April 23, 2025
John 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Well known professor and writer N. T. Wright’s research reveals that the common understanding in New Testament times was that resurrection meant a complete reversal of death. Resurrection wasn’t an obscure notion or foreign concept during the time of Jesus. However, while the concept of resurrection had this common understanding, most people didn’t believe it was possible.
When Christians began claiming Jesus had been resurrected, they were claiming something had happened to Him that had happened to no one else.
Lazarus' resurrection foreshadows Jesus' own resurrection, which is the cornerstone of Christian faith. The event illustrates the transforming power of Jesus' ministry and His victory over death, offering hope of eternal life to all who believe. Jesus, authority over life and death emphasizes his role as the giver of life. The difference is that Jesus’s resurrection was to eternal life. Lazarus would die again, but Jesus would not.
The Christian claim was that Jesus had risen from the grave in victory with a physical body, a body, with some uncommon characteristics to be sure. For example, Jesus enters a locked up room without needing the door unlocked for him, or think of Luke 24 and the travellers on the road to Emmaus where Jesus just appears with them, and after breaking bread with them "disappears from their sight."
John's gospel reports that Jesus predicted His physical resurrection when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” referring to His body as the “temple” (John 2:18-22). The New Testament clearly records a physical Jesus appearing and interacting with His disciples on multiple occasions.
Why does this matter? It matters because the physical nature of the resurrection means we can investigate it because it is a matter of historical record, eyewitnesses abound.
Remember what Jesus said before he called Lazurus out of the tomb? He said "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?"
Perhaps for today, we should here these words of Jesus as spoken directly to you and me.
Scriptures for Reflection:
Luke 24:36–49; John 21:1-15; Jesus appears after His resurrection and physically interacts with His disciples.
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