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!

64. Clothed with a garment down to the foot, signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him. This is evident from the signification of "garments" as being truths that clothe good (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536). Here is only mentioned "a garment down to the foot," which is a general covering; by which, as the Lord is treated of, all Divine truth in general is meant. Since the Lord is here described in respect to the Divine Human, which is here the "Son of man seen in the midst of the lampstands," and it is said that He was "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle," and afterwards that "His face shone as the sun in his power," I wish to give an explanation of what is said in the Evangelists about the Lord when He was transfigured, where some similar expressions are used; and afterwards of what is said about the soldiers dividing His garments, and casting the lot upon His tunic.

[2] Of the Lord's transfiguration it is thus written:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John, into a very high mountain, and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. And behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him (Matthew 17:1-5; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).

The Lord took Peter, James, and John, because by them the church in respect to faith, charity, and the works of charity was represented; He took them "into a high mountain," because "mountain" signifies heaven; "His face did shine as the sun," because "face" signifies the interiors, and it did shine as the sun because His interiors were Divine, for the "sun" is Divine love; "His garments became white as the light," because "garments" signify Divine truth proceeding from Him; the like is signified by "light." "Moses and Elijah" appeared, because the two signify the Word, "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical Word; "a bright cloud overshadowed them," because "a bright cloud" signifies the Word in the letter within which is the internal sense; "a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him," because "a voice out of the cloud" signifies Divine truth out of the Word, and "beloved Son," the Lord's Divine Human. And because Divine truth is from Him, and thence all truth of the church, it was said out of the cloud, "in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him."

[3] It was plainly the Divine Human of the Lord that was thus seen, for the Divine Itself cannot be seen by anyone, except through the Divine Human. This the Lord also teaches in John:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).

And in another place:

Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

(That such things are signified by these words in the Evangelists, can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia where the particulars are made known, namely, that by "Peter," "James," and "John," in the Word, are signified faith, charity, and the works of charity, n. 3750, and above, n. 8-9; by "high mountain" is signified heaven, n. 8327, 8805, 9420, 9422, 9434, 10608; by "face," the interiors which are of the mind, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546; and by "the face of the Lord," mercy, peace, and every good, n. 222-223, 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888; by "the sun," Divine Love, n. 2495, 4060, 7083; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125; by "garments," when the Lord is treated of, Divine truth, n. 9212, 9216; and the like by "light," n. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684; and in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140. That "Moses and Elias" signify the Word; "Moses," see Arcana Coelestia 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 9372, 10234; and "Elias," see n. 2762, 5247. That "clouds" signify the Word in the letter, see above, n. 36; that "beloved Son" is the Divine Human of the Lord is evident.) From the fact that the "Lord's garments" signify Divine truth, it may be known what is signified by the soldiers dividing the garments of the Lord among them, and casting a lot upon His tunic, of which it is thus written in John:

The soldiers took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part, also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did (John 19:23-24).

[4] He who is not aware that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, cannot see any arcanum in these things; he knows only that the soldiers divided the garments and not the tunic; and beyond this he knows nothing; when not only in this fact is there a Divine arcanum, but also in every particular of what is recorded concerning the passion of the Lord. The arcanum in this fact is that the garments of the Lord signified Divine truth, thus the Word, because the Word is Divine truth; the "garments" that they divided, the Word in the letter, and the "tunic" the Word in the internal sense; to "divide them" signifies to disperse and falsify; and "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth. This is why it is said, "These things therefore the soldiers did." From this it is clear that the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense is that the Jewish Church dispersed the Divine truth which is in the sense of the letter, but could not disperse the Divine truth which is in the internal sense. That the "garments of the Lord" signified Divine truth, thus the Word, was shown above; that His "tunic" signified Divine truth, or the Word, in the internal sense, see Arcana Coelestia n.9826, 9942; that to "divide" is to disperse and separate from good and truth, thus to falsify, see n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9094; that "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, here of the Jewish church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth, is clear from the spiritual sense of "warfare" and of "war;" that "war" signifies spiritual combats, which are of truth against falsity, see n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; it is therefore said of the Levites, whose function pertained to such things as are of the church, that they were discharging military duty and were serving in war, when they were exercising their ministry in the tent of the assembly (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47; 8:23, 24).