On a Sunday 2,000 years ago, Jesus rose from the dead.
However, as we shall see in our reading today,
while Jesus conquered the grave,
he still had to conquer the doubts and fears of his closest friends.
The human heart and mind are sometimes tougher, gloomier,
and colder than the grave.
Only an encounter with the risen Christ may open them up,
and this makes it almost as miraculous as Jesus rising from the dead.
This is exactly what our portion today, the end of John,
chapter 20, verses 19 and 31, portrays,
by means of two events which happened right after Jesus rose from the grave.
We are taught three important lessons in this reading,
about both our daily life and our life trajectory as Jesus' followers.
The resurrected Jesus comforts the fearful.
He also convinces the doubtful.
And the reason is not what people often expect or think.
First of all, the resurrected Jesus comforts the fearful.
Verses 19 and 23 portray an event on the same Sunday as when Jesus was resurrected.
Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus' tomb,
founds it empty, tells the disciples.
Then Jesus appears to her.
She goes and tells the disciples again,
I have seen the Lord.
And yet, they do not seem to believe her.
They are gripped by fear instead,
out of fear of the Jews.
The Jewish leaders were after them.
They did not want to end up on the cross just like their master had.
So these brave men do exactly what brave men do in such situations,
which is they bravely huddle together in an unknown location,
shut the door close,
and hope that nothing will happen.
The world history has just changed completely.
Completely.
But Jesus' closest friends either do not know it,
or they are not ready to be its main protagonists.
On the same night, however, their world was about to change for good.
Jesus appears suddenly out of thin air.
He does not knock on the door.
He just appears out of thin air among them.
And they are suddenly even more afraid.
Instead of fearing the Jews, now they are fearing Jesus.
And so he does two things to allay their fears.
First he tells them, I come in peace.
Peace be upon you.
I am not here in judgment.
Though that is exactly what they deserved.
They knew full well what they had done.
They had disappointed him by abandoning Jesus on the cross.
And their master was left alone.
And they knew what they deserved.
But he does not come to judge.
And then Jesus tells them, touch me.
He wanted to make sure that they could touch him and understand that he was no phantom.
He was not an apparition or something that they were making up in their minds because of their fear.
But it was truly him indeed.
Now it is interesting that Jesus was in a glorified body.
And he did not need to bear the signs of crucifixion with him.
After all, a glorified body is perfect.
It is physical, but it is perfect.
And yet Jesus chose to have and bear the signs of the cross forever with him.
For maybe two reasons.
One is to tell his disciples that it is truly me.
But second, to tell them that the signs of the cross are not the signs of death, but the signs of victory over death.
And now I have won.
Death has been routed forever.
This encounter with Jesus has been inserted in the Gospel of John intentionally.
Because, first of all, it tells us something important about the apostles.
That there were no dummies.
You see, we portray them today in the modern world as if they were illiterate and ready to believe anything that was told them.
But that is just simply not the case.
In fact, their skepticism is stunning.
They have been with Jesus day and night for three full years.
They have seen him miraculously heal impossible sicknesses instantly.
They have seen how a cripple could walk straight after decades of lying down.
And then they even saw once a man like Lazarus get out of the tomb after rotting in it for three full days fully alive.
And this tells us something important.
That our modern day portrayal of the apostles is wrong-headed and not historically correct.
They may not know a lot about theology, but there were no naive simpletons.
Now they saw the biggest miracle.
And they still are in fear.
But why did they not believe?
Well, for maybe two reasons.
Because, first of all, the apostles, like I said, they were first century Jews.
But like most of the people in that world, they knew that when a dead person is interred in the grave, he normally stays there.
Death is the end.
And secondly, and more importantly, they were molded by Israel's theology at that time.
Most of the Jewish schools, they taught that there would be a resurrection of the dead, a physical one, a bodily one.
But that would happen at the end of time when the Messiah would arrive.
And it would happen to the whole nation of Israel, not to just one person.
When the Messiah came, he would change everything.
He would basically destroy paganism.
He would rout the foreign invaders of Israel.
He would purify Israel's hearts.
And all Jews would be resurrected to eternal life.
However, the apostles were completely disappointed.
This is not what had happened.
Jesus had died.
It was probably the end of a disappointing mission for them.
So they did not expect him as a single person to arise from the dead.
Yet here Jesus was once again ruining their wrong expectations.
His resurrection is real.
And it is the harbinger of what will one day happen when he returns for his people at the end of time.
Now they see him and believe.
His friends do not understand him completely yet.
But they see him physically there.
Their theology has been turned upside down.
But now they see Jesus in a new light.
His death was not the end.
Nor was it a defeat as they had feared.
