Bible Studies

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Scripture Text:
John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The same day Christ rose from the dead, and appeared to Mary; at the evening of that day, after He had been with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They had returned again to rest and to grieve. There had been much talk all day in Jerusalem, about the body of Jesus. The soldiers that had watched the sepulcher claimed that the disciples of Christ had stolen away His body, while they slept.

The house where they were, was in Jerusalem, but the location is not certain. The doors were shut; which is not merely because of the time of night, when this was usually done; but signifies that they were really locked and bolted, and barred, because:

The disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews; Lest the Jews should come upon them, and surprise them. Since they had taken away their Master's life, theirs might be taken next. Especially since it was rumored abroad that they had stolen His body, they were oppressed by great fear, that a search would be made for them, and they would be apprehended.

Suddenly, when they had no thought or fear of anyone's coming upon them, Jesus came and stood in the midst of them: and to let them know at once he was no enemy, He greeted them.

"Peace be unto you", a usual form of greeting among the Jews; however here we find the disciples frightened, locked away in a room, thought to be safe. One moment there are only ten men present and then there are eleven! The door was still locked, the windows were still closed but someone or something now stood before them! Imagine if you will what reaction you would have had! Every eye in the room was enlarged and locked on the vision before them. They were speechless. Then came the words, “Peace be unto you".

He showed them his hands and his side. His hands, which had been pierced with the nails, the marks of which were still to be seen; which they all knew about, since he was crucified. His side, which was pierced with a spear, which left a wide open wound, and which John, who was among them, was an eyewitness of. These he showed them to convince them that he was not a spirit, which at first sight they thought him to be, and to assure them of the truth of his resurrection

Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Here we read that AFTER they saw the Lord they were glad. AFTER they recognized Jesus they were glad. THEN not immediately but AFTER they were glad. Before THEN they were frightened out of their minds!

John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

Let us review what we know about Thomas from the scriptures:

1. Thomas is listed as a disciple in each of the list found in all four of the gospels.
2. Thomas is first mentioned in John 11:16, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, which speaks volumes about his character. We recall that Jesus received a message from Mary and Martha that Lazarus; whom Jesus loved; was sick unto death and summoning Him to come. Jesus had already been marked for death for His preaching and miracles. It was not safe for Him to be near Jerusalem or Bethany. Jesus informed the disciples that Lazarus was sick but it was not unto death. They all must have breathed a sigh of relief. Then some time later He said,” Let us go to Judea again.” They were shocked and reminded the Lord that the Jews sought to stone Him. They obviously did not want to go back and die. Jesus reassured them that they had nothing to fear. Then made the statement,” Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.” They were floundering with fear. They were convinced that if Jesus returned to Bethany, He would be killed. At this point we hear for the first time from Thomas: Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. Now that is pessimistic and typical of Thomas. But it is heroic pessimism! He could see nothing but disaster, he was convinced that Jesus was sure to be stoned, but if the Lord was determined to go Thomas was grimly determined to go and die with Him. As we see Thomas had credibility with the disciples for they all followed Jesus back to Bethany.
3. We next hear of Thomas in John chapter 14 where Jesus was telling the disciples of His imminent death and departure. “I go to prepare a place for you.” “And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. “ “Then Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” Again we see his pessimism. “ You are leaving. We will never get to where You are going. We do not even know how to get there. How are we supposed to get there? It was a better plan for us to die with you then there would be no separation. If we died together, we would all be together. But if You just go, how are we ever going to find You? Here is a man that deeply loved his Lord. His relationship with Jesus was so strong that he never wanted to be separated from Him. His heart was broken as he heard Jesus speak of leaving them. He was shattered. The thought of loosing Christ paralyzed him. He had become so attached to Jesus that he would have been glad to die with Him, but he could not think of living without Him. His worst fears came to pass: Jesus died and he did not.
4. In John chapter 20 we again see Thomas. Jesus made His first appearance to the disciples as they were gathered together in a room behind locked doors. The disciples had previously received two reports that the Lord had risen. In Mark 16:10-11 “And she (Mary) went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.” And in verse 13 “And they(the two from Emmaus) went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.” They had ALL forsook Him and fled when He was arrested. (Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50) They still had to see the Lord to believe He had risen! But, Thomas was not with them.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The next time they saw Thomas they said unto him, with joy, We have seen the Lord; and they no doubt related to him all that had happened. “Jesus has shown us His hands and His side “. This they said to Thomas, (1.) To upbraid him with his absence: “We have seen the Lord, but you have not.” Or (2.) To inform him: “We have seen the Lord, and we wish that you had been here, to see Him too, for you would have seen enough to satisfy you that it was Jesus that we saw.” But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. It is because of this statement that he has been nicknamed “Doubting Thomas”. He did not accept the testimony of his fellow-disciples, who were men of integrity. He knew them as honest men. Jesus had chosen them to be His witnesses of this very thing to all nations; and yet Thomas, one of their own, would not believe them to be competent witnesses, nor trust their testimony of the events. Thomas here places his belief on seeing and feeling and not faith.

