My Lord and My God: John 20:19-29

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you!

Doors locked. Fear thick. The disciples huddled, expecting arrest. Then suddenly—Jesus. Inside. Standing among them. The locked doors no barrier.

Peace be with you. The greeting they needed most. Not rebuke for abandonment, not condemnation for denial. Peace.

After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Hands pierced, side opened. The wounds remained—transformed but visible. Proof of identity, proof of sacrifice. The disciples' fear dissolved into overwhelming joy.

Again Jesus said, Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.

Peace repeated. Then commission. As the Father sent me—into the world, into suffering, into self-giving love—I am sending you.

And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.

He breathed. The same verb as Genesis, when God breathed life into Adam. New creation beginning. The Spirit given.

If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.

Authority delegated. The forgiveness Jesus won on the cross, his followers would declare and extend.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

Thomas missed it. He was somewhere else when resurrection invaded the locked room.

So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord!

Ten voices, one message. We have seen him. Thomas, he's alive!

But he said to them, Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

The famous doubt. Thomas demanded empirical evidence. Seeing wasn't enough—he wanted to touch. Nail holes, spear wound. Then I'll believe. Not until.

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them.

A week. Seven days of the others believing, Thomas doubting. Seven days of testimony he couldn't accept.

Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you!

Same setting, same miracle, same greeting. Locked doors, Jesus suddenly present, peace offered.

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.

Jesus knew. He had heard Thomas's demands without being physically present. Now he offered exactly what Thomas had required. Put your finger here. Touch my side. Stop doubting.

Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God!

Did Thomas touch? The text doesn't say. Perhaps sight was enough. Perhaps Jesus' words shattered the doubt before hands could verify.

My Lord and my God. The highest confession in the Gospels. Not just teacher, not just Messiah. Lord. God. Thomas proclaimed what the entire Gospel has been building toward: Jesus is God.

Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Jesus accepted the confession and pronounced a blessing. Thomas believed because he saw. But greater blessing awaits those who believe without seeing—everyone who would come after, trusting testimony, not requiring touch.

Doubting Thomas became confessing Thomas. His doubt was not sin but honest struggle. His confession was not superficial but profound. The one who demanded the most evidence made the most exalted declaration.

My Lord and my God. The words every follower is invited to echo.