On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. 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 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to 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 into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
John’s Gospel contains additional information about the appearance of Jesus to the disciples after his encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The news of the empty tomb and the lie propagated by the Jewish elders that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus was already circulating and this added to the disbelief of the disciples. Jesus, who in his glorified body did not need an open door, suddenly appeared to the disciples who were locked away in a room because they were afraid of the Jews. He stood in their midst and greeted them, “Peace be with you (Jn. 14:27).” He showed them the wounds in his hands and his side to confirm that he was the same Jesus who was crucified. For them, the question of where the Jews put Jesus’ body was now answered. Jesus then commissioned the disciples to be his representatives in the world. He had previously told them; “Whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me (Jn. 13:20).” The risen Christ bestowed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and granted them the power to forgive sins.
Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked room. He could have believed solely on the word of the Apostles who had received the Holy Spirit, and the word of Mary Magdalene but Thomas refused to believe without seeing and touching the body of the risen Jesus. When Jesus appeared to the disciples a week later, he scolded Thomas for demanding proof before he would believe. Only then did Thomas believe and confess, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to Thomas that blessed are those who believe without seeing (v. 29).
Almighty God, grant us the grace to believe and trust in you even in the midst of trials. May the Holy Spirit guide us so that we can know in our hearts what is true and good and pleasing to you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Comments