John 20:19-25

THE APPEARANCE TO TEN DISCIPLES

Text: John 20:19-25

19

When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20

And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.

21

Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

22

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit:

23

whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Queries

a.

Why did Jesus show them His hands and His side?

b.

What is the significance of the commission by Jesus in John 20:21?

c.

Does John 20:23 teach that the apostles were the successors to the sacerdotal authority of Jesus in right to forgive men their sins?

Paraphrase (Harmony)

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city, and told unto the chief priests all the things that were come to pass. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave much money unto the soldiers, saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and rid you of care. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews, and continueth until this day.
And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests an our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we hoped that it was he who would redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass. Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb; and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart in all that the prophets have spoken! Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself, And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further. And they constrained him, saying; Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them. And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Was our not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread, and that he appeared to Cephas.
When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto the, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having.
And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit; whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish. And he took it, and ate before them.
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord, But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Summary

The Lord, after appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other women, chooses to manifest His resurrected glory to two of His disciples on the way to Emmaus. Overjoyed with their experience they return to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples. Jesus then appears before all the disciples except Thomas, commissions them, empowers them and eats with them.

Comment

Between the appearance to the women and the appearance to the ten disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. These two disciples were despondent at the death of Jesus because all their glorious Messianic hopes had died, they thought, with Him there on Golgotha's brow. They had heard rumors that He was aliveHis tomb was emptybut they had not seen Him. Perhaps these disciples were going to Emmaus to rest, get away from all the uproar in Jerusalem, and to think over the events of the last few days. Emmaus was probably only 7 or 8 miles from Jerusalem. Jesus met them or overtook them and walked on with them to Emmaus but they did not recognize Him. their eyes were holden. Barnes notes that it was not some miraculous veiling of their own eyes that occurred but that He appeared to them in a form they were not used to seeing (cf. Mark 16:12) and they were not expecting to see Him anyway and they simply did not recognize Him as He walked and talked with them. As He began to remind them of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies and apply them to Himself, their hearts began to burn within them. And then, as they were eating with Him, the familiarity of it all opened their eyes and they recognized Him. And they arose that very hour and hurried back to Jerusalem to report to the rest of that little band of despondent disciples. Just who these two disciples are we are not certain. One was Cleopas and the other seems to be most probably, Peter. There are some commentators who believe the second disciple was Luke because of the fact that only Luke records the event and his record has the flavor of that of an eyewitness. Just how Jesus vanished out of their sight is not certain either. The account seems to indicate that it was a miraculous vanishing. This would be in keeping with His miraculous entrance into a room which had the doors shut to outsiders.

In John 20:19 we notice a special emphasis on the first day of the week. John might just as well have said, Now when it was the evening of the first day. But he emphasizes by saying, Now when it was evening of that day, the first of the week. The first day of the week, being the day of Christ's resurrection, is the chief of days, the day of Christian worship (cf. Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

There was something about the sudden appearance of Jesus in their midst where they were gathered on that evening that must have been beyond natural for the disciples were terrified and affrighted. John seems to record that the doors were fastened to show some significant difference regarding the properties of the risen body of Jesus. The idiom of the Greek indicates that the Lord's appearance in their midst was with breath taking suddenness and completely unexpected. They had fastened the doors on account of their fear of the Jews, Their Master had been slain and there may have been word rumored that the Sanhedrin was looking now for the disciples of the Nazarene to condemn them also.
Jesus was suddenly in their midst, speaking in a calm and soothing manner, Peace be unto you. It was a familiar phrase for He had used it often in addressing His disciples. The disciples were terrified believing they were beholding one who had returned from the unseen realm of the deada spirit, Luke tells us. But immediately Jesus held forth His hands and showed His feet which were pierced with the prints of the nails. He commands, handle me, and see! To dispel their doubts and fears He bids them prove to themselves beyond any doubt that the One in their midst is the same One with whom they walked and talked the last three years.
This is one of the unique features of the revelation of Jehovah-God, whether that revelation be in the Old Testament, in the Incarnate Word, or in that revelation given by the apostlesthe invitation, yea, the command, to test and prove the credibility and authenticity and divine nature of such a revelation. No other religion has ever been so insistent; that its claims be tested and verified and none has ever offered such undisputable evidence, for such verification. The disciples were not asked to place their trust in some mystic philosophy, nor in imaginative man-made godsthey were given empirically verifiable evidence for the supernaturalness of Christ. The resurrection of Christ was not only His spirit but His body also.

But how, if Christ was resurrected in a body, was He able to be suddenly in their midst if the doors were fastened. We like the conclusion given by Hendriksen, Scripture gives no answer. Some day we-'ll understand.

Our text here in John does not say whether they handled Him or not, Luke (Luke 24:41) seems to indicate that they did not but still disbelieved for joy, and wondered until He ate the broiled fish with them. Then they were glad and rejoiced.

So Jesus said again, Peace be unto you, Then He gives them their commission: As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. There is more than a command herethere is also a warning and a promise, Just as the great Apostle, Jesus, was sent to preach the will of God and to be persecuted and suffer for His glory, even so the apostles were sent to preach and be persecuted for His glory. They were to fellowship His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). There is also the promise of victory. They would also know the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). They were to receive a divine commission and they were to be given divine credentials through the power to work miracles (cf. Hebrews 2:4).

So send I you, to labor unrewarded
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing,
So send I you, to toil for me alone

John 20:23 has long been a problem. The Roman Catholic Church has used this verse to teach that the so-called successors of the apostles (the popes and priests) have the authority to forgive men of their sins. Such a doctrine is technically called absolution. Not even the apostles themselves had any authority of their own to grant absolutionthe forgiveness of sins. One need only to turn to Acts 8:14-24 to find one example of an apostle being asked to grant absolution in the case of a man confessing his sin. The answer of the apostle Peter is, Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perhaps the thought of thy heart shall be forgiven thee. This passage in John 20:23 does not grant the apostles the power of absolution. The verbs apheontai (they are forgiven) and kekratentai (they are retained) of this verse are in the perfect tense in the Greek. Now the perfect tense means an action having been completed in past time with a continuing result. Literally translated John 20:23 would read, whose soever sins ye forgive, they have already been forgiven them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they have already been retained. It is very interesting indeed that in the other two instances where Jesus similarly commissioned the disciples (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18) the verbs are also in the perfect tense! There the verbs are dedemena (has already been bound) and lelumena (has already been loosed).

In founding the church, declaring the will of God and preaching the gospel of repentance and remission of sins by the blood of Christ and men's obedience to the gospel, the apostles merely declared on what terms, and to what people God extended forgiveness of sins. What ever they preached on earth had already been decided in heaven. Only God can forgive sins. The apostles and all who have preached since are merely heralds of the covenant which has already been ratified, once for all, in heaven.
The apostles were given here by Jesus a symbolic prophecy of the special baptism of the Holy Spirit when He breathed. The literal baptism of the Spirit would come upon them on the day of Pentecost and would empower them with miraculous power in order to confirm the already-ratified message which they were to preach afterward. The Holy Spirit did not give them any inherent authority to grant absolution of sin.

Quiz

1.

How does John put emphasis on the first day of the week?

2.

How did Jesus get into the room of the doors were fastened?

3.

What, according to Luke, did Jesus say when He showed them His hands and His feet?

4.

What all did Jesus mean when He said, As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you?

5.

Show how John 20:23 does not give the apostles or any other mortals the right to forgive men their sins.