John 20

“Prove it.”

For the most part, we don’t just take people at their word. We want them to back it up. We want to see it with our own eyes. If you’re 5 foot nothing friend told you they could dunk a basketball, you’d say, “Prove it.” Why? Seeing is believing.

When Jesus rose from the grave, he appeared to all of the disciples - except Thomas. Thomas wasn’t in the room. He didn’t see Jesus, and in turn, he didn’t believe. In fact, Thomas declared, “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)

A week later, Jesus shows up again, but this time, Thomas is in the room. In a gentle response to Thomas's doubt, Jesus invited Thomas to touch his hands and his side. For Thomas, to see was to believe.

Thomas gets a bad rap. I think most of the disciples, and most of us, would have the same response as Thomas.

But what Jesus says next is striking. In John 20:29, Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Today, where do you need to believe where you want to see first?