Touching the Wounds, Finding the Truth
John 20:24–29 (NKJV)
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Christ Appears to the Disciples (Thomas Present)
1 Cor. 15:5
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Message
I. Thomas – Accustomed to Death, Slow to Believe Life
Last week, we studied that Jesus appeared to the disciples in the evening on the day He rose from the dead (John 20:19). At that time, Thomas was absent (24). The other disciples said to him that they had seen the Lord (25a). So, he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (25b)
Thomas is another example that shows how we tend to believe in the power of death and doubt the resurrection (25, John 11:16, 24, 39, John 20:2, 13, 15).
What Thomas said showed he was, in philosophical terms, like an empiricist, who believed that knowledge comes primarily from experience and observation, especially through the senses. Scientists often rely on empirical methods such as observation, experimentation and evidence-based reasoning. How did Jesus help him?
II. Faith Beyond Sight: Embracing Resurrection
See v26-27.
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Jesus came to His disciples when Thomas was with them and let him see and touch His scars to help him believe. In Jesus, who is the resurrection and life (John 11:25-26), there is no despair and no darkness. How did Thomas respond? See v28.
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus changed Thomas from a believer in the power of death to a believer in the power of resurrection. Through faith in Jesus, all humanity—who once believed in the power of death—can be transformed into believers in the power of resurrection. Jesus included Thomas among His disciples so that people like him could also become true followers of Christ.
See v29.
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
While Jesus helped someone like Thomas, who needed physical evidence, He encouraged faith without seeing, saying, 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' (29b)
