The passage
      v19. The room is locked and Jesus miraculously appears with his disciples (probably a wider group than the apostles).
      v20. Jesus shows them his wounds, obviously to assure them that he is not just a spirit. They are overjoyed.
      v21. Jesus then commissions his disciples to mission, a mission defined by his own ministry. "Their mission proceeds from His", Leon Morris. As the Father sent Jesus into the world, in the same way Jesus sends his disciples into the world.
      v22. Jesus then gives his disciples the means for mission - the indwelling presence and power of the Spirit of Christ, his very person with them to enable them. The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, as recorded by Luke, may represent the same event, Pentecost being the actual realization of the diverse empowering of the disciples for ministry.
      v23. Jesus goes on to give his disciples the authority to forgive sins. This authority is not given to a priestly class, nor even to individual Christians. It is an authority given to the church, not the institution, but the fellowship of believers. It is not an authority to forgive or retain particular sins, but sin generally as it relates to the gospel. We have the authority to proclaim the gospel of God's grace and to announce God's forgiveness and eternal acceptance to all those who repent and believe.
      v24-25. John goes on to record Jesus' appearance to Thomas. This story reinforces how a disbelieving band of Jesus' disciples came to recognize the fact of the resurrection. Thomas does not believe that Jesus could be alive and so, demands proof. He is probably no more disbelieving than the rest of the disciples, but of course, they had now seen for themselves.
      v26. "A week later", that is, "eight days", which by inclusive counting means the following Sunday, the disciples are together in the upper room.
      v27. Jesus appears and calls on Thomas to believe.
      v28. For Thomas, seeing is believing. His response is to proclaim "my Lord and my God." The word "Lord" was a title of respect like "Sir". It was sometimes used to address Jesus, carrying the same weight as "teacher". It was also used to address the Deity and obviously this is how Thomas is using it here. It soon became the common title of respect used when addressing Jesus. To address Jesus as "God" is a most amazing statement of adoration, especially for a Jew. Clearly, no human can rise from the dead of their own accord. Jesus' resurrection proclaims who he is.
      v29. Thomas believed by seeing; blessed are those who believe without seeing. Jesus may be pronouncing a special blessing on those who do better than Thomas, but probably not. Nor is he rebuking Thomas. All who follow will have to believe without seeing, and blessed are they when they do.

A healthy task
      When the disciples gathered with Jesus on the Sunday evening of his resurrection, he gave them a word which applies to all believers in every age. As Jesus was sent into the world by the Father, so he sends us into the world. This is a commission for all believers.
      The mission is a simple one. As Jesus said at the beginning of his ministry, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God ....... because that is why I was sent", Lk.4:43. Our commission is to make known the free grace of God offered in Jesus Christ. In simple terms, we must communicate the great truth of Jesus' resurrection and its implication, namely that because he lives we can live also. So, we offer eternal life, a gift given to all who ask.
        i] We are honoured to mission together. We can team up to do it, use our different abilities. Jesus gave the commission to his gathered disciples and so as a church we can together plan our strategy to share in making the gospel known.
        ii] We are honoured with the presence and power of Jesus in the task. Jesus poured the Spirit upon his disciples and we are similarly washed - we are not alone in the task. Jesus is intimately involved with us as we undertake his commission.
        iii] We are honoured with the right to offer the forgiveness of sins. When we see a minister give the absolution in a church service we may assume that only he can forgive sins. The truth is we all have the right to offer God's forgiveness and eternal acceptance to anyone who repents and believes the good news.

v20
      ecarhsan (cairw) aor. pas. "were overjoyed" - rejoiced. "The disciples were thrilled with joy", Williams.
      idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "when they saw [the Lord]" - having seen. The participle is possibly forming a temporal clause as NIV, but causal, "because", is possible; "the disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord", NJB.

v21
      kaqwV "as" - in like manner.
      apostalken (opostellw) perf. "has sent" - The perfect tense indicating the action is completed with ongoing ramifications.
      pempw pres. "I am sending" - The present tense indicating ongoing action, as NIV, although some argue that this should not be stressed; "as the Father has sent me so I send you", NAB.

