Something unique happened in a secluded room on Easter Sunday evening. After Jesus was seen by the women at the tomb, He had yet to appear to His disciples, at least in a “form” that they could accept. As they huddled together for fear of the Jews, the Apostle John records what happened next,   

“When it was evening, on the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jn. 20:19-20).

So far, so good. But one of the disciples, Thomas, was not with them on Easter Sunday evening. You might expect the reaction of Thomas when the disciples told him what had happened the night before,

“Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nail, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (Jn. 20:25).

Don’t you see yourself in Thomas? I suspect we all do. Thomas not only wanted to see the nail prints in Jesus’ hands and the wound of the spear that punctured His side with his own eyes, but he also wanted to feel the wounds with his hands. I might add, Thomas not only “wanted’ to see and feel, he “needed” to see and feel.

It would be another eight days until Jesus appeared again in that isolated room. Can you imagine what went on in the hearts and minds of the disciples during that week? The disciples were rejoicing that they had seen the Lord, but they were likely berating Thomas for not believing what they were saying. It was a long eight days, but they were not disappointed when, once again, Jesus appeared in their midst, and spoke directly to Thomas,

“Reach here your finger and see My hand; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side, and be not unbelieving, but believing” (Jn. 20:27).

It was both sight and touch that turned doubt into confidence in the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead. It was then that Thomas exclaimed,

“My Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28).

Notice how Thomas acknowledged Jesus as both his “Lord” and his “God.” This was a profound personal confession of faith. Jesus is the One to whom Thomas would surrender his life, and the One in whom He would believe as the sovereign Lord over all creation. By the way, although it is recorded that the other disciples “rejoiced’ when they saw the Lord, there is no record of any of them making such a profound statement of their faith and commitment. I assume that they did, but Thomas’ statement was so profound, that the Apostle John (who was one of the original 10 in the room) chose to record Thomas’s words for posterity. And then Jesus replied,

“Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believe” (Jn. 20:29).

I find it interesting that Thomas needed physical sight and touch in order to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. “Doubting Thomas” saw, and that led to his belief. Jesus did not berate him for his doubts because all of the disciples needed to “see” Him with their physical eyes. Jesus could have talked a good “prophetic line” during His ministry about being crucified and then rising again, but they needed to “see” Him, not with their “spiritual” eyes, but with their “physical” eyes. The risen Lord simply had to be seen with physical eyes. Would you and I believe if all we had was the testimony of the disciples that they only saw with their “eyes of faith?” Of course not. I certainly wouldn’t have believed on such flimsy, unverifiable evidence.

But what about you and me two thousand years later? We have not seen Christ in His resurrection body, and yet we still believe in the testimony of the disciples. We believe their testimony because they recorded the truth of the resurrection in each of their Gospel accounts. And they ended up dying for that truth they proclaimed. Many people through the centuries have died for things that they strongly believed in, but can you imagine dying for something that you know is false? Now that would be insanity!

Thomas is a case in point. As persecution increased in the City of Jerusalem years after the resurrection, many of the Apostles left the City in response to Jesus’ command to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Non-biblical accounts indicate that Thomas went to India to preach the Gospel and establish many churches. The accounts also show that Thomas died in India in AD 72 when a provincial king, angered that Thomas would not bow down and worship one of their many idols, ordered him killed. The former “Doubting Thomas” was so convinced of the resurrection that he actually died for his faith. This is more than likely how the other Apostles met their end, that is, dying for something they were absolutely convinced of, and that was the truth that Christ had arisen from the dead.

Jesus looked down through the centuries and saw that many who would not see Him in his resurrection body would believe that He arose based upon the credible testimony of the disciples. And Jesus calls those believers “blessed.” If you are reading this and you consider yourself, like Thomas, an “unbeliever,” then you are invited to simply believe. You have the testimony of the disciples, and you can trust them. So, just like every “believer” since the days Jesus appeared to His disciples in His resurrection body, go ahead and put your faith in the fact that Jesus arose from the dead, and then 40 days later, ascended into heaven where He now sits at the “right hand” of the Father. He is still alive, desiring to be your “Lord” and your “God,” just like Thomas.  

Peter, one of the ten disciples in the room, remembered Jesus’ words spoken on that Easter Sunday evening. And so, 35 years after the resurrection and ascension, Peter wrote to believers scattered throughout the Empire who never saw the risen Lord as he had. Here is what he said,

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:8-9).

None of us have “seen” the risen Lord with our physical eyes, and yet we have the testimony of the Apostles who did, and the words of Jesus who looked ahead, realizing that millions would not “see” him, and yet would still believe. He invites you and me to simply “BELIEVE.” Biblical ‘belief” is more than simple acknowledgment, it is also trust and commitment. If you believe He has risen, then put your faith in the fact that three days before He arose, He died for your sins, and if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us (1 Jn. 1:9). That’s it. Good works and religious ritual won’t do it. Just believe and confess. If you do, you will be “blessed,” just as Jesus said.

And the blessings Jesus promised are not just for this life, but for eternity. And, I can imagine a sign hanging over heaven’s door that says, “DOUBTERS WELCOME.” I pray that you are, or will be, one of them!