Each year, John 20:19-31 is one of the suggested scripture readings for the Sunday following Easter. There is much to be unpacked in this text, and because of that, it is good this text comes up every year.
In this scripture reading, Jesus came to the disciples who were locked in a room out of fear. He greeted them with peace, which made them rejoice, and breathed the Holy Spirit on them. However, Thomas was not there and did not believe it when the disciples said they had seen Jesus. He then said that he would not believe it unless he saw Jesus for himself—so Jesus once again entered the room and gave Thomas what he needed to believe. Jesus came with the goal of helping Thomas go from unbelief to belief. And for Thomas, seeing Jesus helped him be able to do just that.
This scripture reading illustrates how Thomas struggled to believe without proof. He needed to see Jesus. And for some, Thomas’s response seemed skeptical, which is why he is sometimes known as Doubting Thomas. However, I think Thomas was brave for asking the questions that no one else wanted to. And if you think back to John Chapter 14, Thomas was the one who was trying to understand the meaning of Jesus’s teaching and asked the question, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
Thomas’s response to seeing Jesus’s wounds was a profound confession of faith. Thomas responded to Jesus by saying, “My Lord and My God,” which connects with John Chapter 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And so, in today’s scripture, Thomas was finally able to fully understand who Jesus is. Thomas finally got it. And, in addition, his confession of faith also confirms the truth of Jesus’s statement he made to the disciples in John Chapter 14—If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” is true. This is because Thomas’s confession acknowledged that he finally was able to see God fully revealed in Jesus. Jesus met Thomas where he was, which ultimately helped him move from unbelief to belief.
In those times when we are unable to see what the first disciples saw for themselves, it is important that we find ways to believe without seeing. As a result, we are invited to trust the truth of what the disciples saw and what scripture tells us about Jesus’s teachings.
Just as the first disciples experienced, we each know there are times when it is hard to trust and believe without seeing. Yet, Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” And after Thomas’s confession, Jesus responded by saying, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
We are invited to believe by trusting what we have heard or experienced with Jesus’s teachings. This is how John 20 ends—”These are written so that you may continue to believe.” Friends, living a life of faith requires trusting in Jesus and committing to follow Jesus’s example in everything we do. For us, following Jesus involves walking in his footsteps, embodying his truth and love, and living out the mission that we are each called to do.
After all, in John Chapter 14, Jesus told the disciples that he is “the way, the truth, and the life.” And the same is true for us—Jesus is the way, Jesus is the truth, and Jesus is the life. For us, following Jesus also leads us beyond death and beyond anything that could ever be asked from us or anything we could ever imagine.
May you fully embrace that following Jesus means that you will know exactly who Jesus is, and that is that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. And so, may you boldly proclaim just as Thomas did that Jesus is “My Lord and My God.”
