John 20: 19-31

When Jesus appeared to his disciples on the evening of the first day of the week, He gave them the responsibility for taking His message of God’s New Creation to the entire world. When Jesus breathed on them, it invokes memories of Genesis 2:7 where God “breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Now the disciples have received New Life in Christ.

Because you cannot give responsibility with also delegating authority, Jesus gives His disciples the authority to forgive sins. This delegation immediately follows the imparting of the Holy Spirit. It is not by their own power or wisdom that the disciples will forgive sins. It will be by and through the power of the Holy Spirit. If they are to be granted power to forgive, then they also have the power to not forgive. This is not the power to establish rules about what’s sinful and what is not, as the Pharisees had done with their legislation of Sabbath rules. God’s establishment of His New Creation came by and through the crucifixion of Jesus. It is by the blood of Jesus that sin and death have been defeated. The issue of sin was not a trifling matter for God before Jesus’ crucifixion and it is certainly not a trifling matter now.

Sometimes we joke about the Doubting Thomases of the world; however, Brother Thomas gives us two huge stones for the foundation of our faith. First, it is Thomas’ confession of faith that fully incorporates all that John’s Gospel has presented in Jesus the Messiah. When Jesus urges Thomas to make a leap of faith, Thomas responds, ““My Lord and my God!” Yes and Amen, Jesus is our Lord, Jesus is God.

Secondly, Jesus responded to Thomas’ affirmation by pronouncing His blessing on you and me: 

“Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

Let us rejoice this day in the ninth Beatitude!

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

Reading for 10-Apr-12       1 Tim. 1:1-20

We will not read John 21 tomorrow because when we began reading the New Testament on April 25, 2010, the day after Easter, we began with John 21.