Christ's death was actually the triumph of God.
His resurrection was the vindication of Jesus' mission.
A brand new beginning.
However, Jesus does not just appear to them to allay their fears.
Nor does he just appear to them to basically say,
Wow, this is me.
Can you see?
Believe.
And that is it.
Now you can go to heaven because you believe in me.
No.
He is there not only to show them who he is.
But also to give them a new life mission.
Something that they did not expect.
This life mission is about living for Christ.
It is about representing Christ to the world.
But how can they do that?
They know their fears.
They know their doubts.
They know that they are not perfect.
How can they convince the world about Christ when no one will see him?
So he gives them two things.
Or he does two things in order to give them the power to succeed.
First of all, Jesus symbolically breathes on them.
That is very important.
Because it is to show them that it is the Holy Spirit who will give you the strength to witness to other people.
So that they are convinced about their sin and about Christ.
It is the Spirit that will ultimately convince the world.
And second, the mission that he gives them is guaranteed in its success.
It is authoritative.
How do we know that?
He tells them,
Whatever you forgive will be forgiven.
Whatever you withhold will be withheld by God in heaven.
Now this is interesting because whatever it means, and it is a difficult verse,
it does not mean that it is the church that has the authority because of it being an institution.
This is language taken from the Jewish courts and from the synagogue.
First of all, in the Jewish courts the judge would declare the accused either innocent based on the evidence and thus forgiven.
Or he would consider him guilty as charged.
And he would withhold his forgiveness.
But this is language also used in the synagogue.
Especially by the time when Jesus wrote this gospel which is by the 90s AD.
The synagogue had started to excommunicate as heretics all those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah.
There were heretics which had been living in Moses' day,
they should have been stoned to death because of blasphemy.
Now Jesus, interestingly, turns the world history upside down.
What he is saying is that it is not the world that judges the church.
After he was resurrected,
it is the church's message of Christ that judges or saves the world.
So on this night of the first Easter Sunday,
Jesus appears to his disciples and allays their fears.
But not only that,
Jesus also convinces the doubtful.
Which is in verses 24-29,
we go on to the next Sunday,
right after the first Easter Sunday.
There was one person who wasn't present with the other disciples when Jesus came
and stood in the midst of them in that room.
His name is well known even by those who don't know the Bible
because of a stigma that he bears with him for more than a thousand years,
the doubting Thomas.
Now this stigma is wrong because
even though Thomas did doubt for a moment,
this did not define his lifetime.
And the Bible never calls him doubtful Thomas.
It is the later church that did.
He was by no means a fearful soul.
In fact, if you remember,
by the middle of John's Gospel,
when Jesus said he wanted to go back near Jerusalem
in order to resurrect Lazarus,
the disciples didn't understand what was going on,
but they knew that he would be confronting the Jewish leaders
and that meant certain death.
And Thomas was the one who said,
let's go and die with him.
So Thomas was not afraid to die for what he could see and touch.
But he seems to have been a hard person to convince unless he sees evidence.
He was driven, unlike the apostles, by emotion.
He was more driven by his mind.
So Thomas says to the disciples,
I wasn't here.
I didn't see it.
I won't believe it.
Unless Jesus comes here,
I touch his wounds.
And unless I see basically the sign of the nails,
the hole in the light,
so the light shines through,
I won't believe.
So he throws down the gauntlet for Jesus to take up.
And the next Sunday,
thankfully,
when Thomas is with the others,
Jesus accommodates his request.
Again,
he appears suddenly,
without needing to open the door.
And he also knows what Thomas had said the previous week.
And he tells him,
look at me,
touch me,
and believe.
Now,
we are not told that Thomas touched Jesus' wounds
and was convinced.
Even though what,
that's what most of us,
if not all of us,
tend to think at times.
Actually,
John only tells us that
it was enough for Thomas to actually see Jesus,
standing there,
talking to him personally,
inviting him to touch him.
That was enough.
The presence of the resurrected Christ
was enough for Thomas to be convinced.
And so,
Thomas turns from his doubts
into something completely different.
He blurted out in total awe and adoration
the clearest confession about Jesus' nature
in all of the New Testament.
He looks at Jesus and says,
my Lord and my God.
Now,
these words are not meant as an expression of amazement
to God on high,
but to Jesus in the room.
Thomas said to him,
Jesus,
my Lord and my God.
You see,
Jesus' appearance
changed the disciples' worldview completely.
Even though they didn't understand everything,
suddenly they had greater clarity.
Suddenly they knew
what the scriptures of Israel
really taught about God and the Messiah.
And Thomas' confession
is not one of doubt at all,
but of complete conviction.
Jesus is both human and God.
