Believing is Seeing
John 20 records Thomas’ first encounter with Jesus after His resurrection. The other disciples had already seen Jesus, but Thomas wasn’t there. When they said they had seen Jesus, Thomas scoffed, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in His hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)
The word of the other disciples was insufficient for Thomas. He wanted proof that Jesus had come back to life. Thomas demanded a personal encounter with Jesus before committing himself.
And when he had that personal encounter, Thomas exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” John provides, yet another clear statement of Jesus’ Deity. Thomas’ statement in Greek is not, “Oh, my Lord God,” as someone might say as a simple exclamation of astonishment.
No, Thomas’ statement was “My Lord. My God!” Thomas declared that Jesus was both his Lord and his God. And, notice that Jesus didn’t correct Thomas, “No, Thomas, that’s not right; I’m not God,” as the angel corrected John in Revelation 19:10. There is only one God. There is only One Who is worthy of worship, and Jesus praised Thomas for connecting the dots and worshipping Him as God.
Application
The testimony of other people is good, but personal experience trumps the word of other people. When it comes to spiritual things, are you content to take other people’s word at face value or do you need proof? As I have said before, we need to test what we hear.
Each of us needs to have a personal experience with Jesus, and each of us needs to read and study God’s Word for ourselves. (Acts 17:11) Don’t just take the notes in your study Bible as the final authority; look at the text itself. Don’t just take the comments from a Bible teacher, a pastor, or a devotional writer as the final authority. Look at the text itself, for yourself.
Thomas wanted proof. Thomas felt that he needed proof. For Thomas, seeing was believing. As for the other disciples, they didn’t need proof. But, in the end, they didn’t exercise blind faith, taking a leap in the dark in the absence of evidence. Instead, their belief was validated by evidence, evidence they’d seen in miracle after miracle in Jesus’ ministry, and evidence now confirmed in their risen Lord. Jesus pointed out that Thomas believed because he had seen, but He praised others for believing without having seen. (John 20:29)
The point here, though, is that nowhere does the Bible tell us to check our brains at the door. Nowhere are we told to believe in spite of a lack of evidence or believe in the presence of contrary evidence. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to just take a blind leap of faith. Instead, the Bible presents evidence of Jesus’ Deity and evidence of His resurrection. We are simply invited to step from the darkness into the light. (1 Peter 2:9b) That is the true essence of faith, stepping into the light with God.
Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, CSB)
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman