John 20: 19 - 31
Twins
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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
In our last study we went over the various appearances of our Lord Jesus after His Resurrection. One or actually two occurrences are revealed in today’s scripture. We are going to look at our Lord’s appearance with His disciples less Thomas and then when He appears again with good ole doubting Thomas present.
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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
All of the eleven disciples apart from Thomas would appear to have been present at this time. They were gathered in a locked room no doubt discussing the strange things that they had been hearing about, and it is clear that there were others with them when they were joined by the two from Emmaus as Luke informs us in chapter 24 verse 33 in his Gospel.
You had to be there to really understand the panic the followers of The Lord Jesus must have been experiencing. They had seen their Master brutally beaten and then understand the extreme torture He went through on the cross. They were scared to death as the verse indicates - ‘For fear of the religious leaders.’ This was a wise precaution not due to a lack of faith. At this stage they did not know whether they would be hunted down
Picture yourself being in this locked room. I would think that no one was talking in fear that maybe someone outside the door might know that they were in the room. As they are just sitting there in silence they look and there was The Lord Jesus standing in their midst. What do you think would be your reaction? There must have been some doubt because we see that out Lord Jesus showed them His hands and His side to confirm through the nail prints and the wound in the side that it was He the crucified One Who was now risen.
The nature of His resurrection body must ever remain a mystery to us. He could somehow enter rooms that were locked and appear and disappear at will. Yet His essential marks and characteristics were there and He could be touched and felt.
We read about the reaction of the disciples -‘Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.’ I would venture to say that this response is an understatement because no statement could be enough. ‘Ecstatic’ may be a better word but is insufficient. They were filled with overflowing and indescribable joy.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
The Lord’s ambassadors had endured great sorrow and despair. Now He reminded them what it had all been about. They must now take over His task of informing the world of The Light of the world – The Lord Jesus Christ The Messiah had come . He was sending them just as the Father had sent Him. From now on they would be His representatives.
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus now in a very real act of power endues the Apostles with the Holy Spirit. It is a travesty to suggest that this incident was merely symbolic as some scholars try to indicate. John mentions no other and sees this as the moment of enduing. In his eyes it explained all that lay in the future.
Please take note the close connection between breathing and the reception of the Holy Spirit. The receiving of the Holy Spirit is the reception of God-given life. But here the emphasis is on the fact that they receive this from Jesus.
There are no grounds for doubting that this was a genuine enduing with the Spirit before Pentecost. John mentions no other, and only Luke in fact mentions Pentecost in Acts 2. In Matthew 28.19-20 what empowers is the presence of The Lord Jesus. Pentecost was more an outward manifestation to the world of the fact that the great outpouring of the Spirit had come, although it was certainly a further enduing with power for future ministry (Acts 1.8). We would not take away any of Pentecost’s importance. But Matthew speaks of Jesus as giving them His authority and being personally with them always, and assumes that is enough, while Marc’s ending describes it in terms of Him commissioning them (Mark 16.15-20) followed by evidences of the power that He was giving them. Neither assumes knowledge of Acts or mention Pentecost and Mark was certainly written before Acts was known of. The stress is on the reception of power from The Son of God Jesus Christ.
Here the gift was made personally to His disciples, and in some ways was an even greater gift than Pentecost for it ‘opened their minds to understand the Scriptures’. It guaranteed them the source of full truth (16.13).
At Pentecost the gift was to the wider church and was more about empowerment for the future ministry. We read in the book of Acts 1:15 notes that there were approximately 120 people present in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. They all experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. But here it was His very life-giving, empowering breath which entered them and they ‘received the Holy Spirit’ in the fullest sense of the word as described in John 7.39. They were by this endued with special wisdom in fulfillment of the promises our Lord revealed as indicated in chapters 14-16 of John’s Gospel.
In Luke Gospel chapter 24.45, ‘then opened He their mind that they might understand the Scriptures’, which confirms an earlier enduing to Pentecost. From now on they were different men and spent much time in the Temple blessing God which Luke teaches us in chapter 24.53. Indeed a separate experience was later clearly necessary, for none but the disciples experienced this uniquely special blessing.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Few words have been more misrepresented than these. These words reveal that forgiveness of sin is the essential purpose of what Christ has accomplished, that He has come in order that men’s sins may be forgiven. He did not just give His disciples the power to forgive sins. The Lord Jesus’ death on the cross did that.
Remember back when we looked at the feet washings. Our Lord said that they were clean. This didn’t mean that they all must have had their weekly baths. It meant that on the inside they were forgiven and clean of their sins. Our Lord also added that one in the group [Judas] was not clean. The feet washing was that even though a person is physically clean his feet might need to be washed because of the dirt and dust he picked up walking. Even though we are forgiven by our Lord for our sins we still sin from time to time. In John’s first letter chapter 1 he said this, “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
He wants us to confess our sins one to another. Not have some special people who walk around thinking that they alone have the power from our Lord Jesus to forgive sins. When we go and confess our sins to others then the air is clean and we do not have to hide anything. These people remind us that our Lord Jesus has forgiven all our sins – past, present, and future. Do not forget when our Holy Lord Jesus died for the sins of the world all of us were in the future.
