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!

226. Verses 14-22. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed, that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcometh, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write," signifies those who are in faith alone, that is, who are in faith separate from charity. "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness," signifies from whom is all truth and the all of faith: "the beginning of the creation of God," signifies faith from Him, which is the primary of the church as to appearance.

"I know thy works," signifies, the life of faith alone; "that thou art neither cold nor hot," signifies that it is between heaven and hell, because without charity. "Would that thou wert cold or hot," signifies that it is better that there should be no faith, or that there should be charity alone.

"So then, because thou art lukewarm," signifies those who live from the doctrine of faith alone, and justification thereby; "and neither cold nor hot," signifies a state between heaven and hell, because without charity; "I will spue thee out of my mouth," signifies separation from knowledges (cognitiones) derived from the Word.

"Because thou sayest I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," signifies their faith, that they believe themselves to be in truths more than others; "and knowest not that thou art wretched," signifies that they do not know that their falsities have no coherence with truths; "and miserable and poor," signifies that neither do they know that they are without the knowledges (cognitiones) of truth and good: "and blind and naked," signifies that they are without the understanding of truth, and without the understanding and will of good.

"I counsel thee," signifies the means of the reformation of those who are in the doctrine of faith alone; "to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich," signifies to procure for themselves genuine good from the Lord, that they may receive the truths of faith; "and white garments, that thou mayest be clothed," signifies genuine truths and intelligence therefrom; "that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear," signifies lest their filthy loves should appear: "and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see," signifies that their understanding may be somewhat opened.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten," signifies temptations in that state; "be zealous, therefore, and repent," signifies that they may have charity.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock," signifies the perpetual presence of the Lord; "if any one hear my voice," signifies he who attends to the precepts of the Lord; "and open the door," signifies reception in heart or life: "I will come in to him," signifies conjunction; "and will sup with him, and he with me," signifies communicating to them of the happiness of heaven.

"He that overcometh, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne," signifies that he who endures to the end of life will be conjoined to heaven where the Lord is: "as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne," signifies comparatively as the Divine good is united to the Divine truth in heaven.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," signifies that he who understands should hearken to what the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church.