Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus – The Appearance to the Disciples (Thomas Absent)

April 10, 2021 (Saturday)

It was late that Sunday evening, and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:19-25)

This is the first time the disciples, gathered together, were visited by the resurrected Jesus. They were astonished. Gradually everything the Lord had predicted was coming to pass. They were witnesses to his arrest, they had knowledge of his trials, they were present at his crucifixion and had heard of his appearances to Mary Magdalene, her companions, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and Peter. Now they were seeing for themselves, and it seemed too good to be true. He showed them his hands where the nails had been driven and his side which had been pierced by the spear. Yes! The person standing before them was Jesus! They were overcome with joy!

But one disciple was not present and his name was Thomas. When those who had seen Jesus told him what they had witnessed, he expressed doubts, saying, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Let us not be too hard on Thomas. He loved Jesus. Earlier that year, when the call came to go to Bethany where Lazarus lay dying, and Jesus resolved to go as requested, he said, “Let us go with Him that we may die with Him.” And he was very serious about that. Opposition was building and Jesus’ life was in danger. Jesus prevented that from happening by leaving Bethany soon after He raised Lazarus from the tomb. But Thomas loved Jesus so much he was willing die for Him. He was not present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples. He honestly expressed his feelings that it seemed too good to be true.

I had a professor who said to a classroom full of future preachers: “Gentlemen, never preach your doubts.” Does that mean preachers might have doubts? Yes. We are human. We do a lot of studying and thinking. Billy Graham had doubts, and as he prayed one day, he talked with God about it. “He found himself kneeling at a tree stump, Bible open, praying through doubt—something that was foreign and uncomfortable for him.’O God!’ he recalled praying. ‘There are many things in this Book I do not understand … There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science.’ Moments later, he said he felt the Holy Spirit begin to move in a clear way. Graham then prayed, ‘Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word.’ After his prayer, he recalls his eyes brimming with tears. ‘I sensed the presence and power of God as I had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but … I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won.’ No doubt that commitment led to his becoming a respected minister the wide world over.” (Lifeway Research)

Let all our doubts go as we thrill at John Starnes’ rendition of “My God Is Real.” I can still hear Smiley McCallum singing this song at Baylor University over 70 years ago. Smiley was from the Rio Grande Valley. Those were the days. We did not criticize others; we accepted their talents as a blessing. We did not argue the Scriptures; we just believed them. We loved the Lord and were not afraid to let everyone know. Today Thomas is bewildered. Soon he will be overcome with joy as he joins his fellow disciples in welcoming Jesus to their meeting.