1. Jesus forgives the disciples

Last Sunday we explored the miracle of Jesus in bringing Lazarus back from death. At that time, Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). We also learned how that miraculous event changed Martha and Mary into authentic believers.

Indeed, the resurrection is hard to accept as a real fact by reasoning. It is so difficult to believe that many people continue to suffer, because, without believing in the Resurrection, humans will not be able to free themselves from the burden of death.

Even Jesus’ disciples at first found it hard to believe that the Resurrection of Jesus had really occurred. So, by reading chapter 20 from the Gospel according to John, we will contemplate today how those skeptic disciples came to believe with a genuine faith.

John commences by describing the scene on the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). Jesus’ followers felt hopeless and fearful after Jesus’ crucifixion, whom they believed was their lord and savior. Not only were they suffering from a guilty conscience for having removed themselves from the scene, but they were also scared of being arrested by the Jewish authorities.

Although Mary of Magdala reportedly told them that Jesus had risen from the grave, they remained terrified. The expression “with the doors locked” is indicative of their fear. Even Peter, who hurried to see the empty tomb could not believe Jesus’ Resurrection. Despite all the facts, they could not bring themselves to believe that Jesus had risen, so they shut themselves away in a state of denial.

After the Resurrected Jesus showed Himself to those fearful men, they were shocked and frightened. Luke describes their reaction, “They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost” (Luke 24:37). The event appeared completely too incredible for them to comprehend, therefore Jesus, “showed them his hands and side. Then The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20:20).

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:21). The word “peace” is ¦¥ἰ¦Ñή¦Í¦Ç (eirhene) in Greek and Shalom ( שָׁלוֹם ) in Hebrew¹. It means more exactly “peace in heart”. By saying this we can see Jesus’ intention was to relieve the disciples, who were perhaps ashamed of their conduct. They would be reassured that Jesus was not blaming, nor accusing them. And Jesus’ such profound love changed the timid into the brave. Encouraged by this experience, the disciples commenced to preach fearlessly the Good News that Jesus was alive. The disciples became living witnesses to the event. In a sense, the Resurrection of Jesus brought new life, vision, and forgiveness to the disciples.

2. Jesus appeared again to Thomas
When Jesus reappeared before the disciples, Thomas was not with them. Perhaps he heard something about the reappearance of Jesus. However, 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 it” (John 20:25).

It was Jesus Himself who encouraged Thomas to believe, 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!” 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.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:26-28). We can certainly identify with the feelings of Thomas. Living in the modern world, we accept only the facts in which we can observe scientifically, and prove through forensic examination.

When the Gospels indicate that people are “one of the Twelve”, almost every time it means “Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot”. For example, John 6:70-71: Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him. Thomas, “one of the Twelve”, couldn’t believe Jesus’ Resurrection even though he was one of the twelve Apostles. Peter followed in the same vain when he denied Jesus three times as “one of the Twelve”. John, as a Gospel writer, would not conceal the unfaithful nature of the Apostles. Nevertheless, eight days after the first reappearance, Jesus reappeared to Thomas, and through this event he became a real believer.

We understand from this episode that we too are forgiven, just like the remorseful disciples. I want to draw your attention to the day of the week for Jesus’ reappearance. Not only the first, but also the second event took place on Sunday, when the disciples were together. It reveals that the origin of Sunday worship was already being born.

3. We meet our Lord in the Church
Now I will read 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 as the invocation verses to conclude today’s lecture: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.

In the first generation of the Church there were two documented sources about the Resurrection. The first concerns Jesus’ tomb which was found empty 3 days after the burial. The second is about His reappearance before the disciples. Today’s invocation verses belong to the latter, to which Paul also referred. Moreover, Paul testifies that Jesus also appeared to himself: “and last of all he appeared to me (Paul) also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Corinthians 15:8).

Paul is convinced that John’s scripture reported the event faithfully. So he says to the Corinthians, “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

It seems there were already skeptical believers among them, therefore he emphasizes the fact that the disciples and himself experienced the presence of Jesus, without any logical explanation. The Gospels will become real Good News to us too, but only when accept it as truth. The Resurrection is the lynchpin of the Gospels. It is, at the same time, a historical and spiritual event. It really happened, and Jesus’ disciples left their hiding place and commenced to preach the good news of the Resurrection.

It is a historical fact too, that the Church of the first generation began the Sunday worship service, not on the Saturday of the Jewish Sabbath. Paul, who had been a Pharisaic legal prosecutor, converted to Christianity and became a preacher, which is also a proven fact. But it is impossible to prove scientifically that the twelve Apostles actually met the resurrected Jesus. Because it is a spiritual event, not a historical one. Paul’s case is the same, his divine experience was somewhat oblivious to others: The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone (Acts 9:7). Despite the fact the disciples saw no one they were still in the presence of Jesus, as we too sometimes feel the presence of our Lord Jesus in our midst.

Now I want to return to Thomas who rejected the fact of the resurrection at first. It was his friends who informed him about Jesus’ reappearance. It was in the presence of other disciples that Thomas would meet the resurrected Jesus and receive encouragement to believe. May that be an object lesson for us. To remain in the faith we should not remain alone. A Christian should only be found with other believers, within the Church community of faith, worshiping and praying together. Then Jesus would come to us and say: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

As Jesus called the disciples to spread widely His teaching, we too must keep that calling in our mind. This church was originally destined to be a place of preaching by the Shinkoiwa church, because the church members considered Jesus’ calling to be addressed to themselves.

If they had remained contented with their existing church, and stayed alone by themselves in prayer, this Shinozaki church would not have been created. But they wanted Jesus’ teaching to be spread further and beyond. So they committed themselves financially and spiritually to the foundation of this church. So, we must follow in their footsteps. We cannot meet God by being complacent and private about our faith.

We should always serve others with our time and money, and help them to meet our Lord and saviour. Salvation is not an individual matter, but one of the community. So, If you are not already a church member, please consider becoming a member, in order to work, worship and pray together as a community of faith.
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Note: ¹ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalom