April 19, 2009 - The 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B

SCRIPTURE STUDY
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B
APRIL 19, 2009

SCRIPTURE: John 20:19-31

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.

EXEGESIS:

VERSES 1-21: THE CONTEXT

This Gospel is a richly woven tapestry that derives its richness from inter-related threads. For example:

• In the Prologue, the Evangelist declared, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being" (1:1-3a). Now Thomas addresses Jesus as "My Lord and my God" (v. 28), reaffirming Jesus' deity. Many scholars believe that chapter 21 was added later. If that is true, then this Gospel is framed by these beginning and ending statements about the deity of Jesus.

• Jesus promised the disciples, "I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you" (14:18). Now he returns after his resurrection to those who feel orphaned by the crucifixion.

• In that same discourse he said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (14:27). Now coming into the presence of the disciples, his first words to them are, "Peace be with you!" (v. 19). He repeats this giving of peace a week later when he meets again with the disciples and Thomas (v. 26).

• In his prayer shortly before his death, Jesus prayed, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you" (17:1). Now Jesus has been glorified on the cross and appears as the risen Savior to the disciples.

• Earlier, the Evangelist said, "...as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39). Now that Jesus has been glorified, he gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples (v. 22).

There are surely other examples, but these serve to illustrate how this week's Gospel lesson relates to themes expressed throughout the Gospel.


VERSES 19-31: JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES

"John gives a simple, straightforward account of this resurrection appearance, revealing his confidence in it. If he had been less certain, he would have embellished the account" (Lindberg, 61). The two appearances of Jesus take place a week apart, the first being on Easter evening and the second being after eight days (meth hemeras okto) –– often translated "a week later".

Jesus speaks to the disciples three times. "Each time his words give power to the disciples who hear them" (Althouse, 107):

• "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (vv. 19, 21).

• "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" (vv. 22-23).

• "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27).

This Gospel tells us that disciples are gathered, but not which disciples. In Luke's parallel telling of this story (Luke 24:36-49), it is the Eleven "and their companions" (24:33). In this Gospel, given Thomas' absence, it is really the Ten and their companions.

This Gospel shows us that there are different kinds of faith, and that faith comes in different ways and with differing intensities to different people. The beloved disciple believes upon seeing the empty tomb (v. 8). Mary believes when the Lord calls her name (v. 16). The disciples must see the risen Lord (v. 20). Thomas says that he must touch Jesus' wounds (v. 25) –– although that need seems to evaporate once he sees the risen Christ (v. 28). People have differing needs and find various routes to faith.

It is instructive to note that Thomas believed, lost faith, and then returned to even greater faith.


VERSES 19-23: THE FIRST APPEARANCE

19When 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 (Greek: kekleismenon –– from kleio –– closed or locked) for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."


"When it was evening on that day" (v. 19a). This is Easter evening, the same day that the disciples saw the empty tomb and Mary saw Jesus. This is consistent with Luke's account, where Jesus encountered two disciples on the Emmaus road "that same day" (Luke 24:13), which was "the first day of the week" (Luke 24:1). Once the disciples recognized Jesus, "he vanished from their sight" (Luke 24:31). "That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'" (Luke 24:33, 36).

The disciples meet in a room in Jerusalem "locked for fear of the Jews" (v. 19b). The locked doors reflect the fear of the disciples, but will also demonstrate the power of the risen Christ, who can be contained neither by a rock tomb nor a locked door.

It is surprising that the disciples are afraid, because Peter and "the other disciple" have seen the empty tomb (vv. 6-8) and "the other disciple" has seen and believed (v. 8). Mary Magdalene has spoken with the risen Christ and has told the disciples of her experience (v. 14-18). However, even after "the other disciple" has seen and believed, it is not clear what he believes, "for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead" (v. 9). Furthermore, the disciples are still traumatized by the crucifixion, and are frightened concerning what might happen next.

Their fear disappoints us, because they are acting like disciples whose leader is dead. Their fear "puts them, of course, in the same camp as the parents of the healed blind one and secret disciples like Joseph of Arimathea (9:22; 19:38).... Apparently, even the formerly 'Beloved' Disciple has been reduced to this sorry state of fear" (Howard-Brook, 456). However, after they see the risen Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, they will be transformed and emboldened.

"If the first disciples had reasons to fear, John's audience probably has similar reasons to fear the successors of the Judean authorities in their own day and therefore will learn from the model of assurance Jesus provides in this passage" (Keener, 1200-1201).

"Peace be with you" (v. 19c). To these frightened disciples, Jesus gives his peace, even as he has promised (14:27). The disciples will have peace in spite of persecution by a world that will hate them even as it hates Jesus (15:18-25). While this text uses the Greek word for peace, eirene, the concept is the Jewish shalom –– more than the absence of conflict –– a wholeness that is the gift of God. "In Jewish thought peace and joy were marks of the eschatological period when God's intervention would have brought about harmony in human life and in the world. John sees this period realized as Jesus returns to pour forth his Spirit upon men" (Brown, 1035).

