John 20:26-31

 

John 20:26 (KJB)

And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

 

If this eight days was Jewish time, then this would have been the following Sunday when all the disciples were together again behind closed doors. This time Thomas was with the others. Then Jesus comes into their midst and the second time the Scriptures emphasize the fact that the doors were shut when Jesus appeared to them. God wants us to know that the resurrected bodies the believers will have, will be of a totally different nature while looking the same. Jesus then bids them peace or Shalom as a greeting.

 

John 20:27 (KJB)

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.

 

Jesus knew, even when He was absent from the disciples that Thomas would not believe unless he saw the nail prints in the hands and placed his hands in the side of Jesus. Jesus then says to Thomas to look upon His hands and then to put his hand in the side of Jesus where the spear pierced Him. Then Jesus commands Thomas to believe and not to be faithless. The word “be” is in the imperative mood denoting as command. Once Thomas was able to do this, he would no longer disbelieve that the Lord had risen from the dead.

 

John 20:28 (KJB)

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

 

Then Thomas took on him a new heart in that he now believes that Jesus rose from the dead and now sees Him as his Lord and his God. Jesus did not show Thomas and the disciples His hands and His side for no reason, it was to show them that He had kept His word as He spoke to them many times that He was to be crucified, buried, and then He would rise from the dead. He was confirming the word to the disciples and now from this point on, all eleven of them were confirmed believers and soon the day of the commission would arrive.

 

John 20:29 (KJB)

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

 

Jesus now includes all the believers who will be chosen down through the ages until the last day. Thomas had now believed because he was able to see the marks from the crucifixion. Jesus then widens the blessing by stating that those who did not see and believed, are blessed. A blessing goes beyond happiness. A blessing is a divine intervention from God that encourages the believer and increases their faith thus building higher upon the believer’s joy.

 

John 20:30 (KJB)

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

 

There is no doubt that Jesus probably performed many miracles in the presence of His disciples. He no doubt performed some in private along with the ones that He did in public which were witnessed by many others. John did not record every single miracle or sign because the book would have been gigantic plus he penned only what the Holy Spirit told him to write but He also wanted all Christians down through the ages to know that Jesus performed many other signs which were not recorded.

 

John 20:31 (KJB)

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

 

The Holy Spirit had John write only what He knew would be sufficient for engendering belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. John recorded miracles such as the raising of Lazarus which would have been proof that Jesus was the Son of God and had power over death. The Scriptures which would be written would eventually become our Bible and would be sufficient to engender belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the whole Bible is about Him and redemption. These things are also written to give assurance of salvation to those who have become saved. (1 John 5:13 KJV) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

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