"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came." As soon as they met again, "the other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord." Thomas, however, was so convinced that it was impossible for Jesus to appear again in His own body, that he declared that he would not believe, unless he actually saw that it was the very same body which had been crucified: therefore, "he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print," or hole made by "the nails, and thrust my hand into" the wound made by the spear in "his side, I will not believe."

This want of faith was wrong: Thomas knew that the other Apostles would not say anything that they did not believe to be true; and it was impossible that all the ten, should have merely fancied that they had seen and talked with their beloved Lord and Master.

Thomas was now left for one whole week in his unbelief; and a good many of the disciples, who had not themselves seen Jesus, took his view of the matter: though the ten Apostles, and a great number of the disciples, were convinced that Christ was indeed risen.

"And after eight days again," that is, on the first day of the next week, "the disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut," so that He could not possibly have come into the room that way, "and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you."

The disciples were probably at supper, for St. Mark says, "he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen." To "upbraid" means to reproach: all had deserved reproach for their slowness and unwillingness to believe the testimony of others, but to Thomas such upbraiding was principally addressed: but whilst he reproved, Jesus also showed mercy: for "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." Thomas had now received the proofs which he had demanded; he saw and was convinced that Jesus had indeed, according to the Scriptures, risen in his own human body from the grave. "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." These are comfortable words for all Christians who believe without seeing: and we may indeed thank God for the unwillingness of this Apostle to believe, as it afforded a still further testimony to the reality of the Resurrection.

It seems that the next appearance of Jesus Christ was to a large number of His disciples at once. We read, "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them." Here many other disciples must have joined them; for another part of Scripture tells us, that "he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." "And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted." It appears probable that at first, Jesus showed Himself at a great distance, so that some could still hardly believe that He was the Lord. "But Jesus came and spake unto them." We may imagine how all doubts were removed at once, and with what joyful gladness the disciples acknowledged Him now, as the long-expected Messiah. "After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias." It seems that the Apostles had so little idea of the nature of the work they were from henceforth to do, that they had returned to their usual occupation of fishermen. "There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore; but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat?" meaning, have ye now taken any fish. To this question, put, as they supposed, by a man, the disciples "answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." It seems probable that the disciples now began to have some suspicions as to the true nature of Him, who gave them this direction, since no mere man could have foretold the result of their casting the net in one particular spot. "They cast, therefore, and now they were not able to draw it, for the multitude of fishes." This completely convinced the disciples; "therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea," eager to swim quickly to the land on which his beloved Master stood. The word "naked," in this place, only means that Peter had not his outer garments on—only the inner one he wore whilst fishing; and this he girt on, bound close round him, that it might be no hindrance whilst he swam. "And the other disciples came in a little ship (or boat), for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits (about 120 yards), dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up (to help), and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine." The word here translated dine, means rather breakfast, the first meal of the day, for it was now early morning.

"And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise."

St. John, in his account of this meeting of Jesus and His disciples at the sea of Tiberias, says, "This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead." It is the third appearance mentioned by St. John; and it was the third time that Jesus had appeared to the Apostles, when all or most of them were together; and this is probably what St. John meant. The first of these appearances, was to the ten on the day of His Resurrection, when Thomas was not with them; the second took place on the first day of the next week, when all the eleven were assembled; and the third, was the one of which we have just been speaking at the sea of Tiberias. Of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other women, to Peter alone, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and to "above five hundred brethren at once," John makes no mention. St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, speaking of the appearing of Jesus after the Resurrection, says, "He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once: after that, he was seen of James, then of all the Apostles." Now none of the Gospels gives an account of any special appearance to James: we may therefore conclude that we are not told of every appearance vouchsafed to His disciples, during the time that Jesus remained on earth after His Resurrection; though enough are related, to prove the reality of that blessed fact.

We may remark, that "Cephas" is a Greek word, meaning the same as Peter, that is, a rock, or stone; and that as St. Paul was writing to the inhabitants of a city of Greece, he called Simon Peter by his Greek name: by "the twelve," the body of the Apostles is meant, though at that time there were, in fact, only eleven of them.

When the Apostles had eaten their meal of fish and bread, to which they had been invited by the Lord, a remarkable conversation took place. We read, "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?"—that is, dost thou love me more than these other of my disciples love me? You will remember how before the Crucifixion, Peter, in his self-confidence, declared, that though all the other disciples should forsake Jesus, he never would, but would die for Him if necessary: but his grievous fall had shown him his own weakness; and now, so far from boasting of his greater love, he humbly replied, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." By lambs and sheep, our Saviour meant all his people, young and old: all, who should believe in Him, and so belong to His Church, or flock, as it is often called.

This mode of speaking of the people of God, as of a Flock, consisting of sheep and lambs, is very common throughout the Scripture. David pleading for his people, who were suffering from pestilence in consequence of his sin in numbering them, says, "But these sheep, what have they done?" The same idea is often repeated in the Psalms, and in the Prophets; and in our Liturgy, or Church Service, we confess that we "have erred and strayed like lost sheep."

Peter would well understand this figurative manner of speaking. The question was repeated: "Jesus saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep." Three times had Peter denied his Lord; three times now had he been asked, Lovest thou me? Well might he be grieved at the remembrance of that sin, which could have cast a doubt upon the love he bore his divine Master: deeply did he feel the rebuke which he had deserved. Humbly, without making any professions, did he appeal to Him, who knows all hearts, to judge whether he loved Him. Peter's love for Jesus was both strong and sincere, and his whole future life bore witness to its strength and sincerity, until he did indeed lay down his life for his Master's sake. Let us take Peter for our example, and try, by every action of our lives, to show that we do love and wish to please our God and Saviour.

After this Jesus said to Peter, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." About thirty years after this time, in the reign of the Emperor Nero, Peter was crucified at Rome by the heathens, because he tried to make them Christians; he stretched out his arms on the cross, and another bound him and carried him to execution. Faithfully did Peter obey his Master's command, "Follow me"; for he went about teaching after His example, until He died by the same death. But in his death, Peter gave a further proof of humility; for considering himself unworthy even to die in the same way as Jesus had done, he begged to be crucified with his head downwards; and this request was granted. Death for the sake of our religion is called martyrdom, and those who so suffer, are martyrs.