"After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side" (v. 20a). On one hand, Jesus enters through a closed door, suggesting that his body has assumed a different quality. On the other hand, his wounds confirm his bodily resurrection, and his body is clearly recognizable by the disciples. Luke tells of Jesus eating a meal with the disciples (Luke 24:43). There is mystery here –– Jesus' resurrected body is, at the same time, like ours and not like ours. Paul speaks of the resurrection body as imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). However, we must not press the word "spiritual" too far, because Jesus' body is also clearly physical. "The significant point, of course, is that the very person who was crucified is risen" (Sloyan, 224).

In the day in which this Gospel was written, the church was having a serious problem with Docetists and Gnostics, both of whom believed that physical matter was evil and that therefore Jesus could not have been truly human. The mention of Jesus' wounded hands and side refutes that kind of dualism.

"The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord" (v. 20b). Earlier, Jesus warned the disciples that they would weep and mourn and experience pain, but then he promised, "your pain will turn into joy" (16:20) –– a joy so profound that they would forget their former pain, even as a woman forgets the anguish of labor pains "because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world" (16:21). This visit of Jesus to the disciples, then, is the fulfillment (or at least the beginning of the fulfillment) of that promise. The disciples did, indeed, weep and mourn and experience pain when Jesus was arrested and crucified. But now their pain has turned into joy at seeing Jesus alive once again.

This is also a turning point for the disciples. Never again will they be fearful and unbelieving.

Jesus gives the disciples his peace a second time and then says, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you" (v. 21). Earlier, in his High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed, "As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world" (17:18). Now he makes explicit to the disciples what he had spoken of in that prayer.

This is the Johannine equivalent of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). It reflects the principle that the authority of the one who is sent is the same as the authority of the one who sent him –– the king's emissary speaks with the authority of the king. God is present in the work of Jesus; Jesus will be present in the work of the disciples. It is a passing of the baton –– the designation of succession. "Jesus succeeds the Baptist and is followed by both the Spirit and the Twelve (minus Judas)" (Kostenberger, 574).

"When he had said this, he breathed on them" (v. 22a). However, to send these disciples into the world alone would be futile, so Jesus prepares them by breathing on them –– or breathing into them (Greek: enephusesen). Just as God breathed into man the breath of life (Genesis 2:7 –– LXX), Jesus breathes into the disciples the Spirit of life. This gift of the Spirit renews the life of these disciples just as Godly breath gave new life to the bones of the dead (Ezekiel 37:9). They have been afraid and confused –– hidden in a locked room to escape danger. Now they find strength to stand up, unlock the door, go outside, and begin their proclamation.

"Receive the Holy Spirit" (v. 22b). As far back as the first chapter of this Gospel, John the Baptist spoke of Jesus as "the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (1:33) –– and Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of the necessity of being "born of the Spirit" (3:8).

How can we reconcile this giving of the Spirit with the account of Pentecost in Acts 2?

• Some scholars say that the two accounts are irreconcilable and that verse 22 is the Johannine Pentecost.

• Others, noting the lack of a definite article –– Jesus says, "Receive Holy Spirit" rather than "Receive the Holy Spirit" –– believe that the disciples received something less than the full gift of the Spirit on this occasion.

• Others say that John knows of Pentecost, but writes the story this way "because of his peculiar theological vision that tightly ties the descent of the Spirit to Jesus' death/ exaltation.... John's account, in other words, is theological but not chronological" (Carson, 651).

• Still others say, "It is false alike to the New Testament and to Christian experience to maintain that there is but one gift of the Spirit. Rather the Spirit continually manifests himself in new ways.... John tells of one gift of the Spirit and Luke of another" (Morris, 748).

"If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (v. 23), This is reminiscent of Matthew 16:19 in which Jesus tells Peter, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 18:18 gives the same authority to the disciples in a context having to do with the resolution of church conflict.

Rabbis have the authority to "bind" and "loose" in the sense that they interpret the law to determine what is and is not allowed, but they do not forgive sins. Jesus breaks new ground here. "This mode of speech plainly shows that originally the formula 'loose and bind' describes the ...judge's declaration of the guilt or innocence of persons brought before him, who are 'bound' to or 'loosed' from the charges made against them" (Schlatter, quoted in Beasley-Murray, 383).

"In John, sin is a theological failing, not a moral or behavioral transgression (in contrast to Matt 18:18)" (O'Day, 847). Sin is a failure to see the truth –– a refusal to accept the risen Christ. Jesus is sending the disciples into the world, empowered by the Spirit, to proclaim the risen Christ. Some people will accept their testimony, and others will reject it. Their response will determine whether they will find themselves among those whose sins are forgiven or among those whose sins are retained.

