Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Series
“To the Ten and then to Thomas”
John 20.19-29
Introduction
During the past few weeks, we have been considering the post resurrection appearances of
Christ. The Bible records that Jesus appeared ten times during the forty-day period
between His resurrection and ascension. We first considered the importance of Christ’s
post resurrection appearances and then last week we looked at the first post resurrection
appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene. (Jn.20.1-18) We saw Mary’s persistence to find
where they had laid Jesus’ body and how the Lord rewarded her persistence. Truly Mary
exemplifies that everyone who seeks will find. (Mt.7.8) This morning we will consider the
Lord’s post resurrection appearance to the ten disciples and then to Thomas. (Jn.20.19-29)
Before we look at today’s text let’s consider the events of that Resurrection Sunday.
Resurrection Sunday
Early Sunday morning Mary Magdalene and two other women came back to the tomb with
the spices and perfumes to give Jesus a proper burial according to the customs of the day.
When they arrived, they found the large stone that Joseph had rolled against the entrance
of the tomb rolled away. They entered the tomb to discover that Jesus’ body was not there.
An angel appeared to them declaring that Jesus had risen from the dead and that they
should go tell the disciples. As the disciples listened to the women, they considered what
the women were saying was nonsense but eventually Peter and John got up and ran to the
tomb only to find it exactly as the women had said. Mary Magdalene had chased Peter and
John back to the tomb but when they departed, she stood alone outside the tomb weeping.
Then the Lord appeared to Mary and told you to go tell the brethren what she had seen and
what He had said to her. (Jn.20.18)
Later that afternoon the two followers of Christ from Emmaus were making the seven-mile
journey back home. Along the way another traveler joined them as they discussed the
recent events in Jerusalem and their extreme sadness over Jesus’ crucifixion and death. The
men from Emmaus were prevented from recognizing that this other traveler was the
resurrected Christ but as the Lord taught them how the Scripture teaches the necessity for
the Christ to suffer their eyes were opened, and they recognized the Him. Immediately the
Lord vanished, and the men ran back to Jerusalem that same evening finding the eleven and
others gathered in a house. The men from Emmaus said to them, “The Lord has really risen
and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He
was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. (Lk.24.34-35) So, let’s recap. All in one
day we have an empty tomb witnessed by six people. An angelic announcement of the
Lord’s resurrection. The Lord appearing to Mary Magdalene. Then the Lord appearing to
the two travelers to Emmaus. Then to Peter. All these giving personal testimony to Christ’s
resurrection. Only to find at the end of that same day everyone had gone home, even
Thomas, leaving ten of the disciples clustered together behind locked doors cowering in
fear.
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Hear now the Word of God. John chapter twenty verse nineteen through thirty-one.
19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut
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 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and
His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again,
“Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this,
He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of
any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the
other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see
in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my
hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and
Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and
said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My
hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but
believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to
him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and
yet believed.” (Jn.20.19-29)
Jesus Appears to the Ten
It had certainly been a long day but now everyone had gone home. For some reason
Thomas too had left the gathering of the disciples. So, with Judas’s suicide and Thomas’
absence this left ten of the Lord’s disciples together in one place. The ten disciples were
clustered in fear and the doors were barred shut. No one in and no one out.
You can only imagine their astonishment when Jesus stood in their midst, and said to them,
“Peace be with you.” Jesus greets them twice with this particularly powerful greeting (2.19,
21) and uses it again when greeting Thomas. (20.26) The disciples were experiencing great
fear not knowing what the future would hold. So, Jesus stands in their midst and greets
them, “Peace be with you.” When Jesus gave this gracious greeting, I wonder if any of the
disciples remembered Jesus’ teaching just a few days prior when He told them, Peace I
leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your
heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (Jn.14.27)
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Shame on you.” Or “How could you be so unbelieving?” No,
He says, “Peace be with you.” This is the kindness of our God! Christ knows our fears. Christ
understands our doubts and He comes to give us supernatural peace. The peace that
surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil.4.7)
When He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. (20.20a) To prove that
He was not a phantom or a hallucination the Lord shows them the scares of His sacrifice, as
a Lamb slain. (Rev.5.6) Showing the scars of His sufferings did not only confirm the reality
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of Christ’s bodily resurrection but also shows the signs of His victory over death. These are
the scars that purchased our salvation.
