Peace Be With You, John 20:24-31
Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So 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.”
A 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.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But 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.
Doubts
We’re not told where Thomas was on that first Easter Sunday. Maybe he was out on a woods coffee run for the group. You can really feel for Thomas. He says something stupid and it gets written down for millennia. The other disciples don’t have nicknames after their faults like petrified Peter or judgmental James.
I love how real Thomas is. The Bible doesn’t present disciples of God as a bunch of people who have it all together. The Bible presents disciples, followers of God, who were searching and the grace of God came in and changed them. Notice, even though he was not there, Jesus heard him.
Peace
Jesus suddenly appears in their midst and proclaims, “Peace.” I’ve seen enough youtube videos to know when someone suddenly pops out of nowhere you are not feeling peace.
Peace on one hand was the common greeting like “hellol,” but it is also the embracing term used to denote the unqualified well-being that characterize the people of God in Jesus. Jesus’ greeting “shalom,” “peace,” is the complement to his statement on the cross, “It is finished.” The peace of reconciliation and life from God is now united to us in Christ Jesus. It’s that feeling of rest.
The Wounds
Then he shows them his hands and his side. Thomas says, I will not believe I unless I touch. Jesus shows up and says alright touch. It is odd that Jesus’s resurrected body would still bear the wounds. A lot of us hope that our resurrected bodies are different from our earthly bodies. I hope I have 20/20 vision and that God changes my lopsided nose. Why are there still wounds on his body?
They are the proof that “it is finished.” That we do indeed have peace. Jesus is saying, not only to him, but to you, look at my wounds and realize that the wounds are evidence that I love you. Experiencing that will change you.
Those wounds tell me he will never abandon me. Those wounds tell me no judgment remains for me. Those wounds tell me even when I don’t understand why he didn’t do what I thought he should do, I understand this is the measure of his love for me. Those wounds tell me I can trust him. I am His and He is mine. I am His child forever and I can curl up in those wounds like a child does in the arms of her daddy. See in those wounds is a love too amazing to exhaust; amazing grace.
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