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Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas… John 20:27 (NIV)
A week had passed since Jesus first appeared to His disciples. They were in the house again, and this time Thomas was with them. It’s worth noting even though Thomas did not believe, he stayed in the company of the disciples.
Jesus appeared, and He spoke directly to Thomas: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (20:27). Thomas knew this was not a figment of his imagination. Jesus Christ was presenting the evidence to him directly.
As soon as Thomas was confronted by the evidence, he said, “My Lord and my God” (20:28). He saw and believed. Was Thomas wrong when he said he had to see for himself? The theme of “seeing” runs right through the Gospel of John.
When Peter and John ran to the empty tomb, they went inside, and the Bible reports, “The other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (20:8, italics added).
Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb, deeply distressed. Someone approached her and asked who she was looking for. She assumed it was the gardener, and she did not even look up. Then Jesus said her name: “Mary.” She turned to see Jesus, and He told her to go and tell the disciples that He was returning to His Father. Mary went and said, “I have seen the Lord!” (20:18, italics added).
Then in the evening of that same day, the disciples were together. “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” (20:19, italics added).
The faith of the apostles was neither a blind leap in the dark nor naive gullibility. Their faith was a believing response to the evidence placed before them.
What evidence has God given to you? How have you responded to it?