The Commissioning of Christ
The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (20.20b) After this remarkable
reception, the Lord Jesus issues a threefold commission to His disciples. They were to be
sent out, in the power of the Spirit, to preach the gospel of forgiveness of sins.
First Jesus said to them . . . “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (20.21) In Matthew’s
Gospel Jesus commissions us to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Mt.28.19) In Mark’s
Gospel Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
(Mk.16.15) In Luke’s Gospel we are commissioned to proclaim His name to all nations.
(Lk.24.47) But here in John’s Gospel Jesus said to them . . . “as the Father has sent Me, I also
send you.”
Each of these commissioning narratives has its own special emphasis and here in John’s
Gospel we see Jesus making the immediate connection with His own mission given by the
Father and the ongoing mission of His church. Jesus being sent by the Father remains in full
force in the mission of His disciples, who continue His work on earth until He returns.
Brothers and sisters, Christ’s primary mission was to do the will of the Father and to seek
and save the lost. (Lk.19.10) Therefore, Christ’s mission must be our mission. Christ’s
purpose must be our purpose.
But we cannot go out in our own strength. We must go out in the power of the Spirit.
Notice, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit.’” (20.22) You see, prior to His death Jesus told His disciples, I will ask the Father, and
He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. (Jn.14.16) But the Helper,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all that I said to you. (Jn.14.26) But I tell you the truth, it is to your
advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I
will send Him to you. (Jn.16.7)
And during the forty days prior to His ascension Jesus had told them to stay in Jerusalem
until they were clothe with power from on high to be His witnesses. (Lk.24.49; Acts 1.8)
You see, Jesus is promising that He will equip His disciples with the Spirit for the work He
will send them out to do. As the Father sent Jesus in the fullest of the Spirit (Lk.4.1, 14) so
Jesus sends His disciples in the fullness of the Spirit. As the Father sent Jesus in the fullest
of the Spirit so Jesus sends us in the fullness of the Spirit.
After commissioning His disciples to go out in the power of the Spirit Jesus charges them to
preach the gospel of forgiveness of sins. He said to them, “If you forgive the sins of any, their
sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” (20.23)
This verse has been misinterpreted for centuries. Some would teach that Jesus is granting
authority to the Apostles and their successors to forgive or retain sin to leaders of the
church. But no where do we see that teaching in the Bible. Only God can forgive sins.
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So, what’s going on here? We see that Peter explains what is going on in Acts chapter ten
when he tells Cornelius, “And He ordered us to preach to the people . . . that through His
name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 10.42-43) Peter tells
Cornelius that Jesus had ordered them to preach the gospel of forgiveness of sins. Peter
tells Cornelius that everyone who believes in Christ receives forgiveness of sins. You see no
individual has the authority to forgive sin. No pope. No bishop. No priest. If a person
believes in Jesus Christ, his sins have been forgiven. (Jn.20.23a) If a person rejects Jesus
Christ, his sins are retained. (Jn.20.23b) It’s as simple as that.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ has commissioned us to preach the Gospel of forgiveness
of sins through His sacrifice on the cross. If a person believes in Jesus Christ, their sins are
forgiven. If a person rejects Jesus Christ, their sins are retained. Jesus said it plainly, “Unless
you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.” (Jn.8.24) “Thus it is written, that
the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for
forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from
Jerusalem. (Lk.24.46-47) Belief in Jesus Christ is forgiveness of sins. For I am not ashamed of
the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. (Rom.1.16)
Therefore, what we see in Jesus’ appearance to the ten is that after He shows them the
scars of His sacrifice, the scars that secured salvation, He commissions His disciples to go
out in the power of the Spirit and preached the gospel of forgiveness of sins. And I would
suggest that Jesus’ commissioning wasn’t just to the ten but to all followers of Christ from
that day forward. Let’s not be ashamed of the gospel.
