Monday, April 1, 2024
THANK YOU, THOMAS
John 20:25-28
25 The other disciples
therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except
I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days
again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus,
the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith he to
Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither
thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered
and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Thank you, Thomas,
because you expressed the doubt that others feared to claim. Thank you, that it
was not coupled with disrespect, only disbelief. You represent a pragmatic
group of would-be believers. You want, even desperately want, to believe but
you have questions that require answers.
The concept of belief,
used in this account is from the Greek pistikos, then pistos,
pisteuo, and again pistos. The root word indicates that
which is genuine and trustworthy. Believing indicates that the doubter
has investigated systematically the possibilities and has declared his
faith in that which is trustworthy. Isn’t that just what we do all the time
while all the while denying our doubt? This was no surprise to Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus,
for understanding and not condemning the one we so flippantly call “doubting
Thomas.” Thank you for granting to Thomas, and to us, the evidence that was
needed. This is evidentiary faith. Trust well founded.
Jesus did explain
that there would be a stronger form of belief to come. It would fill the
breasts of those who did not see and could not place a finger in the
nail-prints. This is a stronger form of pisteuo which means “to make
a deposit, to trust one’s well-being” to Christ. So, here we are, firmly
vested in the invisible.
Adam Clarke puts it this way: “Thou
hast seen, and therefore thou hast believed, and now thou art blessed; thou art
now happy-fully convinced of my resurrection; yet no less blessed shall all
those be who believe in my resurrection, without the evidence thou hast
had. From this we learn that to believe in Jesus, on the testimony of
his apostles, will put a man into the possession of the very same
blessedness which they themselves enjoyed. And so has God constituted the
whole economy of grace…
(from Adam Clarke's
Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006 by
Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Lord, thank you for the
evidentiary testimony of Thy Word. AMEN
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