Show Me the Scars

Read‍

John 20:24-29 “Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), 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 finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ 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.’”

Think

Thomas has been stuck with a nickname for about two thousand years: Doubting Thomas. It is not exactly a compliment. But read his story closely, and you might start to think Thomas has been a little misunderstood.

The other disciples had seen Jesus alive. Thomas hadn’t. He had watched his friend and teacher get arrested, beaten, and nailed to a cross. He knew Jesus was dead. Now his friends are saying, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas does what a lot of honest people would do. He basically says, “I want to believe you. But I need to see it for myself.”

Maybe you know that feeling. Maybe you sit in small group while everyone else talks about how close they feel to God, and you nod along, but inside you’re thinking, I don’t feel any of that. I’m not even sure it’s real. You don’t say it out loud, because you’re afraid of what people will think. So you keep the doubt hidden, and it keeps getting heavier.

If that is you, pay close attention to what Jesus does with Thomas.

A week later, Jesus shows up again, and this time Thomas is in the room. Jesus doesn’t roll his eyes. He doesn’t say, “Why can’t you just have faith like everybody else?” He walks straight to Thomas and offers him exactly what he asked for: “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” Jesus takes Thomas’s question seriously enough to answer it with his own scars.

Then he says, “Stop doubting and believe.” That is not a scolding. It is an invitation. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Doubt is a question. Unbelief is refusing to listen to the answer. Thomas had a question, and when the answer was standing in front of him, he did not cling to his doubt to look smart. He said, “My Lord and my God!” The guy known for doubting ends up making one of the clearest statements in the entire Bible about who Jesus is.

Think about a high ropes course. You can stand on the platform and wonder whether the harness will really hold. That is a fair question. You can ask the guide to show you how it works, check the clips, and tug on the rope. But at some point, you have to step off the platform. Faith is not pretending you have no questions. It is asking them honestly, looking at the evidence, and then putting your full weight on what you have found to be true.

Then Jesus says something that is actually about you: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You weren’t in that room. You can’t touch the scars. But John wrote all of this down for a reason, and two verses later he tells you exactly what it is: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

So bring your doubts out into the light. Jesus isn’t afraid of them. Jesus met Thomas right in the middle of his questions, and he is ready to meet you there too.

Apply

Say it out loud – Write down one honest question or doubt you have about God, and tonight at The Mix, ask your small group leader about it. If you can’t be there, text it to a leader or another trusted adult today.

Pray

Jesus, I have questions I’ve been afraid to say out loud. Thank you that you didn’t push Thomas away, and you won’t push me away either. Meet me in my doubts the way you met him. Help me to look honestly at who you are, and give me the courage to call you my Lord and my God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.