John 20:19-31

Quasimodogeniti | April 24, 2022 | John 20:19-31 | Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell |

¹⁹ 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.“

 ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then 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 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 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

 ²⁵ 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.“

 ²⁶ 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.“

 ²⁷ 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.“

 ²⁸ Thomas answered him, „My Lord and my God!“

 ²⁹ 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.“

 ³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

 ³¹ 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. (John 20:19-31 NRSV)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The ending to Mark’s Gospel is one that has always intrigued me.  Why you might ask?  Because it isn’t really an ending.  There are two endings included in most versions of the Bible, the “Shorter Ending of Mark (16:8B) and the “Longer Ending of Mark (16:9-20).  But both of these are thought to be later additions because they don’t appear in the earliest manuscripts.  Mark simply ends with verse 8, which has the women fleeing from the tomb scared, and not saying anything to anyone.  It’s an ending that is very different than Matthew’s account (the Great Commission) and Luke’s Account which transitions into Acts of the Apostles.  In our Gospel lesson today, we get what is thought of as the original ending to John’s account.  Although in most Bibles John continues on with a 21^st chapter, our lesson today strongly sounds like an ending.  Looking at verse 30 and 31 in our lesson:  “³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹ 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.”  That certainly sounds like an ending.  But let’s be honest, does the Gospel really have an end?  That is a question worth more exploration.

If we look at Mark, we can say with certainty that it is a book without an ending.  I personally like that.  It gives me comfort to think that God is still at work writing the story of Jesus, and that only at his return and the coming of the kingdom will the Gospel as we know it truly move into a new chapter.  Mark also makes me ponder about why fear is the defining emotion at the end.  Not joy at the resurrection of Christ, not elation about sharing the resurrection news.  It’s fear.  Perhaps that is because of the radical work of God to do something no one was seemingly prepared for, even though Jesus had foretold multiple times what would happen. 

Looking at our lesson for today, we see the theme of fear also appearing…but not because the tomb was empty.  The disciples were scared for a different reason.  They feared that they too would be dragged off to court, wrongly convicted, and hung on a cross.  They were so scared they locked themselves in a house.  And yet in their fear is where Jesus is present.  He offers them his peace, breaths on them the Holy Spirit, and commissions what some call the beginning of the work of the church: first to be sent to do ministry, and then the power of forgiving and retaining sins.   But as Jesus does this we learn that not all the disciples are gathered.  John does not mention Judas, but from Matthew’s account we learn that Judas killed himself prior to Jesus’ own death on the cross. So he is not there. But he isn’t the only one absent.   From our lesson today we learn that Thomas, also called the twin, was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them.  When Thomas learned Jesus had appeared to the disciples, he refused to believe.  Thomas needed something tangible in order to believe that Jesus had risen.  He needed to see the wounds, he needed to touch Jesus.  He did not have the faith to simply believe in not only what the disciples told him, but also what Jesus had previously said about his own death and resurrection.  It would be a full week until this is resolved.

Locked in a house again out of fear, John tells us the disciples were gathered together.  But this time, Thomas was with them in the house.  Again Jesus appeared to them.  He for a second time offers his peace to them, and then tells Thomas to touch him so that he may believe.  Jesus even says “Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  Do not doubt but believe.”  What is so interesting about this is not necessarily Thomas’ unbelief, but that Jesus told Thomas to touch his wounds.  On that Easter morning, which according to John’s timeline was just about 8 days prior to this scene, Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb.  His words to her then were “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.”  In the church we look at the timeline of Jesus’ ascension into heaven and note that by the time Jesus met with the disciples and Thomas he had still not ascended.  So what is the difference?  Why can Mary not hold on to him but Thomas could touch him?  A simple word provides the answer:  belief.

Mary believed in Jesus.  She knew him once he identified himself.  She instantly believed.  Thomas did not.  Jesus statement to Thomas sums it up:  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”  In other words, blessed are those who don’t need the tangible to believe in the resurrection of Christ.  Blessed are those who believe simply because they have been told about the power of God.  This is the message of the ending of John’s account as we read in verse 31: “³¹ 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.”  We don’t need to see his wounds.  We don’t need to stick our hand in his side.  We, like the modern day church, simply believe.  That keeps us going, and it also keeps the gospel going.  We know that his Gospel, his Good News, has not ended.  The ministry of Christ continues in the world because the Holy Spirit, which Christ promised, has come and continues to work in and through the church in the world, constantly bringing new believers into the family of God.  They come to the font and the table, having not seen, but simply believing.  As we move through this Easter season, we will hear the stories of the post-resurrection Jesus.  We will hear how he appeared to his disciples and followers.  How he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, and how the church was commissioned to continue his ministry.  We hear and we believe, not because we have seen, but because we know that we are a part of God’s story, a story that is still being written even to this day. A story that truly has no end.   In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.