"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when
Jesus came." As soon as they met again, "the other disciples therefore
said unto him, We have seen the Lord." Thomas, however, was so
convinced that it was impossible for Jesus to appear again in His own
body, that he declared that he would not believe, unless he actually
_saw_ that it was the very same body which had been crucified:
therefore, "he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print," or hole made by
"the nails, and thrust my hand into" the wound made by the spear in
"his side, I will not believe."
This want of faith was wrong: Thomas knew that the other Apostles
would not say anything that they did not believe to be true; and it
was impossible that all the ten, should have merely _fancied_ that
they had seen and talked with their beloved Lord and Master.
Thomas was now left for one whole week in his unbelief; and a good
many of the disciples, who had not themselves seen Jesus, took his
view of the matter: though the ten Apostles, and a great number of the
disciples, were convinced that Christ was indeed risen.
"And after eight days again," that is, on the first day of the next
week, "the disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came
Jesus, the doors being shut," so that He could not possibly have come
into the room that way, "and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be
unto you."
The disciples were probably at supper, for St. Mark says, "he appeared
unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which
had seen him after he was risen." To "upbraid" means to reproach: all
had deserved reproach for their slowness and unwillingness to believe
the testimony of others, but to Thomas such upbraiding was principally
addressed: but whilst he reproved, Jesus also showed mercy: for "then
saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands: and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not
faithless, but believing." Thomas had now received the proofs which he
had demanded; he saw and was convinced that Jesus had indeed,
according to the Scriptures, risen in his own human body from the
grave. "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed: blessed are they, that have not seen, and yet have
believed." These are comfortable words for all Christians who believe
without seeing: and we may indeed thank God for the unwillingness of
this Apostle to believe, as it afforded a still further testimony to
the reality of the Resurrection.
It seems that the next appearance of Jesus Christ was to a large
number of His disciples at once. We read, "Then the eleven disciples
went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed
them." Here many other disciples must have joined them; for another
part of Scripture tells us, that "he was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once." "And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but
some doubted." It appears probable that at first, Jesus showed Himself
at a great distance, so that some could still hardly believe that He
was the Lord. "But Jesus came and spake unto them." We may imagine how
all doubts were removed at once, and with what joyful gladness the
disciples acknowledged Him now, as the long-expected Messiah. "After
these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea
of Tiberias." It seems that the Apostles had so little idea of the
nature of the work they were from henceforth to do, that they had
returned to their usual occupation of fishermen. "There were together
Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in
Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We
also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship
immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning
was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not
that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any
meat?" meaning, have ye now taken any fish. To this question, put, as
they supposed, by a man, the disciples "answered him, No. And he said
unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall
find." It seems probable that the disciples now began to have some
suspicions as to the true nature of Him, who gave them this direction,
since no mere man could have foretold the result of their casting the
net in one particular spot. "They cast, therefore, and now they were
not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes." This completely
convinced the disciples; "therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved,
saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now, when Simon Peter heard that it
was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,)
and did cast himself into the sea," eager to swim quickly to the land
on which his beloved Master stood. The word "naked," in this place,
only means that Peter had not his outer garments on--only the inner
one he wore whilst fishing; and this he girt on, bound close round
him, that it might be no hindrance whilst he swam. "And the other
disciples came in a little ship (or boat), for they were not far from
land, but as it were two hundred cubits (about 120 yards), dragging
the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw
a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith
unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter
went up (to help), and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an
hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was
not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine." The word
here translated _dine_, means rather breakfast, the first meal of the
day, for it was now early morning.
"And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that
it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them,
and fish likewise."
St. John, in his account of this meeting of Jesus and His disciples at
the sea of Tiberias, says, "This is now the third time that Jesus
showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the
dead." It is the third appearance mentioned by St. John; and it was
the third time that Jesus had appeared to the Apostles, when all or
most of them were together; and this is probably what St. John meant.
The first of these appearances, was to the ten on the day of His
Resurrection, when Thomas was not with them; the second took place on
the first day of the next week, when all the eleven were assembled;
and the third, was the one of which we have just been speaking at the
sea of Tiberias. Of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other
women, to Peter alone, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus,
and to "above five hundred brethren at once," John makes no mention.
St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, speaking of the appearing
of Jesus after the Resurrection, says, "He was seen of Cephas, then of
the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at
once: after that, he was seen of James, then of all the Apostles." Now
none of the Gospels gives an account of any special appearance to
James: we may therefore conclude that we are not told of every
appearance vouchsafed to His disciples, during the time that Jesus
remained on earth after His Resurrection; though enough are related,
to prove the reality of that blessed fact.
We may remark, that "Cephas" is a Greek word, meaning the same as
Peter, that is, a rock, or stone; and that as St. Paul was writing to
the inhabitants of a city of Greece, he called Simon Peter by his
Greek name: by "the twelve," the body of the Apostles is meant, though
at that time there were, in fact, only eleven of them.
When the Apostles had eaten their meal of fish and bread, to which
they had been invited by the Lord, a remarkable conversation took
place. We read, "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"--that is, dost
thou love me more than these other of my disciples love me? You will
remember how before the Crucifixion, Peter, in his self-confidence,
declared, that though all the other disciples should forsake Jesus, he
never would, but would die for Him if necessary: but his grievous fall
had shown him his own weakness; and now, so far from boasting of his
greater love, he humbly replied, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." By lambs and sheep, our
Saviour meant all his people, young and old: all, who should believe
in Him, and so belong to His Church, or flock, as it is often called.
This mode of speaking of the people of God, as of a Flock, consisting
of sheep and lambs, is very common throughout the Scripture. David
pleading for his people, who were suffering from pestilence in
consequence of his sin in numbering them, says, "But these sheep, what
have they done?" The same idea is often repeated in the Psalms, and in
the Prophets; and in our Liturgy, or Church Service, we confess that
we "have erred and strayed like lost sheep."
Peter would well understand this figurative manner of speaking. The
question was repeated: "Jesus saith to him again the second time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord;
thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He
saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou
me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest
that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." Three times
had Peter denied his Lord; three times now had he been asked, Lovest
thou me? Well might he be grieved at the remembrance of that sin,
which could have cast a doubt upon the love he bore his divine Master:
deeply did he feel the rebuke which he had deserved. Humbly, without
making any professions, did he appeal to Him, who knows all hearts, to
judge whether he loved Him. Peter's love for Jesus was both strong and
sincere, and his whole future life bore witness to its strength and
sincerity, until he did indeed lay down his life for his Master's
sake. Let us take Peter for our example, and try, by every action of
our lives, to show that we do love and wish to please our God and
Saviour.
After this Jesus said to Peter, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When
thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou
wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy
hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou
wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should
glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow
me." About thirty years after this time, in the reign of the Emperor
Nero, Peter was crucified at Rome by the heathens, because he tried to
make them Christians; he stretched out his arms on the cross, and
another bound him and carried him to execution. Faithfully did Peter
obey his Master's command, "Follow me"; for he went about teaching
after His example, until He died by the same death. But in his death,
Peter gave a further proof of humility; for considering himself
unworthy even to die in the same way as Jesus had done, he begged to
be crucified with his head downwards; and this request was granted.
Death for the sake of our religion is called martyrdom, and those who
so suffer, are martyrs.