May 5, 2024 | by Pastor Josh Tate | series: Post-Resurrection Encounters with Jesus
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We’ll be spending time in the twentieth chapter of John where we find the account of Thomas’ post-resurrection encounter with Jesus. This account is interesting to read in conjunction with Hebrews 11:1, which famously defines faith as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” If you have time between now and Sunday, give Thomas’ story a read. When Jesus had originally appeared to His disciples (John 20:19-23) Thomas wasn’t there for some reason, but the disciples sought him out and told him the exciting news that Jesus had been raised from the dead. However, Thomas didn’t believe them. He flatly stated, “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.” Maybe Thomas was from Missouri, famously known as the show me state. I have certainly known people like Thomas who stated that they could not believe unless they saw Jesus with their own two eyes.
Later, of course, Jesus appeared to Thomas and invited him to see and even touch the proof that he had been bodily resurrected. In response to this compelling proof (understatement of the century) Thomas confessed his belief saying, “My Lord and my God!” However, Jesus concluded this interaction in a curious way. He posed a strange question and then made something of a strange statement. Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Why is it more blessed to believe without having seen?
As we think back on the other post-resurrection encounters that we have studied together we are reminded that it was the act of physically seeing the resurrected Jesus in the flesh that convinced the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and Paul and Thomas that he had indeed been raised from the dead. However, Jesus looked beyond those disciples and He had you and me in mind when He said “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
