So the other disciples 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.’” vs. 25
John 20:19-25
Thomas missed out. He wasn’t with the other disciples when Jesus appeared and breathed his spirit on them. And rather than accepting their testimony, he added tension by adamantly refusing to believe them. Since he hadn’t experienced the presence of Jesus, he wasn’t going to believe in the resurrection. The gospel writer, John, in using this story of the missing Thomas, made Thomas a kind of model for millions of future disciples. Because who among us hasn’t had significant doubts about things that we read in scripture? And in particular large numbers have had difficulty with the very truth that Thomas balked at! If we’re honest we have to admit that it’s really hard to believe in the resurrected Jesus, and that’s a pretty key element of the gospel story. And one of the main reasons for our doubt is that we haven’t had the same experiences of Jesus that others have had. So when others say that they’ve felt the presence of the Risen Jesus, our first reaction is to dismiss their witness. We might not express our doubt as strongly as Thomas did, but the feeling is there. So it’s natural to give thanks for this story–the community of faith even has room for doubters!
Thought for the Day: When do I have doubts about resurrection?
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