactile, material faith?
The resurrected Christ lives in us now. So where is the risen Lord? In the poor. In our beloved. In the child. In the orphan or widow. Christ comes to us through the people of our lives.
Do you want to believe in and practice and live resurrection? It begins, then, with how we encounter the least of these in Jesus’ name.
When you did this unto me, you did this unto the least of these. Amen.
