JOHN 20:24-29. THE PROOF: A SKEPTIC BELIEVES

HOLY WEEK DEVOTIONS – DAY 4

JOHN 20:24-29. THE PROOF: A SKEPTIC BELIEVES

MINISTER RICHARD HIXSON

When I was growing up there was a common phrase I often heard when someone expressed doubt. It went like this, “Don’t be a doubting Thomas.” For quite a while as I grew up, I didn’t know, perhaps like many others, that this phrase came right out of scripture.

As we get near the end of the book of John, we read of the resurrected Jesus appearing first to Mary Magdalene and next to his disciples as they were gathered together in one room. And then we come to John 20:24 which reads, “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.”

Imagine the excitement at the moment Thomas returns to the other disciples and they all begin telling him that the resurrected Jesus had appeared right among them. He had even shown them the nail wounds in his hands and the place where his side had been pierced so they could be certain that this was Jesus in his resurrected body. Yet Thomas doubted what they were telling him.

We might expect disbelief in someone who had just begun their journey with Jesus, but Thomas had walked on many trails and through many trials with Jesus and even more, was an eyewitness to many of Jesus’ miracles, but believing what his fellow disciples were telling him now was just too much for Thomas to believe.

Now I know that it’s easy for us to read about Thomas’ doubts and think to ourselves that of course, if we were in Thomas’ place we would have believed what the other disciples told us, but I think that if we are really honest with ourselves that we can each admit that there may be times in our own walks with Jesus where we too may have acted a lot like doubting Thomas.

Just as it was with Thomas, there may be times in our lives when despite all of the blessings we have experienced and seen, this one thing we are dealing with now seems impossible. And even though we may have friends share their testimonies of how Jesus showed up when all seemed impossible to them, we may still have moments where we slip pretty close to something like doubt.

But it is in these times when we should look to the words of Jesus when he tells his disciples, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26.

Despite the fact that Thomas had set limits on how much he was willing to believe, the Lord appears before Thomas and allows Thomas not to just see him, but to actually touch his wounds and to know without any doubt that this is the resurrected Jesus who Thomas then recognizes as his Lord and God.

Jesus asks Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me?” (John 20:29a). And immediately following this comment it seems almost as if Jesus turns away from Thomas and is looking directly at us, when he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29b).

In this powerful moment, Jesus is saying that blessing awaits on the other side of faith. And that our greatest blessing is in our hope and belief that Jesus will return and then, like Thomas, we will each be able to see Jesus face-to-face.

And so, I pray that, just as Thomas did, you may come to put your full faith in Jesus, in His promises, especially in those areas that may seem impossible to you, and then receive His presence as he brings comfort and peace in your trial. And, if you have someone you are praying for, who doubts who Jesus truly is, then pray for Jesus to make himself known to them in a personal way so that they - like Thomas - would profess that Jesus as their Lord and God.