STORY SETTING AND BACKGROUND

THOMAS SEES JESUS

When Thomas missed seeing Jesus on Sunday evening, he is convinced that Jesus is alive when Jesus appears a week later.

Mark 16: 14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20: 19-31

 

THE EMMAUS DISCIPLES

 

JESUS APPEARS

 

Early in the morning God sent an angel to roll away the stone from the empty tomb. The terrified guards fell to the ground in their great fright. When they recovered, they hurried to tell members of the Jewish Council what had happen­ed. These bribed them to say that Jesus' disciples had stolen His body.

Mary Magdalene, Salome, Mary the Mother of Joses, and other women came to the tomb very early on that first Easter morning. When they saw the open tomb, Mary Magdalene hurried back to tell Peter and John. The others went in to see the empty tomb and hear the glad news of the angels, "He is not here; He is risen! Tell His disciples!" On their way back to Jerusalem, Jesus Himself appeared to them.

In the meantime, Peter and John came hurrying to the tomb to see for them­selves. John arrived first, stood outside looking in. True to his nature, Peter hurried in to see the linen wrappings ly­ing as they had been when they had been wound around the body of Jesus, just the body was gone. The head cloth had been carefully folded or rolled up and laid in a separate place.

John came in to see for himself. The full meaning what both saw did not dawn on them. They knew that His body was gone, but the truth that Jesus had risen did not penetrate their dullness in under­standing what the Bible meant when it said that Jesus must rise again. Sadly they walked back home.

Mary Magdalene came back to the tomb to weep and mourn. Jesus appear­ed to her. Mary's deep sorrow was changed to great joy. She hurried to tell the disciples, but these refused to believe. In their mental state of confused sadness to believe that Jesus had risen seemed just too fantastic.

In the afternoon two of Jesus' follow­ers were going to Emmaus, 7 miles to the west-northwest of Jerusalem. Jesus joined them on the way, but they didn't recognize Him. Jesus explained what the Old Testament Scriptures had to say about the Messiah. In the home at Em­maus, Jesus the guest carried out the function of the host: He took the bread, said grace, and divided the bread with the two. These recognized Him. Jesus vanished, but they hurried back that same evening to share the glad news with the disciples.

 

Later that evening the disciples were talking about Jesus' appearance to Peter and to the two Emmaus disciples. The term "the Eleven" is used here by Mark as a technical term for Jesus' apostles. Actually Thomas happened to be away.

 

Jesus Himself appeared to His dis­ciples. His name had just been on their lips, and now He stood among them. Note that John specially mentions that the doors were locked. The fact that Jesus all at once stood among them, not being bound to the usual limitations of walls and locked doors, frightened them. "Was this a being from the spirit world, a ghost?"

 

Jesus knew their fear (Luke 24:37). He saw their fright. "Peace be to you," He greeted them. Even today in Israel the common greeting is "Shalom" (peace) and among the Arabs of Palestine "Sa­laam Alechum" (peace be to you).

But Jesus wanted them to know that the person they saw was actually He. So He invited them to see the evidences of crucifixion in His hands and feet. He urged, "Touch and handle Me. See for yourselves that this is My body come back to life!"

The disciples still wondered. Jesus asked them to give Him some food to eat. This they did and He ate a piece of broil­ed fish as they watched. The disciples were happy that the risen Jesus was in their midst.

 

For several years Jesus had been pre­paring them to carry on the work of shar­ing the Gospel. Soon He would leave them to return to sit at the right hand of divine power (see John 14-17). They and other believers in Jesus were to be His messengers, moved and guided by the Holy Spirit working among them-see especially John 16. Later on Jesus told them they should stay in Jerusalem until He would send the Holy Spirit on them. Then they were to be His witnesses throughout the world (Acts 1:7-8) .

To the disciples, the believers in Him of that time and of all time to come, Jesus entrusted certain responsibilities to be exercised by them through the Holy Spirit working through them. Note what Jesus said as recorded in John 20:22-23. See parallels to this in Matthew 16: 19.

The English translation of "forgive" for the Greek phrase "send away the sin" may well be put into sharper focus.   Psalm 103: 12 tells us that God in for­giving us, removes our sins as far away from us as east is from the west.   Micah 7:19 uses the picture language of God throwing our sins into the great depth, of the ocean. Isaiah 43:25 speaks of God blotting out our sins and forgetting them forever. It is important to remember the tremendous meaning clothed in the term "forgive."

To retain, not forgive, means that the sins of the unrepentant sinner are fastened or fixed on him, so that he cannot escape the righteous judgment of God. Only by recognizing his sin in true sorrow and looking to God with eyes of faith can such sin be removed.

 

THOMAS

 

Thomas was absent and did not see the Lord. When the others told him of Jesus' appearance, it seemed beyond the grasp of reality to him. Note how carefully Thomas spelled out what it would take to convince him that Jesus had actually risen from the dead.

A week later Jesus granted Thomas this privilege. Note how Jesus invited him to see and feel for himself. Note also the confession which came from the lips of Thomas, "My Lord and My God." "Lord" is a frequent title used by Chris­tians for Jesus (see Romans 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3). Jesus as Lord of the Universe is actively engaged in exercising divine pow­er and majesty. The risen Christ is truly God (see Colossians).

The term "doubting Thomas" is often used. But Thomas' loyalty and courage expressed when Lazarus had died needs to be remembered. The other disciples reminded Jesus of the vengeful hatred which the leaders of their people, the members of the Jewish Council, had for Him. They seemed to have said, "Must You go to Bethany and put Your life in danger? They wanted to stone You for blasphemy." Jesus answered, "Let's go to Bethany." And Thomas urged his fel­low disciples, "Let's go, too, and die with Him!" (John 11)