Two Meetings in Jerusalem after the Resurrection
By Joe David
Late on the first Easter Sunday, after the Lord had risen from the sepulcher, ten of the disciples gathered for the evening in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem (John 20). They were afraid and probably confused. Since their leader had been crucified by the Roman power, as organized by their own Jewish leaders, they feared that now his followers might also be hunted down and punished. They closed and locked the doors. Were any of the women there? The story does not say, but Peter and John were, who saw and talked with the angels that morning, and the stories of the women were known. Some time must have been spent wondering and perhaps arguing - was He really alive? How could they know it was really Him? This kind of thing, coming back to life after you’re dead, this doesn’t happen in this real world, there must be some mistake!
Then two of the followers, not of the twelve, but the two that had gone to the village of Emmaus, came in, excited and bursting with their news. They had seen Him! They had walked with Him for seven miles and He had told them wondrous things! They had only recognized Him when He broke bread and ate with them. "Don’t doubt us, it really was Jesus!"
And then as they all talked and argued, there He was, standing with them in the room. "Peace be unto you," He said, and He showed them His hands and feet and His side, where he was wounded. He calmed them, and told them that just as he had come down to mankind, so they must go out and teach to all people all the true things that He had taught in the years He was with them.
It was these truths about how to live one’s life that were saving, not the disciples themselves. These saving truths have the power to remit or retain sins, because they were from the Lord, the disciples only transmitted them from the Lord to those who would listen and take them to heart. Then He breathed on them - representing His holy spirit - so that they would not only want to pass these truths on to people, but would also be given the words to say whenever the times came. And then He was gone again.
Thomas was not there that night. We don’t know why. And Thomas, when he heard the story, just could not swallow it. "Except I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe", he said. (John 20:25.)
The next verse tells us that the next Sunday they gathered again, and that Thomas was present this time. As before, the Lord was suddenly there, saying again, "Peace be unto you", and then directly to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger… and reach hither thy hand… and be not faithless but believing". Now Thomas's response was, "my Lord and my God". It seems as if the Lord came this time just to convince Thomas, because it was Thomas who needed Him.
I think He does work this way. I am reminded of another story, from the gospel of Mark (Mark 9:17-27) where a father comes to Jesus with a young son who is possessed by a devil, and asks Jesus to cure him, and is asked in turn: "Do you believe I can do this?" In Mark 9:24 the father responds. Crying out, he said with tears, "I believe, help thou my unbelief."
I think many people have this conflict between lingering doubts and a desire to have the doubts taken away. If we carry on and make our decisions in life as if the doubts were indeed gone, then indeed they will lose their strength and actually will be gone.
These are the only details given of these two meetings in Jerusalem. Chronologically the next post-Easter stories are the ones that take place in Galilee.
John does go on to say at the end of his gospel "...many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God...." (John 20:30-31). Perhaps there were more post-Easter stories that weren't written down, but the ones we do have are strong. For the disciples who were involved, there was an unstoppable impact from the life and teachings of the Lord, and His crucifixion, and physical death, and now - in these stories - His resurrection. Hearing the Lord's charges to them, these Galilean fishermen and their colleagues launch out into the wide world, and work to achieve the Great Commission, enduring hardships and persecution, and succeeding - probably beyond their wildest dreams!
John 1
1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2
The same was in the beginning with God.
3
All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.
4
In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it.
6
There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
7
The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.
8
He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light.
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The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
10
He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn't recognize him.
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He came to his own, and those who were his own didn't receive him.
12
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name:
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who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14
The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15
John testified about him. He cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.'"
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From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
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For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
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No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
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This is John's testimony, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20
He declared, and didn't deny, but he declared, "I am not the Christ."
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They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No."
22
They said therefore to him, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23
He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said."
24
The ones who had been sent were from the Pharisees.
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They asked him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
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John answered them, "I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don't know.
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He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I'm not worthy to loosen."
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These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30
This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.'
31
I didn't know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel."
32
John testified, saying, "I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
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I didn't recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, 'On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'
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I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God."
35
Again, the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples,
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and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
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The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
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Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39
He said to them, "Come, and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
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One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41
He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is, being interpreted, Christ).
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He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is by interpretation, Peter).
43
On the next day, he was determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, "Follow me."
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Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45
Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46
Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "come and see."
47
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"
48
Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!"
50
Jesus answered him, "Because I told you, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these!"
51
He said to him, "Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
