John 20:24-29 (NIV)
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
This one event has given this disciple the unfortunate epithet of “doubting Thomas.” But it is important to realize that many of us would probably have reacted in much the same way if a group of our friends told us something so completely unrealistic and incredible. We would probably figure that they were pulling our leg!
But they really had seen Jesus and were frustrated in their attempts to persuade Thomas. They had seen the nail marks; Thomas wanted to see them too, and even touch them. They had seen the spear wound in His side; Thomas wanted to see it for himself, and even to touch it to make sure that it was really Jesus.
A week later, when Thomas was with them, Jesus appeared again, just as He had the first time. The rest of the disciples, after their initial start at His sudden appearance, were not afraid as they had been before. But Thomas was gaping at Jesus in disbelief.
Jesus walked right up to him and held out His hands. “Thomas, you wanted to see and touch the nail holes in My wrists? Here they are.” He pulled His robe aside revealing the wound there. “You wanted to see and touch the spear wound in My side? Here it is.”
Thomas didn’t make a move to touch any of the wounds. He just stood there with his mouth hanging open, his eyes taking in all that his brain was having a hard time grasping. Then Jesus looked him squarely in the eyes, and simply said, “Stop doubting, and believe!”
Thomas believed, all right! He fell to his knees, his eyes still locked onto Jesus’, and said his well-known line: “My Lord and my God!”
Some have claimed that this was no theological statement, but merely an exclamation, a casual taking of the Lord’s name in vain out of shock. But using either the term Lord or God in that way would never have occurred to Thomas or any of the disciples, devout Jews that they were. In that single exclamation of faith, Thomas declared Jesus to be his Lord, the absolute boss of him, and his God, God in the flesh, as Jesus had taught them that He was.
A big part of the equation in Thomas’ mind was the fact that Jesus knew his exact words of disbelief spoken a week earlier. The only way that Jesus could have known what he had said was if, after He had disappeared from view, He was somehow still present in the room, watching and listening as the disciples shared their story, and as he had spoken his words of disbelief. Only God could pull off something like that!
Jesus’ final words on the subject that night were not words of shame, but of assurance. Thomas had seen and believed. But many would not have that opportunity. If they were to believe at all, it would have to be on the basis of the eyewitness testimony of those who had seen (as we have contained in the gospels), or on the basis of those whose lives had been changed through trusting in Jesus. Those who are willing to believe, even without being able to see Jesus’ wounds for themselves, will receive a great blessing in the form of salvation, transformation, and empowerment.
Father, like many, I would like to believe that if I had stood in Thomas’ shoes, I would have had enough faith to believe immediately, simply based on the testimony of my fellow disciples. But we don’t think about how insane this would all have sounded to his ears. He was, after all, a mere human being like us, and we shouldn’t throw epithets at him when we ourselves have been slow to believe much of Your word and many of Your promises. Thank You for Your grace that continues to draw us to You until we can believe. Amen.
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