John 20
Read John Chapter 20 :: Here
Devotional ::
“That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.”
John 20:19-28 NLT
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“Doubting Thomas”. That’s the name we know him by. Thomas has become a bit infamous among the apostles; if we’re honest, most of us have a kind of low opinion of him.
We read the story in John 20, and shake our heads a bit. “Come on Thomas, why can’t you believe?”. But I think it may be possible we misunderstand Thomas, and I think it’s likely we misunderstand Jesus’ posture toward him in this story. We read it as if Jesus is reproving Thomas, “…blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe”. But let’s take a closer look at Thomas, and Jesus…
First, in other gospel narratives, Thomas seems to come across a bit “prickly”; there’s a hint of sarcasm when Jesus decides to make a risky trip to raise Lazarus from the dead, and Thomas quips, “let’s go…we may as well die with him” {John 11:16}. You can almost see the eye roll, hear the huff in his voice.
Later, Thomas contradicts Jesus to His face: “No, we don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way?”{John 14:5}. Thomas is a bit sassy. But I wonder why?
The Gospels don’t tell us the details or background of Thomas’s life, but you almost get the sense that Thomas has been burned somehow. He comes across dubious. Skeptical. Sarcastic. It’s almost like life has knocked Thomas around enough to teach him he shouldn’t get his hopes too high. He’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always seems to have his dukes up in a defensive posture… “Hurting Thomas” might be a more accurate moniker than “Doubting Thomas”.
You can almost imagine him reluctantly following this rabbi named Jesus; hoping against hope that this story will turn out different…and then sure enough, it seems to end in disaster with the crucifixion of Jesus. It must have crushed Thomas.
Then, he comes back from running an errand, and the others claim to have “seen Jesus”. Two thoughts might have raced through his mind at once: out loud to the room, “you guys are NUTS!!!” then to himself, “of course I missed Him!!!”. Why would Jesus show up while he was gone? Everyone got to see Him…except Thomas. Jesus even showed all of them His wounds {vs. 20}…so it’s not some unreasonable request Thomas makes; he just wants to see what everyone else saw.
Most of us don’t doubt by accident. There are emotions, pain and a past that underlie our unbelief. You can almost hear it in Thomas’s words….he’s missed the boat AGAIN, been left out as usual…so he screens his pain with skepticism, cuts his losses, and decides he’s done believing.
So we tend to focus on Thomas, and his doubt. But remember, this story is telling us something about JESUS…
Eight days later, Jesus appears a second time, and it’s clear He showed up for one reason: Thomas.
“Here, look at my hands.” “Touch my side.” Jesus personally shows Thomas His scars. It’s intimate. Exclusive. Unique. He gives him exactly what he said he needed in order to believe — “Don’t be faithless any longer Thomas. Believe!!!”
Jesus came back to “undrop” the other shoe for Thomas. He didn’t come to set him straight, He came to give him hope. You can almost hear Jesus saying, “I wouldn’t leave you out Thomas; I came back tonight just to see you…”. And in that moment, Jesus became more than a rabbi to Thomas — He became Lord and GOD.
In a poetic twist of Greek language, Thomas was nicknamed “Didymus”, which means “twice”. And after the Lord made a second visit just for him, this name took on new meaning; he wasn’t known for his doubt, instead he was the one who Jesus refused to leave out.
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There’s a little bit of Thomas in all of us. Parts of our hearts we hold back, because we don’t want to be let down {again}. We build fences of doubt, screens of skepticism, and we decide it’s too risky to believe.
But Jesus in His Love, keeps coming back, just for us. He’s not angry at our doubt. Instead, He gives us whatever it takes to restore our hope. So lean into His grace. Take as long as you need. Look at His hands. Touch His side, hear His voice call your name…and believe.
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Reflect ::
•Have you struggled with doubt? What lies behind that struggle?
•Realize that Jesus is not put off by your doubt…instead, He is drawn to you by His love.
•What would it take for you to let go of your doubts? Ask Jesus for that confirmation. He wants you to believe…
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Prayer ::
Jesus, thank you for Your patience with us. Thank you for continuing to call us, for coming back to visit us again and again, as many times as it takes to heal our hearts. Today we leave our unbelief behind, and agree with your servant Thomas: You are our Lord, and our God! Give us grace to believe, and to trust Your love for us.