Thomas — Bible — Andrew Forrest

John 20:24-29

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

When Jesus appeared to the other disciples on Easter Sunday, He showed them His hands and His side:

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord [John 20:19–20].

So, when Thomas insists on seeing Jesus’s scars, he is not asking for something that the others haven’t received.

Eight days later—on the second Sunday after Easter—Jesus appears to Thomas (who this time is with the others, too) and gives him the proof he was seeking.

Thomas then becomes the first person in the Gospel to declare what we the readers have known from the beginning (remember John 1:1), namely that Jesus is God.

Thomas declares:

28 “My Lord and my God!” [John 20:28].

This would be a fitting place to end the Gospel—a neat bookend at the end of chapter 20 to what we began with in chapter 1—a declaration of Jesus’s identity as God.

This would be a fitting end to the Gospel…but what John has planned is so much better!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Jesus has sent the apostles to be His representatives, to testify to Him. They have done that, and all of us who have come after that first generation are blessed by believing in Jesus because of their testimony: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”