THE MEETING place of all who believed in Jesus, after his death on the
cross, seems to have been the upstairs room, where Jesus had his last
supper. There they met from day to day; and it was to this place that
the two men came from Emmaus with the report of their meeting with
Jesus. On the evening of Sunday, the first Easter day, the followers of
Jesus were gathered together in this room. Ten of the eleven disciples
of Christ were there, Thomas being absent; and with them were the women
and a number of others who were believers in Jesus.
The doors leading to this room were shut and locked, for they feared the
Jewish rulers and people. They were talking together of these reports
that had come to them of Jesus having risen and having been seen, when
all of a sudden they saw Jesus himself standing in the middle of the
room. He said to them:
"Peace be to you!"
At the first sight of him, they were frightened, for they thought it was
not Jesus alive whom they saw, but the ghost or spirit of Jesus dead.
"Why are you so startled?" said Jesus to them, "and why do doubts come
to you? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I, myself. Feel me, and look
at me; a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see that I have!"
[Illustration: Jesus looked at Thomas and said to him: "Look at my hands
and put your finger there, and look at my side and thrust your hand into
it."]
With these words he showed them his hands and his feet, with the holes
left by the nails on the cross still in them. Even yet, they felt the
sight of Jesus was too good to be true, and could scarcely believe
that it was their Lord living. He said to them:
"Have you here anything to eat?"
They brought to him a piece of broiled fish; and he ate it while they
looked on. This was not because he was hungry and needed food, for he no
longer needed anything; but simply to show them that he was really
living.
Then at last they were afraid no longer, and believed fully that their
Lord was with them living; and their hearts were full of joy. Jesus said
to them again:
"Peace be with you; as the Father sent me forth, even so I send you
forth."
Then he breathed on them, and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit of God! I
give you power that if you take away the sins of men, they are taken
away from them, just as if I myself forgave them; and if you do not take
away their sins, then the guilt of their sins shall stay upon them."
After talking with his followers for a time on that evening, Jesus
disappeared as suddenly as he had come. This was his fifth appearance on
that day, the day of his rising from the tomb.
But, as we have seen, Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, was
not with the others on that evening, and being absent did not meet the
risen Jesus. The other disciples said to him:
"We have seen the Lord!"
But Thomas would not believe them. He thought that they were all
mistaken, and said:
"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails on the cross, and put
my finger on those marks of the nails; and unless I can put my hand into
the wound made by the spear in his side, I will not believe that he is
alive!"
A week later, on the next Sunday evening, they all met again in the
upper room; and at this time, Thomas was present. Though the doors were
shut, Jesus came again and stood among them, with the words as before:
"Peace be with you!"
He looked at Thomas and said to him:
"Look at my hands, and put your finger there; and look at my side, and
thrust your hand into it. Do not longer refuse to believe that I am
alive, but believe in me."
Thomas answered him: "My Lord, and my God!"
"Is it because you have seen me that you have believed in me?" said
Jesus. "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed!"
You remember that John, the beloved disciple, believed that Jesus had
risen when he looked into the empty tomb, and before he had seen him
alive.
This meeting with the disciples on the second Sunday evening was the
sixth appearance of Jesus after rising from the dead.
The Breakfast by the Sea