Key Verse: Then Jesus told him, "Because you have
seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have
believed." John 20:29
Thomas is often
criticized when a sermon is preached on this event in the life of Christ. I've always thought that Thomas receives
unfair treatment when that happens.
After all, the others were also in doubt a week earlier as they were
huddled together in the upper room. And,
even though Jesus had appeared the week before and had proven that He indeed
had been raised from the dead, the door was still locked for the gathering on
this occasion. We aren't sure why,
though I tend to think it was more out of prudence than fear. Jesus doesn't seem to criticize Thomas for
having questions. Instead, He answers
Thomas' questions with the same proof that He had given the others, His real,
resurrected body.
We've always
taught our children that there are no dumb questions. It wasn't wrong for Thomas to want to see
proof. It would have been wrong to have
been shown the proof and when confronted with the truth to have rejected
it, still, as the Pharisees did. Thomas' questioning, however, was
sincere. Jesus understood this and met
him where he was in his faith.
Another of the
disciples, John, addresses the importance of this tangible proof like
this. "That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of
life. The life appeared; we have seen it
and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the
Father and has appeared to us. We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship
is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ." (1
John 1:1-3) Even though the gospel
states that John believed at the empty tomb, he used all the tangible proof of Jesus' bodily
resurrection as the catalyst for spurring him on to proclaim to others what he
had witnessed.
Thomas is asking
for nothing less. He knew the rumors
that were being spread by the Roman guards.
He was very aware of the opposition of the powerful religious leaders. He did not want to die for a fraud, no matter
how devoted he had been to Jesus before His crucifixion. And notice this: Out of all the disciples, Thomas was the first one to call Jesus, "My God!" That was great faith!
When we share
our testimony about the Lord, we need to be as confident about what we know as
the disciples. Our testimony needs to
consist of what we know that Jesus has done for us. It can't be someone else’s
story, it must be our own. If that gives
you pause, do you need to ask, do I have a story? Is my testimony based on Scriptures and
religious rules and traditions alone, or have I had a personal encounter with
Jesus that I can truly relate to others?
It's never too
late to correct the situation.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved." (Rom.
10:13) "Believe in the Lord
Jesus and you will be saved." (Acts
16:31) "Before the Hebrews
entered Canaan from Egypt God set out this principle: "If from there you seek the Lord your
God, you will find Him, if you look for Him with all your heart and with all
your soul." (Deut.
4:29) And in the prophet Jeremiah,
God says, "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and
unsearchable things you do not know."
(Jeremiah
33:3)
Over and over,
throughout scripture, God invites us to be in close relationship with Him, and
He invites us to ask. He is not
threatened by our questions or examinations.
As He invited Thomas to handle Him, so He invites us to do what we must,
with a sincere heart, to be assured that He is real, He is alive, He is
forgiving and He is eternal. If you can
believe without all this, you are blessed, yet, explore if you must. He is the Truth that will inspire you when
you have found Him to be all that He claims and more.
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