After hearing the women’s exciting news of Jesus’ empty tomb I imagine the disciples spent their day in a flurry of activity. Mary said she had seen Him but the others had not. As excited as they were there may have still been a measure of fear that those who hated Jesus might still seek them out and arrest them too. By evening 10 of the 11 remaining disciples were together again behind locked doors.
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23
Jesus was there in the midst of them! What a sweet time that must have been.
Thomas was missing that night. Yes, that Thomas. When they told him they saw Jesus Thomas replied:
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were,
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” John 20:25b
We don’t know why Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples or what caused him to not believe them about Jesus. But this is where I think he gets a bad wrap. Thomas was ‘all in’ when it came to serving Jesus and was very loyal to Him. When Jesus prepared to go back to Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead others tried to discourage Him because of the danger. Thomas was ready to go with Jesus and die with Him if necessary. We don’t know what was going on for Thomas to want to see Jesus for himself. Maybe he was afraid of disappointment…afraid to hope.
How many times do we doubt God?
Do you ever find yourself in a situation you can’t control? Many of us are frustrated by our current circumstances, not knowing when we can be together with loved ones, establish a routine, plan for the future, or even if there will be enough to meet our needs this month. We may doubt that something good can come from this troubling situation. We find ourselves wanting proof, just as Thomas did.
Friends, God makes many promises to us in Scripture. One of them is:
“My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
God doesn’t say He will pick and choose what needs He will meet. He promises to meet all of them. Maybe God wants to use you today to help meet the needs of another – even from a distance. Pray about it and see what He says.
Doubting is part of our human nature. It takes faith and trust to set doubt aside and believe in the promises God makes to us. When we do we find a blessed peace in the midst of the puzzles life brings to us.
And it might make us think that Thomas got a bad wrap.
blessings & peace to you…
Paula
Paula Davis 