Third Presbyterian Sunday Morning Bible Study - April 11, 2021

Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian C

Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on John 20:19-29.

What qualities does someone have to have for you to believe them? (1) honest, (2) trustworthy, (3) dependable.  (4) believed by a respected friends.  Can we believe someone without taking action on that believe? For instance, I could tell you that I can shoot an apple off of your head with a bow and arrow. You might say I believe you because you are all the things we just listed.  But that is just words.  Speculation.   You haven't committed to anything more than what you said  Now what does it mean to believe IN someone? You see if I put an apple on your head and pulled back the bow string, you've gone from believing me to believing in me. To believe me takes intellectual accent. To believe in me takes faith. This is what our study is about today - believe or believe in.

From last week, the betrayal by Judas and the arrest of Jesus had occurred Thursday night. The trial had taken place during the night with the sentence of crucifixion pronounced by Pilate early Friday morning. At day break, Jesus was crucified and breathed his last at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Sunset was at about 6:00 and that would mark the start of the Jewish Sabbath and this is a special Sabbath since it would also be the celebration of the Feast of the Passover. All of this had been watched by the Apostles - from a safe distance.

In all probability the disciples continued to meet in the same upper room in which the last supper was held. But the meetings were held in utter terror, afraid that the Jewish leaders would discover where they were and come for them, too. All of their hopes had been crushed. How could the triumph of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem only a few days earlier be transformed into the tragedy of the cross? I can imagine that those meetings were accompanied with whispered comments so that they could hear anyone coming up the stair. Mary had reported to them that she had indeed talked with Jesus and that he was alive. But, after all, she was just a woman. "Why would Jesus speak to her first and not one of us?" was the big question that night.  John had reported what he and Peter had found the tomb empty. There was a lot to talk about what had happened and the disappearance of the body. Were the religious leaders trying to trick them into exposing themselves? Were the Roman's setting a trap by stealing the body in order to lure them to the tomb so they could be arrested? This was not a happy bunch of guys.

John 20: 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."  20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. 

So, as they sat there discussing what had happened, all of the sudden Jesus appeared in their midst. There had been no footsteps on the stair. No knocking at the door. In fact the door was bolted in order to give them some time to flee if the guards of the high priest should show up at their door. Jesus had entered the room without going through any apparent opening. This immediately brings up the question of what kind of being was Jesus now. First it is obvious that he was able to pass through matter. The room was secured and yet he entered. If this is so, that he could pass through a closed partition, why was it necessary to roll away the stone from the opening of the tomb? He could have just walked right through it.  Right?  So why was the stone rolled away? You see, the stone wasn't moved to allow Jesus to leave tomb, it was moved to allow Mary and the disciples to enter and discover that he had already left.

He must have had some resemblance to His earthly body. There were the nail penetrations in His hands. The pierced side. And yet it took awhile for everyone to recognize Him. It would appear that his voice was relatively the same and could be easily recognized.

How does Jesus greet them?  He tells them, "Peace be with you." This is what the disciples need most - peace.  Through all of the turmoil, fear and sorrow of the last few days, they needed the peace that can only come from God.

Do you think that there were disciples there who had doubted that they would ever see Jesus again? They may have even questioned the accounts of the women? Even with Jesus standing in front of them, they may have doubted their own eyes. Put yourself in their place. You are exhausted. The events happened so swiftly you haven't been able to reflect on them. Seeing Jesus before you may be just wishful thinking - a daydream - a hallucination.

Jesus does some very human things. He proved to them that he was Jesus by showing them the holes in his hands and the wound in his side. There is no mention here of nail prints in His feet. The feet were not often nailed to the cross but were bound to the vertical member of the cross. He may have lowered his robe and showed them the scars on his back. Told them to look at has brow where the thorns had torn the flesh. The other gospels say he sat down and ate with them. Now if you were there, would you have believed? Sure you would. This would have been indisputable proof. Even the OJ jury would find the truth with this evidence.

