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!

228. These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth and the all of faith is evident from the signification of amen, as being verity and truth, which will be explained in what follows; and from the signification of the faithful and true witness, when said of the Lord, as being the all of faith from him; for witness, when said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth which is from Him, and hence the all of faith, for faith belongs to truth, and truth to faith. Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is called the witness, because it is His Divine in heaven and in the church, in which He is, and which is Himself there; for this proceeds from his Divine Human, and fills the whole heaven and forms it; this is why heaven in its whole extent has reference to one man. Such being the case with respect to Divine truth, its origin and quality, it is therefore here called the witness; for it bears witness concerning the Divine Human of the Lord, and manifests it to all who receive Divine truths from Him. It is from this fact that the angels of the higher heavens have no perception of any other Divine, nor can have, than that of the Lord's Divine Human; this arises from the influx of the whole heaven into their minds. It is therefore evident why "witness," when said of the Lord, signifies the Lord Himself as to Divine truth in heaven and in the church; and that to bear witness, when said of those who receive Divine truth from the Lord, signifies to acknowledge in heart the Lord's Divine in His Human (see above n. 27). That heaven in whole and in part has reference to one man, and that this is from the Lord's Divine Human, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 59-86, and the following, and n. 101; and that the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which forms heaven, and the angels to the image of heaven, is Divine truth, ibid., n. 13, 133, 139-140).

[2] This Divine truth is called by the Lord, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, concerning which it is said that he should testify of Him, and that he is from Him. That he does testify, or bear witness of Him is declared in John:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall testify of me" (15:26).

And that it proceeds from Him is declared in the same Evangelist:

The Comforter, "the Spirit of truth, will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, He shall take of mine, and show it unto you" (16:13-15).

That Divine truth is from the Lord, is meant by, He shall not speak of himself, but he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you; and that it is from the Divine Human of the Lord, is meant by; all things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that he shall take of Mine, and show it unto you. And that it manifests the Divine Human of the Lord is clear from, He shall glorify me.

To glorify, is to make known the Divine Human of the Lord. (That this is to glorify, when said of the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 294.)

[3] The same is signified by these words of the Lord:

"I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away; if I go not away," the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, will not come "unto you" (John 16:7).

Hence it is clear that Divine truth is from the Lord's Divine Human. The reason why the Lord calls Himself the Amen is, that Amen signifies verity, thus the Lord Himself, because when He was in the world He was Divine verity itself, or Divine truth itself; which was also the reason why He so often said

"Amen," and "Amen, Amen;" as in Matthew 5:18, 26; 6:16; 10:23, 42; 17:20; 18:3, 13, 18; 24:2; 28:20; John 1:51; 3:11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21; 21:18, 25.

[4] That the Lord, when He was in the world, was the Divine truth itself, He teaches in John:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).

And again:

"For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth" (17:19).

That holiness in the Word is said of Divine truth, and to be sanctified of those who receive holiness, may be seen above (n. 204); hence by the Lord's sanctifying Himself is meant to make His Human Divine. (But these things are further treated of and shown in Arcana Coelestia, as may be seen by what is adduced from that work in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 303-306.) Moreover, that Amen signifies Divine confirmation, may be seen above (n. 34); as also in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 27:15-26; 1 Kings 1:36; Isaiah 65:16; Jeremiah 11:5; 28:6; Psalms 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48).