27th September
““Peace be with you,” He said. Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at My hands. Put your hand into the wound in My side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!””
John 20:26c-27
Thomas was one of the only disciples that didn’t believe Jesus had physically risen from the dead, even though he had been told that Jesus had revealed Himself to the other disciples, on the same day of His resurrection. John tells us that 8 days later, as the disciples where gathered together, Jesus showed up in their midst. Guess who was there this time?! Yes, Thomas.
One of the most amazing points of this story, if not the pinnacle of this story, is the way that Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas. Earlier Thomas had said to the other disciples that he wouldn’t believe Jesus had resurrected unless he saw the ‘nail wounds in His (Jesus’) hands’, put his ‘fingers into them’ and put his hands into ‘the wound in His (Jesus’) side’. When Jesus saw Thomas, guess what He did to prove His bodily resurrection to Thomas. He graciously let Thomas see His hands, put his fingers into them and touch the wound in His side. It was exactly the kind of evidence Thomas needed. As a result Thomas did believe. So much so, that according to some Christian historical records, Thomas was the first man to take the Good News to India.
What does this mean for us? If Jesus saw it fit to calm Thomas’ doubts by showing Him exactly what he wanted to see, then shouldn’t that be of significance to us too. When we pray for people to come to know Christ, why not pray that Jesus would reveal Himself to them in exactly the way that they need, to no longer doubt but believe! Jesus could have performed a miracle, could have spoke a prophetic word or done so much more to prove Himself to Thomas. Yet He didn’t because He chose to reveal Himself to Thomas in exactly the way he needed.
A Daily Devotional - The Recipe of Life 