It was bad enough that he missed the gathering on the first day. But afterwards, radio silence. Thomas must truly have felt as if they were joshing him. They weren’t. Just as suddenly, one week later, life changed. Just for Thomas. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
John 20:24, 27 NIV
[24] Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
[27] Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Stop Doubting, Just Believe
How did Thomas cope with the radio silence? Did the disciples jeer him? Those are questions reserved for Heaven, for there seems to be no midrash (Jewish back story) about it here on Earth. But I suspect that some teasing might have occurred behind closed doors. Yes, those doors were still locked. But this time, Thomas was with them.
Siblings, if I were Thomas, you wouldn’t have been able to get me out of that room for very long. For, despite all that I’d have said, a part of me would have been looking … watching… waiting. I might have been tempted to give up, but I’d probably give it one extra day, at least until the first day rolled around again. On that first day, I can imagine Thomas trying to act nonchalant. He might have failed. But maybe not. Can you imagine the tension in the room when it was close to the time Y’shua had previously appeared?
Self-Check
How do we cope with the wait when Y’shua Jesus doesn’t appear as promised?
Application
Then, just as suddenly … Y’shua appeared. For the third time, He offered peace to everyone in the room (the other two times had occurred the week prior). While I recognize that peace can be used as a greeting, I suspect that it carried a deeper meaning for the disciples at that moment. They were vindicated. Y’shua proved that they weren’t lying. Plus, it had been a week since they’d seen their leader, when previously, He was with them daily. Moreover, the doors were still locked, yet Y’shua still entered! (He was having a bit of fun at their expense, eh)
Y’shua’s words, accompanied by His actions to Thomas, spoke volumes. If He hadn’t been in the room, if He remained dead somewhere, how would Y’shua have known what Thomas had said?! He had to have been alive, or Jesus must’ve read Thomas’s mind (Y’shua had read minds before, remember?). Whatever the reason, it must have been a tad bit disconcerting. For Y’shua didn’t just show His piercings like the last time.
Y’shua called Thomas to come see for himself that Y’shua was the real deal. Reinstated and redeemed, with a light reprimand. Not bad, after all. Even if it meant that he’s still remembered as Doubtful Thomas.
The reprimand, though light, carries serious implications for us today. Just as it did for Thomas, then. It is a challenge and invitation to take Y’shua at His word.
Always
In every circumstance.
Y’shua had told the disciples that they did not need to be perturbed about the times because He and God had a plan. A plan that included Christ returning after being gone for a while. Thomas was the one to register doubt (see John 14;1-6). I suspect that had he forgotten those words before, he would have remembered them at that moment.
Could, Y’shua, our risen Christ, be saying something similar to us now? Do we have cause to just believe and stop doubting? Do we need to revisit our conversations with Jesus and wait for Him behind closed doors?
Point to Ponder
Allow Y’shua’s words to permeate our entire being:
Stop Doubting, Just Believe
How does it resonate?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
