John 20:26-29<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe Wounded God Draws Near<\/h3>\n
A week after Jesus appeared to his disciples on Easter evening, he appeared again. The doors are closed. This time Thomas is present. Jesus speaks directly to him. “Put your finger here; look at my hand… stop doubting and believe.”<\/p>\n
What mercy! Jesus repeated Thomas’s own words back to him\u2014not to mock, but to invite. God had heard his doubt. And now He answers it with the evidence of His wounds from the cross. Even in the glory of the resurrection, Jesus bears the scars of the crucifixion as proof of his undeserved love.<\/p>\n
Thomas responded with the most candid confession in the Gospel of John: “My Lord and my God!” Thomas declares who Jesus is \u2013 God Himself \u2013 and who Jesus is to him \u2013 his Lord. His suspicion turns into worship.<\/p>\n
Jesus then tells us: \u201cBlessed are those who have not seen and have believed.\u201d This is not a second-rate belief. This is a belief based on the testimony of the apostles. Eyewitnesses saw it so we can trust their declaration.<\/p>\n
We do not touch his wounds physically. However, we see the same crucified and resurrected Jesus in His Word and the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus provides ongoing assurance to individual sinners that His Body and Blood have been given and shed for them.<\/p>\n
He lives. And his living presence continues to console wounded consciences.<\/p>\n
He also knows your wounds. By His death and resurrection, He changed your guilt into peace, your temporary pain into lasting hope, and your momentary sorrows into joy that will last forever.<\/p>\n
Thomas got what he asked for and more. He received a living Savior. so do you.<\/p>\n
\nPrayer:<\/h4>\n
My Lord and my God, thank you for mercifully satisfying my doubts. Keep my faith in your wounded but victorious body. Amen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Daily devotionals brought to you by WELS.<\/em><\/p>\n\nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivative Works 3.0 United States License.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nAll scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version\u00ae, NIV\u00ae. Copyright \u00a91973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.\u2122 Used with permission from Zondervan. All rights reserved world wide.<\/em><\/p>\n