It’s the week leading up to Pentecost, the giving of the Spirit and the birth of the Church.
“Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Thomas, called the “Twin,” quoted from John 20:25 (NKJV)
News begins to spread of a miracle unprecedented. The tomb is empty and Jesus is said to have been seen. Hiding in their upper room, He appears: the Validation.
“Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’ So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.”
Luke 24:30-43 (NKJV)
To be seen is to be real. To be real is to be believable. Thomas lays the logical challenge at the disciples’ feet: unless I see. He proclaims what is in the heart of everyone who encounters the Resurrection of Jesus –prove it! From what is written in the Gospels, Thomas seems to be the more vocally honest of the disciples at this point in the story. There is no doubt in his mind about Jesus’ death. This nonsense about Jesus rising again from the dead is absurd . . . . until one week later when Jesus appears again in the middle of their huddle, and this time Thomas is with them (read John 20:24-29).
Upon seeing the Risen Lord, he denounces any doubts and confesses with conviction, “My Lord and my God!”
The Apostle Paul picks up this idea (seeing = reality = believability) when writing the basic tenets of Christianity to the Church in Corinth. He tells that Christ was crucified, buried, rose again, “and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once . . . . After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). By continually pointing out that Jesus “was seen” after His resurrection, Paul is proving the credibility of Christianity. Without a resurrected Christ, there can be no hope of victory. Without seeing the resurrected Christ, there can be no confirmation of His victory over death and sin (and subsequently, no guarantee of ours through faith in Him!). Eye witness accounts of the Risen Christ validates our faith entirely. Their witness becomes the foundation for our hope today; their testimony affirms our trust in the trustworthiness of Jesus’ earthly ministry, physical death, ensuing burial and triumphant resurrection!
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 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 (NKJV)
Glorify. Train. Engage. 