Be not faithless, but believing

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 20:27 KJV)

Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection the first time while Thomas was away. When Thomas returned, the other disciples told him Jesus had risen from the dead. There were at least the 10 other disciples that were there telling Thomas Jesus was alive. Thomas said until he sees Him, and puts his finger into Jesus’s side and hands, he will not believe. Jesus, who was present in spirit, and unseen by them, heard Thomas when he said those words.

Jesus waited until all of them were together including Thomas and He appeared again to them. He said the words above to Thomas to do what he said he would do if he sees Jesus. Thomas was overwhelmed with awe. Jesus added “be not faithless but believing”.

Jesus was addressing a deep-seated problem with Thomas’ heart. He wanted to see Jesus physically before believing. He heard the report of others( that is the Gospel) which came by words and did not believe. I heard a sermon once where the preacher commended Thomas for his attitude towards looking for evidence. We should stay away from such thinking. Jesus rebuked Thomas, not commend or applaud his behavior.

The same words are fully applicable to us today: “be not faithless, but believing”.

MEDITATE

Why do you think Thomas still had difficulty believing what the others told him despite their unanimous report that they had seen Jesus?

APPLY THE WORD

The Lord cautions us against unscrupulous believing (1 John 4:1). A believing spirit is not believing anyone or anything you hear. That would be a disaster. However, He wants our hearts to be like children when it comes to believing His words. The unbelieving spirit is a deep seated problem of the way we usually think . Work on your heart. Maintain a sensitive and tender heart before God always.