John 20:26-29 (NRSVCE)
Jesus and Thomas
“26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” ”
At the first time when our Lord showed Himself to His disciples, Thomas (who was called the Twin and also one of the twelve apostles), was not with them when Jesus came. So they told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:24-25) Then Jesus our Lord came back again after a week later for him so that He might not lose one of them by helping Thomas. He showed His hands and sides to make Thomas believe in Him.
Obviously, those disciples who were there in Galilee when Jesus reveal Himself the first time, were believers. They were there because they believed that Jesus is alive and directed them through Mary Magdalene to go to Galilee to see Him. Reviewing the story, it was still morning when Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and then she brought them the news, and although seemed to them an idle tale at first (Matthew 24:11), the apostles with excitement, running, went to check the tomb. But even seeing the tomb empty, they did not say to Mary Magdalene the words that Thomas told them. They did not doubt In fact, what the believers did was to follow His instruction to go to Galilee and waited for Jesus Christ until evening.
It’s not only Thomas who doubted but there also two disciples out of their frustrations, doubted, walked out to Emmaus instead to Galilee after knowing from the disciples that they had seen the empty tomb. Jesus appeared to these two and said, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. (Luke 24:13-27) Jesus did everything even breaking of bread before them to make them believe. As a result, they got up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem; to be with their companions who gathered together.
Now, Jesus Christ will come back again for us, but not for the sake of those who doubt but for those who believe. Doubters may have the same reasons as before during His days after the resurrection. People doubt because they do not see Jesus with their naked eyes. That’s why He said to Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” But when He comes back, He will bless those who believe in Him with their hearts through His Word, through the Spirit and the Truth and He would serve at this time to judge those who doubted Him.
1 Peter 1:8-9 says, “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” Salvation is only for those who believe in Him.
The scriptures encourage us to remain in our faith. It tells us about this coming back of the Lord to meet the believers both living and dead. One beautiful passage about this is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. St. Paul cautioned us, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this, we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who believe in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) But for those who still doubt when He comes back, at the end of time, they will receive judgment. So while we are waiting, wait with confidence that Jesus is not a myth. He is alive, and as we wait, Jesus is also waiting for us to believe in Him, in His words. Many in our times now were dull and slow to believe. Others do not believe at all that there’s GOD. We need to be wise in a humble way.
Let’s pray that may our days of doubting be cut short so that in the great tribulation to come, we would be saved. For Jesus Christ warned us that when those tribulations come, we should not be caught doubting because, also, if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:22). Praise be to GOD in the Name of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Comments