Although the other apostles had witnessed the risen Christ and were born again of His resurrection Spirit that He breathed on them Sunday evening after the return of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Thomas, who was not with them at the time, refused to believe it. So great was the power of death, and so regular the uniform working of God’s creation, that it wasn’t rational to believe that somehow mortal life could have been restored to Jesus’ battered body that had its life fluids drained from it. And no one could conceive of the actual immortal life to which His body had been raised as He was the first fruits from the dead. The others, excepting John who had faith to believe God could work a miracle that transcended the natural order, were just as unbelieving until they saw Him (Mar 16:11-14). But Thomas, like many today, imagined they must either have been hallucinating what they desperately wanted to be true, or were somehow duped by some one, or some thing, pretending to be Him. After all, by their own admission Mary Magdalene and the two on the road to Emmaus didn’t at first recognize Him (Luk 24:16, Joh 20:15), and when He appeared to the others, they at first thought they were seeing a spirit (Luk 24:37). What three conditions did Thomas then lay down as the only thing that would make Him believe, and how would those conditions address his rational understanding of what he imagined the others must have been taken in by? See Joh 20:25; cf. 1Jo 1:1. Note also that the word used for put his finger into the place of the nails and put his hand into his side translates a word that means to cast or throw, expressing a vivid action as opposed to something more passive in nature, like a simple touch. Note as well that the Greek uses a double negative to express that unless those conditions were met, there was no way Thomas was going to believe it. Although modern sentiment casts ancient man as superstitious and misled by an unscientific understanding of the world, what does this teach us about the rational understanding the people of that day had who were steeped in God’s word, not entirely unlike today?
When does John say that Jesus appeared again to His disciples, this time when Thomas was with them? See Joh 20:26. Was eight days just a spitball number to indicate a week later, as some versions actually translate it, or is there perhaps some significance that it was exactly eight days later that Jesus again appeared to them? What important Jewish rite was practiced eight days after a child was born? See Gen 17:12, Luk 1:59, Phil 3:5. What does Scripture indicate was significant about circumcision that it was practiced on the eighth day, that established a spiritual principle that perhaps Jesus applied to those who had been born of His Spirit? See Exo 22:29-30, Lev 22:27. How long did the period of ordination last for Aaron and his sons, after which they could minister as priests to the Lord? See Lev 8:33-9:1, Eze 43:26-27; cf. 1Pe 2:5,9, Rev 1:6, 5:10. Similarly, how long did the cleansing process take for those who were ritually unclean for some reason, and on what day did that cleansing culminate to completion? See Lev 14:1-2,9-10, 15:13-14, 28-29, Num 6:9-10. Is it possible that for their initial unbelief the apostles were in some sense spiritually defiled, and needed time to be cleansed? Cf. Mar 16:14. To what event that was yet forthcoming did that glad second appearance on the eighth day perhaps also look forward? See Lev 23:39, Neh 8:18, 2Ch 7:8-9.
Are we necessarily to assume that when Jesus appeared again to His apostles on the eighth day that it was in the same location in Jerusalem? See Mat 28:7,10,16. Why is it perhaps more likely that they sooner rather than later left Jerusalem to return to Galilee? See Joh 11:7-8,16, 20:19. What does John note though that is an indication that Jesus’ disciples were still fearful even if they were back in Galilee? See Joh 20:26 and note that the NAS shut can also mean locked. Although the closed or locked doors convey the fear the disciples had from the authorities that put Jesus to death, what is noted in both Joh 20:19 and Joh 20:26 that seems to be John’s greater emphasis? Note that in both passages the main thought is that Jesus came and stood in their midst, with the doors shut or locked being a subordinating clause to clearly emphasize that Jesus’ resurrection body transcended the natural order. Just as His sudden and supernatural appearance earlier had terrified them and they thought they were seeing a spirit (Luk 24:37), so would this second appearance have startled them again. What did He then say to them, again, to calm their fears? See Joh 20:26; cf. Joh 20:19,21. What do His words remind us about the nature of true salvation into which He leads us, even though the various events of our lives and the cares and concerns of the world militate against it? Cf. Isa 54:10, Luk 1:77-79, Joh 14:27, 16:33. Are our own lives marked by the peace Jesus spoke repeatedly to His disciples? If not, why not? And if not, how can we obtain it? See Phil 4:6-7.