II SUNDAY OF EASTER – April 11th, 2010
EIGHT DAYS LATER JESUS CAME – Biblical Commentary by F. Alberto Maggi OSM
Jn 20.19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the
disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad
when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent
me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to
them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you
withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld." Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the
Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen
the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my
finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place
it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have believed."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Knowing that Jesus is risen is not enough; he has to be experimented. That 's what John, the evangelist
describes in chapter 20 of his gospel, verses 19-31.
"On the evening of that day”, that is the day of Jesus’ resurrection, “day one”, not the first day of the
week as it is translated; the evangelist says ‘one’ recalling the creation, the first day of creation, that is
the one of Jesus’ resurrection, which the evangelist sees as the one of new and final creation, one that
will never end.
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“The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews”, the presence of a determinate
article indicates that this refers to all disciples, that is this message is not just for some, but is addressed
to the entire community. “Jesus came and stood among them”, this is typical of Jesus, staying among
people while displaying to them, meaning that is just from there that life and love spread.
The first words that Jesus addresses to disciples sound like a wish of happiness and fullness of life,
“Peace be with you”, but a verbal exhortation seems not enough; it needs to be justified; that is why
Jesus shows them his hands and side, representing the very signs of love, through which he offered his
life for them.
And they replace their fear of ending up like him with a great joy. Why? Because they have seen that
death does not stop life, allowing it to flourish into a new form, one that is complete and definitive.
Well, Jesus repeats his greeting “Peace be with you”, and here comes his mandate, the Father sent
Jesus to witness through deeds his very life, though actions conveying life to men, “«As the Father has
sent me, even so I am sending you»”, scope of community is conveying life though actions that enrich
others’ life.
But a mandate is not enough, a special strength is needed; that’s why the evangelist says “And when he
had said this, he breathed on them”; Jesus breaths on his disciples just how the Creator breathed on the
first man in the book of Genesis, where we read “the man became a living creature”. Only when one
receives the Spirit, that is the ability to love others unconditionally, one becomes a living creature.
“And said to them, «Receive Holy Spirit», not the Holy Spirit, the article is not present; when God totally
conveys his Spirit, it’s then up to individuals to receive this Spirit and get the ability of accepting this
love.
Here comes the mandate that Jesus gave, “«If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you
withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld»”. Better here change the verb ‘to forgive’ with ‘to
cancel’. What is Jesus meaning? He’s not appointing someone with special powers, but he states that
this ability and responsibility pertain to the entire community. Jesus’ community has to make the light of
love and life shine.
Those who feel attracted to this light, joining it, will see their past wrongdoings – that is sin – cancelled;
those who, on the contrary, even seeing this light shining, decide to turn away from it, as Jesus said, will
go on doing evil and hating light, remaining in the sphere of darkness and sin.
Well “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin”, as he has the same feelings as Jesus, in fact he
said “Let us also go and die with him”, “was not with them when Jesus came” cries his desperate need of
believing. Thomas is known as the incredulous disciple, but he makes the highest profession of faith in
Gospels, instead. He says “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the
mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe”.
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“Eight days later”, a very important indication provided by the Evangelist, as ‘eight’ is the number
representing resurrection, the figure showing the indestructible life, and a week later, that is when the
community celebrates the Eucharist. Jesus doesn’t grant private or personal appearances, but he
displays himself in the Eucharist.
Well Jesus displays himself to Thomas and the community of disciples, by staying in the middle and
confirming his hope of fullness and happiness, “Peace be with you”. Here the evangelist says that Jesus
‘comes’, not ‘came’, for Jesus always comes, he’s a common presence among his community. Then he
exhorts Thomas to do what he said, putting his finger into his wounds.
Thomas is careful not to do it, but bursts out with the greatest expression of faith in Gospels, “Thomas
answered him, «My Lord and my God!»”. So Thomas, not only is not an incredulous, but is the one who
believes that Jesus is God, the one of whom John said in his Prologue “No one has ever seen him”, but
Thomas recognized him in Jesus.
Well, Jesus proclaims the second Beatitude in his Gospel, the first one was after the washing of feet,
when he said “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”, that is “if you love and serve
each other”. This Beatitude here is strictly linked to the previous one “Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet have believed”.
Those who practice a kind of love that turns into service for others is blessed for he receives a quality of
life which is the one of God himself and is able to feel the presence of a living and life-giver Christ.
There’s not need of seeing to believe, but the one who believes can see. This is the challenge of Jesus,
that the evangelist is relating us.
The evangelist ends this passage saying that “Jesus did many other signs, which are not written in this
book”. What does this mean? This is our experience, this has been written in this book, but now we
leave it with you, so that you write yours and enrich it with your own experience. John writes “But these
are written so that you may believe” – in this life-loving God and in Jesus, his son – “and by believing you
may have life”. And he uses here the Greek term indicating eternal life, the definitive one, capable of
overcoming death, “in his name”.
This is the wish with which this passage comes to an end.
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