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!

885. If any one worship the beast and his image. That this signifies lest they acknowledge the religious persuasion concerning faith separated from life, and the doctrine thereof, is evident from the signification of the beast, as denoting the religious persuasion that holds faith separated from life, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of worshipping, as denoting to acknowledge and believe, concerning which see above (n. 790, 805, 821); and from the signification of his image, as denoting the doctrine of that religion, and the prescribed ordinance that such things should be fully taught and believed; concerning which see above (n. 827). By the beast and his image which they were not to worship, is meant the beast which ascended out of the sea, treated of in the preceding chapter (verse 1), by which are signified reasonings from the natural man, confirming the separation of faith from life; concerning which see above (n. 774). That this beast is meant, is evident from verse 14 of the preceding chapter; but by the other beast which was seen ascending out of the earth, are signified confirmations from the Word in favour of that separation; concerning which see above (n. 815).

The reason why they were not to worship the first beast and his image, and why those who worship them shall be tormented with fire and sulphur is, that the passages of the Word adduced to prove the separation of faith from good works do not, apart from the reasoning of the natural man, implant falsity and evil. This, however, is done by the use of reasoning; for reasoning falsifies these passages. For nothing in the Word can be falsified without reasoning from the natural man. How reasoning has falsified the Word has been shown above, in many places.

[2] That this is the case is quite evident in those churches where faith alone is accepted as the essential means of salvation, because those who teach from their doctrine, and thence from the Word, do so quite differently from those who teach from the Word, and not from their doctrine. Those who teach from their doctrine, and thence from the Word, falsify everything in the Word; but those who teach from the Word, and not from their doctrine, do not falsify it. The reason is, the doctrine is permeated with reasoning, although this does not appear to be the case; but the Word is free from this. This is why there are many, in those churches, who teach a faith conjoined to life, and life conjoined to faith; but others who teach faith separated from life. The learned who teach from doctrine do the latter, but the learned and unlearned who teach from the Word do the former; thus they are contrary to each other. Nevertheless this is also permitted by the defenders of the doctrine, the reason being that the Word clearly teaches life, and a faith according to life; and also because the simple-minded can be taught only according to the sense of the Word as it presents itself to them; some, also, because they cannot openly resist the truth; for the truth secretly operates and persuades. For it inflows out of heaven with every one, and is received by those who do not live wickedly, and who have not from their childhood, and afterwards from pride in their superior knowledge confirmed themselves in the doctrine of faith alone, especially the dogma of justification by means of it, in which they place the glory of superior knowledge. These however, still think differently in heart, when they hear from other proofs from the Word in favour of life; for they suppose that faith alone contains work in itself, and that these are conjoined, according to the dogma of justification; although, as taught by many, it rather separates works from faith than conjoins them with faith - in fact, it puts them aside as having no justifying value, so far as there is any thing from man, or from his will.

[3] That in the churches where faith alone is accepted, those who teach from the Word do so in a way altogether different from those who teach from doctrine, may be proved by many examples in the Anglican and Lutheran churches. It is known that the doctrine of the Anglican church teaches faith alone, and that the preachers artificially, ingeniously, and eloquently add to it works, as being stored up in faith; and that from faith they see a certain kind of effort, like an affection for doing good, especially those who have been justified by faith alone to the third or fourth degree; and that those with whom faith alone has not advanced in its operation to that degree, are nevertheless saved, because in faith the good of life lies hidden, as in the seed of fruit there is the power of production. But that these things spring from a mind that is boastful of having superior knowledge and ingenuity was shown above in the explanations of chapters 12 and 13.

To show that, in the Anglican Church, they teach quite differently while they teach from the Word and not from doctrine, I will here adduce, as proof, what is taught in that Church on every holy day, and read by those who observe the Holy Supper; which is as follows: "The way and means thereto is; first, to examine your lives and conversations by the rule of God's commandments; and whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, there to bewail your own sinfulness, and to confess yourselves to Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life. And if ye shall perceive your offences to be such as are not only against God, but also against your neighbours, then ye shall reconcile yourselves unto them; being ready to make restitution and satisfaction, according to the uttermost of your power, for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any other; and being ready to forgive others that have offended you, as ye would have forgiveness of your offences at God's hand: for otherwise the receiving of the Holy Communion doth nothing else but increase your damnation. Therefore, if any of you be a blasphemer of God, a hinderer or slanderer of His Word, an adulterer, or be in malice, or envy, or in any other grievous crime, repent you of your sins, or else come not to that Holy Table; lest after the taking of that Holy Sacrament the devil enter into you, as he entered into Judas, and fill you full of all iniquities, and bring you to destruction both of body and soul."

Here faith is not even named, but works only are taught, because they are from the Word, and not from doctrine.

[4] The Athanasian faith also, which is frequently read in presence of the people in that church every year upon certain Feasts, and has been received, because from a Council, as the common doctrine concerning the Trinity, in all Christian churches, teaches thus concerning the Lord, and concerning the Last Judgment by Him:- All men shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good, shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith; which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Attend now, reflect, and examine, whether those who preach so ingeniously from doctrine, or believe things similar, do not include the above things in faith, as being stored up in it? And because they believe that works do not justify, and that no one can do good of himself that is good, and that good done from man has in itself merit; therefore they omit to do, and believe that they shall be saved by the life stored up in faith alone, that is, in a faith separated from good works. But I can testify that those who thus believe, and also thus live, all come into hell. Those, on the contrary, who live according to the precepts contained in the exhortation preparatory to the Holy Supper, and according to what is adduced above from the Athanasian faith, come into heaven. The latter, also, have faith, but the former have not, whatever they may think to the contrary. It is said, those who believe, and also live from doctrine, because there are many, especially the more simple-minded, who believe from doctrine, but who do not so live; and these are saved.

[5] The case is similar in the Lutheran Church. There, also, those who teach from doctrine, and those who teach from the Word, proceed in contrary directions. Those who teach from doctrine, teach exactly in the same way as the Anglican Church does, concerning faith alone, and concerning justification by it; and then they separate and set aside works from being a means of salvation, as not good, and as merit-seeking, and thence not justifying, because from man. But when they teach from the Word, then also do they teach works; as is evident from the things found written for the general body, and which are therefore inserted in all the books of the Psalms, and are called "Hindrances in the Way of the Impenitent," where the following words occur: "The holy will of God and His manifest command, is, that those who believe should perform good works, which, when they are done for just causes, and aim at a true end, especially such as are done for the sake of God's glory and the use of man's neighbour, are then acceptable to God for the sake of Christ, indeed, out of pure mercy He rewards them; so that man, for every good which he does, has recompense. For God gives praise and honour, and eternal blessedness, to those who, in patience, strive to attain eternal life by means of works. Wherefore also God so intensely looks at the works of men, as He hath showed in His address to the Seven Churches in Asia, and to all men, where the Last Judgment is treated of. And on this account the Apostle Paul useth these admonitions to exhort his hearers to good works, saying, Let us not be weary in well-doing, because in due season we shall reap good without intermission. Wherefore those who are rich in good works, show thereby that they are rich in faith, since while faith is living, it worketh by charity. Yea, faith, which alone justifies, never is alone and separate, but brings with it good works, as a good tree, good fruit; the sun, light; fire, heat; and water, moisture."

From these things it is now evident, that in those churches one thing is from doctrine and thence from the Word, and another from the Word, when not at the same time from doctrine; and that those who teach, and also live, from doctrine, are meant by those who adore the beast and his image. It is these who are now treated of in verses 9, 10, 11. And those who teach and live from the Word, are meant by those of whom it is said in the 12th verse following: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."