Resurrection

Resurrection
John 20:21-31

21 Then [oun] said [epo] Jesus [Iesous] to them [autos] again [palin] , Peace [eirene] be unto you [humin] : as [kathos] my Father [pater] hath sent [apostello] me [me] , even so [kago] send [pempo] I [kago] you [humas] .
22 And [kai] when he had said [epo] this [touto] , he breathed on [emphusao] them, and [kai] saith [lego] unto them [autos] , Receive ye [lambano] the Holy [hagios] Ghost [pneuma] :
23 Whose [tis] soever [an] sins [hamartia] ye remit [aphiemi] , they are remitted [aphiemi] unto them [autos] ; and whose [tis] soever [an] sins ye retain [krateo] , they are retained [krateo] .
24 But [de] Thomas [Thomas] , one [heis] of [ek] the twelve [dodeka] , called [lego] Didymus [Didumos] , was [en] not [ou] with [meta] them [autos] when [hote] Jesus [Iesous] came [erchomai] .
25 The other [allos] disciples [mathetes] therefore [oun] said [lego] unto him [autos] , We have seen [horao] the Lord [kurios] . But [de] he said [epo] unto them [autos] , Except [ean me] I shall see [eido] in [en] his [autos] hands [cheir] the print [tupos] of the nails [helos] , and [kai] put [ballo] my [mou] finger [daktulos] into [eis] the print [tupos] of the nails [helos] , and [kai] thrust [ballo] my [mou] hand [cheir] into [eis] his [autos] side [pleura] , I will [pisteuo] not [ou me] believe [pisteuo] .
26 ¶ And [kai] after [meta] eight [okto] days [hemera] again [palin] his [autos] disciples [mathetes] were [en] within [eso] , and [kai] Thomas [Thomas] with [meta] them [autos] : then came [erchomai] Jesus [Iesous] , the doors [thura] being shut [kleio] , and [kai] stood [histemi] in [eis] the midst [mesos] , and [kai] said [epo] , Peace [eirene] be unto you [humin] .
27 Then [eita] saith he [lego] to Thomas [Thomas] , Reach [phero] hither [hode] thy [sou] finger [daktulos] , and [kai] behold [eido] my [mou] hands [cheir] ; and [kai] reach hither [phero] thy [sou] hand [cheir] , and [kai] thrust [ballo] it into [eis] my [mou] side [pleura] : and [kai] be [ginomai] not [me] faithless [apistos] , but [alla] believing [pistos] .
28 And [kai] Thomas [Thomas] answered [apokrinomai] and [kai] said [epo] unto him [autos] , My [mou] Lord [kurios] and [kai] my [mou] God [theos] .
29 Jesus [Iesous] saith [lego] unto him [autos] , Thomas [Thomas] , because [hoti] thou hast seen [horao] me [me] , thou hast believed [pisteuo] : blessed [makarios] are they that have not [me] seen [eido] , and [kai] yet have believed [pisteuo] .
30 And [kai] many [polus] other [allos] signs [semeion] truly [men] [oun] did [poieo] Jesus [Iesous] in the presence [enopion] of his [autos] disciples [mathetes] , which [hos] are [esti] not [ou] written [grapho] in [en] this [touto] book [biblion] :
31 But [de] these [tauta] are written [grapho] , that [hina] ye might believe [pisteuo] that [hoti] Jesus [Iesous] is [esti] the Christ [Christos] , the Son [huios] of God [theos] ; and [kai] that [hina] believing [pisteuo] ye might have [echo] life [zoe] through [en] his [autos] name [onoma] . KJV-Interlinear

21 Jesus therefore said to them again, 'Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 'If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.' 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore were saying to him, 'We have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.' 26 And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, 'Peace be with you.' 27 Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.' 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' 29 Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.' 30 Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. NASB

Jesus continues His instruction that first Sunday evening, and indicates the commission that He will be giving the apostles soon. The Father sent the Son to complete His mission, and now the Son, Jesus Christ, is going to send the apostles on a mission to evangelize the world.

Before they can do this, they have to receive some support as they can't do anything spiritual from the source of their own energy. None of us can by the way. So He breathes the Holy Spirit onto them. This is called indument. This is not a permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit which we all now receive when we first believe in Christ.

Indument is the power of the Holy Spirit which is placed upon the individual in order to enhance some pertinent characteristic for which God intends to use. This was common in the Old Testament during the period of the Judges. David received the induming power of the Holy Spirit and even prayed that the Holy Spirit not be taken from Him. Indument is a temporary situation. In this case it will be temporary until the Feast of Pentecost which follows Passover by fifty days. In their case they will receive a partial limited gift of knowledge, understanding, and empowerment. We will see later that they will spend a lot of time in the Temple preaching and worshipping God, right in front of the chief priests, with no fear of retaliation. At Pentecost, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will become permanent not only for the apostles, but for every believer during this Church Age dispensation.

One week later, eight days later, on the second Sunday following the Cross, Jesus will again appear before the apostles. This time Thomas will be present. He wasn't present the week earlier, and no reason is given for his absence except for the mention of his doubt in accepting the resurrection of Christ. He wants to see before he believes (accepts) the reality of the resurrection of Christ.

During this second meeting, Jesus seeks out Thomas and invites him to touch the wounds in order to satisfy himself. Thomas obviously represents those people who have to have proof before they will believe. 'Show me,' type of attitude. These people generally have difficulty in advancing in their spiritual lives. The spiritual world is not of this physical world and therefore proof exists within the realm of faith. That is something which is difficult to prove, at least for people to prove.

Where Thomas was during this past week in not made known, but it is likely that it took some effort by the other apostles to get him back into the group. We could presume that he was somewhat unhappy with all of the events of the arrest, the cross, and such, because it totally disrupted the life he was accustomed to during the past three years plus.

Now, Jesus gave the apostles power with which to live their lives, and especially since they would be the potential targets for reprisals from the chief priests. The enduing power of the Holy Spirit would give them some added courage.

The same issues face us even in our current day. We have never seen Jesus Christ. We have never seen an angel. We have never visited the realm beyond death and returned. We have never benefited from a dream, a vision, or some form of visitation from God. Once the scriptures were completed then those avenues of communication with God were closed. All we have is the written word of God with which to rely on, the circumstances of life, and our faith.

But we all have one more thing, and that is the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit as well as the permanent indwelling of the other two members of the Trinity. Something that no Old Testament believer had. Review the blessings list on the index page on the web site.

In our dispensation we have many more blessings and privileges that no one else had in times past. We are Royal Family, Royal Ambassadors, Royal Priests. We are in union with Christ and will share in His eternal inheritance as adult sons of God. This assuming that we advance to spiritual maturity and thus qualify for a full share of that inheritance. Review the first three chapters of Revelation for those extra benefits, honors, privileges, and blessings.

John states that Jesus performed many more signs and wonders before the disciples, but they are not described. Why? Because we do not need them in order to advance to spiritual maturity or to have a great life in this world and in the next life in eternity. We have the scriptures and that is all we need ion order to advance in our spiritual life. What will prevent us is our own attitude, nothing else.

Do we have to have things proven to us? Do we have what it takes to simply commit ourselves to a daily study in order to learn? Or will we allow boredom, discontent, lust, impatience, disbelief, or whatever else that might affect our attitude, to keep us from advancing to the point of the greatest accomplishment that anyone can attain in this life - spiritual maturity?

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