John 37 Doubts And Fears
DOUBTS AND FEARS
#37
John 20:19-31
“19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: 23 whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:19-31).
He Comes with Peace
That first day, nothing was certain for the apostles. Was Mary Magdalene just crazy and hysterical? Why was the tomb empty? Where was the body? Could He really be risen? Where is He? We can't be seen in public right now. They'll blame us! They know we were with Him. Will they kill us? The fear, anxiety, and endless questions drove them to seclusion. They found a safe room to gather together. They locked the door. They had no idea what to do next. And then suddenly, He was there. Right there. He appeared in the room, bringing the very thing they needed most. "Peace be with you" (John 20:19).
It's really Him. He showed them His side and hands. They could see the wounds for themselves, and a joy took over them one could hardly imagine. All of the fear, angst, and confusion dissipate in the presence of the Lord. It's time to celebrate (John 16:20, 22). A second time, He says to them, "Peace be with you" (John 20:21). Accompanying this peace is a sign of the Spirit. In His farewell address, Jesus promised the Spirit several times.
He also said, "If I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you" (John 16:7). The Spirit will be the abiding presence of Jesus after his ascension to the Father. At this appearance in the locked room, Jesus is still with them because He hasn't ascended yet. While among them, He breathes on them and commands, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). This is a comforting reminder that they will receive the Holy Spirit when Jesus departs. In that way, He will always be with them. When forgiving sin, practicing church discipline, and preaching the gospel, they can have assurance Jesus is with them.
Thomas Wasn't There
This amazing confirmation of the resurrection and Christ's victory over the spiritual forces of wickedness in the world was a source of peace to the disciples. They hadn't wasted their time. They were not wrong. Jesus was not a failure. What this means for the future is still uncertain, but Jesus is going to be a part of it no matter what.
Except, not all of the disciples were actually there. Mary has seen and believes. The disciples have seen and now believe, yet one disciple wasn't in that room. So he gets his own story.
"Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came" (John 20:24). Jesus likes nicknames. Peter is a nickname for Simon. Peter and Cephas are the Greek and Aramaic words for "rock." Jesus gives him this nickname in John 1:42. Thomas is a nickname, too. Thomas is the Semitic word for "twin," and Didymus is the Greek word for "twin."
In our text, we find Thomas meeting up with the disciples after Jesus departed. They tell him all about it: "We have seen the Lord!" (John 20:25). They report to Thomas what Mary reported to them (John 20:18). Still, those other disciples were fearful and confused until they saw Jesus for themselves. Thomas is the same way. He cannot accept it. He has ten disciples he's known for years proclaiming the resurrection to him, but he cannot accept it. These trustworthy eyewitnesses promise him Jesus is alive, but he cannot believe it.
This same Thomas who was willing to die with Jesus just a short time earlier (John 11:16) cannot believe unless he sees and touches the wounds in Jesus' hands and side. The other disciples were able to see it for themselves. Thomas needs to also.
Thomas, at this moment, is in the same situation as those he will later evangelize. He knows the tomb is empty, and he's heard eyewitnesses tell him the Lord has risen. Will he believe it? Thomas has seen Jesus turn water into wine, feed 5,000, walk on water, heal the blind, and even raise the dead. What more will it take?
Remember the nobleman's son back in John 4:46-54? That was the second sign Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. Jesus laments, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe" (John 4:48). He then heals the nobleman's son without ever seeing him. And the nobleman believes Jesus before ever seeing his son healed. He believed based on the testimony of Jesus. Can Thomas? Can Thomas believe the testimony of those around him?
No. He can't. It's actually not until "after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus again enters, though the doors are shut, and for the third time says, 'Peace be with you' (John 20:26). Thomas sees. I imagine his eyes have never been wider and his jaw never lower. Jesus looks at him and tells him, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here with your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27). We're not told whether Thomas ever did touch Him. There probably was no need at that point. We are told what he says though: "My Lord and my God!" Now he sees. Now he believes. Now, he testifies in the boldest of ways about who Jesus is.
The Greatest Sign of All
Jesus wants us to believe as well. He wants us to trust. When He saw Thomas, He didn't rebuke him. He didn't refuse him evidence. He appeared bringing peace and the evidence Thomas needed.
Yet Thomas should have believed and trusted the testimony. He should have trusted the signs. He should have trusted what Jesus promised. On this, Jesus challenges him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (John 20:29). While that challenge is to Thomas, it is also to me and you and everyone who has heard the story of Jesus without seeing it. Jesus blesses us if we do what Thomas could not. Can we believe the signs based on testimony? This entire Gospel is called "a testimony" of the beloved disciple (John 21:24). Can we believe the one Jesus loved? Can we believe even if we weren't there to see?
John concludes this section with the purpose statement for the whole Gospel: "30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31).
The resurrection itself is the greatest sign ever performed. The raising of Lazarus, which proved Jesus is "the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25) is merely a shadow of what was to be accomplished by Jesus. Bringing Lazarus momentarily back to life painfully struck death on the heel, but the ultimate resurrection to eternal life of Jesus dealt Death its crushing blow to the head. Death will never recover. That is the ultimate sign.
There are many other signs which could have been written, but these are sufficient. They portray a picture of Jesus not merely as a good man, a powerful prophet, and even the Messiah but as Lord and God. I'd love to know the other signs, but the beloved disciple leaves us wondering. He does that a lot actually. And that's fine. He's done enough. Will you believe? Will you take hold of the eternal life found in the name of Jesus?