One of the United States’ 50 states is Missouri, right in the center of the country. It’s a beautiful state, with nice, friendly people. All of our states have unofficial nicknames, and Missouri’s is, in my opinion, an unfortunate one - the “Show-Me State”, seemingly indicating that they need physical proof of something before they will believe. Sometimes being rather skeptical can be a good thing, but at other times it is not. That is the topic of our Gospel reading for this week.
As our Scripture opens, ten of the original twelve disciples have gathered together behind locked doors. Judas, the betrayer, had committed suicide early on the morning of the crucifixion, and for some reason Thomas is not with the others. It is the evening of the day of Jesus’ Resurrection. The women have been to the tomb already, and reported back about the Savior’s resurrection, and the ten do not know what to believe about this incredulous news. Now, at the beginning of evening, as the group remains hidden behind locked doors from the religious leaders, Jesus appears to them (vs. 19-23).
Twice the Lord Jesus blessed the disciples with peace. Peace was something that they desperately needed right then. Seeing the risen Savior would be a shock to them. Even though Jesus had told them multiple times that He would be crucified and then rise again on the third day, they were slow to believe. In addition, over the last several days they each had gone through a very stressful ordeal. Jesus knew that, which is why He brought them His special peace. When we are going through a rough and stressful time, we need to reach out to Jesus and receive His peace.
Several times during the next forty days, the Lord Jesus would commission His disciples to go out into the world with His message, and that evening was one of those times. Jesus had been sent by the Father into the world to die for our sins in order to bring us salvation, now He was sending us, His believers, into the world to bring His message. Jesus also repeated another message that He had told His followers several times throughout His ministry, and that was the need to forgive others when they wrong us (vs. 23).
A week later the disciples are again gathered together, and this time Thomas is with the other ten. When the ten had told him throughout the past week about Jesus suddenly appearing to them in their locked room, Thomas might have seemed like a resident of Missouri. He told them, “Show me! Prove it! Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, and actually put my finger in them, I don’t believe it.” (vs. 24-25). Jesus did exactly that. He appeared to the group one week later, and Thomas was present. The Lord spoke to Thomas, showing him His hands and side where the soldier had thrust his lance in, inviting Thomas to put his fingers in the wounds. He then gently chided him for needing to see in order to believe (vs. 26-29).
Thomas had the proof, and so he believed. Jesus told us in the Scriptures that those who have not physically seen, and yet believe are blessed (vs. 29). That includes me, and hopefully you, as well! The nail holes in Jesus’ hands are evidence of Who He is, and of the love He has given. We are engraved as scars on Jesus’ hands (Isaiah 49:16). As Christians, we should live, not only by what we see, but also by what God’s Word tells us, and what the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts. The Apostle John wrote his Gospel with the intent that those who would read it would come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (vs 30-31).
One final thought before closing, and that is about scars. Most everyone has a scar or two. Many are barely noticeable, but some are quite visible. And if you talked with the person there would be a story behind those scars, whether from some surgery, an accident, or even a war or bad fight. When we get to heaven, all of our scars, whether physical or emotional, will all be gone. No one will have scars in heaven, except for one Person, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He will eternally bear the scars of our sins, scars that symbolize our rescue from eternal damnation. The scars that Jesus bears tell a story, a story of His deep, deep love for us!
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