He is the ruler of life
and the creator himself.
Thomas does not deny monotheism,
but he sees it in a clearer,
more complete light
because of who Jesus was.
Now,
that's a statement that we know
and we're used to.
And for 2,000 years,
we know this story.
And so,
we're not too surprised
at who Jesus was.
But for Thomas to say that
and for the disciples to believe
what Thomas said
was revolutionary,
dangerous,
almost blasphemous.
Because if they said this sentence,
Jesus is Lord and God,
they would be confronted
and they were confronted
with two important fronts.
First,
this was ranked blasphemy
for the Jewish religious elites
to say that a man
was equal to God.
It was the worst sin
that could be committed
against God.
And for that reason,
like I said,
you would be excommunicated
from the synagogue,
but not only that.
By 90 AD,
you would have been separated
from your friends and family.
They wouldn't talk to you
and you would be officially dead
as a heretical son or daughter.
But this also meant
that you could not work anymore
because most of the children
would work in their parents' trade.
And you would be separated
mentally, physically,
from your closest families
and friends.
It was the worst form
of suffering
and self-isolation
while being alive.
However,
when John wrote his gospel,
there was another front
that was even more dangerous
than what the Jews
did to the heretics.
If you said,
Jesus is Lord and God,
you were going against
the grains
of the most powerful,
most cruel empire on earth,
the Roman one.
Interestingly,
by the time when John
wrote his gospel,
Domitian,
the emperor,
had asked people
to call him
Dominus et Deus Noster,
which in English
would be exactly
what John said,
Lord,
our Lord and God.
And so that meant
that if you declare
another person
as Lord and God,
you were committing
high treason
against the Roman Empire
and you would be crushed.
Normally,
you would die
by crucifixion.
Yet,
Jesus,
when he comes,
he convinces
the doubtful
and before,
he also gives comfort
to the fearful.
And the disciples
are ready
to believe
and go forth
in his name.
and John
also inserts
a sentence
from Jesus
that the other
gospels have not.
Thankfully for us,
he quotes Jesus
as saying,
you,
Thomas,
believe because
you saw me,
but happy
and blessed
are those
who believe
without seeing me.
And that's you
and me.
And that is,
in other words,
you and I
are no lesser
than the apostles
for not being able
to see Jesus.
In fact,
they saw him
and they didn't believe.
And Jesus
will bless us
immensely
for believing
without seeing.
You see,
what Jesus
said to Thomas
was,
Thomas,
believing when you see
is good,
but believing
without seeing
is infinitely better.
Now,
the purpose
of the gospel
is given
in verses
13 and 31.
Jesus
convinces
the doubtful
and comforts
the fearful,
but the purpose
and the reason
he does so
sometimes
is misconstrued,
is not what
people think
it is.
We have two
misconceptions
about these
two verses,
13 and 31,
the purpose
of John's gospel
and the purpose
of what Jesus
did.
At first sight,
the passage
is absolutely
clear.
It's in two
parts.
All of this
has been written
so that we
may believe
in Jesus
as the Messiah
and the Son
of God.
And by believing,
we'll have life
in his name.
But we have
two misconceptions
that we need
to take care of
before we actually
understand this verse.
And it's to do
first
with what Jesus
does and why,
and second
with the meaning
of the word life.
You see,
when talking
about Jesus
and the resurrection,
often in our
world today,
even as Christians,
in apologetics
sometimes,
we speak
as if Jesus
is the one
who is supposed
to give us
evidence for who
he is.
And we speak
in such a way
because he does
give evidence
to his friends.
That's important.
He does comfort
them.
He does give
them joy.
He does come
to make us
believe.
But it's as if
we are the center
and Jesus
is revolving
around us.
And the way
we talk about
when we give
evidence about Christ,
it's as if
Jesus is on
trial and
about to be
condemned by us
who are the
judges.
Now,
that's not what
the New Testament
is all about.
And it's not
how Jesus
construed his
ministry.
It is Jesus
who is the
center.
And we are
the objects
of his love.
It is not
that we are
the ones who
invite him in
our lives,
although that is
true.
But it's more
about you
and me
becoming part
of his life.
And so,
his resurrection
was not meant
simply to all
his disciples.
It was not
by any means
like the latest
and biggest
stunt that he
had ever pulled
off like a
Houdini rising
out of the
grave so that
finally they
will believe.
After three
years of doubt,
fear,
they will believe.
No.
Jesus died
and was
resurrected
because it was
the only way
for us,
the condemned,
to be saved.
And John
says,
he who
believes in
the Son,
in Jesus,
has life.
And he who
does not
believe is
already condemned.
