He Gets Us: Who Did Jesus Love? | Plan 4Sample

Jesus loves the doubter.

There’s no doubt about it, it’s hard to believe sometimes.

We don’t generally set out to doubt. For most of us, life’s pain simply catches us off guard. The reality of hardship trips us up. Left on our own in our grief or difficult circumstances, doubt spirals fast.

You can’t talk about doubt in Jesus’ story without bringing up Thomas. Doubting Thomas, people call him. (Aren’t nicknames brutal?)

Jesus recruited Thomas to be his student along with the other fishermen. The first time we hear from Thomas, he’s rallying the other disciples to follow Jesus to Jerusalem, “Let us go that we may die with him.”

Get this right—Thomas never lacked commitment.

He also never stopped thinking. He had the guts to raise his hand and ask the teacher, “Wait. I don’t understand. Can you explain?” The truth is, Jesus never had a problem with people with questions. If he was ever bothered, it was with people who thought they had all the answers.

Thomas didn’t have answers. All of his adrenaline poured out as he watched Jesus die. The scene was permanently seared in his memory.

Then he heard rumors that Jesus was alive again. Thomas couldn’t believe what he heard, even if he had heard Jesus promise it himself. He still had serious, honest doubts.

His signature moment happened a couple days later. Since that fateful weekend, Thomas had been withdrawing from the group, struggling in isolation (a dangerous decision, then and now.) Doubts only get bigger when you’re by yourself.

About this time, Jesus, back from death, visits his students in the room where they last had supper. But Thomas isn’t there. The next time the team got together they wouldn’t stop talking about what had happened. But Thomas says, “Sorry guys; I’m just not there yet. “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’”

Thomas wanted to believe but it was too much. All he wanted was to see what the other guys had seen. Then, eight days later, Jesus shows up right in the middle of the room. Thomas was there this time.

As Jesus re-entered, he focused right on Thomas. He loved his real-life struggle. He called him over. What a surreal moment this was for Thomas. “Here,” Jesus said, “put your finger here, touch my wrists, feel the nail print. Stick your hand in my side where they pierced me. It’s me, Thomas.”

But Thomas didn’t want to touch Jesus’ nail prints or put his hand in Jesus’ side. He just gasped and said, “My Lord and my God!”

“Thomas, because you have seen, you have believed.” Then Jesus put in the part about us . . . (Fill in your name) “Blessed are you, _________________________, who has not seen and yet you believe.”

Blessed are you reading this now if you believe, having never seen Jesus’ scarred hands. Not blessed are those who never question, but blessed are you who believe Jesus is who he said. Blessed are you, Jesus said.

Jesus’ students who both saw him on the cross and then saw him again after he came back to life never doubted Jesus again.

Jesus loves the one who doubts. He loves honest questions. He loves it when doubts prompt more exploration.

Go ahead—go find out.