March 3: A doubter believes

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “Unless I see the wounds from the nails in his hands, and put my finger into the wounds from the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe it!”  Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are the people who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:24-29  NET)

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was too much for Thomas to believe, he needed to actually see Jesus for himself. Mercifully, Jesus appeared to all the apostles one week after His resurrection and first appearance. He knew what Thomas had said and invited him to do exactly what he had said he would need to do. No doubt Thomas fell on his face before Jesus to acknowledge Him as his Lord and God; what had seemed impossible to him was now a reality that he could not doubt. At that point, all eleven of the apostles were actual physical witnesses of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Our faith in Jesus has a solid foundation. The apostles, and many others, saw Jesus after His resurrection. They announced the resurrection and endured intense persecution for the rest of their lives because of it; their willingness to be martyred for their faith speaks volumes about the truthfulness of their testimony. But in today’s passage a special blessing is pronounced upon those who have not seen and yet believe. That blessing is for you, for us; though we have never physically seen Jesus, we believe. Yes, our faith rests on the solid foundation of the historical witness and evidence of the apostles, and the early Church, and on Old Testament prophecies about the resurrection of Jesus, but most of all it rests upon our own experience of the living Jesus in our lives.