20:26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas
with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said,
“Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at
My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be
unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have
believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Eight days later... where has He
been? We are not told so we'll never know but it's interesting to speculate
about. Has He been traveling around visiting the many people and places He went
throughout His ministry? Has He been encouraging them like He came back to
encourage the disciples?
It is also interesting that His
first words are the same words He said to them eight days before. What are we
to conclude from that? It seems the cloud of fear, guilt, and shame is still
hanging over them. Perhaps the unbelief of Thomas has caused them to question
everything all over again. I mean it has been eight days. If Jesus is really
back where is He? Why doesn't He stay with them like He used to? Why did He so
mysteriously appear and then disappear?
When I stop and place myself in
their place it isn't much of a stretch to sympathize with their mental state.
Two weeks earlier Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to the cheers of the
crowds and it seemed that finally everything was falling into place. He would
ascend the throne of David and bring the nation back to the glory it once had
and even better, just as they had always been taught. Now two weeks later
nothing makes sense. First Jesus dies. If that wasn't bad enough everyone one
of them abandoned Him for the sake of self-preservation. Ever since then things
have gone from bad to weird.
Mary said His body was stolen but the evidence
suggested He was alive. Mary then said she saw Him and talked to Him but that
He was going to His Father. Then at the end of that same day He entered a
locked room without opening the door and spoke with them briefly before leaving
again. Now eight days have passed. Eight days to do nothing but think. Think
about how surreal it all is. Think about the hatred that exists among the
people and especially the religious leaders for Jesus and His followers. Think
about what to do next. Their thinking is interrupted by Thomas first. He was
not there when Jesus came the first time and he wasn't buying any of it.
Perhaps he was truly skeptical or
perhaps he was afraid to allow himself to
hope. Sometimes our skepticism is only veiled self-preservation. We want to
believe but fear of pain and disappointment prevents us from taking the leap.
Either way Thomas' unbelief has
had its effect on the others. If Jesus really is alive where is He? It makes no
sense that He came back only to disappear again.
Then without warning He is back.
No knock on the door. Who needs to knock when He can walk right through?
"Peace to you"
Then He turns to Thomas and
without being asked addresses his doubts.
He didn't have to you know.
Thomas had lots of evidence to base his faith on. He was there when Lazarus
walked out of the tomb after being dead 4 days. He was there when Jesus
repeatedly said He was going to die. He was there when Jesus said He would
rise. He could investigate the empty tomb. He had the testimony of those he
knew wouldn't lie stating they had both seen and spoken to Him and saw the
scars.
Thomas had no excuse for his skepticism
but Jesus came to him anyway. That's the kind of God He is.
Do you remember Jesus' last words
to them the last time He saw them? "As the Father sent Me, so am I sending
you."
He sent them but they have not
moved. They are in the same room they were when He left them. Nothing has
changed. They are stuck. Again He could have yelled at them or lectured them or
belittled them or any of the other negative things we do to manipulate people
to do what we want. He didn't. Love doesn't do that. Love sees past the surface
behaviour to the source. They don't need a lecture, they need more
encouragement. In spite of all the "obvious evidence" they have been
on an emotional roller coaster we can only imagine. Their default belief system
fed to them from infancy backed by generations of like thinking has been
shattered and the One who shattered is dead but not dead and present but
absent.
"Peace to you"
"Look at my scars again.
It's really Me."
Lesson: If you are down and out
Jesus won't leave you there. He'll come to you. He'll find a way to break
through your fear, shame, guilt, skepticism, or any other wall that needs to
come down. He will never quit on you. Love never quits.
Never.
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