Bible notes

New Testament Acts 2.14a,22-32

It is hard, now, to remember what an outrage the death of Jesus on a cross would have been: it was indeed a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. In fact, this part of the story, which is second nature to us, would have been a ‘deal breaker’ for the first-century audience. It was essential that the early Christians found ways to comprehend what happened – both for themselves and for those to whom they were trying to commend the Christian faith.

This passage encapsulates one way of talking about the death of Jesus: think of it in the light of the triumph of the resurrection. This sermon is not about sin, sacrifice and substitution, but vindication and the power of God. Jesus was attested to you by his deeds of power, and then by God raising him up, freeing him from death (vv.22 and 24). This whole process was ‘according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God’ (v.23); it was not some horrific disaster but the pathway to reveal the resurrection of the Messiah (v.31), something envisioned long ago in the Book of Psalms. In this way, the death of Jesus is held securely within the narrative of the resurrection.

Gospel John 20.19-31

For Thomas, the trauma of witnessing the death of Jesus overshadows everything else. Perhaps the strike of the nails and the thrust of the spear have been flashing back endlessly in his troubled mind since Good Friday. Not surprising, then, that these horrors feature in his angry reply to the other disciples: ‘Unless I see…I will not believe’ (v.25) – a refusal to disconnect from what had happened. Perhaps the joy of the other disciples strikes Thomas as a flight into manic elation – an attempt to escape reality. He cannot accept that they have indeed seen the wounds (v.20) and have been breathed on by Jesus to commission them for ministry (vv.22-23). To him, they are encouraging each other in some weird ‘cloud nine’ experience that he cannot share (and would not want to).

Jesus is fully aware of Thomas’ lonely struggle and he speaks to Thomas directly. There are many paintings showing the moment when Thomas touches the wounds of Christ, but John’s text is silent about this – what we have is Thomas’ confession, almost an early creed, ‘My Lord and my God.’ The Evangelist then creates a trajectory from the experience of the ten disciples, through the difficulties of Thomas, to the situation of all later disciples: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe’ and ‘these [signs] are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God’. Whether you are confident and joyful in the calling God has given you, or angry and in pain, the risen Christ comes and says, ‘Peace be with you.’

My Lord and my God
Who is this?  Week 3

Both these narratives deal with the difficulty of comprehending the death of Jesus. Peter fights against the impression that the crucifixion was an unforeseen disaster and a prophetic failure. Thomas wrestles with the irreducible facts of physical injury and death. For both, the answer lies in the resurrection. In Acts, the resurrection is a vindication from God, foreseen many centuries before and therefore an integral part of God’s plan. In John, the resurrection is a personal encounter, challenging and transformative.

Q How can we work at finding the most appropriate way of describing the death and resurrection of Jesus for a particular audience?

Q How do we tell the story of Jesus for those who have been traumatised by their experience of life?