John 20:27-29 - Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

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. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."

John 20:27-29

Commentary

Thomas rises from the lowest depths of doubt to the pinnacle of faith and declares, "My Lord [Jesus' familiar title] and my God [the title of His deity]." In essence he proclaims, "Yes, it is Jesus; and yes, He is God." For one who is steeped in a monotheistic tradition, the confession is remarkable. John's purpose, to demonstrate the deity of Christ, climaxes in this confession of Thomas. John affirms that, if unconvinced by His birth, life, works, and death, even a doubter like Thomas could find irrefutable proof of Christ's deity in His resurrection.

Believer's Study Bible. 1997, c1995. C1991 Criswell Center for Biblical Studies. (electronic ed.) (Jn 20:28). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Did you know?

"Doubting Thomas," the synonym for a skeptic, comes from the disciple Thomas, who didn't believe that the other disciples had seen Jesus alive after the Crucifixion (20:25).

Miller, S. M., & Gross, P. (1998). How to get into the Bible. Includes index. (312). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

Luke 24:38-39 - Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!

He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

And He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

Luke 24:38-39

Commentary

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a physical reality. When He "stood in the midst of them," the disciples were shocked, "terrified, and frightened" (v. 37). They thought Jesus was a ghost. Jesus read their hearts, and to prove Himself physically alive, He showed them His pierced hands and feet and invited them to "handle" and "see" Him (v. 39). Then He went one step further to dispel their unbelief by asking for and eating food-something no disembodied spirit could do (v. 41-43).

Thomas Nelson, I. (1997, c1995). Woman's study Bible . (Lk 24:36). Nashville: Thomas Nelson