ヨハネによる福音書20:24-29　John 20:24-29,

Jesus, who had died on the cross, was resurrected on the third day into a body of eternal life and appeared to his disciples. However, when Jesus appeared, Thomas was the only one of the eleven disciples who was not with them. It is not clear why he was not with other disciples. Perhaps he was feeling a sense of resignation, thinking that since Jesus had died, it was all over. So, the disciples who met the resurrected Jesus, told Thomas that they had seen him, saying, “We have seen the Lord.” I am sure they wanted to share their joy of seeing the resurrected Jesus with Thomas.

And what did Thomas say? Did he say, “Jesus has really risen!”? Did he believe immediately? No, he did not. Thomas said, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” When Jesus was crucified, his hands were nailed and his side was pierced with a spear. Therefore, Thomas said, “If Jesus really has risen from the dead, there must be nail marks in his hands and spear marks in his side, and I must see them with my own eyes and touch them with my own hands to confirm them, or I will never believe!” What a skeptical man he was! But if we think about ourselves, we realise that we probably have the same skeptical feelings in our hearts as Thomas.

Jesus knew exactly how Thomas felt. And this time, when Thomas was with the other disciples, he appeared to them in his resurrected form. Not only that, he said to Thomas: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” What did Thomas do? “Well, let’s have a good look at your palms. Then, if you’ll excuse me, let me touch your side?” No, he immediately replied, “My Lord and my God!” and believed the resurrection of Jesus. Before he had said so stubbornly, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” But when the resurrected Jesus appeared, he believed immediately and said, “My Lord and my God”. Why is that?

I am sure it was because Thomas knew the love that Jesus had for him in his words. Jesus gave himself to those who would crucify him in order to save mankind who had disobeyed God. And even after his resurrection, he yielded himself to Thomas, who wanted to put his finger in the scars of the cross, and said to him, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas must have been moved by the love of Jesus, who went to such lengths to ensure that he would be saved, and he believed. Afterwards, Jesus said to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Now we cannot see the resurrected Jesus with the naked eye. But we can know the love of Jesus through the words of the Bible. As Jesus said, we want to be people who believe without seeing.