Scripture
19That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23
Observation
At Creation God formed man from a pile of dirt and breathed into Adam and he came to life. At the re-creation after the resurrection Jesus breathed in to his disciples and they came to life. Up to this point they knew Jesus, had watched Him, learned from Him, had even been empowered to walk in His authority, but they were feeling like a pile of dirt. Hiding behind locked doors afraid for their own lives. Thomas admitting the doubt of Jesus’ resurrection that the rest of them weren’t honest enough to admit. Many scholars believe this was the point of salvation for the disciples. When we are saved through confession of faith and forgiveness of sin we receive the Holy Spirit and the evidence or fruit is joy and peace. We are then sent out to share the good news of that undeserved, unearned forgiveness with others. They had abandoned Jesus at His greatest point of suffering and yet Jesus came to them, these ones who spent every waking moment with to offer the eternal life He had just secured through His sacrifice!
Application
I’d never thought about the fact that the disciples were technically not saved until this moment post resurrection. This is such a powerful example of what the Church should look like. We have people hiding behind locked doors of fear right now, because, let’s be honest, there’s a lot to be afraid of. Whether we’re talking economy, wars, political division, the normalization of sin, the threat of another pandemic the list goes on and on. What did Jesus do? He met them right where they were at in the middle of their fear and brought peace to their panic. Thomas was honest about his doubt. He wanted empirical proof that Jesus was actually alive even though Mary and the other disciples, people he loved and trusted, were telling him it was so. Thomas wasn’t with them at this first meeting so he wasn’t saved yet, so he didn’t believe. How did Jesus greet Him? With a much deserved “Are you kidding me?” No, Jesus approached with Shalom, “Peace be with You” and showed him an open nail scarred hand instead of a closed fist of condemnation. This immense patience Jesus has with those who were closest to Him should be our guide for how to treat those in the journey of belief. This wouldn’t be the last time these disciples struggled with unbelief. Matthew even says that when they saw Jesus on the Mountain “they worshipped him - but some of them doubted!” (Mt. 28:17). Yet, this didn’t stop Him from commissioning them from going into all the world to make disciples of all nations. If Jesus had so much room for so much doubt among those who were so close to Him shouldn’t we? AJ Swoboda writes in his book After Doubt, “To struggle with your faith is the often the surest sign we actually have one.” The Church must be a place where people can belong before they believe. Where they can ask, seek, and knock for how ever long it takes and that we are committed to walk that journey out with them as Jesus does with us. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke-“Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
Prayer
Lord, I repent for my impatience. When people see You move and then doubt whether you’re real I get so frustrated. Yet, haven’t I done the same thing time and again? You continue to speak peace to my panic and bring joy to my sadness and endure my doubting with an open hand. How can I not offer the same grace to those you bring across my path? I pray that The Father’s House would be a place where people could belong before they believe. Where it’s a safe place to ask questions as they seek You.
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