Risen: Readings for Easterნიმუში

Did you know it’s okay to doubt? You can even wind up in the Bible as a doubter!

This is what happened to Thomas, the disciple who needed just a little more encouragement that Jesus was actually resurrected. In today’s passage, we read about Thomas, who missed out on Jesus’ first resurrected appearance to the disciples. Of course they told him all about it, but he had some difficulty taking their word for it.

The next week, Jesus shows up again, teleports Himself through the front door, and immediately encourages Thomas.

As you read this passage today, consider the way Jesus treats Thomas. He doesn’t chastise him or put him down. Instead, Jesus gently takes Thomas under His wing (so to speak) and indulges Thomas’s doubts in order to completely dismantle them.

Yes, Jesus uses it as a springboard to talk about those who will not be able to encounter the living, walking, door-ignoring Jesus that the disciples got to interact with. But He doesn’t lessen Thomas’s viewpoints or struggles. He acknowledges it and uses it to bless those disciples to come, the generations and generations of Christ-followers who believe not because they’ve seen the Resurrected Jesus with their own eyes but because they’ve seen Him at work.

Even in the midst of our doubts, Jesus is at work in us. Just like He did with Thomas, He acknowledges us, pulls us close, and calls us blessed. That’s resurrection power.