BELIEVE

 

APRIL 12, 2023

JOHN 20:24-31

24 But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even though the
doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.”

28 Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not
seen and yet believe.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

 

Tradition has it that Thomas was likely the missionary who first brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to India. When I think of that I think of the surprise of Christian missionaries who thought they were pioneering new territory in this subcontinent only to find that believers were already waiting for them. Today, Thomas’ body is buried in India.

The first words of verse 26 are crucial to grasping the purpose of this bible passage. Why would Jesus wait a week before proving His resurrection to Thomas? Certainly, Jesus could have appeared to Thomas at any point over the course of those days, but He chose instead to give Thomas the chance to believe his friends.

Picture the moment the other disciples told Thomas that they had encountered the resurrected Jesus, only for Thomas to shoot them down with disbelief. I was reading recently where Jesse Campbell says “This was arguably the first instance of evangelism in the New Testament and it was initially a failure!”

Let’s notice something about Jesus appearance to Thomas in our reading, again he does not scold his follower for needing proof of his resurrection, rather he says “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” It us like Jesus was saying “Thomas here is the evidence you have been wanting for.”

This is one of those teachable moments though. At the end of verse 27 above Jesus offers a challenge to Thomas, “Don’t be faithless, but believe.” Thomas does indeed believe. In verse 28, Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” 

I wonder about the days between Thomas first hearing from his colleagues about Jesus resurrected appearance, and the day of the big reveal. What might Thomas thought life have been like? 

I suppose we will never know that, but here is something that we can know. With each day that passed Thomas missed out on a blessing. Jesus words indicate as much: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Today, we have the opportunity to experience the very blessing Jesus described in verse 29. We who believe without having physically seen Jesus are blessed. This, according to verse 31, is the whole purpose to the Gospel of John in the first place! Read, believe, and come alive in His name.

LET US PRAY

Jesus you did not abandon Thomas in his unbelief, and we are thankful that you will not abandon us to ours.

Our Lord and Our God, we confess our preoccupation with Proof. We confess our frequent failure to trust you. Hear us and help our unbelief, we pray.