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Your friend says they met a famous singer at the shops yesterday. What would it take for you to believe them? Their word? A photo? A video? Seeing the singer yourself? Wanting evidence isn't wrong. It's sensible. The bigger the claim, the more evidence you want.
This lesson brings the term to a close with the most famous evidence-wanter in the Bible. People call him "Doubting Thomas", but that's a bit unfair. When Thomas finally meets the risen Jesus, he says the greatest words in John's whole Gospel.
What you'll learn
- What Thomas needed before he would believe, and how Jesus responded
- Why "my Lord and my God" is the high point of John's Gospel
- How all of Jesus' "I am" claims fit together
Who is Thomas?
Thomas has popped up before in John. When Jesus headed back towards danger to raise Lazarus, Thomas said they should all go and die with him (John 11:16). He was brave and loyal. When Jesus said the disciples knew the way, Thomas admitted he didn't (John 14:5). He was honest.
On the Sunday evening after Jesus rose from the dead, the disciples were hiding behind locked doors. Jesus suddenly stood among them, showed them his hands and side, and gave them peace. But Thomas wasn't there.
"My Lord and my God"
When the others told Thomas they had seen the Lord, he set the bar very high:
"So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he replied, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger where the nails have been, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe.’" (John 20:25)
He didn't just want to see Jesus. He wanted to touch the wounds. Maybe it was grief. Maybe it was because dead people don't come back. Maybe he didn't want to get his hopes up and be crushed again.
A week later, Jesus appeared again, and this time Thomas was there:
"Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’" (John 20:27–28)
Notice how Jesus treats him. Jesus wasn't in the room when Thomas set his conditions, but he knows exactly what Thomas said. He isn't angry. He offers Thomas exactly the evidence he asked for.
Then look at Thomas's answer:
- "Lord" and "God". Thomas was a Jewish man who believed there is only one God. He looks at a human being and calls him God, and Jesus accepts it. Compare that with Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14, who were horrified when people tried to worship them.
- Bookends. John's Gospel begins with the Word who was God (John 1:1) and reaches its high point with a disciple calling Jesus my God. The whole book sits between those two claims.
- "My". It's personal. Thomas isn't just stating a fact. He's giving himself to Jesus.
Then Jesus says something for everyone who comes later, including you:
"Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’" (John 20:29)
Why John wrote
Straight after this, John explains why he wrote his book:
"But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:31)
Does believing without seeing mean believing without reasons? No. John wrote down signs and eyewitness reports as evidence. We have his book, just as Thomas had the other disciples' word.
Here's the whole term in one table:
| Jesus' claim | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The Word became flesh | In Jesus, God has come face to face. |
| I am the bread of life | He satisfies the deepest hunger of the heart. |
| I am the light of the world | He shows the truth about God and about us. |
| I am the good shepherd | He knows his sheep by name and dies for them. |
| I am the resurrection and the life | Death doesn't get the last word. |
| I am the way, the truth and the life | He is the road home to the Father. |
| Before Abraham was born, I am | He carries God's own name. |
| My Lord and my God | The right response is to trust and worship him. |
If Jesus claimed to be God, he was lying, deluded, a legend, or Lord. Which event would settle it? The resurrection. If Jesus really rose, his claims are true.
Key words
- Risen: raised from death to new life.
- Confession: saying out loud what you believe.
- Didymus: Thomas's other name; it means "twin".
- Testimony: an eyewitness's account of what they saw.
How this points to Jesus
The whole of John's Gospel has been asking one question: who is Jesus? Thomas gives the answer John has been building towards since chapter 1. The Word who was God became flesh, died and rose again, and now a doubter on his knees calls him "my Lord and my God". Everything this term points here.
Think about it
Was Thomas wrong to want evidence? What did Jesus do about it?Show answer
Wanting evidence wasn't wrong. Jesus didn't tell him off; he kindly gave Thomas the very evidence he asked for.
Why is it so important that Jesus accepted being called "God"?Show answer
A good man or prophet would refuse worship, like Paul and Barnabas did. Jesus accepted it because it was true.
Who is Jesus talking about in John 20:29?Show answer
Everyone who believes without seeing him in person, including people reading John's Gospel today.
Take it further
Finish this sentence privately, just for yourself: "Right now, I think Jesus is…" Every honest answer is a real answer: my Lord and my God, I'm still weighing it up, or I'm not sure. Then write one question you still have, and ask it. If you'd like to talk more, your teacher or school chaplain would be glad to. Your worksheet helps you look back over the whole term.
If you'd like to, you could pray:
Lord Jesus, thank you for Thomas, who asked for evidence, and for your kindness in meeting him. If I believe, help me to say, "My Lord and my God." If I'm still asking, help me to keep asking honestly. Amen.