“But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said unto them, ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be unto you.’ Then saith he to Thomas, ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said unto him, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Jesus saith unto him, ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’” John 20:24-29 (KJV)
I was thinking today about events after Jesus was resurrected. From the biblical sketch, we might think they occurred in rapid order. Various pieces of the narratives, however, clearly show that events recorded in the Gospels occurred over the course of a few days. It doesn’t seem logical that all twelve of his disciples would have clustered together continually. If they were afraid of being found by the Romans, then they would have naturally separated and it might have been difficult to get messages to them. They certainly did not send text messages or emails to everyone.
I believe that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John recorded the truth about Jesus. Let’s consider the events as they unfolded.
The ladies’ ministry group was tending to business: going to make certain his body was properly buried. They saw the angel. They were fearful. They were amazed. They believed. They were filled with joy.
The Roman soldiers who guarded his tomb went and reported his resurrection to the chief priests. The chief priests constructed a devious explanation and paid the soldiers to spread it around town.
The twelve, in their mourning, refused to believe. They accused the women of telling ghost stories. Even when they saw him privately, they were terrified and thought him to be a ghost. But the physical evidence was before them. His pierced hands and side could not be denied, yet the emotion of joy at seeing him blocked their belief so he ate food with them. Then pointing them to Scripture, he verified everything he had taught them about himself including his resurrection.
Blessed are those who have not seen and still have believed!
Dear Father, thank you for the evidence of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. Empower us with faith to believe. This I pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the resurrection of Jesus Christ,