Appearance to Disciples and Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ 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.”
²⁶ 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!” ²⁷ 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.”
²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

12th May 2026: Weymouth

Thomas, Didymus: Disciple of Jesus

Thomas was one of the twelve disciples, sometimes known by his Roman name of Didymus (which means ‘the Twin’. We know nothing about his life prior to becoming one of those men who spent three years travelling with and learning at the feet of Jesus during his ministry in Galilee and beyond. Having started to believe that he was the Messiah, those early followers of Jesus regarded him as a strong, powerful and invincible leader. None of them understood the lesson that the Messiah must die and be raised again on the third day. 

“The Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Luke 9:22

Thomas was no fool. We can’t be surprised that he and his friends believed that if Jesus died, that would be the end of his life. He was ready, if necessary, to die with Jesus. It was Thomas who said, ‘Let us go with him to Jerusalem that we might die with Him.’ John 11:16..

‘Thomas never lacked courage, but he was the natural pessimist. There can never be any doubt that he loved Jesus. He loved him enough to be willing to go to Jerusalem and die with him when the other disciples were hesitant and afraid.’ (Wm Barclay)

Yet when Jesus was arrested in the early hours of the morning, like everyone else, Thomas ran away. Like everyone else, he was  overwhelmed with guilt and shame. Like everyone else he was devastated by the death of Jesus. Like everyone else he went into hiding for fear of the Jewish leaders.

We next hear of Thomas when the disciples were in hiding on the day of resurrection, as Jesus appears to the disciples. We hear about Thomas then, not because he was there, but because he was not. At some point, possibly very soon afterwards, Thomas is told that Christ had appeared. By this time he has been seen in the garden by Mary Magdalene, he has been seen by Peter, and he has been seen by two people on the road to Emmaus. In spite of all these witness testimonies, Thomas doesn’t believe it. 

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. (John 20:25)

Days later, the whole group were together again, locked in their safe house. This time Thomas is there. Suddenly, Jesus is there amongst them. ‘Peace be with you.’ Don’t be afraid. He turns to Thomas. No reproach. Just put your hand here. The palm of my hands. The wound in my side. “Stop doubting. Only believe.’(v27)

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (V28)

End Piece

Resurrection. It’s easy to understand Thomas’ problem. Easy to understand his doubt. In human terms it makes no sense. People don’t rise from the dead, do they? You may feel the same kind of doubt in your mind as you read the accounts of the resurrection. 

A constant theme of my teaching has been to emphasise the personal nature of our relationship with Jesus. When you read Scripture, use it as a mirror to reflect on your own life, to recognise your own gifts and shortcomings (James 1:23-24). Use it to , and to understand your own relationship with God . Don’t use it to judge other people (Matthew 7: 1-5). Our relationship with Jesus, our faith, our fears and our doubts, are intensely personal. We should not assume that Thomas’ faith had abandoned him. We should not assume that Thomas had given up on God.  We can understand his doubt.

It’s sort of surprising that the Gospel writer included this account. The fact that Thomas mistrusted the resurrection stories of his friends. It opens the door to doubt. It was ok to doubt. Jesus was supposed to be a very different kind of Messiah, but now he was dead.

I often feel doubts myself. Sometimes people around me talk about the most extraordinary experiences, and I can end up feeling as if I am missing out. There are times when I want Jesus to be something he isn’t. I want him to do the things which I want him to do. I guess I want him to be a different kind of saviour – my kind of saviour. I guess that there’s a bit of ‘doubting Thomas’ in all of us. I’m so grateful this story is here.

The fact is that, as Thomas discovered,  this Jesus is much bigger than we think. Thomas was forced to to re-evaluate his personal relationship with Jesus. To accept the fact of resurrection.

I have to do that every day.

My Lord, and my God.

Footnote
It was this Thomas who took the Christian faith to the Indian sub-continent, where we believe that  he was martyred in Chennai in 72AD. Imagine where Jesus could take you if you would only stop doubting. Only believe!

Richard Jackson, West Sussex

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.
⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Luke 24:36-49

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

John 20: 19-20

Weymouth: 11th May 2024

This may be a familiar  story. Too often we read it on its own, without engaging with the wider context. It’s part of a sequence of supernatural events on that first day of resurrection.

If we follow Luke’s account, the two followers of Jesus who had met the resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus, return to Jerusalem with their extraordinary news. They go straight to the safe house where Peter and the remaining disciples are hiding behind locked doors. They are welcomed in, and greeted with the news that Jesus has also appeared to Peter. Then, almost immediately, Christ is in the room with them.

His appearance is so sudden that they think they are seeing a ghost. ‘Peace be with you..’ Don’t be afraid…  Easily said. They’re terrified. His hands. His feet. His side. There is no doubt that it is Jesus. He eats with them. He consumes a piece of fish, not because he is hungry but to convince them of the reality of his resurrection. Then, as he had done on the road to Emmaus, he uses Scripture to show that he is the Son of God – that the Messiah must die and be raised again to life. That there is a mission to take the Gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins is to all nations. They are to stay in Jerusalem and await the outpouring of power from on high.

The disbelief is understandable. These men were with Jesus when he was arrested. Some of them saw him in custody at the house of Caiaphas, Some will have seen him beaten mercilessly. Several will have seen him, broken and badly injured, paraded through the streets on his way to execution. They know that he was killed. Mary had seen him buried. Yet by now, this same Mary has seen him raised. Peter has seen him. The two witnesses from Emmaus have seen him. 

Yet still the disciples struggle to believe. Who can blame them? The dead do not rise and return. Yet here is Jesus, in the room with them, eating a piece of fish. Their initial disbelief is tangible and understandable. It echoes through the generations and the centuries even to the present age.

End Piece
Taken literally, this story is explosive. It speaks of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. It speaks of the extraordinary, supernatural power of God through Christ in his resurrection. It speaks of the mind bending power of the risen Jesus. This story speaks of the anticipation of a new chapter of supernatural power from on high. It speaks of a small group of followers of Jesus who struggled to believe their own senses. In context with the wider account of Peter and the road to Emmaus, why would you not take this story literally? This story is explosive.

Of course, you may still be unimpressed. You may think it’s just a story, made up by a bunch of grieving friends. You may not believe it. After all, you weren’t there.

The Apostle Thomas wasn’t there either. Neither was the Apostle called Thomas. He didn’t believe them either. He had been one of the closest followers of Jesus. One of the twelve. He went through so much with Jesus, yet he is most commonly remembered because of this. When they told him what happened, he didn’t believe them either. 

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” John 21:25

Richard Jackson: Horsham,West Sussex