Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe
JOE MILLER JR.

John 20:19-31

John does not tell us what the disciples were doing on Easter Sunday night before Jesus appeared to them; however, the context gives us a lot of clues. Mary Magdalene had visited the tomb and found it empty. When she reported the missing body to Peter and the beloved disciple, they both ran to the tomb to see for themselves.

After inspecting the empty tomb the two men returned to their homes. Mary then had a conversation with two angels, and Jesus himself appeared to her. After these events, Mary reported to the disciples that "I have seen the Lord," and she repeated what he had told her. The next scene in the drama is the disciples gathered together behind closed doors. Why were they gathered together? There are a few possibilities.

They were afraid of the Jewish authorities that had killed Jesus, and they could have been gathered together for safety in numbers. The narrative tells us that the doors were locked out of fear, so this is a plausible explanation. Or since Jesus had appeared to Mary they wanted to be together to jointly witness his next appearance, if any.

Perhaps they had simply gathered together to pray and worship. Having fled when Jesus was taken from them, they may have gathered to regroup and decide on their next move. Should they return to Galilee and start fishing again?

Considering the recent appearance of the risen Christ to Mary, the most likely scenario is that they were preparing for his return and the continuation of their ministry together. Prior to Jesus' crucifixion, they had traveled with Jesus and witnessed his ministry of healing, feeding, and teaching. This ministry had been interrupted by his death, but since he had been raised from the dead they could begin where they had left off.

If these thoughts were in any of their minds, Jesus very quickly destroyed their visions of a return to the good old days. He appeared with the words "peace be with you" and invited them to observe his wounds from the crucifixion. The disciples were overjoyed; after all, they had their friend, teacher, and leader back. Now the good old days could begin as before.

However, no sooner had they begun rejoicing when he delivered the news. He instituted what we know as "the church" by breathing the Holy Spirit on them and defining their mission. They are to take his place in the world and become the body of Christ to the world. It would be up to them to continue the healing, teaching, and feeding of the world. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit was to constitute the church continuing the mission of Jesus.

The next appearance was presumably for Thomas' benefit. Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared to the other disciples, and he expressed disbelief (not doubt). Jesus returned to repeat the message, and add something very significant to his message: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

These scriptures are not so much a put-down of Thomas as they are a blessing for the future church. The church did not end with the deaths of the original disciples, but the gospel was passed down from generation to generation to us. It may come as a shock, but the mission of taking Jesus' place in the world as the body of Christ for the world constitutes the church.

How are we to accomplish this? Jesus knew that we could not do it ourselves, that is why he breathed the Holy Spirit into the disciples and into us. Just in case we forget that, the scripture reminds us through the words of John that… "these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." The Holy Spirit constitutes the church, and Holy Scripture enables us, who did not see Jesus as a human being, to come to him.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.