“Prove it!”
From playgrounds to politicians, from living rooms to talk shows, we want proof of what someone says. Even in our courts, it’s not enough to say something happened. It has to be proven.
Proof matters.
If you’re going to stand up for something, you wanna know there’s proof it’s true, right? We’re not the first. The disciples of Jesus even experienced this. One profoundly experienced this.
Jesus rose from the dead Sunday morning. He appeared to His disciples on Sunday night. But not all of them. One of them was absent when Jesus appeared to them. Thomas.
However, soon Thomas would see the risen Lord. Let’s read it in John 20:24-29.
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
John 20:24-29
But he said to them, “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.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though 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; 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.”
New International Version
Thomas gets a bad rap. We call him “doubting Thomas.” He did doubt for a while. Do you blame him? The other disciples were huddled in a locked room when Jesus came to them. Thomas wasn’t there. Now, Thomas just said the quiet part out loud.
Thomas wanted proof—the same one they got. Then he goes one step further: Thomas wants to touch Jesus. Specifically, he wanted to touch the only manmade thing that will be in Heaven: the scars of Jesus.
The disciples could have had a mass hallucination, but Thomas wanted physical proof. Thomas wouldn’t risk his life on what could have been an emotion-driven dream of these men. Do you blame him? Thomas wanted to experience the proof of our redemption: Jesus’ death and resurrection.
A week later (verse 26), Thomas would get his wish. Jesus offered His hands and side to Thomas (verse 27). Pause. Jesus actually gave Thomas the proof he wanted!
Then Jesus adds (verse 27), “Stop doubting and believe.” It’s a short expression in Greek (the original language) and English. But it’s a mouthful of meaning. Jesus tells Thomas, “You have been loyal to Me up to the time of the cross—which is as much as you could understand. But it’s time to cross the bridge and believe in Me as God.”
Thomas crosses the bridge built by the cross in verse 28… “My Lord and my God!”
This is no small confession. In an earthly sense, this was an address the subjects of Rome were to use for Caesar. But on the lips of a Jewish man, this would have been blasphemy, so Thomas knew what He was saying. “MY Lord and MY God.” This is Thomas’ confession of faith.
And I want you to notice: he’s the FIRST disciple to make this confession.
The man who at the Last Supper said, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going so how can we go there” now confesses the full deity of Jesus, the Son of God. A few weeks back, Thomas didn’t know the way; now, Thomas knows the Way.
Thomas’ belief (and the disciples’ belief), however, was motivated by his eyes. Jesus adds in verse 29, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That’s you and me. That’s generations of disciples of Jesus who believed the testimony of the eyewitnesses.
I’m glad Thomas wasn’t in the room with other disciples. I can relate to pragmatic Thomas. And I’m him more than I wish I were. But…when Thomas got it, he got it completely.
Dear one in Jesus, “Stop doubting and believe.”
Life Meets Theology 