John 20:24-25 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." English Standard Version (ESV)
Our men's Bible study is coming towards the end in our study in John and this week we finished chapter 20 and covered the passage where Jesus came to meet the disciples who were locked behind closed doors. One of the disciples, Thomas was not with them and made the famous statement "unless I see.. and place my finger into the mark of the nails and my hand into his side, I will never believe". From that statement Thomas forever became known as "doubting Thomas". He has been the subject of many commentaries and songs. One that I remember from childhood went something like this "don't be a doubting Thomas, rest fully on His promise". Jesus had promised that He would return to them, Thomas had a hard time believing it.
Thomas probably gets a bad rap. Put yourself in his shoes. Can you look back in your life and remember times when you may have lost confidence, questioned and doubted your faith? There was a time when I was a "doubting Mike", can you admit to the same? Maybe it wasn't a matter of "seeing" Christ but there may have been some other obstacle to your faith.
Pastor James MacDonald writes, "Thomas sincerely longed for what the other disciples had experienced. He was gathering the wood and getting a match—he wanted a faith on fire. Thomas named the obstacle and was looking for the reasons he too could stand on authentic faith in Christ. This is the lesson: faith is kindled when you name the obstacle. ........Identify the obstacle to faith in your life. I got hurt. I have a question I don't have an answer for. I'm discouraged. I don't honestly understand how Christianity can be true. Now bring it before the Lord: "God, this is the barrier between You and me." Produce your strong reservations and give God an opportunity to put faith where there's doubt. Once you have honestly prayed this way, give God time to answer. Wait on Him."
That's the great thing about the wonderful grace of Jesus, He meets us at the point of our need, at the obstacle of our faith, and leads us beyond it to a true and steadfast faith. A week or later Jesus returned to them and Jesus showed Thomas His scars. Thomas didn't need to touch, he saw the scars and it was enough to proclaim the greatest statement of faith "my Lord and my God".
Is there an obstacle or barrier to your faith or a deeper faith? Bring it to Him, trust Him to overcome that obstacle.
-- In Christ, Mike Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. NIV
John 20:24-29The Message (MSG)
24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master."
But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it."
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you."
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe."
28 Thomas said, "My Master! My God!"
29 Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing."
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