LIFE IN JESUS’ NAME
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Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, indeed you are my hope and stay, the One who will always be trustworthy and never fail me. To you belong all the honor and glory. Hallelujah!
Read JOHN 20:19—31
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
John
John 20
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
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.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
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.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
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.
Reflect
‘Crown him the Lord of love; / behold his hands and side, / rich wounds, yet visible above, / in beauty glorified.’1
‘Doubting’ Thomas has had too much bad press. Dour, pragmatic Thomas, like many of us, needs to see for himself. Never faint-hearted, only days ago Thomas urged his fellow disciples to go with Jesus and die with him.2 Thomas does indeed die for his Lord, carrying the gospel further than any other apostle, to India and beyond. In the Indian Christian tradition, Thomas was killed in Chennai in 72 AD. Death is the cost of his discipleship. He obeyed his Lord’s commission. John’s version of Jesus’ commission differs from that of other gospel writers. No doubt Jesus will again tell his disciples to go into the world several times. Some words in the so-called ‘great commission’ have been taken out of context. Matthew’s forceful ‘authority … go … make … obey … commanded … the very end of the age’3 have been wrongly but conveniently used to support European colonialism and empire. They must be read together with the different commission recorded by John. Yes, we are sent into the world, but only in the way the Father sent Jesus. That is the way of self-giving, of identification with the poor and needy, of humility and suffering. That is how the Father sent the Son. That is how we must go. Then those who accept our message receive the gift of sins forgiven and eternal life.
The ending to Chapter 20 reads as the real conclusion to the gospel, as passed down by John and the Jerusalem church. Jesus did and said so much more, which simply could not be recorded, so we must not be misled by any necessary condensation of the story. The words that were written have one glorious purpose—that we may believe that Jesus was the One sent by God and that, by believing in Jesus, we will gain life, life in his name.
Apply
Where might God be calling you to be more Christ-like as you live for him and share the good news?
Closing prayer
Jesus, Lord of your church’s mission, help me so that those whom my life touches find life in your name. 1 ‘Crown Him with Many Crowns’, Matthew Bridges, 1851 2 John 11:16 3 Matt 28:18—20.
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