v22
      enefushsen (emfusaw) aor. "breathed" - he breathed in, blew upon. A hapax legomenon, once only use in the NT. Possibly reflecting the divine breath in the creation of life, Gen.2:7. The seeming clash with Luke's account of Pentecost may be explained by this event being preparatory, although Phillips tries to handle the problem by translating "the Holy Spirit" with "receive holy spirit", given that there is no definite article.
      labete (lambanw) aor. imp. "receive" - take, receive, accept, choose. The translation "receive" is ingrained, but possibly "accept", even "welcome" makes more sense.

v23
      an + subj. "if" - Introducing a conditional clause, 3rd class, where the condition stated in the "if" clause (protasis) has the probability of becoming a reality. In English the use of "if" conveys doubt, so possibly "whenever you forgive anyone their sins."
      afhte (afihmi) aor. subj. "you forgive" - you release. The word order makes "forgive" emphatic. To release a person of the consequence of their sins. This authority is given to the apostles and it is reasonable to argue that it extends to all believers. Of course, it could be argued that this authority is only given to the apostles and therefore the church and its priestly class, although the text does not support this view. Barclay argues that the authority is not to forgive sins as such, but rather to proclaim the offer of forgiveness - a reasonable observation.
      afewntai (afihmi) perf. pas. "they are forgiven" - they have been forgiven [to them]. Possibly a proleptic (futuristic) perfect tense, but gnomic, even extensive (where the completion of the past act is emphasized) is more likely; "they have already been forgiven."
      krathte (kratew) pres. subj. "do not forgive" - you hold, retain, take hold of. It could be argued that some sins are not capable of forgiveness and are therefore retained in the sense of not forgiven, although the Bible does not support the idea of mortal sins. The only "unforgivable" sin is the sin of rejecting the gospel of forgiveness in Christ (= the sin against the Holy Spirit). Where there is no repentance there is only judgment and the believer has the authority to declare this fact. "If you hold them unforgiven they are unforgiven", Phillips.

v24
      legomenoV DidumoV "called Didymus" - being called Twin. As a nickname, "Twin", seems a bit far fetched, but I knew a person who was called "brother", a nickname given by his older siblings and picked up by all his friends. "His nickname was 'Twin.'"

v25
      elegon (legw) imperf. "the other disciples told [him]" - they said [to him]. The imperfect may express ongoing action, "they kept saying to him", Morris.
      eJwrakamen (oJraw) perf. "we have seen"
      ean hm + subj. "unless" - Introducing a conditional clause, 3rd class.
      ton tupon (oV) "the [nail] marks" - the marks, image, pattern. "The nail scars", CEV.
      balw (ballw) aor. subj. "put [my hand]" - throw, cast. A strong word, so "thrust my hand into his side."
      ou mh + subj. "[I will] not [believe it]" - The double negative with the subjunctive produces a emphatic negation, "I will never believe"; "I refuse to believe", NJB.

v26
      meq hJmeraV "a week later" - after eight days. The counting probably means the following Sunday.
      esw "in the house" - inside. "Were indoors together again", Barclay.

v27
      mh ginou (ginomai) pres. imp. "stop doubting" - do not be unbelieving. The distinction between an aorist and present imperative is questioned by some commentators, while others argue that the present imperative relates to ongoing action, here the cessation of that action, so "stop doubting"; "be unbelieving no longer, but believe", REB.

v28
      oJ kurioV "My Lord". Although nominative, it is usually taken as a vocative; "you are the one who rules over me, and you are the God whom I worship", TH.

v29
      Often 29a is translated as a question. Either a question or a statement, as NIV, is possible, given that the original Greek manuscripts did not contain question marks (our semicolon).
      oJti "because" - that. Here causal.
      makarioi adj. "blessed" - blessed, happy. Referring to a state of joy in response to benefiting from God's favour; "happy are those who find faith without seeing me", REB.
      oi mh idonteV (eidon) aor. part. "are those who have not seen" - the ones not having seen. The aorist is probably gnomic, expressing a universal truth without reference to time.

v30
      shmeia (on) "miraculous signs" - signs. "Jesus did many other things .... in which the power of God was demonstrated in action", Barclay.
      enwpion twn maqhtwn "in the presence of [his] disciples" - before the disciples [of him]. "While he was with his disciples."