Moments to Ponder

Episode 149: Proof in the Wind (John 20:19-31)

• Betsy Marvin

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What does the breeze have in common with our faith? Just as we can feel the wind without seeing it, faith often requires us to trust beyond what our eyes perceive. In this thoughtful exploration of John 20, we journey through the resurrection appearances of Jesus and witness the remarkable transformation of doubt into devotion.

The disciples huddle behind locked doors, fearful and uncertain after Jesus's crucifixion. Suddenly, Jesus stands among them—passing through walls as easily as he overcame death itself. His first words? Not disappointment over their desertion but a gentle "Peace be with you." As he breathes his Spirit upon them, we witness a beautiful parallel to creation itself—God once again breathing life into his people, now for a divine mission of forgiveness and restoration.

Then there's Thomas—honest, grieving, and unable to accept secondhand testimony. His week-long absence might explain his struggle; perhaps he was observing the traditional seven-day Jewish mourning period. When Jesus returns specifically to address Thomas's doubts, inviting him to touch the wounds of crucifixion, we witness one of Scripture's most powerful confessions: "My Lord and my God." This moment perfectly balances Jesus's compassion for our human need for evidence with his blessing on those who will believe without seeing.

John carefully crafted his gospel around seven miraculous signs and seven "I am" statements, each revealing Jesus's divine identity. His purpose remains as relevant today as when first written: "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." When doubt creeps in—as it inevitably does—remember that Jesus meets us exactly where we are, with the precise evidence our hearts need. What locked doors in your life need Jesus to pass through today?

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Speaker 1:

Hi friends, welcome to Moments to Ponder. This is a podcast designed to help you spend a few moments in God's Word, gain fresh perspectives and find meaningful takeaways to ponder throughout the week. I'm Betsy Marvin and this is Episode 149. As I worked on this section of scripture, I was sitting on my back deck. Birds were singing, a sprinkler was going, my cat was sleeping in the sun and the leaves. The leaves were moving in a soft, warm breeze of a summer morning. It was glorious, but that breeze I found myself pondering what do we have to see to believe, and what do we believe without seeing?

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Some things can be seen with a little digging, like the roots of the trees that line my backyard. And then there's those tiny things that can be seen through powerful microscopes. But to the naked eye, there are things we just believe without seeing them, like oxygen that fills my lungs as I breathe. But let's go back to the breeze, or wind. I can see the effect of the wind on the leaves right. They move and they flutter as the breeze goes through, and I can hear the effect of the wind through my wind chimes. I can feel the wind on my skin, but I can't actually see wind Yet I know it's real because of its effect on me and the things around me. We believe so many things without actually seeing them, don't we? I mean, sometimes we can dig a little and find proof, or we can use a microscope to see really tiny things, but what about the truly unseen, like theories and such Like, for example, the theory of evolution? We can't literally prove the evolutionary process because no one has actually seen all its pieces Yet. So many people believe it. Or, although we can't see any edges to our Earth, many people believe the Earth to be flat.

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Now, I'm not trying to stir you up. You can tell what I think. I'm just saying that, although we'd like proof, some things will never be able to be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, so in a sense, they're taken on faith. Almost everything that we believe has an element of faith to it, so even someone who says they don't believe in God. Well, that takes faith to believe. I've heard that it's easier to believe false things without seeing them than things that are true Lies, for instance. It seems easier to believe a lie without seeing it, and I'm not sure why that is. Why is it that we believe that someone dislikes us or is against us so easily when there's no proof that they feel this way. Yet when we hear someone is for us or thinks well of us, we want proof in order to believe it.

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Proof truth, belief, faith all of these come into play in our verses today. Mary saw the empty tomb, saw and spoke to angels, and then actually saw and spoke to angels, and then actually saw and spoke to Jesus. But there are still some who have questions Is Jesus really alive? It's easier for them to believe that someone stole Jesus's body than to believe that he is risen. Yes, death is so final and they needed to see Jesus, to touch him and hear him speak in order to come against something they knew was so final. As we continue John 20, we begin with verse 19, which states that Sunday evening, john is letting us know that Mary was with Jesus in the garden. Peter and John went to the tomb to see if it was empty. And now we're still on the same day. In fact, from another gospel we know that Jesus met two people on the road to Emmaus. And now he's back, remembering that Jesus spoke of persecution.

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The disciples are behind locked doors. They're afraid Jesus's body is missing. So what might happen to them. Verse 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. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. This has always amazed me. Jesus was just suddenly there. The doors are locked and he's supernaturally teleported into the room to be with them and he just says peace, be with you. I gotta admit I think that would freak me out Jesus just coming inside a locked room showing his scars, as if he's just come from the hospital rather than a grave. Yes, I would be filled with joy, but I would also just stand there with my mouth wide open.

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From Luke's account we know that there are more people present than just the ten. Most likely the women were there and other believers, maybe even Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. And just seeing Jesus, hearing him say peace, be with you, it would have caused a reaction, shouts of joy and wonder. I can kind of see him all at once laughing and crying and wanting to touch him and hug him, and then hugging each other in the smiles they had scattered after Jesus was taken. And now he's standing there saying peace. There's no condemnation for running, no rebuke for hiding, just love.

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Verse 21,. Again he said peace, be with you, as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you. Then he breathed on them and said Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

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Jesus had accomplished his mission and now it was time for the disciples to implement their mission to the world. They are being sent and they would need the Holy Spirit to do it. God's breath would enable them to do the job. I mean Jesus breathes on them and they receive the Holy Spirit. There is life in the breath of God. We see a deliberate connection to Genesis here, when God breathed life into Adam. And now Jesus is breathing new life into these people and they receive it. They are born again. It's new Now. This is the same Holy Spirit that's in Jesus, the same Spirit that empowered him and enabled him to do all that he did. So, from Jesus into them, they are filled. This breath of Jesus brought a whole new spiritual life so that they could do God's will on earth. New spiritual life so that they could do God's will on earth. This Holy Spirit power was given so they could do their spirit-guided mission, which was to be sent to share the good news of the forgiveness of sins.

