Proclamation:
“Then He said to
Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach out your hand
and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas
said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Then Jesus told him, 'Because you
have seen Me, you have believed; blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed.' " John 20:27-29 (NIV)
Explanation:
The Apostle John records that in a post
resurrection meeting with His disciples Jesus confronted Thomas who initially
did not believe that He had risen from the dead. Jesus told Thomas to
touch the holes in His hands and the wound in His side. Thomas saw the
evidence of the crucifixion and he believed. Then Jesus said, blessed are
those who believed without seeing the evidence.
Application:
The first time that Jesus appeared to
His disciples, after His resurrection, they were in a room with the doors
locked, and Thomas
was not with them. (John 20:19-20 and 20:24-25) The next time that He
appeared to them was one week later and they were also in a room with the doors
locked. (John 20:26) This time Thomas was there with them. Both
Luke and John record that Jesus told His disciples to physically examine His
wounds from the crucifixion. (Luke 24:36-39 and John 20:24-29) The
disciples saw proof for themselves and they believed. Jesus said that all
of us who believed in His resurrection, without seeing the physical proof that
He is who He says that He is, and the He rose from the dead, would be blessed.
Our belief and faith comes from hearing The Word of God. (Romans 10:17) We believe without seeing the physical
evidence of His death, burial, and resurrection, and for that we will be
blessed.
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