Church Fathers Commentary John 20:19-25

"When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first [day] of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you. And when he had said this, he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as the Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever [sins] ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 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 hand into his side, I will not believe." — John 20:19-25 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: When the disciples heard what Mary told them, they had to either disbelieve her or, if they believed, to grieve that He did not consider them worthy of seeing Him. However, He did not let them spend a whole day in such thoughts, but in the midst of their longing and trembling desires to see Him, He presented Himself to them: 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.

The Venerable Bede: This shows the weakness of the Apostles. They assembled with the doors shut because of the same fear of the Jews that had previously scattered them. Jesus came and stood in their midst. He came in the evening because they would be the most afraid at that time.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Or, He waited until all were assembled. He came while the doors were shut so that He might show that He had risen in the very same way—that is, with the stone still lying on the tomb.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Some are strongly unwilling to believe this miracle and argue this way: If the same body that hung upon the cross rose again, how could that body enter through shut doors? But if you can comprehend the method, it is no longer a miracle. When reason fails, faith is then built up.

The shut doors were no obstacle to the body in which Divinity resided. He who was born without violating His mother’s virginity could enter without open doors.

St. John Chrysostom: It is remarkable that they did not think He was a phantom. But Mary had guarded against this by the faith she had worked in them. And He Himself also appeared so openly and strengthened their wavering minds with His voice, saying to them, Peace be with you—that is, "Do not be disturbed." In this, He also reminds them of what He had said before His crucifixion: My peace I give to you, and again, In me you will have peace.

St. Gregory the Great: And because their faith wavered even with His physical body before them, He showed them His hands and His side: And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The nails had pierced His hands; the lance had pierced His side. For the healing of doubting hearts, the marks of the wounds were still preserved.

St. John Chrysostom: And what He had promised before the crucifixion, I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, is now fulfilled: Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The glory with which the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom—that is, in Christ’s body—we must believe to have been veiled rather than absent. He adapted His presence to humanity's weak sight and presented Himself in such a form that His disciples could look at and recognize Him.

St. John Chrysostom: All these things brought them to a most confident faith. Since they were in a constant struggle with the Jews, He says again, Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be to you.

The Venerable Bede: A repetition is a confirmation. He repeats it either because the grace of love is twofold, or because it is He who made one out of two.

St. John Chrysostom: At the same time, He shows the power of the cross, by which He undoes all evil things and gives all good things—which is peace. To the women earlier, joy was announced, for that sex was in sorrow and had received the curse, In sorrow you shall bring forth children. With all hindrances removed and everything set right, He adds, As my Father has sent me, so I send you.

St. Gregory the Great: The Father sent the Son, appointing Him to the work of redemption. He says therefore, As my Father has sent me, so I send you; that is, "I love you, now that I send you into persecution, with the same love with which my Father loved me when He sent me to my sufferings."

St. Augustine of Hippo: We have learned that the Son is equal to the Father; here He shows Himself as Mediator: "He sent Me, and I send you."

St. John Chrysostom: Having then given them confidence through His own miracles and by appealing to the One who sent Him, He does not use a prayer to the Father, but by His own authority gives them power: And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

St. Augustine of Hippo: That physical breath was not the substance of the Holy Spirit, but was a fitting symbol to show that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father but also from the Son. For who would be so foolish as to say that the Spirit He gave by breathing was one, and the Spirit He sent after His ascension was another?

St. Gregory the Great: But why is He first given to the disciples on earth, and afterward sent from heaven? Because there are two commandments of love: to love God and to love our neighbor. The Spirit for loving our neighbor is given on earth; the Spirit for loving God is given from heaven. Just as love is one, yet there are two commandments, so the Spirit is one, yet there are two gifts of the Spirit. The first is given by our Lord while still on earth, and the second is given from heaven, because it is through the love of our neighbor that we learn how to arrive at the love of God.

St. John Chrysostom: Some say that by breathing on them, He did not give them the Spirit but instead made them fit to receive the Spirit. For if Daniel’s senses were so overpowered by the sight of an angel, how much more would they have been overwhelmed in receiving that indescribable gift if He had not first prepared them for it! However, it would not be wrong to say that they did then receive the gift of a certain spiritual power—not to raise the dead or perform miracles, but to forgive sins: Whosever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whosever sins you retain, they are retained.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The love of the Church, which is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, forgives the sins of those who share in it but retains the sins of those who do not. Therefore, when He said, Receive the Holy Spirit, He immediately mentioned the forgiving and retaining of sins.

St. Gregory the Great: We must understand that those who first received the Holy Spirit—for the purpose of their own innocent lives and for preaching to a few others—received it openly after the resurrection so that they might benefit not just a few, but many. The disciples, who were called to such works of humility, are led to what a height of glory! Behold, not only do they have salvation for themselves, but they are admitted to the powers of the supreme judgment seat, so that, in the place of God, they retain some people’s sins and forgive others.

Bishops now hold their place in the Church; they receive the authority to bind when they are admitted to the rank of government. Great is the honor, but heavy is the burden of this position. It is a terrible thing if someone who does not know how to govern his own life becomes a judge of another’s.

St. John Chrysostom: A priest, though he may have ordered his own life well, will be sent to hell with the evildoers if he has not exercised proper vigilance over others. Therefore, knowing the greatness of their danger, pay them full respect, even if they are not men of remarkable goodness. For those who are in authority should not be judged by those who are under them. And their unrighteous way of life will not invalidate what they do by God's commission.

For not only can a priest do nothing by himself, but not even an angel or archangel can; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do everything. The priest only provides the tongue and the hand. For it would not be just for the salvation of those who come to the Sacraments in faith to be endangered by another’s wickedness. At the assembly of the disciples all were present except for Thomas, who probably had not yet returned from the dispersion. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

Alcuin of York: Didymus means "double" or "doubtful," because he doubted in believing; Thomas means "depth," because with the most certain faith he penetrated into the depth of our Lord’s divinity.

St. Gregory the Great: It was not an accident that this particular disciple was not present. The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple, by feeling the wounds in his Master’s flesh, should heal the wounds of unbelief in us. The unbelief of Thomas is more profitable for our faith than the belief of the other disciples, for the touch by which he is brought to believe confirms our own minds in belief, beyond all question.

The Venerable Bede: But why does this Evangelist say that Thomas was absent, when Luke writes that two disciples on their return from Emmaus found the eleven assembled? We must understand that Thomas had gone out, and that during his absence, Jesus came and stood in their midst.

St. John Chrysostom: Just as believing immediately and without question is the mark of a gullible mind, so too is excessive questioning the mark of a coarse one; and this was Thomas’s fault. For when the Apostles said, We have seen the Lord, he did not believe—not because he discredited them, but because he thought the thing itself was impossible. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe."