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19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20: 19-31 NIV)
Happy Easter Monday! For the record, we're still celebrating Easter! And the power of Easter continues to be with us and all that we face, Friend. As I shared yesterday, we were blessed to hear that Austin Police Officer Elijah Neely has come out of his coma, and we rejoice in that news. We are asked to stll be in prayer for his complete recovery. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
Easter is a supernatural event, for what we believe happened here defies explanation from the natural. Resurrection from the dead is something only God can do; and the events of this passage show that the power of God continued to be at work in the world where Jesus is present, and we believe, that continues to be the truth for us and what we face.
The first event involves the appearance of the Risen Lord in bodily form behind closed doors to the disciples. As we can imagine even though the Lord is risen, the ones who put Jesus to death, still wanted to completely shut down this new movement that Jesus started. The disciples were aware of that anger and were fearful for their lives as well. They were still in the Upper Room when Jesus appeared to them and shared, "Peace be with you!" Those words were precisely what I would need to hear from a man who had been dead and is now alive! And Jesus shows his hands and side as evidence that He was indeed the same man whom they had seen dead on the cross, and whose side had been pierced by a Roman solider's sword. The hands had been pierced by the nails. This realization that He was alive brought much joy to the disciples. And for a second time Jesus shares a "Peace be with you!," but also adds a commission; "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you," and breathes on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is an important event in the lives of the disciples, for the Holy Spirit brings His power and guidance to them, and fulfills the promise of Jesus that He would not leave them as orphans. Added to this, Jesus speaks of what they can now do; "If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." So, we see that the good news mission continues; Jesus spoke against sin and how important it is to have our sins forgiven and removed from our lives. WIth the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were to continue to preach God's liberating love for us to set us free from the power of sin.
Thomas has the luck of some of us. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We do not know where he was, but we do know that he missed out. Thomas was a twin, thus the Didymus name given him, but ancients gave him the name Doubting because of his response to the news his brother disciples gave him about missing out on seeing Jesus. He could not accept the fact that a) Jesus was still alive, b) that He showed up to visit them; his fear was that he would soon die at the hands of the same authorities that killed Jesus. And Thomas set his standards for maybe believing that it really is Jesus who showed up. Remember, Jesus was not there, but upon His next appearance in that same room, He directly addresses Thomas and his requests. And tells him, "Stop doubting and believe." Thomas goes on to declare His faith, My Lord and my God!" Jesus tells him and the others, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." And that means us!
Many were the other things that John says that Jesus did in the presence of His disciples; but the main thing is for you and me is to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you and me may have life in His name. Amen!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, increase my faith so I may truly be a supernatural person who though living in a natural world, can see and do things
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show your supernatural side tomorrow in sharing what God did for you today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
