Thomas, the Great Believer
John 20:24-29

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them, Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands, and reach here your hand, and put it into My side, and be not unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:24-29)

When the resurrected Jesus first appeared to the disciples in a tightly locked room and commissioned them as apostles by giving them his Spirit, Thomas was not there. However, he heard the eyewitness accounts from these men with whom he had lived and co-labored for the past couple of years. And, Thomas was there when Jesus himself had predicted he would rise from the dead so often and publicly that Pilate placed soldiers at the tomb to make sure his disciples could not steal Jesus’ body and claim he rose. Yet, Thomas demanded tangible proof. As a result, Thomas became known for all time as the “Great Doubter.”

But look at how Thomas reacts when he meets the resurrected Jesus in the flesh. He exclaims, “My Lord and My God!” This is the climax of John’s Gospel. It is the greatest statement of faith in all the Bible. He not only acknowledges the lordship and divinity of Jesus, he personalizes it—“My Lord and My God.” How did Jesus dispel Thomas’ doubt so completely?

Just as Jesus gave Mary the experiential evidence she needed by calling her by name and allowing her to cling to him briefly at the tomb, just as he gave Peter and John the rational evidence they needed by leaving the body wrappings lying in place so they could surmise that his mummified body passed right through them, Jesus gives Thomas the tangible evidence he needs. He invites Thomas to do exactly what Thomas had said he needed to do to believe—to examine and touch his wounds. By this, he lets Thomas know he has heard all Thomas’ doubts and is still willing to come, in person, to him anyway. He doesn’t give him doctrine and principles to believe in. He doesn’t remind Thomas of his perfect life and good deeds. Thomas doesn’t need a great teacher or a moral example. He needs a God with wounds—Jesus. It is when we get up close and personal with Jesus Christ, the wounded God whose hands and side were pierced for us, that the doubts within us turn into faith.

In the presence of the wounded God, who suffered the hell of being completely forsaken by the heavenly Father on the cross for his sake, Thomas lets his demands for proof fade away. He puts no finger where the nails and the spear went in. All of his conditions for believing dissolve in the face of the self-sacrificing God of extraordinary love whose deep wounds speak to and drown out Thomas’ own woundedness. No one can put conditions on this God who is like no other in the universe.

Thomas did not need to see Jesus to believe in him. He needed to see Jesus to become an “apostle,” a special status conferred only on eyewitnesses to the resurrection. But those of us who have not physically seen the risen Jesus can still believe in him and be blessed. Let us gaze at the wounds of Jesus and invite our family and friends to gaze with us, so that he can transform us all from doubters into people of faith who can say with Thomas, the Great Believer, “My Lord and My God.”

Dear Lord Jesus,
All praise, honor, and glory to You, resurrected Lord and Savior, self-sacrificing wounded God. Forgive me for the arrogance of putting conditions on deepening my relationship with You. Help me take hold of what You’ve designed just for me to clear away the doubts and barriers which keep me from experiencing You as alive and real. Cause me to gaze at Your wounds and know the height, depth, length, and width of Your love for me and the world. Work in me the faith that inspires me to declare You my Lord and my God. Enable me to invite my family and friends to gaze with me and know You too. Thank You for Your love for me. In Your name, Amen.