Verse 23 raises two questions: First, does Jesus give power to forgive or to retain sins –– or only power to discern the will of God in particular cases and to make God's judgment known? Second, does Jesus give this power to individual Christians or to the church? While there may be some room for debate, one thing is clear –– only as we act under the leadership of the Spirit do we have any God-given power at all.

Williamson raises an interesting possibility. "This word of the risen Lord...can...be read as descriptive: if members of the community forgive one another their sins, those sins are forgiven and the community is living from and in the Spirit of Jesus; but if members of the community harbor grudges and resentment toward other members who have sinned against them, then those sins remain to spoil the bond of unity, and the Spirit of Jesus is no longer resident in the community" (Williamson, 283).


VERSES 24-25: UNLESS I SEE, I WILL NOT BELIEVE

24But Thomas (who was called the Twin [Greek: didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So 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."


"But Thomas (who was called the Twin [didymos]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came" (v. 24). Didymos is the Greek word for twin. We don't know why Thomas was absent, but we do know that he earlier thought that going to Bethany with Jesus would mean death for the disciples as well as Jesus (11:16).

"So the other disciples told him, 'We have seen the Lord' " (v. 25a). The first person to whom the disciples witness is one of their own, Thomas, who was not present when Jesus first appeared to them. Their words to Thomas ("We have seen the Lord") are essentially the same words ("I have seen the Lord") that Mary used to tell the disciples of her encounter with Jesus.

"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" (v. 25b). "Thomas' unwillingness to believe without seeing reflects a thread that runs throughout the Gospel; many respond to signs with faith (1:50; 10:38; 11:15, 40; 14:11) and refuse faith without signs (4:48; 6:30), but unless this faith matures into discipleship, it must prove inadequate in the end" (Keener, 1208).

Thomas does not believe the disciples, but neither did the disciples believe Mary. They were a despondent, defeated people until they saw Jesus with their own eyes.

Thomas's reaction "is undoubtedly not intended to lay down a serious condition for belief but to expose the absurdity of what they tell him: 'before I would believe that, I would first...'" (Ridderbos, 646-647).

"From the evangelist's perspective, Thomas's objection becomes a welcome foil for forestalling the incipient Gnostic notion that Jesus only appeared to be human" (Kostenberger, 578).

Thomas was not the sole doubter and will not remain a doubter. He doubts the witness of the other disciples and so cannot believe the resurrection. Once he sees what they have seen, he will manifest great faith.

A Preaching Point: "Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus made his first appearance to them. As a result, he refused to believe. This should serve as a lesson for us. It is difficult to believe when we do not strengthen ourselves with the fellowship of other believers" (Gossip, 798).

Thomas' demand to see the mark of the nails and to put his hand in Jesus' side is outrageous. Earlier, Jesus condemned those who demanded signs and wonders before they would believe (4:48). Thomas goes even further. "He is only prepared to lay aside his unfaith if the risen Jesus meets his criteria.... Thomas demands that Jesus be 'touchable.' ...He insists that the risen body of Jesus fulfill his requirements" (Moloney, 537).

However, Borchert provides an interesting perspective: "Although this statement of Thomas may seem to be quite obstinate, there is a sense in which contemporary believers ought to thank God that someone like Thomas was there to do the reality check for us" (Borchert, 312-313).

Perhaps we can understand Thomas' reluctance if we remember his words as Jesus prepared to go to Jerusalem –– "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (11:16). Thomas has been zealous for Jesus, but has seen his worst fears realized. The crucifixion has broken his heart. The phrase, "Once burned, twice shy!" comes to mind. Thomas believed, but his belief was betrayed. We can understand why he would be slow to believe again. Perhaps this is the reason for the great compassion and sensitivity with which Jesus reaches out to Thomas in the verses below.


VERSES 26-29: THE SECOND APPEARANCE

26A week later (Greek: meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) 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." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."


"A week later (meth hemeras okto –– after eight days) his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them" (v. 26a). The eight days are to be counted inclusively –– Sunday through Sunday –– it is once again the first day of the week. Jesus appears to them once again.

"Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them" (v. 26b). Once again the doors are shut, but no longer is there any mention of fear. All is the same as it was the previous Sunday except for this lack of fear. Jesus' appearance to the disciples the week before has transformed their fear to faith.

"Peace be with you" (v. 26c). Once again Jesus gives them his peace. The scene is very much parallel to that of a week earlier.

"Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side" (v. 27a). Jesus does not condemn Thomas for his failure to believe, but gives him that which enables him to believe (v. 27). Thomas has demanded to see and touch the risen Lord, and Jesus allows him to do that. There is no indication that Thomas actually touches Jesus' wounds. Seeing the wounded, resurrected Christ is enough.

