May the mumbling commence!
“Doubting” Thomas, move to the head of the class. Many times, Thomas gets a bad rap for doubting Jesus resurrection. He gets this bad rap undeservedly if one looks a little more closely. Read the passage from John chapter twenty.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (Verses 19-29)
Have you ever noticed that Jesus repeated his greeting to the disciples the first time? Why would he repeat those words, “Peace be with you”? John tells us that the disciples were overjoyed.
Were they thinking, “Our Lord has returned to us. Now, we can get what we first expected from our Messiah?” You, know, back to the good old days – even if those “good old days” were fraught with confusion and misunderstanding.
It is no wonder that Jesus repeats his words to the disciples on his first visit. He had to remind those present that they were being sent. Jesus was not back to stay. Receive the Holy Spirit – the replacement for Jesus being physically present on earth.
Now look at the second encounter with “doubting” Thomas. At first, Thomas was little different than the other disciples. He only wanted the same proof that Jesus had indeed risen. It had to be hard to believe.
Maybe he was checking his mental calendar, wondering if it was April Fool’s Day. Thomas wanted to see Jesus and feels the marks in his hands and put his hand in his side. And Jesus showed up and offered Thomas just that opportunity – after saying “Peace be with you.”
Then, Thomas moved to the head of the class. Instead of being awestruck, Thomas speaks a wonderful confession of faith. The other disciples may have thought, “My Lord.” Some of the others may have even said it. But Thomas said, “My Lord and my God.” Thomas recognized the proof of Jesus in front of him as an undeniable sign that Jesus was the Messiah – his Lord and his God.
Did you note that Jesus did not have need to repeat the words, “Peace be still” to Thomas? Deep down inside, Thomas realized that Jesus was not back to stay. He had listened to Jesus and understood that he was going away. He anticipated the coming of the Holy Spirit. Maybe Thomas learned from the mistakes that the other disciples made, but that does not denigrate the conclusion that he came to.
You and I – we have not seen. Do we believe in Jesus as our Lord and God? Do we accept the testimony we find in the Scriptures? We are blessed if we do. Thomas moved to the head of the class of Jesus’ first disciples. Will you and I move to the head of the class and learn from Thomas. Let us believe on the evidence of the testimony of the Scriptures.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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