An Easter Meditation - John 20:24-31
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.
Mention the disciple Thomas, and we immediately think “doubt!” Thomas has always had ‘doubting’ prefixed to his name. It is so easy to judge him. It is so easy to ridicule his lack of faith by giving him a name like “doubting Thomas,” a name that has marred his memory ever since. This morning we want to remember that disciple, not for his doubts, but for his faith.
Which of the disciples didn’t doubt? At one time, during His ministry, Jesus said to His disciples, “If ye have faith, and doubt not, Mt 21:21, you could move mountains. Another time, during a storm, Jesus rebuked His disciples, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 8:26. On Easter Sunday morning, when the women brought the news that Jesus had arisen, we read, “and their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.” Luke 24:11. Even on that very afternoon, while Jesus was walking with the Emmaus disciples, He had to rebuke them for their doubts, “O fools and slow of heart to believe.” Luke 24:25.
Think, how on the first Easter evening, the disciples got together in an upper room with bolted door because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. They had heard about the resurrection; some of them had actually seen the empty tomb and the discarded grave clothes, but that was not enough. They needed more than an empty grave and the witness of a holy angel of God. They needed to see Him and they needed it right then. While they were huddled together in the upper room, Jesus read their hearts and miraculously stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Those four words made all the difference. The word of God is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus’ word removed the fog of confusion and unbelief from their hearts. Then, to make them doubly sure that it was He, He showed them His hands and His side. Only after they had seen the nail prints in his hands and the spear wound in his side, do we read, “then were the disciples glad when they saw the LORD.”
Are you and I much different from the disciples on the first Easter evening? We know what Jesus says to us in the Bible; we believe it, and yet how often we become weak and confused. Just because we are sinners, we find it hard to apply His words to our lives, and are constantly tempted to live and act as though He were not present. Jesus knows that and that is why He promises to be with us wherever His word is taught. With His law, He condemns our faithlessness as He did that of the Emmaus disciples, “O fools and slow of heart to believe,” Luke 24.25, and with His Word, "Peace be with you," He strengthens our faith and gives a new sense of purpose to our lives.
Just as He made the disciples sure by showing them His body, so He makes us doubly sure by permitting us to partake of it. Through the holy Lord‘s Supper, in, with, and under the visible elements, the bread and wine, He gives us His own body and His own blood for the forgiveness of our sins so that we might never doubt again. Yet doubts still happen. Weak and frail creatures that we are, we need the assurance of forgiveness repeatedly. That is why Jesus says, “This do ye often. Partake of my body and blood as often as you feel the need. You can’t wear out my forgiveness.”
Some time later, when the other disciples met Thomas, they said, “We have seen the Lord.” Thomas, however, said, I don’t believe you. “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” The unanimous testimony of his fellow believers amounted to nothing just because it was contrary to his line of thinking. An empty tomb meant only one thing to him, namely, that Jesus was dead! He really wasn’t much different from the other disciples. He wanted to see with his own eyes as they had done. He, however, went one step further; he wanted to touch the wound marks with his fingers!
What Thomas did not realize was that Jesus was listening to everything he said to the disciples. That’s something we must never forget. Though we may not be aware of it, Jesus listens to everything we say and watches everything we do. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows how frail and weak we are, and when we, like Thomas, tend to make outrageous demands on God because what He does doesn’t match the way we would do it, as the unseen witness to our words and thoughts, He rescues us again and again from our limited vision and understanding and makes everything work out for our good.
Look how He rescued Thomas. A week later, the disciples were again in an upper room behind closed doors, this time with Thomas. Once more, Jesus miraculously stood in their midst, and comforted them with the greeting, “Peace be unto you.´ Then he turned directly to Thomas and said, “reach out your finger and see my hands; and reach out your hand and touch my side and be not faithless but believing.” How it must have crushed Thomas to hear Jesus repeat the very words that He had spoken to the disciples. Now he knew that Jesus was alive, for He been watching and listening all along. How much he must have wanted to say to Jesus, “I’m sorry I ever doubted that you were alive. Please forgive me.”
In this delicate situation, Jesus did not rebuke Thomas, but lovingly reached down to help him. Thomas had every reason to expect Jesus to admonish him, but instead of rebuking him, Jesus, in the greatest humility, did just what this weak and sinful disciple demanded. Think if it! He came to Thomas on Thomas’ terms. Thomas had wanted to put his fingers in Jesus’ sounds, and Jesus said, “Do it!” There is no limit to the mercy of God; there is no limit to how far our exalted Savior on God’s right hand will go to rescue weak sinners, such as us. The Savior is gentle to those who are weak and kind to those who are helpless.
The test that Thomas demanded apparently never came off. As far as we know, he never reached forth his hands or fingers. There was no need. Thomas was so overcome in love and devotion, that all he could say was, "My Lord and my God.” With renewed faith, like Mary Magdalene in the garden, he threw himself spiritually at the feet of his Lord. There was no longer any doubt in his heart about Jesus’ resurrection or what it meant. While his faith was late and slow it was sure and certain. This was his LORD and his God, who came to bring him forgiveness; this was his LORD who would care for him the rest of his life; this was his LORD who would welcome him from the clouds of heaven on the last day.
It is for our benefit perhaps even more than for Thomas that Jesus said,”Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” Jesus’ ascension has put Him beyond our physical sight, and yet His presence is just a real to us as it was to Thomas. He hears our every word, knows our every thought, and in mercy and grace reaches out His hand to guide our feeble feet. Although there may be times in our lives when we lose sight of Jesus’ presence, times when we feel that other people are taking advantage of us, times when loving our fellow man leads only to spite, or when turning the other cheek doesn’t seem to work, may we never forget that Jesus is “our Lord and our God.” He not only knows, but He remembers, and blesses us with unexpected blessings in this life and indescribable blessings in the life to come.
“O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in You.´ Psalm 84:12.
Preached by Pastor Robert Dommer on 3-30-08