James Nisbet Commentary - John 20:27 - 20:27

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James Nisbet Commentary - John 20:27 - 20:27


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THE APPEARANCE TO THOMAS

‘Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My bands; and reach hither thy band, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.’

Joh_20:27

What was the nature of Thomas’s doubt? It was, I think, partly constitutional. Thomas was a thorough pessimist. Some people are too certain and sanguine about everything in the world; Thomas was too negative. But Thomas’s doubt was also partly preventible. He made a very great mistake. When Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. One of the Twelve and not with them! We can imagine him in his lodging crouching over the wooden table, his head buried in his hands, his whole attitude bespeaking utter dejection. No cry, no sob, to relieve that stony, blank misery. Poor, lonely, doubting Thomas! Did he but know, over the road in the upper room His Master was showing His hands and his feet. Thomas’s doubt was a little bit wilful, too. ‘We have seen the Lord,’ was the message that came to him, but with hard, dry, sceptical eyes he shook his head in his surly way. Is not that true to human nature?

I. The solution of doubt.—For all doubting ones, and for all life’s doubting moments, I have a message. Take care that your doubts are honest ones. Many people’s doubts are not. Nothing is so fatal as indifferent doubt. But in Thomas there was not a trace of dishonest doubt. Gloomy he was, lonely he was, wilful he might have been, but he was in earnest, he was in deadly earnest. So he found the light; and in your dark hours be of good cheer. God will reveal Himself to you, and Christ will enter again into your hearts and lives, only this time with a power and strength which you never felt before, the strength of His risen life. Only let me give you this word of advice. Look for Christ where His people are and where His followers meet together. Thomas found Christ where His followers were gathered together; so may you and I and any poor lonely doubter in the whole wide world.

II. Contact with Christ.—Doubts will come, even to Christian people. But doubt is not in itself sinful. Never think because you are perplexed and uncertain about Christian things that such thoughts are sinful, and never treat others as if they were. Be quite sure that your doubt is honest doubt and, if you truly long and are seeking for the truth, you need have no fears. What Thomas asked for was contact with Christ, that he might be allowed to touch Him. Then he would believe; and it is what people need in the present day—contact with Christ. It is true that Thomas was thinking of a material contact; but when he came face to face with Christ and heard His voice he forgot all about proofs. As has been beautifully said, Christianity shrinks from no proof, but it transcends all. Christ will meet you here, and you will ask for nothing else, only Christ, and like Thomas you will cry, ‘My Lord and my God.’

—
Rev. F. W. Dankes.

Illustration

‘When Dr. Arnold of Rugby lay a-dying, he was seen, we are told, lying still with his hands clasped, his lips moving, and his eyes raised to heaven. And they thought he was praying, but suddenly they heard him say, clearly and distinctly, “Jesus said, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” ’