DOUBTING THOMAS"
"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" (John 20:25).
A lot of people today are like "doubting Thomas", they just won’t believe. You hand them a gospel tract, with a pleasant word of testimony, and they turn a deaf ear, rejecting the only blessed Saviour, Jesus Christ:
"IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE" (Eph.1:7).
But Thomas gave himself an "out". He want- ed to see the evidence of Christ’s resurrec-tion. Melancholy, yes, Thomas was melan-choly, but death is very permanent, and except for the miracle working Christ some 2000 years ago NO ONE comes back from the dead. Even though Thomas witnessed his Lord raise Lazarus from the dead he was skeptical about Christ’s resurrection. That the Invincible One had been overcome and con-quered by death was the thought upon the minds of them all. Thomas, and all the apostles, those disciples too, together with the Jews, and the Gentiles, SAW that Christ was dead. And Thomas was not with the other disciples when, on the third day, our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead.
Now "after eight days" had passed the Lord appeared again to His disciples, and fortu-nately Thomas was with them this time or he may never have seen the Lord, and Christ said unto them:
"Peace be unto you" (John 20:26).
The Record of Scripture indicates that Thomas had spoken the words of John 20:25 in unbelief. Our Lord’s sudden presence with them was the surprise of his life. It was Thomas’ time to see the Lord, and to his
utter delight, he heard Him say:
"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" (Ver.27).
"And Thomas answered and said unto Him, MY LORD AND MY GOD" (Ver.28).
There was no doubt in his mind now that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, nor were any of the others doubtful about the mighty power of God to save.
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:24-29).
Those who find the most for which to crit-icize "Thomas", when presented with the evidence, and the truth of God’s Word "rightly divided", often find it convenient to reject "The Light" (2 Cor.4:6), and cling to old errors.
My friend, this is where you and I come in, and the Apostle of the Gentiles, for in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, he writes of our resurrected Christ:
"WHO WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OF-FENCES, AND WAS RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION" (Rom.4:25).
"THEREFORE BEING JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, WE HAVE PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST" (Rom.5:1).
BY RUSSELL S. MILLER
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