Jesus Appears to Thomas
For some reason Thomas had left the other ten before Jesus’ appearance late on Sunday
night. Sometime afterwards the ten found Thomas, they were saying to him, “We have seen
the Lord.” But Thomas said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and
put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
(Jn.20.25) Of course, most people know Thomas’ nickname, “Doubting Thomas,” but many
forget that all the disciples were doubters. Luke’s Gospel records that when Christ
appeared to the ten, He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your
hearts.” (Lk.24.38)
Thomas also gets a “bad rap” because he responded to the ten saying, “Unless I see in His
hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand
into His side, I will not believe.” (Jn.20.25) But again many forget that Luke records that after
Jesus showed the ten His scars of sacrifice, they were still unbelieving and seeing their
unbelief Jesus asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” And they gave Him a piece of
boiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. (Lk.24.41-43) Just like Thomas who needed
a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ to believe the other ten needed physical
proof that they were seeing the real resurrected Christ and not having a dream. It seems
that the Lord is showing mercy to the ten and to Thomas who were both doubting. (Js.1.22)
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After Eight Days
A week had gone by since Jesus’ appearance to the ten. After eight days the disciples
gathered, and this time Thomas was with them. Jesus again stood in their midst. This time
the Lord’s focus was exclusively on Thomas and instead of just showing His scars of
suffering, Jesus invites Thomas to touch His wounds. “Reach here with your finger . . . reach
here your hand and put it into My side.” Jesus wants to make sure that Thomas knew that
this was not an illusion or trick. This was the resurrected Christ!
I want to stress the biblical truth that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead, He ascended
bodily into heaven, and He will return bodily in power and glory. This is Jesus’ glorified
body which Paul describes as “the body of His glory.” (Phil.3.21) You see, Jesus took on flesh
and blood, that through His death He might render powerless the power of death.
(Heb.2.14) Jesus was fully divine but He was also fully human. Jesus shared our humanity,
and although He was sinless, lived a life and suffered a death full of weakness, ills, needs,
and temptation. But at His resurrection Jesus’ body was transformed into a body of glory to
destroy the power of death. Thanks be to God who gives us the same victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, because of Christ’s victory we will all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (ICor.15.51-52)
You see, believers in Jesus Christ no longer fear death, for they are free from the bondage of
death through Christ’s victory. We know that nothing, not even death, can separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom.8.38-39) But in contrast, all those who
do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior face eternal death and thus are eternally held in
the bonds of the slavery of sin. Only Jesus sets people free from this slavery and fear.
(Thoughts from Simon Kistemaker)
But Jesus’ invitation to touch His wounds also confronts Thomas’ disbelief. Jesus said,
“Reach here . . . and be not unbelieving but believe.” As Thomas felt the nail holes in Jesus’
hand and reached into Jesus’ side where the soldiers had pierced Him with a spear Thomas
said, “My Lord and my God.” (Jn.20.28) Experiencing Jesus’ body of glory in real time caused
Thomas to make a true confession. “My Lord and my God.” Thomas confesses Jesus’
humanity, “My Lord,” and with the same breath confesses Jesus’ deity, “My God.” Thomas
comes to the confessional conclusion that only Jesus, the eternal Word who became flesh,
could accomplish the purposes of God, and bring redemption to sinners and faith to
doubters.
Jesus accepts Thomas’’ confession and said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you
believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (20.29) Some might consider
Jesus’ response as a subtle rebuke of Thomas’ need to touch Jesus’ wounds. But if the angels
rejoice over one sinner who repents (Lk.15.10) why would Jesus rebuke Thomas for his
confession? I believe that Jesus is not discrediting Thomas’ confession but rather
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contrasting the two ways people come to faith. There are those who came to faith because
they saw the resurrected Christ, like Thomas, and there are those who come to faith
through hearing and believing in the gospel proclaimed by Jesus’ witnesses.
Jesus’ response to Thomas’ confession puts all believers throughout the ages on the same
level. Whether the Lord worked faith in our hearts by seeing the resurrected Christ, as was
the case with Thomas, or if the Lord worked faith in your heart by hearing the gospel of
forgiveness of sin the fact is we are all saved by grace through faith. (Eph.2.8) The Apostle
Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him
now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory obtaining
as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (IPt.1.8-9)
Closing Thoughts
It is interesting that when the ten saw the Lord they rejoiced, and the Apostle Peter says
that those who have not seen Him believe that they rejoice. (Jn.20.20; IPt.1.9) Both groups
rejoice because their sins have been forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice. Are you rejoicing
today? Have you made the confession that Jesus is your Lord and your God? Let’s join
Thomas today and make that clear confession of faith.