Peace Be With You

John 20: 19-31 (May 1, 2011)

1) The Text

19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 24But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

2) The Context

In John, and throughout the New Testament, the English word "life" translates three different Greek words: psychē, bios, and zoē. When John speaks, on the one hand, of psychē or bios, these words refer to what one possesses simply by virtue of being a living creature. This is the life possessed from birth to death by animals and by humans, whether they be good or bad, righteous or wicked, founders of charities or perpetrators of genocide.

On the other hand, "life" as used at the end of this passage, is spoken of with the word zoē. This is eternal life (literally "life of the age"), life given to those who believe; life given to those who are born of God; life that, in John, transforms us from merely existing to living in the abundance and eternity of God. This life was present from the beginning and lies at the core of creation ("in him was life (zoē), and the life (zoē) was the light of all people" (1:4)). This life connects the deepest purposes of God with the ultimate purpose of John's gospel: "these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah ... and that believing you may have life (zoē) in his name." This zoē does not replace psychē; we are still the same creatures we were before. It does, however, bring us into the fullness of grace; so that we are, also, not still, the same creatures we were before—at least potentially not the same.

3) Interpretation

In this passage, we find the disciples demonstrating more psychē than zoē, hunkered down behind locked doors, fearful of what might happen to them at the hands of those who killed Jesus. The risen Christ steps into the room, into the midst of their fears with the first of a three-fold "Peace be with you." This is the peace that comes when our worst fears are not realized; the profound realization that out of the blood, the nails, the thorns, the beating, and the cross has come this life, this zoē of God, right into their midst.

When Christ shows them his hands and side, they rejoice with the euphoria, the adrenaline rush that follows the miraculous—the crucified one is the risen one. Jesus then speaks a second "Peace be with you", maybe this time a "not so fast" kind of peace, a kind of peace that lasts beyond the initial rush, that abides even when one remembers the cost and the challenges that still lie ahead. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Sobering words, even when they see the living Christ, since they have also just been shown his wounds. Christ's victory will be theirs as well, but in order to get there, they will need the kind of peace that abides even when—in the midst of their own blood, thorns, and cross—victory seems a dim and distant possibility.

The third "Peace be with you" follows a famous interlude with the disciples and Thomas, who was absent during the previous appearance. Although he is famous as "Doubting" Thomas, he asks for no more than what the rest of them, including Mary Magdalene, have already received. As we will see, Thomas' words do not seem particularly troubling to Jesus, but one might imagine the existence of significant tension between Thomas and the other disciples in the room. After all, Thomas has in so many words called them liars to their face. "I won't believe you until I see for myself." However, despite what might have transpired during the rather awkward week that followed the first appearance, they are still together.

Jesus again appears among them, and says again, "Peace be with you," perhaps this time the peace of reconciliation—"peace be among you," the peace that follows when one forgives (a task given to the disciples at Jesus' previous appearance). This is the gospel that most emphasizes oneness and unity among the disciples, a oneness that shows the world that this message of life is true. So, this third peace, within the community, might be the most significant of all.

Jesus does not admonish Thomas but invites him to satisfy his doubt by seeing for himself. He is welcomed into the peace of Christ before he can either apologize or defend himself. Churches and communities of faith often do not do as well with dissidents and challenges in their midst. But Christ calls them and us to live into his peace as a way of reaching our own peace with each other. Christ seems less concerned than we often are about adherence to one interpretation of his life and resurrection. He sends Thomas, doubters, and all of us to continue his work.

Thomas' response stands as the highest affirmation of Christ by anyone in the gospel, "My Lord and my God!" What the narrator stated in the prologue ("and the Word was with God and the Word was God"), this non-doubting Thomas speaks with his own lips. Whether we have the faith of Thomas or the faith described at the end of this passage, the goal is that we find our life, our zoē, within the life of the crucified and risen Christ, who sends us out as his Father also sent him.

4) Thought Exercise

What doubts do you have about the resurrection?

How are you continuing Jesus’ work?