We now come to my name sake – Thomas. Have you ever wondered why your parents gave you your name? Was there a reason for selecting a certain name? In the bible we learn that many men and women were given a name that would later identify their life. We like to kid a lot in our fellowship about the large amount of Deborah’s. We learn that Deborah was a prophetess and a Judge in Israel. In thinking about this then I thought did our Holy God somehow influence my parents to give me the name of Thomas.
Thomas means ‘Twin’. I like to remind those people before they comment that ‘yes there is another person who looks just like me but is not like me.’ Yes, there is another good looking guy that looks like me. [Of course I am only kidding about this point]. I want to tell you that I found this other one who looks exactly like me but I can assure you that he is not like me. I will tell you who that person is in a little while.
Thomas pops up a few times in the bible and I see some significant points relative to his life. First of all we read in John chapter 11 which talks about the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Our Lord was sent a request to come and heal His friend Lazarus and He agreed to go back to Jerusalem to do what was asked of Him. We read this unique verse, “8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
Now for the first time we hear a comment by the apostle Thomas, “16 Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him. I would call this a false ‘bravado’ or self inflating words that attempt to show him as some real brave guy.
There is a big problem when you try to act brave when you are not. Someone said that rightly so that acting brave is weird – not good. I also love this comment, ‘“No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happen.”I can just hear the mockers in the future say when Thomas was present, ‘Weren’t you part of the guys who ran away from the Lord Jesus during His arrest in the Garden? Whoops!
The next time we hear from Thomas is revealed in chapter 14 of John’s Gospel. Our Lord had just explained that He was about to pay the ultimate sacrifice for all us humans and that He was going back home to be with Father God. He said to His men that they knew all about this. However. Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”You have to give Thomas some credit here. We have learned that the disciples were afraid to speak up because they might feel that they were spiritually stupid. Thomas didn’t know what the Lord was saying. He was totally confused! If the guys tried to kid him he could have responded, ‘I’m not confused, I am just well mixed in all my thoughts.’ Have you ever been confused about things?
We now come across the third time Thomas speaks. It is recorded here in today’s scripture passages.
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas had missed out on that first appearance of the Lord Jesus and when he arrived back and was told about it he was understandably skeptical – ‘I will not believe - unless….’ A big problem in being skeptical is that nothing really happens in your life. I think this is why our Holy Lord gives our bodies involuntary muscles such as the heart’s constant beating. He knew skeptics needed proof that the heart needs to beat all the time for someone to live.
His fellow ministers ‘went on telling him’ how they had seen the nail prints and the wound in His side and he had responded that unless he could actually prove it, by himself touching them, he would not believe. Skeptical people sometimes take up awkward stances, and the more people try to persuade them the more stubborn they get.
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Eight days passed by with the disciples still excitedly discussing what had happened and Thomas still convinced that they had been having hallucinations. Then our Lord Jesus appeared again to them.
Thomas had walked with our Lord Jesus for over 3 years. He had personally witnessed situations where our Lord knew what people were thinking. He had witnessed miracles where our Lord did not have to actually at a certain location to do a miracle. He just gave the word and people were healed even great distances away. With all the confusion going on Thomas never thought to himself that perhaps his buddies were right and that the Lord had actually risen from the dead and showed up to see them.
If he pondered that indeed our Lord arose again from the dead; walked through thin air into a locked room; and also visited people at different distant locations, could He not also overheard what Thomas has said?
We see here the Lord show up again in the locked room and look directly at Thomas. In a way He said, ‘Come over here I want to talk to you.’ Then He repeats word for word what Thomas had said. You see our Lord was not only showing Thomas and the other disciples that though it seems He is not present – He Is. In fact He said that when two or more are gathered He Is in their midst.
Do you think Thomas went to the Lord and put his fingers where the nails were put? Did he put his hand where the soldier stabbed Him with His lance? No, Thomas fell on his knees and declared to our Lord Jesus- ‘My Lord and My God.’
Or course over the centuries Thomas has picked up the mocking title – Doubting Thomas. But do not forget that we read in the beginning of the chapter our Lord had to show the other guys His wounds to help them believe. And also please note that Thomas is the first one to declare our Lord Jesus as ‘My God!’
I want to show you the last time we hear from Thomas although it doesn’t seem like he spoke. We read in the book of Acts chapter 1 this, “21 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
Thomas’ voce is included with other disciples. What they said is that ‘perhaps we have finished our service for the Lord so let’s go back to our old life.” No, it does not work this way for any believer. We all have been ‘justified’ by our Holy Lord Jesus. Then He has ‘sanctified’ us for our Christian walk in life, and then He sees us in Heaven in the future with Him being ‘glorified’.
Psalm 85: 8 reports the importance of not turning back to our former life. “I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
I mentioned that there was someone who looked like me and yet was not like me. I also highlighted that I found the other Tom. I truly found the man who looked like me but did not act like me. The person is me. You see since the Lord Jesus in His awesome kindness did not quit on me Like He appeared in the closed room, the Precious Lord and Savior Jesus step into my closed mind. He revealed Himself to me. He changed me. I still look like the same old Tom but I am not the same man that I was. I am different.. Paul said this about me and you in his second letter to the Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
