From: John 20:19-31
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
[24] Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, 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 in His hands the print of the nails, and place my
finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe.”
[26] Eight days later, His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was
with them. The doors were shut, but 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; and put out your hand, and place it in My side; do not be
faithless, but believing.” [28] Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
[29] Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen Me? Bles-
sed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
[30] Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which
are not written in this book; [31] but these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His
name.
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Commentary:
19-20. Jesus appears to the Apostles on the evening of the day of which He rose.
He presents Himself in their midst without any need for the doors to be opened,
by using the qualities of His glorified body; but in order to dispel any impression
that He is only a spirit He shows them His hands and His side: there is no lon-
ger any doubt about its being Jesus Himself, about His being truly risen from the
dead. He greets them twice using the words of greeting customary among the
Jews, with the same tenderness as He previously used put into this salutation.
These friendly words dispel the fear and shame the Apostles must have been
feeling at behaving so disloyally during His passion: He has created the normal
atmosphere of intimacy, and now He will endow them with transcendental po-
wers.
21. Pope Leo XIII explained how Christ transferred His own mission to the Apos-
tles: “What did He wish in regard to the Church founded, or about to be founded?
This: to transmit to it the same mission and the same mandate which He had
received from the Father, that they should be perpetuated. This He clearly re-
solved to do: this He actually did. ‘As the Father hath sent Me, even so I send
you’ (John 20:21). ‘As Thou didst send Me into the world, so I have sent them
into the world’ (John 17:18). [...] When about to ascend into Heaven, He sends
His Apostles in virtue of the same power by which He had been sent from the
Father; and He charges them to spread abroad and propagate His teachings (cf.
Matthew 28:18), so that those obeying the Apostles might be saved, and those
disobeying should perish (cf. Mark 16:16). [...] Hence He commands that the
teaching of the Apostles should be religiously accepted and piously kept as if
it were His own: ‘He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects
Me’ (Luke 10:16). Wherefore the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ as He is
the ambassador of the Father” (Leo XIII, “Satis Cognitum”). In this mission the
bishops are the successors of the Apostles: “Christ sent the Apostles as He
Himself had been sent by the Father, and then through the Apostles made their
successors, the bishops, sharers in His consecration and mission. The func-
tion of the bishops’ ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests
so that they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers
of the episcopal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had
been entrusted to it by Christ” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 2).
22-23. The Church has always understood—and has in fact defined—that Jesus
Christ here conferred on the Apostles authority to forgive sins, a power which is
exercised in the Sacrament of Penance. “The Lord then especially instituted the
Sacrament of Penance when, after being risen from the dead, He breathed upon
His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit...’ The consensus of all the Fa-
thers has always acknowledged that by this action so sublime and words so
clear the power of forgiving and retaining sins was given to the Apostles and
their lawful successors for reconciling the faithful who have fallen after Baptism”
(Council of Trent, “De Paenitentia”, Chapter 1).
The Sacrament of Penance is the most sublime expression of God’s love and
mercy towards men, described so vividly in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son
(cf. Luke 15:11-32). The Lord always awaits us, with His arms wide open, wai-
ting for us to repent—and then He will forgive us and restore us to the dignity of
being His sons.
The Popes have consistently recommended Christians to have regular recourse
to this Sacrament: “For a constant and speedy advancement in the path of virtue
we highly recommend the pious practice of frequent Confession, introduced by
the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; for by this means we grow in
a true knowledge of ourselves and in Christian humility, bad habits are uprooted,
spiritual negligence and apathy are prevented, the conscience is purified and the
will strengthened, salutary spiritual direction is obtained, and grace is increased
by the efficacy of the Sacrament itself” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”).
24-28. Thomas’ doubting moves our Lord to give him special proof that His risen
body is quite real. By so doing He bolsters the faith of those who would later on
find faith in Him. “Surely you do not think”, [Pope] St. Gregory the Great com-
ments, “that is was a pure accident that the chosen disciple was missing; who
on his return was told about the appearance and on hearing about it doubted;
doubting, so that he might touch and believe by touching? It was not an acci-
dent; God arranged that it should happen. His clemency acted in this wonderful
way so that through the doubting disciple touching the wounds in His Master’s
body, our own wounds of incredulity might be healed. [...] And so the disciple,
doubting and touching, was changed into a witness of the truth of the Resurrec-
tion” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 26, 7).
