- Introduction
- Time ... 19a
- Situation: Fear ... 19b
- Appearance of Jesus
- Jesus comes and stands in the midst ... 19c
- He shows his hands and feet ... 20a
- Reaction of the Disciples: Joy ... 20b
- The commissioning of the disciples ... 21b-23
- Thomas's Unbelief
- Situation: Thomas was absent ... 24
- The disciples tell him of the appearance of Jesus ... 25a
- Thomas's expressed unbelief ... 25b
- Jesus comes on the eighth day ... 26
- Jesus' command to Thomas ... 27
- Thomas's profession of faith ... 28
- Response of Jesus ... 29
- Conclusion
- The Reason for the Gospel ... 30-31
The narration of Jesus' first appearance to the disciples opens up with a description of the disciples themselves: they were afraid and have barred themselves from the outside. Jesus breaks through the barriers and stands in their midst.
The expression "and he stood in the midst" which will be repeated in v. 26 echoes Psalm 22:23:
And I will proclaim your name to my brothers
in the midst of the assembly (Church, LXX) I will sing your praise.
Psalm 22 is a lament that begins with a plaint about undeserved suffering but ends with a victorious cry that is due to God's intervention. The psalm's first part about the innocent man's suffering was applied by the early Church to Jesus on the cross. The cry of victory is applied to the exalted Christ (see also Heb. 2:12 where the passage is applied to the Risen Christ calling us "brothers").
Jesus stands in the midst, therefore, as one victorious. What he had previously said to the Magdalene in the morning of that first day (v. 17) makes us understand that the Jesus now appears as one descended anew from the Father. He shows the disciples the marks that identify Him as the Jesus who had died for them. Later, Thomas -- probably still grieving -- will demand these marks (v. 25) as a condition for his act of belief.
Peace Be With You
The presence of the Risen Christ brings with it the peace that only He can give. The standard Jewish salutation, "Shalom" now takes on a different meaning and force because uttered by the victorious Christ. The Jewish greeting is a wish that the benefits included in the word "Peace" (vindication from enemies, security, freedom from anxiety, wealth, a wholesome existence, etc.) become a reality in the one who is greeted. From the victorious Christ and one who has descended anew from God, that peace is the one reserved by God for those whom He loves and which Jesus gives out proleptically to his "brothers" (v. 17b)
The Commissioning
The giving of peace is like a wrapper for a gift: that of the Holy Spirit which the Risen Lord breathes out anew on the disciples. The first time that He "handed over" the Spirit is from the cross (19:30), but this was for all. This second time, it is a more "focused" giving: "and he breathed on them..." As God breathed on the first man (Gen. 2:7), so too, Jesus breathes upon re-created humanity the Spirit. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit as the power that will accompany the disciples whom He sends forth to extend his own mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you..."
This sending forth has a particular goal: reconciliation and forgiveness of sins. The good news of the forgiveness of sins effected through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross is now to be applied to each individual. The disciples are sent out so that those they meet may be able to receive the benefits of the Lamb's sacrifice. Thus the account of the first day's events are brought to a close.
Belief and Unbelief
The coming of Christ on the eighth day is occassioned by unbelief. Christ came on the first day as a pattern that will be repeated "whenever two or three are gathered in His name." But on the eighth day -- another Sunday -- one of the disciples was unbelieving. This state is explained in v. 24. Thomas would not believe because he was absent from the assembly. As on the first day, Jesus greets the disciples and shows his wounds (vv. 24-27). This time, however, he commands Thomas to touch Him (an opportunity that He had earlier refused the Magdalene, v. 17a). Thomas who had earlier said that he won't believe unless He sees Jesus with the marks of Hi death (v. 25b) now makes his confession of faith: "My Lord and my God." This confession is at the climax of the gospel and worded so as to form an inclusion with the beginning of the gospel: "... and the Word was God."
The response of Jesus to this confession says more to the audience of the gospel than to Thomas: Like a theatrical aside, Jesus turns to us -- the readers and hearers of the gospel:
Blessed are those
who have not seen yet believe."
That You May Believe and Have Life
The primacy of faith over sight is underlined here and is made for the sake of later generations of Christians. The Lord, unseen, continues to stand "in the midst" of the brothers on the first day of the week. One needs to believe in order to experience Him victorious in His Church.
John gives the original ending of the gospel with a disclaimer: he left other "signs" made by the Lord unrecorded. What he had written however has one purpose: that those who read and hear it may believe and have life. (vv. 30-31)
