Jesus Revealed Pt. 19 - He Has Risen!Sample

Jesus appears to Thomas  

Thoughts on the Passage

Thomas sees Jesus.

Thomas chose not to meet with the other ten disciples. We do not know why, but the death of Jesus deeply affected him somehow and he just could not (or would not) deal with it. He pulled back from the others and appeared ready to walk away from Jesus. He would not believe that Jesus was risen either – unless Jesus showed up and allowed him to touch the holes and the wound. In other words – do not tell me, show me. 

A week later, Jesus showed up just for Thomas.

Jesus knew Thomas’s heart and the pain of his soul. Thomas still loved Jesus, and the sight of Jesus was all that he really needed. The sight of Jesus took away the pain, the doubt, the sadness and restored him.

“Blessed are those have not seen and yet have believed.”
I remember talking to my friend who saw Jesus in dreams and visions many times – and it led him to faith in Jesus. I told him that I have a passion to see Jesus as well, but had not yet. His reply to me was the same as the words of Jesus. He needed to see Jesus in order to believe. He really wanted to be like me – just willing to believe because the words of Jesus are full of truth and life. For most of us today, those words are for us. We have believed because the words of Jesus are truth and they are life – and we have believed them. There is a blessing for us that the others will never receive.

Other stories of Jesus.
John chose these stories to help us believe without seeing Jesus. They reveal Jesus as the Son of God. They are all that is necessary to turn us from sceptics to faith, from rejection to acceptance, from darkness to light, from doubt to living hope. For some, Jesus also appears directly (like Thomas, Paul, my friend, and many others) because words need a living picture. It is not wrong, and Jesus is willing to do it. What is the cost? They will realize, that they did not really need it – they were just too unwilling to trust the Words of Jesus. That becomes a sad commentary on their life.

Application

Has a traumatic time in our life stopped us from believing the words of Jesus? Look at the words of Jesus again – and believe them. If you need a sign, a picture, or a vision then ask Jesus to give it to you. He is more interested in helping us believe than rebuking us for needing these aids. 

Remember the blessing that comes from just believing the words of Jesus.

Time to Pray

Father, the words of Jesus are life to me. I am weak just like others and need some signs or pictures that remind me to walk in their truth. Still, I want to be someone who just believes Your Word. So strengthen my heart to believe regardless of what happens around me. Strengthen my faith to see when nothing around me seems to line up with my understanding of You. Give me direction through Your Word that shines a light on my feet and on my path today – and I will walk in it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.