Believe
Pondering John 20
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”—John 20:25
Behind locked doors. That’s where the disciples were hiding. The Jewish leaders had executed their Lord, and they feared they might be next. If the empty tomb was totally unexpected. The appearance of Jesus among them was shocking! The locked door did not keep Jesus out! He really is alive! Joy filled their hearts as they were reunited with the One they loved so deeply.
His first words to these fearful disciples? ‘Peace be with you’—spoken twice. While he spoke, he showed them his wounds. This wasn’t an apparition. He was not a figment of their imagination. They were literally standing face to face with the risen Jesus!
This was more than a reunion; it was a commissioning. “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” As he promised earlier, He did not send them out alone. “Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”
The mission of Jesus was to save a lost world, and he now entrusted this mission on to these disciples. All but one. Thomas wasn’t there.
We do not know where Thomas was. Perhaps the trauma and grief drove him to solitude. When he returned, the disciples told him that they had seen the Lord! But Thomas couldn’t accept it.
“I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Can we blame him? He had seen Jesus raise others from the dead—but raise Himself? Crucifixion left no doubt about the finality of death. Thomas sat with these thoughts for eight long days.
Again, although the doors were locked, Jesus appeared among them. He wasn’t angry with Thomas. He didn’t have any words of rebuke for him.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. —John 20:27-28
John’s Gospel returns to its central theme: Believe. And Thomas did believe—fully and without reservation.
It’s unfortunate that Thomas has been labeled “Doubting Thomas.” His hesitation wasn’t rejection—it was an honest struggle. And when he saw the truth, he embraced it wholeheartedly. Many of us would have responded the same way.
In fact, many have tried to disprove the Gospel—journalists, lawyers, skeptics. But the deeper they investigated, the more they encountered the truth of the Living Savior.
Jesus’ final words in this chapter are a gift to all of us:
“You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
That means you are blessed. I am blessed. We believe, even though we have not seen Jesus as the disciples did. One day, that will change. But for now, we live in the grace and truth of Jesus the Savior. And He declares us blessed—because we believe.