The Art of Life Bible - Flipbook - Page 43
John
21
them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to
my God and your God .’”
18 Mary Mag da lene found the disciples and told
them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his
message .
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 That Sunday evening* the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders . Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among
them! “Peace be with you,” he said . 20As he spoke, he
showed them the wounds in his hands and his side . They
were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21Again he
said, “Peace be with you . As the Father has sent me, so I
am sending you .” 22 Then he breathed on them and said,
“Receive the Holy Spirit . 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins,
they are forgiven . If you do not forgive them, they are
not forgiven .”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the
Twin),* was not with the others when Jesus came . 25 They
told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail
wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place
my hand into the wound in his side .”
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again,
and this time Thomas was with them . The doors were
locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing
among them . “Peace be with you,” he said . 27 Then he
said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my
hands . Put your hand into the wound in my side . Don’t
be faithless any longer . Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed .
29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have
seen me . Blessed are those who believe without seeing
me .”
Purpose of the Book
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous
signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book . 31 But
these are written so that you may continue to believe*
that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by
believing in him you will have life by the power of his
name .
Thomas
thmas ~ the twin
Epilogue: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples
Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples
beside the Sea of Galilee .* This is how it happened . 2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon
Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin),* Nathanael from
Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other
disciples .
3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing .”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said . So they went out in the
boat, but they caught nothing all night .
4At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the
disciples couldn’t see who he was . 5 He called out, “Fellows,* have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied .
21
19:28 See Pss 22:15; 69:21. 19:35 Some manuscripts read that you also may
believe. 19:36 Exod 12:46; Num 9:12; Ps 34:20. 19:37 Zech 12:10. 19:39 Greek
100 litras [32.7 kilograms]. 19:42 Greek because of the Jewish day of preparation.
20:1 Greek On the first day of the week. 20:19 Greek In the evening of that
day, the first day of the week. 20:24 Greek Thomas, who was called Didymus.
20:31 Some manuscripts read that you may believe. 21:1 Greek Sea of Tiberias,
another name for the Sea of Galilee. 21:2 Greek Thomas, who was called
Didymus. 21:5 Greek Children.
Read John 20:19-29.
Thomas, whose name means
“the twin” in Aramaic (Didymos
in Greek), was one of the twelve
disciples. He appears in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke only in the list
of disciples, but in John, he is
featured in a few stories. Thomas
is mostly known for the doubt he
expressed after hearing from the
disciples that Jesus had risen from
the dead. However, upon seeing
and touching Jesus’ wounds,
his confession (recorded in John
20:28) is perhaps the most profound declaration of Jesus’ deity in
the Bible: “My Lord and my God!”
On an earlier occasion, Thomas
had professed a willingness to give
up his life alongside Jesus (11:16),
though he presumably fled like
the other disciples at Jesus’ arrest.
Little else is known about Thomas,
who is mentioned only once more
(in another list of the apostles)
in the rest of the New Testament
(Acts 1:13). According to early
Christian tradition, Thomas journeyed east and founded churches
as far away as India.
Thomas’s story is told in John
11:16; 14:5; 20:24-31; 21:2. He is also
listed in Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18;
Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13.
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