Thomas’ reply is not simply an exclamation: it is an assertion, an admirable act
of faith in the divinity of Christ: “My Lord and my God!” These words are an eja-
culatory prayer often used by Christians, especially as an act of faith in the real
presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist.
29. [Pope] St. Gregory the Great explains these words of our Lord as follows:
“By St. Paul saying ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things unseen’ (Hebrews 11:1), it becomes clear that faith has to do with things
which are not seen, for those which are seen are no longer the object of faith, but
rather of experience. Well then, why is Thomas told, when he saw and touched,
‘Because you have seen, you have believed?’ Because he saw one thing, and be-
lieved another. It is certain that mortal man cannot see divinity; therefore, he saw
the man and recognized Him as God, saying, ‘My Lord and my God.’ In conclu-
sion: seeing, he believed, because contemplating that real man he exclaimed
that He was God, whom he could not see” (”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 27, 8).
Like everyone else Thomas needed the grace of God to believe, but in addition to
this grace he was given an exceptional proof; his faith would have had more merit
had he accepted the testimony of the other Apostles. Revealed truths are normal-
ly transmitted by word, by the testimony of other people who, sent by Christ and
aided by the Holy Spirit, preach the deposit of faith (cf. Mark 16:15-16). “So faith
comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes from the preaching of Christ”
(Romans 10:17). The preaching of the Gospel, therefore, carries with it sufficient
guarantees of credibility, and by accepting that preaching man “offers the full
submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals, willingly assenting to the
revelation given” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 5).
“What follows pleases us greatly: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
believe.’ For undoubtedly it is we who are meant, who confess with our soul Him
whom we have not seen in the flesh. It refers to us, provided we live in accor-
dance with the faith, for only he truly believes who practices what he believes”
(”In Evangelia Homiliae”, 26, 9).
30-31. This is a kind of first epilogue or conclusion to the Gospel of St. John.
The more common opinion is that he added Chapter 21 later, which covers such
important events as the triple confession of St. Peter, confirmation of his prima-
cy and our Lord’s prophecy about the death of the beloved disciple. These verses
sum up the inspired writer’s whole purpose in writing his Gospel — to have men
believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ announced by the prophets in
the Old Testament, the Son of God, so that by believing this saving truth, which
is the core of Revelation, they might already begin to partake of eternal life (cf.
John 1:12, 2:23; 3:18; 14:13; 15:16; 16:23-26).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States
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First reading |
Acts 2:42-47 © |
The whole community remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
The many miracles and signs worked through the apostles made a deep impression on everyone.
The faithful all lived together and owned everything in common; they sold their goods and possessions and shared out the proceeds among themselves according to what each one needed.
They went as a body to the Temple every day but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God and were looked up to by everyone. Day by day the Lord added to their community those destined to be saved.
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Psalm |
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Psalm 117:2-4,13-15,22-24 © |
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
Let the sons of Israel say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let the sons of Aaron say:
‘His love has no end.’
Let those who fear the Lord say:
‘His love has no end.’
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
I was thrust down, thrust down and falling,
but the Lord was my helper.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he was my saviour.
There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the just.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the corner stone.
This is the work of the Lord,
a marvel in our eyes.
This day was made by the Lord;
we rejoice and are glad.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love has no end.
|
Second reading |
1 Peter 1:3-9 © |
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth as his sons, by raising Jesus Christ from the dead, so that we have a sure hope and the promise of an inheritance that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away, because it is being kept for you in the heavens. Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time. This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour. You did not see him, yet you love him; and still without seeing him, you are already filled with a joy so glorious that it cannot be described, because you believe; and you are sure of the end to which your faith looks forward, that is, the salvation of your souls.
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Gospel Acclamation |
Jn20:29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Alleluia!
|
Gospel |
John 20:19-31 © |
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.
‘As the Father sent me,
so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said:
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven;
for those whose sins you retain,
they are retained.’
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord’, he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’ Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him:
‘You believe because you can see me.
Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
There were many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.