On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. 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 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” 24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples said to 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 into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
In John’s Gospel, the news of the empty tomb and the lie propagated by the Jewish elders that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus was already circulating and that added to the disbelief of the disciples. Jesus suddenly appeared to the disciples who were locked away in a room out of fear of the Jewish authorities who had Jesus condemned and executed with the cooperation of the Roman authorities. The greeting of "Peace be with you" was a traditional Jewish greeting but coming from Jesus it was a more profound peace intended to calm their fears (Jn. 14:27). Jesus demonstrated that in his resurrected and glorified state, he could transcend physical barriers, so he did not need an open door. He showed them the wounds on his hands and his side to confirm that he was the crucified and risen Lord. For them, the question of where the Jews put Jesus’ body was now answered. Jesus commissioned the disciples to continue his mission and to be his representatives in the world. The risen Lord bestowed the Holy Spirit upon the disciples to give them the power to carry out their mission. Jesus also gave them the divine authority to forgive sins based on repentance. The disciples were not given the divine authority to judge.
Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared to the disciples in the locked room. He could have believed in the resurrection of Jesus based on the word of the Apostles who had received the Holy Spirit (vv. 19-22), and/or the word of Mary Magdalene (Jn. 20:11-18), but Thomas refused to believe without seeing and touching the risen Jesus. Jesus appeared to the disciples a week later and did not rebuke Thomas for demanding proof before he would believe. Jesus invited Thomas to touch his wounds and believe. Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus is the risen Lord. Jesus said to Thomas that blessed are those who believe without seeing. Jesus highlighted the importance of faith without physical evidence. The purpose of the signs recorded in the Gospel, including Jesus' appearances to the disciples, is to lead people to faith in him as the Messiah and Son of God.
Almighty God, grant us the peace that comes from encountering the risen Lord in our lives. In your mercy, bestow upon us the gift of your Holy Spirit so that we may proclaim the Good News in accordance with Your will so that we may lead others to forgiveness and reconciliation. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen! Alleluia!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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