John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

One week later Jesus appeared to them again. From this we may suppose that this was the weekly meeting of the apostles.
Thomas was not present at the former meeting, he was determined not to be absent from this one. This shows harmony and agreement among them. Thomas, with his expressed unbelief was still accepted as a member of their group. They were hoping by one means or another that he would be convinced of the truth. It also shows Thomas’s regard for them and his affection toward them.

Again Jesus miraculously appears to the assembled disciples. Again He passes through walls and closed doors. The doors being shut; as before, and for the same reason, for fear of the Jews. And stood in the midst; and as before caused the doors, locks, and bars to give way, when at once he appeared in the midst of them all, not to Thomas alone, but to all the eleven because the disciples had given the testimony to Christ's resurrection, and which he meant now to confirm it; and to address Thomas’s doubt personally. And said, peace be unto you; which he had said before, and now, including Thomas as he did the rest, not excluding him because of his unbelief.

Then He spoke directly to Thomas .... For whose sake he chiefly came, without upbraiding or reproaching him for not believing the testimony that had been given to him by the others.

Jesus then told Thomas to, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thine hand and thrust it into my side”; Make use of every sense by seeing, feeling, and examining the scars in my hands, and the wound in my side, and satisfy yourself in the manner you have desired. This shows the omniscience of Christ, who knew what Thomas had said to the other disciples, and the very words Thomas had expressed himself. This exhibits His great humility and compassion by submitting himself to be examined in the very manner that Thomas had specified.

“Be not faithless, but believing”; With these words Jesus persuades Thomas to separate himself from unbelief and encourages him. Be not faithless, but change your position from the physical to the supernatural. Unbelief is evil by its own nature. It is renders the Word unprofitable and leads men away from the saving grace of God. The exercise of faith is pleasing to Christ; it gives glory to Him, and comforts the soul of the believer. Faith will enable men to believe the promises of God in the same manner that Thomas now believed.

John 20:28 - And Thomas answered,.... Possibly without examining his hands and side, and was astonished at His compassion and love, and ashamed of his unbelief.

and said unto him my Lord and my God; What did Thomas see when he looked upon those Hands? What was revealed to him that brought the exclamation, “My Lord and my God” from his mouth? Something immediately revealed to Thomas made what was probably the greatest statement ever to come from the lips of the disciples! Let those that question the deity of Christ hear Thomas! Thomas had erred because he was a pessimist. But it was the error of his profound love for Jesus. It was provoked by grief, brokenheartedness, uncertainty, and pain of loneliness. No one could feel the way Thomas felt unless he loved Jesus the way Thomas loved Him.

Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; Jesus was tender with him. This does not read as a rebuke. He understands our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15). He understands our doubt. He sympathizes with our uncertainty. He is patient with our pessimism. While we realize that Thomas had weaknesses, we must also acknowledge his heroic devotion to Christ, which made him understand that it would be better to die than to be separated from his Lord. The proof of his love was the extent of his despair.

Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. – Jesus here revealed to Thomas and the rest of the disciples that there would be a blessing for all those who had not actually seen the resurrection but believed that it was real. This blessing is passed down from the first believers to all us who are believers today. Some of us may be like Thomas in our faith. Listen as Jesus speaks to him: “Thomas, you have seen, and therefore you have believed; you are now happy, fully convinced of My resurrection; yet all those who believe in my resurrection without the evidence you have had shall be blessed,.” From this we learn that to believe in Jesus by the testimony of his apostles, will put us in possession of the very same blessings which they themselves enjoyed. Our God has appointed the whole revelation of grace to us. The believer, two thousand years from the time of the resurrection, is no less in the eyes of God than the first disciples because we have not seen Christ in the flesh. Today the believer is as richly loved by our Lord as the entire group that stood at the foot of the Mount of Olives as Jesus ascended into heaven. For if they had not heard the Lord speaking to them, and had not seen Him ascending into the clouds, they would not have believed. But the believer today has seen nothing compared to this, and yet we have come to believe in the glorious resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord, causing us to devote ourselves to the service of our God.

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