Message by Larry Thacker Jr from April 21, “Blessed Are They Who Did Not See, Yet Believed”
All of us face challenges. There is not one of us that isn’t dealing with something, from the merely vexing to the potentially life threatening. Though we may trust the Lord, sometimes it’s hard to see what He could be doing. Jesus’ disciples must have felt the same way before they were finally convinced that He had risen. Even though He had told them beforehand, what they thought they knew was stronger even than the evidence in front of their own eyes.
Thomas gets singled out in John’s account of the events following the resurrection, but he is not necessarily more doubtful than any of the others. They all had to be convinced. If anything, Thomas, though late to the party, was more easily convinced once he saw Jesus. He didn’t have to see Him eat as many of the others did. (See Luke 24) Thomas wasn’t with the rest of the disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. When they told him they had seen the Lord, he famously responded, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) And so throughout history he has acquired the undeserved appellation, “Doubting Thomas.” The point of John’s account here is not to single out Thomas, but rather to communicate Jesus’ words in their context. “Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” (John 20:29) That’s all of us, if we do in truth believe. Our text will be in John 20:24-31. Let’s look a little closer at Thomas and what was going on here. I think you’ll be encouraged