"Do not doubt but believe" (v. 27b). Jesus says, "kai me ginou (and do not be) apistos (unbelieving) alla pistos (but believing)." We think of this as the Doubting Thomas story, but the word doubt does not appear unless we translate apistos that way.

"My Lord and my God!" (v. 28). In response, Thomas makes "the supreme christological pronouncement of the Fourth Gospel" (Brown, 1047). His confession goes far beyond any titles or confessions found elsewhere in this Gospel. "So it comes about that the most outrageous doubter of the resurrection of Jesus utters the greatest confession of the Lord who rose from the dead" (Beasley-Murray, 385).

Jesus responds by offering a blessing to "those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). In biblical times, a blessing had great meaning. "Of particular significance...was the blessing of a son by his father whereby a man passed on his property and authority to the next generation" (Myers, 162-163). "God...blesses people by giving life, riches, fruitfulness, or plenty (Gen. 1:22, 28). His greatest blessing is turning us from evil (Acts 3:25-26) and forgiving our sins (Rom. 4:7-8)" (Lockyer, 185).

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (v. 29). This is Jesus' final beatitude or blessing. These words will encourage early Christians who will feel cheated, having missed seeing Jesus by only a few months or years. They also encourage us, who are among those who have not seen but who have believed. The few first-generation Christians who saw Jesus in person have no advantage over the many later-generations of Christians who have not. Note that Jesus does not say that these later Christians will be more blessed than the "seeing" disciples, but only that they will be blessed.


VERSES 30-31: THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YOU MIGHT BELIEVE

30Now (Greek: men oun –– therefore) Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But 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.


In verse 29, Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who will believe. Now the narrator says, "Therefore (men oun)... these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God." The purpose of this Gospel is that we, the readers of this Gospel, may enjoy the promised blessing.

In this Gospel, Jesus' miracles are called signs. These signs give people reason to believe, but many who witness them do not believe (6:36). The choice is ours.

"and that through believing you may have life in his name" (v. 31b). Faith rather than works determines salvation (Romans 1:6; 4:1-3; 9:31-32; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 1:21; Galatians 3:1-12; Ephesians 2:8).

Most scholars agree that these verses conclude this Gospel in its original form. The Evangelist states the purpose of his writing –– that we might believe. He achieved this goal. Millions of Christians have been strengthened in their faith by reading this Gospel, and millions of others have been brought to faith, at least in part, by its witness to Christ.


TRUE STORY:

In her book, The Irrational Season, Madeleine L'Engle talks about doubt as a "virulent virus" that strikes us now and then.

She talks about the time that the doubt virus struck her. She had received a phone call about a friend –– a young woman living in a small Midwestern town –– who was kidnapped, raped, and brutally murdered. Then she encountered another friend –– a young woman who was grieving terribly over an abortion that she had the day before. They embraced each other and stood there weeping together.

And then, a few nights later, the doubt virus struck. She was lying in bed with the words of the Jesus Prayer wending through her consciousness. And then "I thought bitterly, why on earth am I saying these meaningless and empty words. They mean nothing. Lord Jesus Christ is only an illusion. There is nothing. Nada. Nada. Nada."

"And then I flung myself onto the words of the prayer like a drowning person clutching at a rope thrown into the dark sea. I held onto it with all my strength and I was slowly pulled from the waters which had been sucking me under, pulled out of the dark and into the light, and the Lord Jesus Christ did indeed have mercy on me. I know that I am not immune from further attacks. But I also know now that the darkness can never put out the light."


THOUGHT PROVOKERS: (Top of page)

Doubt is not the opposite faith;
it is one element of faith.

Paul Tillich

* * * * * * * * * *

There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.

Alfred, 1st Lord Tennyson

* * * * * * * * * *

Once I heard a man say: "I spent twenty years trying to come to terms with my doubts. Then one day it dawned on me that I had better come to terms with my faith. Now I have passed from the agony of the questions I cannot answer into the agony of answers I cannot escape. And it's a great relief."

David E. Roberts

* * * * * * * * * *

Never doubt in the dark
what God told you in the light.

V. Raymond Edman

* * * * * * * * * *

Your doubt can become a good quality if you train it. It must become knowing, it must become criticism. Ask it, whenever it wants to spoil something for you, why something is ugly, demand proofs from it, test it, and you will find it perhaps bewildered and embarrassed, perhaps also protesting. But don't give in , insist on arguments, and act in this way, attentive and persistent, every single time, and the day will come when, instead of being a destroyer, it will become one of your best workers—-perhaps the most intelligent of all the ones that are building your life.

Rainer Maria Rilke

* * * * * * * * * *


SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission


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Richard Niell Donovan, SermonWriter.com