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Now the language within this verse can make it sound like Jesus gave the disciples authority to forgive sins or not to. Yet we know only God can do that and the disciples knew that as well. What we actually see Jesus doing here is giving them a privilege. He's telling them you get to tell new believers in me that their sins have been forgiven past tense because of their faith in Jesus's message. It is pretty cool to get to tell someone do you know that Jesus has already forgiven you and you can just take that and receive that forgiveness. That's what the disciples are going to get to do. That's what the disciples are going to get to do.

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Verse 24 one of the disciples, thomas, nicknamed the twin, was not with the others when jesus came. 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 on his side. Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. Ok, let's pause here. Where has Thomas been? How could he miss something so huge, thomas Ben? How could he miss something so huge? And then we see that it is eight days before they're all together again, like a whole week passes before Thomas is again with them. What's going on? Why? Well, what if Thomas was observing the Jewish custom of Shiva, which is the seven-day mourning period observed after someone dies?

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Mourners are encouraged to take time and withdraw from the world to grieve. Thomas didn't see Jesus because he was still mourning him. This might explain where he was and why he may have wanted to believe his friends, but he just couldn't take it in. His heart is broken. His statement is real and raw. I have to see him. My heart is so broken that, although I hear what you're saying, I have to see it. After seven days of mourning and then observing Shabbat, thomas is now with the others Verse 26.

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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. As before Jesus was standing among them, peace be with you, he said. 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 my Lord and my God, thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him you believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. I appreciate Thomas's honesty here. He just can't wrap his mind around a resurrected Jesus. Yet as soon as he does, he is completely all in and he is the first one who claims my Lord and my God.

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Jesus appears in the room, although the doors are locked, and he says to Thomas see my hands and my side. This is just what he did for the others, and I love this because it reminds us that asking questions, having some doubt, it's okay, and when we're in doubt we can seek answers to the questions we have. But we do need to be open to learning and seeing and hearing much like Thomas was. Doubt can lead to stubbornness, and when we're in a stubborn mode, our ears turn off and our eyes go blind. We can completely miss the answer before us. Yet Jesus doesn't expect Thomas to just walk where others haven't had to. He offers him the same wonder of touch and connection. He shows up, just like he did for the others and for Thomas, this moment of faith becomes the climactic conclusion of the book of John.

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John has shown Jesus triumphing over sickness and evil and sin and death and sorrow and now unbelief Verse 30. The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book, 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. As John is writing this, remember he's a very old man. He has had a lifelong experience with Jesus. He's experienced what Jesus has done for him and what faith in Jesus has meant to him, and he's seen that effect on many, many other people. John looked around and saw men and women seeking to solve the mystery of life, people trying to raise the moral and spiritual level of their lives. He sees so many craving for knowledge and assurance of what happens after this life is over.

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And to the questioning humanity John gave a God-directed answer in his gospel. As we look back over all that we have read, we can see that he has written with such a focus, can see that he has written with such a focus. He focused on seven signs, seven miracles. They are turning water into wine, healing the royal officer's son, healing the paralytic, feeding 5,000 people walking on water, healing the man born blind and raising Lazarus from the dead. He just chose seven out of all that he saw, seven that revealed the power and identity of Jesus. He was so purposeful. There were so many more he could have chose from. John also shares seven.

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I am statements of Jesus throughout his gospel. I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door, I am the good shepherd, I am the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth and the life. I am the true vine. Through statements and signs, john's gospel gives the answers to man's deepest questions. It points to Jesus as the source of all life and it leads us to Jesus as the giver of that life for all who believe in him. And the life that Jesus gives is eternal life. Through the other gospels and the inference here, we know that there are many more miraculous things that Jesus did, and he taught and shared so much more.

Speaker 1:

Yet John wanted to stay clear to his purpose 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. You can hear the conclusion in these words. This is considered the original ending of the Gospel of John, the conclusion of Thomas's faith in my Lord and my God and the purpose statement of sharing that Jesus is the Messiah that all may believe. It kind of leads us to see that this is where John originally stopped. Yet our Bibles do have a chapter 21. It's an epilogue of sorts, and we will go there in our next time together.

Speaker 1:

But as we look at the whole in this moment, we can see so many things, as John showed Jesus' power over nature, over sickness, over death, and all of the things that Jesus told us, that he is light, that he is the way. This helps us see the truth of who Jesus is Dear one. Do you ever find yourself questioning something in your faith or doubting God in some way? Then you're in good company. Just as Jesus gave Thomas proof, he offers us proof of the truth of his gospel as well.

Speaker 1:

We may not see Jesus walk through walls, but our proof is found in the pages of Scripture and the stories of others who believe much like John, just as we can see the effects of the wind by sight, sound and feel, we can see the effect of Jesus' new life in others and in ourselves. As we look and listen and open our hearts, we can discover the truth for ourselves. And just like the blind man we encountered in John 9, we can say I was blind and now I see. May you continue to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Anointed One, and that in Him you have life. By the power of His name, may your life be proof of Jesus to those around you. As Jesus sent the disciples, he also sends you and I. And through the power of the Spirit that he breathes into us, when we choose to place our faith in him, we can do the work he has set before us, a glorious work of sharing his good news. Thanks be to God, amen.