Second Sunday of Easter – 11th April 2021 — Gospel: John 20, 19-31
Never miss Blessings and Opportunities
The news that Jesus was alive began to spread among His followers, at first with hesitation, but then with enthusiasm. Even His disciples did not believe the first reports, and Thomas demanded proof. But wherever people were confronted with the reality of His resurrection, their lives were transformed. In fact, John 20,19-31 presents, besides all other disciples, the transforming experience of Thomas.
Why was Thomas not with the other disciples when they met on the evening of resurrection day? Was he so disappointed with his friends that he did not want to be with them? But when we are discouraged and defeated, we need our friends all the more. Solitude only feeds discouragement and helps it grow into self-pity, which is even worse. Perhaps we can attest that Thomas was afraid. But John 11,16 indicates that he was basically a courageous man, willing to go to Judea and die with the Lord. John 14,5 reveals that Thomas was a spiritual minded man who wanted to know the truth and was not ashamed to ask questions. There seems to have been a “pessimistic” outlook in Thomas. We call him “doubting Thomas”, but Jesus did not rebuke him for his doubts. He rebuked him for unbelief: “Do not doubt, but believe.” Doubt is often an intellectual problem. We want to believe, but the faith is overwhelmed by problems and questions. Unbelief is a moral problem. We will not believe unless we are given evidence. Thomas’s response also helps us to understand the difference between doubt and unbelief.
Thomas is a good warning to all of us not to miss meeting with God’s people on the Lord’s Day (Heb 10,22-25). Because Thomas was not there, he missed seeing Jesus Christ, hearing His words of peace, and receiving His commission and gift of spiritual life. He had to endure a week of fear and unbelief when he could have been experiencing joy and peace. However, Jesus had heard Thomas’s words, though nobody reported to Him. So, next week Jesus personally dealt with Thomas and his unbelief. Jesus still greeted the other disciples with peace, in spite of Thomas’s unbelief.
It is an encouragement to know that Jesus had a personal interest and concern for “doubting Thomas.” He wanted to strengthen his faith and include him in the blessings that lay in store for His followers. Thomas reminds us that unbelief robs us of blessings and opportunities. It may sound sophisticated and intellectual to question what Jesus did, but such questions are usually evidence of hard hearts, not of searching minds. Therefore, Thomas represents the “scientific approach” to life. He believed in the validity of the test or experiment that he has devised.
