Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:19-21

As we continue to look at the events of the Resurrection, we see when Jesus visited his disciples. As stated in the previous post, Jesus remained on Earth for 40 days until he ascended back to Heaven. As the Apostle Paul testified, Jesus was seen by over 500 people during this time period (1 Corinthians 15)

Notice Jesus showed the disciples the marks on his hands and his side, to verify it was him. Its very interesting even though Jesus has a Resurrected Body, he still bears the mark of his crucifixion, a reminder for all of us the love and sacrifice Christ demonstrated towards us 

And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:22-24

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, the Breath of God. Notice the disciples were currently hiding in the upper room out of fear of the Romans, however now that they have the Holy Spirit, they will go out and preach the gospel and change the world. What a difference the Holy Spirit makes!

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. John 20:25-26

Thomas, who was better known as “Doubting Thomas” wasnt there when Jesus visited the first time, so he had doubts that Christ really was resurrected. Can you relate with Thomas? Notice Jesus came back again, this time to personally visit Thomas

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. 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. John 20:27-29

Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he seen the marks on Jesus, Christ then instructed Thomas to touch the marks on his body. It was indeed the Risen Lord, the same Jesus that was crucified on the cross for our sins, is the same physical Jesus that rose from the tomb after 3 days!

Thomas declares Jesus is not only his Lord but also his God! Thomas understood Jesus is God in the flesh! If Jesus wasn’t God, he would have rebuked Thomas but he didn’t, if Jesus didn’t physically rise from the dead, then he would have the marks from the crucifixion.  The Lord your God has Risen indeed Amen!