How do you think the disciples reacted? Imagine how you would have felt. Standing right there if front of you was the living, breathing, undeniable proof that the man they had followed, Jesus, was exactly who he said he was: the Messiah, the Son of God. If that wouldn't bring unrestrained joy to your hearts, nothing would. I can almost see them tossing their hats into the air.

John 20: 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  22 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, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."  

He then breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit". This verse is reminiscent of Gensis 2:7 that describes God breathing into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life or Ezekiel 37:9 when the Prophet saw the valley of dead, dry bones and he heard God say "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life." Now the disciples would be empowered with a new life through the breath of God. They will be reborn; transformed. John makes two major points here. Jesus baptized the disciples with the Holy Spirit which is what John the Baptist had said that he would do in John 1:33. The second is that with the power of the Holy Spirit, they are to go out into the world to tell the world that their sins are forgiven and that there is a place being prepared for them in heaven.

What Jesus tells them is confusing to us Protestants. He says that "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained". This is a saying whose true meaning has to be understood. No man can forgive the sins of another only God pardons sin. But another thing is equally true. It is the responsibility and privilege of the Church and we as disciples in the Church to tell men of God's forgiveness. Of all the people alive at that time, the apostles had the most right to bring Jesus' message to men. Why? Because no one else knew Jesus as well as these men. Besides, it was Jesus who picked them in the first place. If they knew that a person was truly repentant in his heart, the apostle could assure the person that his sins would be forgiven. On the other hand, if the apostle knew for certain that there was no penitence in the person's heart, he could say with equal assurance. that there was no forgiveness for that person. The sentence does not mean that there is power to forgive sins given to man but a power to proclaim that sins would be forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is laying down the duty of the Church which is to say our duty is to convey forgiveness to those who repent of sin and to warn everybody that by not repenting they are forfeiting the mercy of God.

John 20: 24 But Thomas who was called the Twin), one of the twelve was not with them when Jesus came.  25 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 my hand in his side, I will not believe." 

Now, Thomas was not there the night that Jesus appeared. He was a man who wanted to mourn in private. Word got to him that Jesus had appeared to the others. This seemed too good to be true so he refused to believe the reports. At heart Thomas was a pessimist but not a coward. When Jesus had said that he was going to Bethany after hearing about the death of Lazarus, his disciples didn't want Him to go for fear that the Jews would stone Him. John 11:16 states that Thomas recommended that all of the disciples go with Jesus so that they all could die with Jesus. He was almost belligerent in his pessimism when he told the others that he would not believe the accounts that Jesus was alive until he placed his fingers in the nail holes and his hand into the pierced side. This was a pretty rough statement to be made by a close follower of Jesus. Was Thomas denying the resurrection?

Thomas knew what the disciples had been through. He knew that they were stressed out. Tired, worn out, with little sleep.  Fear of capture and death can cause people to become irrational. He knew of their frustration. This wasn't suppose to happen. The movement had been on a roll. He knew their condition because he was feeling the same way. You see, Thomas wasn't denying Jesus, he just didn't believe the testimony of his friends. Although they would have passed to believing list  we talked about earlier.

26  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."  27 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."  28 Thomas answered him,  "My Lord and my God!"  29 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.

Another week elapsed. It was another Sunday and the disciples were meeting again. This time Thomas was there. Again security measures had been taken. The door was locked. The shades drawn. And again Jesus makes a miraculous appearance. He greets them and immediately turns to Thomas and invites him to place his fingers in the holes in his hands and the wound in his side. Was this familiar to Thomas? These were the very requirements that Thomas had laid down as the price of his belief in the resurrection.  How do you think Thomas felt when Jesus turned to him, looked him straight in the eye and told Thomas,  “Come over here Thomas.  See that hole in my hand?  Put your finger in it.  That’s all right.  You won’t hurt me.”  Without waiting for Thomas to put his finger in the nail hole, Jesus said, “Then I want you to put your hand right here in my side” These are exactly what Thomas said he wanted as proof that Jesus was alive. 

