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John 1:1-2:3; John 20:19-31
April
12, 2015
© 2015
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| Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio 1571-1610 I am intrigued that though many if not most commentators on Jesus' invitation to Thomas to touch his wounds do not think Thomas did it, but many painters do want to portray Thomas with his finger in Jesus' wounds. I believe John 20:27-28 is intentionally ambiguous to prompt our pondering. So what do you ponder? |
The Sunday after Easter is sometimes called “Low
Sunday” because the faithful core people are the ones who come. Associate
pastors are assigned to preach to the small crowd. So why should we preach on “Doubting
Thomas” when the most convinced are the ones who are there? Nowhere does the
New Testament call Thomas a doubter, but “the Twin.” We are Thomas’ twin who
believed when he saw, so we who have not seen may be blessed with the joy of
life in Jesus’ name.
I will tell Thomas’ story from John 20:19-31
with a couple of variations from the usual translation that I believe are not
only more accurate but more helpful.
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.” 20After he said this, he showed
them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the
Lord. 21Jesus said to them again,
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If
you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of
any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the
Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.25So 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.”
26A 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.” 27Then he said to
Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it
in my side. Stop becoming an unbeliever
and become a believer.” 28Thomas answered
him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him,
“Because you have seen me you have
believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to
believe.” 30Now Jesus did many
other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this
book. 31But 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.
Thomas was no different than the other
disciples. They didn’t believe Mary Magdalene when she told them, “I have seen
the Lord.” (v. 18) Thomas didn’t believe when the other disciples told him, “We
have seen the Lord.” (v. 25) When Jesus appeared on Easter evening, he
showed the disciples his hands and his side. A week later, Jesus invited Thomas
to see and touch his hands and side.
The New Testament does not call him “Doubting
Thomas,” nor does any Greek word for doubt occur in this story. The verbs in
verse 27 indicate movement in a direction, not a condition. “Don’t move toward
becoming an unbeliever, but move toward becoming a believer.”
Jesus does not classify people as believers
or doubters, rather Jesus is concerned about the direction we are headed. Even
we who have believed for a long time can easily drift toward living as
unbelievers without joy.
We sometimes think believing means affirming a
correct understanding of God’s existence and nature. But verse 31 is clear that
believing is not the goal but rather the path that takes us toward joy-filled life
in the name of Jesus.
We are Thomas’ twin who believed when he saw
the risen Jesus, so we who have not seen may be blessed with the joy of life in
Jesus’ name.
When read as a question, verse 29 sounds like
Jesus is scolding Thomas. While it could be a question, the NIV is correct that
it may also be an affirming statement, “Because you have seen me, you have
believed.” Read that way, Thomas has seen the risen Jesus on behalf of all of
us who have not, thus we are blessed through Thomas’ seeing Jesus.
1 John 1:1 speaks of the Apostolic witness of
having heard, seen and touched the word
of life – the risen Jesus.
Jean Vanier is the founder of the L’Arche
movement of over 100 communities of compassion for mentally handicapped folk,
through whom Christ is revealed. He wrote, “Jesus invites each one of us,
through Thomas, to touch not only his wounds, but those wounds in others and in
ourselves, wounds that can make us hate others and ourselves and can be a sign
of separation and division. These wounds will be transformed into a sign of
forgiveness through the love of Jesus and will bring people together in his
love. These wounds reveal that we need each other. These wounds become the
place of mutual compassion, of indwelling and of thanksgiving. We, too, will
show our wounds when we are with him in the Kingdom, revealing our brokenness
and the healing power of Jesus.” Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of
John
We are Thomas’ twin who believed when he saw
the risen Jesus, so we who have not seen may be blessed with the joy of life in
Jesus’ name.
Jesus spoke to all of us when he said to the
disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” By the Holy Spirit,
Jesus sends us to announce the forgiveness of sins. The first verb in each
clause (forgive, retain) indicates an instantaneous action, while the second
verbs indicate an enduring condition that began before the first verbs. So it
is not that we create forgiveness by ourselves, but we announce the forgiveness
God has already made available through Jesus.
1 John was not written as an evangelistic
tract but for Christians. It assures us that when we acknowledge our struggle
with sin the one who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. That is what empowers us to proclaim forgiveness to
all. 1 John 1:4 promises joy for those who both announce and receive forgiveness
by coming to believe in Jesus.
Jonathan Brink will soon become your pastor
to announce Christ’s forgiveness to you and to lead you in proclaiming Christ’s
forgiveness to your neighbors. Hebrews 13:17 encourages us to follow our
spiritual leaders so that they keep watch over our souls with joy and not
sighing. Making our spiritual leaders sigh is harmful to us, but we receive joy
when watching over us is a joy to them.
We are Thomas’ twin who believed when he saw
the risen Jesus, so we who have not seen may be blessed with the joy of life in
Jesus’ name.
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