John 20:19 – 31
Welcome to my annotated commentary of Sunday’s readings. The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings provide us.
In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, we hear the presentation of two of the risen Lord’s appearances to the apostles, first on Easter Sunday and then on the next Sunday. These appearances to the disciples have parallels in Mark 16:14-18, Luke 24:36-43 and 1 Corinthians 15:3 – 5; you may want to look at these first. You will notice that none of these accounts include the incident with Thomas. In fact, other than being named among the apostles, Thomas is not mentioned in the other Gospels, yet in John’s Gospel, there are three incidents where Thomas is specifically named (cf. Jn. 11:15, 14:5). The author of John’s Gospel may have included Thomas and his encounters with Jesus to encourage the early Christians as they struggled with doubts about Jesus. These encounters certainly can encourage us!
Let’s examine the reading we hear this Sunday (the italicized portions are my commentary):
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
the disciples: by implication from John 20:24 and Luke 24:13ff, this means eight of the Twelve (Judas had already hanged himself, two of the other disciples were on their way to Emmaus and Thomas is not present), presumably in Jerusalem.
Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo John 14:27, where Jesus offers his disciples his peace that is different from the peace that the world offers. The theme of rejoicing in John 20:20 echoes John 16:22, when Jesus assures his disciples that “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Hands and side: Luke 24:39-40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Psalm 22:17. These two are the only references to Jesus’ being nailed to the cross; the usual custom was to tie the accused to the cross.
21 (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
Send you: By means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. John 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see the note on John 13:16). Contrast this with Mt. 10:2, Mk 3:14 and Lk 6:13. A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47; Mark 16:15. The purpose of this commissioning is to perpetuate the work of divine salvation accomplished in Christ.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit.
Breathed on them: This action recalls Genesis 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. Remember also the revivification of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. This is John’s version of Pentecost. It is a sacramental moment, indicating the conferring of the Holy Spirit. Recall that, according to John, the conferring of the Holy Spirit is contingent on Jesus’ glorification and return to the Father (cf. 15:26; 16:7). Notice that, in v 17, he told Mary Magdalen that he had not yet ascended to the Father; here, we learn that he had ascended. Although this may appear to be in conflict with the synoptic accounts, all accounts link the resurrection with the animation of the Church with the Holy Spirit.
23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Whose sins you forgive…: The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18.
24 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Now a week later: clearly Sunday had become by this time the special day of Christian assembly and liturgy.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
My Lord and my God: compare this with the first verse of the gospel: “and the Word was God.” Paradoxically, it was the doubter who makes the most complete affirmation of Christ’s return to be found on the lips of anyone in the Gospels.
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Blessed are those: This verse is a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters. As important as the resurrection appearances are for the testimony of the early church, it remains a fact that it is the Word of God itself – the Gospel – that is the power of God.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book.
31 But these are written that you may (come to) believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
These verses are clearly a conclusion to the gospel and express its purpose. While many manuscripts read “come to believe”, possibly implying a missionary purpose for John’s gospel, a small number of quite early ones read “continue to believe,” suggesting that the audience consists of Christians whose faith is to be affirmed or deepened by the book; cf. John 19:35.
Acts 2:42-47
This Sunday, we hear from the Acts of the Apostles, which presents the Church in its earliest times. As you will read in your footnotes, it is the first of three summary passages (along with Acts 4:32-37; 5:12-16) that outline, somewhat idyllically, the chief characteristics of the Jerusalem community: adherence to the teachings of the Twelve and the centering of its religious life in the Eucharistic liturgy (Acts 2:42); a system of distribution of goods that led wealthier Christians to sell their possessions when the needs of the community’s poor required it (Acts 2:44 and the note on Acts 4:32-37); and continued attendance at the temple, since in this initial stage there was little or no thought of any dividing line between Christianity and Judaism (Acts 2:46).
42 They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.
43 Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 All who believed were together and had all things in common;
45 they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
46 Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
47 praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.
1 Peter 1:3 – 9
We hear from Peter’s first letter which, according to the text, is addressed to the Christian communities in the five provinces of Asia Minor: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia. There is endless debate on the authorship and dating of this letter, with compelling arguments from those who argue for Petrine authorship as well as those who insist it was written at a much later date by an unknown author. It begins with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God who bestows the gift of new life and hope in baptism (new birth, 1 Peter 1:3) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The new birth is a sign of an imperishable inheritance (1 Peter 1:4), of salvation that is still in the future (to be revealed in the final time, 1 Peter 1:5).
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you
Inheritance: an inheritance is usually given to the offspring of the deceased; this is another indication that we are now children of God.
5 who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
6 In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials,
for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials: this refers either to the trials that the early Christians were struggling with as they met opposition from unbelieving Jews or to the systematic persecutions they were subjected to from the Romans after they destroyed Jerusalem. It certainly speaks to us today, as we are joined with the world in an historic trial brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. For us – we who believe – it is an opportunity to join our suffering with Christ’s.
7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
9 as you attain the goal of (your) faith, the salvation of your souls.
In this passage, especially in vv. 6 – 9, we see that, as the glory of Christ’s resurrection was preceded by his sufferings and death, the new life of faith that it bestows is to be subjected to many trials (1 Peter 1:6) while achieving its goal: the glory of the fullness of salvation (1 Peter 1:9) at the coming of Christ (1 Peter 1:7).
In this Sunday’s Gospel account, we see that Christ’s appearance, his gifts of peace and the Spirit, and the mission to forgive are all intimately bound together. This continues today. On this Second Sunday of Easter, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, we reflect on the wondrous teaching that, having received God’s Spirit, we, who believe in the risen Lord, are called to be signs of God’s mercy and forgiveness. And, the generosity that we find among the early Christians toward those in need is another clear sign of our belief in the risen Lord. HAPPY EASTER!