Now Jesus didn't scold Thomas. He didn't say "OK, Thomas, if that is what it takes, come here but you are acting like a jerk." I think that the way Jesus invited Thomas to touch him was gentle, caring, sensitive - not angry. Remember Jesus had showed the rest of the disciples the same wounds the previous week when Thomas wasn't there. Jesus was just being sensitive to Thomas' concerns and wanted to give him the same proof that he had given the rest. What is important here is that Jesus was willing meet Thomas where he was - and he is willing to meet us more than half way too.

There is no scripture that affirms that Thomas actually carried out this demand. On the contrary he falls to his knees and acknowledges that this is indeed Jesus Christ who was crucified but now lives.

We don't know for sure what happened to Thomas after this meeting. There is an apocryphal book called "The Acts of Thomas" which, though legend, may give us some insights into his life from this point on. It appears that the known world was divided-up by the disciples in order to bring the Gospel to all people. It fell upon Thomas to go to India. He refused to go giving a physical weakness as an excuse for not making the long journey. Jesus appears to him at night and directs him to go to India. Thomas tells Jesus that he willing to go anywhere in the world - even Pungo - gladly - but not to India. 

It so happened that a merchant from India named Abbanes came to Jerusalem looking for a carpenter to work for an Indian king. Legend has it that Jesus appeared to Abbanes in the market square and spoke to him asking him if was looking to buy a carpenter. Abbanes said yes. Jesus identified himself as the son of Joseph the carpenter and said that he had a slave who he wanted to sell and he pointed to Thomas. Abbanes approached Thomas and asked him if Jesus was his master to which Thomas said, "He sure is." The deal was struck and Thomas was off to India. 

When he got there the king told him that he wanted a palace built and could he handle the job? Thomas told the king he could. Money and material were given to Thomas to construct the palace. Instead of building a palace, Thomas gave everything to the poor. The king kept asking him how things were going and Thomas would tell him the that work was steadily progressing. Finally the king became suspicious and demanded to know if the palace was finished. Thomas answered, "Yes". The king said "Good. Then we shall go and see it". Of course there was no palace and the king upon discovering the lack of a palace blew his top and was ready to put Thomas to death. He asked for an explanation. Thomas told the king that his palace was a beautiful building but that he wouldn't be able to live in it until after he had departed this life. After much talk Thomas brought the king to the Lord and he became a Christian. The Church in India today traces it's roots back to Thomas.

When Thomas proclaims Jesus as his Lord and God, Jesus responds that "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." This was no a criticism of Thomas. Look at the passage very closely. Who is Jesus really talking to? You and me and all the generations yet to be born. What he is saying is that after he ascends to the Father there will not be an opportunity to put him to the test like Thomas did. We won't be able to see for ourselves the nail holes or pierced side. In other words - no seeing is believing.  

You see, Jesus is talking to you and I who will believe because of the testimony of other believers and on the works that the Spirit does in our lives. You see, folks, Jesus is telling us right here, right today, that we are blessed. Even more blessed than Thomas. Do you see how important that makes us to Jesus.

John ends this chapter by telling his readers that the intent of this book is not be a biography of Jesus but that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that by believing in this fact and having faith in it we will have eternal life in his name.

So we are back to our original question - believe. We can have an intellectual belief in Jesus in which we speak the words but do not commit to those same words. I can believe that Jesus lived and can even say I believe that Jesus is the Son of God but if I do not feed the poor, clothe the naked tend to the needed it is a hallow belief. But to believe in Christ means I am depending on him to shoot the apple off of my head. I am putting myself totally in his hands. My very life is involved in my belief. As people blessed of God, can we offer less?

Prayer:  When the world tests our faith and our belief, may we always confess: My Lord and my God.