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Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:24-29

What obstacles do we put up that keep us from believing God? For Thomas, it was the physical Jesus with scars from his crucifixion that he could touch. How are we like Thomas? What proof do we demand of God in order to believe His promises?

Thomas could have missed out on the blessing Jesus gives to those who have not seen and yet have believed. But at Jesus’ command, Thomas does stop doubting and believes.

Jesus honors Thomas’ need to see him to believe. God will honor our need as well and meet us where we are. But God will not be tested. It is because of His persistent love for us that God reveals Himself to us in unique and personal ways.

Faith is a gift from God and, in that moment, God gives Thomas just what he needs to have faith. Jesus opens his eyes and his heart so that Thomas may receive him as his Sovereign Lord. And all generations to follow, who must believe without seeing, are blessed by this divine action.

Aside

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardner, Mary said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.” Jesus said, “Mary!” She turned to him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdelene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

In the earliest hours of Easter morning, Jesus reveals himself to Mary. Seeing a living Jesus, she cries and reaches out to him. But Jesus commands her not to hold on to him. Why would the Lord say that to Mary knowing that she would desire comfort and reassurance after the terror of the night?

It is as if Jesus is telling Mary, and so us, not to contain or limit Him – to cast off what is known and safe. Let me be who I am made to be. Let me do what I am made to do.

The revelation of the resurrected Jesus signifies His transformed relationship with Mary. In a tangible way, Jesus moves Mary away from His physical presence towards a spiritual relationship. And this is good news for us too: we may not have the physical Jesus with us in each day, but He has given us the gift of His Spirit to guide and comfort us.

In that moment, Mary, clouded by grief, may assume that Jesus has returned as He was before. That life and ministry can go back to how they were before His death. That nothing has changed.

But we, like Mary, cannot desire for life to remain the same. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are still separated from God. Jesus invites Mary, and us, into a right and reconciled relationship with God. “My Father is your Father, my God is your God.” To know Jesus, to be in relationship with Him, is to know God the Father and be known by Him.