Jesus came
and died
and was
resurrected
so we can
have not
only new
life but
a new
meaning,
to be his
ambassadors in
the world.
And second,
we come to
the meaning
of the word
life.
We often,
for many
reasons,
misinterpret
that word
too.
We think
that Jesus
came,
died,
was
resurrected.
So if we
believe this
confession,
when we
die,
we go to
heaven.
That's true.
But that's
only a very
small part of
what Jesus
came to do
and not even
the most
important one.
He didn't
come to give
us life after
death.
He came to
give us
life after
death in
this life,
which is,
when he
came,
you became
new.
When he
comes into
your life,
you're a new
being,
and now
you're going
to serve
him in
whatever you
do,
in the way
you live.
So it's
not about
what you
do when
you die
in a
disembodied
state in
heaven,
but it's
about what
you do
as you
live for
him on
this earth.
When Jesus
breathed on
the apostles
that night,
he breathed
on the rest
of us as
a church.
And you
know when
exactly that
thing happened
for the first
time?
Adam,
and in
the same
way,
when God
created
Adam,
he breathed
on him,
says Genesis
chapter 2
verse 7.
He breathed
on him and
gave Adam
new life,
and Adam
became his
representative
on earth.
Adam then
reneged his
status because
of his sin,
and he lost
his status as
God's ambassador.
And now
Jesus says,
when I breathe
on you,
you are the
new Adam,
you are the
new humanity,
and it's
your mission
to change
the world.
So what
do I learn
personally,
you and
me?
How do we
apply this
in our
life?
Well,
first of
all,
doubts and
fears are
part of the
human condition.
Each one
of us often
identifies
themselves as
Thomas,
or as the
apostles.
We have our
doubts,
we have our
fears,
and we
think we
are hypocrites,
and we feel
as if we are
not ready to
serve the
Lord,
nor does
the Lord
want to
use us.
In fact,
sometimes we
doubt the
Lord himself.
And yet,
remember,
doubts and
fears are
part of
your human
condition,
and it's
not that
when you
believe,
Jesus dispels
them forever,
but it's
that when we
believe,
Jesus is
always there
to make
us not
stumble over
them,
but overcome
each and
single time
in his
strength.
And second,
doubts and
fears were
experienced by
Jesus'
closest friends,
and that's
why this
event is
mentioned.
If they
were not
immune,
but God
still comforted
them,
is he not
going to do
the same
for us?
You see,
Thomas,
I'm sure,
even to the
end of his
life,
would have
had his
doubts,
his fears.
You know
what he
did?
According to
church history,
he traveled
for 2,500
miles all
the way from
Israel to
India to
a different
nation,
a pagan
nation.
He didn't
know their
language,
and he died
there as a
martyr.
And there
is a
church since
that time
that identifies
itself with
Thomas.
Why did he
do that?
Because he
knew that
death was
not the
end.
He didn't
make money,
he didn't
become famous,
he didn't
live to a
ripe old
age.
From that
night on,
though,
Thomas did
not allow
his doubts
to rule
his life,
but Jesus,
the resurrected
Christ.
And so,
therefore,
you and I
have an
important place
in history.
We have
a unique
opportunity
today to
change the
world.
Yeah,
I know,
it's funny,
right?
We,
with our
doubts,
with our
fears,
with our
weaknesses,
how can
God use
us?
Well,
you know,
guess what?
That's exactly
what Jesus
did with
12 ordinary
men,
Paul included.
If before
you thought
that your
life and
testimony
didn't count
or was
unimportant,
think again.
Within the
Western
civilization,
a great
clash is
going on.
It is
about racism,
hatred to
fellow humans,
political
differences that
lead to
demonization of
the other,
cancel culture,
failure to
listen to
one another,
protests,
fears.
As if that
weren't enough,
the coronavirus
pandemic has
changed the
world forever.
We've had,
right now,
we're going
through the
worst crisis
in a hundred
years,
whether
economically,
politically,
or health-wise.
It's a
fearful new
world,
but you know
what?
Our call as
Christians is
to change
it once
more.
So like
Thomas and
the other
disciples,
let's do
it excitedly,
not in our
power,
but in the
name of
Jesus and
in the
power of
the Holy
Spirit.
Let's
pray.
Lord,
we have
our doubts
and fears,
so we
come to
you in
this complicated
life,
so that
you will
allay those
fears and
doubts by
the power
of the
resurrected
Jesus.
Lord,
we believe,
but do
help us in
our unbelief.
And while
we are
weak,
let our
testimony be
strong for
you,
so that
we too,
like those
twelve illiterate
apostles,
two thousand
years ago,
may be used
by you to
change the
world by
starting with
those around
us.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.