Doubting Thomas?

As I sit and watch The Bible on the history channel, I am thankful that a major network is showing this. There are, of course, a few errors and omissions, which is to be expected in a 10 hour miniseries, but they have done a pretty good job telling the story. One of the mistakes, was Thomas's confession when Jesus appeared to the disciples. I understand that they have to cut things out for the sake of time, so I can understand it been shown as happening during Christ's first appearance to the disciples. However, on the show, Thomas simply said "It is you." This shows his doubts turning to belief, but Thomas said so much more. John 20:28 tells us that Thomas said, "My Lord and my God." Peter had called Jesus 'the Christ, the son of the living God' when Jesus asked him who the disciples said he was, but this is the first recorded time that someone called Jesus God. What a great confession Thomas made that day. To this day, the term 'doubting Thomas' is used to describe anyone who has to 'see to believe'. But rather than remember Thomas's doubts, we should remember and echo his confession that day: "My Lord and my God."

Especially Peter

With Easter approaching, like most Christians I have been thinking about the resurrection recently. Some of my favorite words in the entire Bible were said that first Easter morning. In Mark 16 we are told about the women going to the tomb to anoint the Lord's body. We are all familiar with this story. They approach the tomb, wondering who is going to move the stone for them, when they see the angel. He tells them to go and tell the disciples that the Lord is risen. Verse 7 of Mark 16 says, "But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." It's a small thing that most people probably look over and don't even notice, but it's there. He said "His disciples AND Peter". This is just a few hours after Peter denied him, so it would be easy to think that the angel was excluding Peter as one of His disciples. However, this is not at all what is being said. The ISV renders it this way, "His disciples-especially Peter- that Jesus is going..." Do you see how great these words are? He didn't mention any of the other disciples by name, not even John. Why? It's not because Peter was His favorite or because He was less concerned with the other disciples. It is because Peter is still in the midst of a cloud of guilt from His denial of Jesus just a few hours earlier. At this point, He feels not only guilt, but shame as well. He has done the one thing that he said he would not do. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that they would all deny Him, and Peter speaks up and says, "Not me. Even if everybody else does, I will never deny you." We know the story. Jesus tells Peter that before morning comes he will have denied him 3 times. The cock crowing that morning sounded to Peter like the words of Nathan the prophet to King David when he confronted him about his affair with Bathsheeba and the ensuing cover up. Nathan pointed at David and said "thou art the man". That's the same thing Peter was hearing when the cock crowed. He feels like a failure, a reject. It's in the midst of this setting that the angel tells the ladies to find the disciples and especially Peter. What a great story for anyone that feels the sting of guilt. And, if we are honest with ourselves, we have all been there. So, the next time you feel the sting of guilt, the shame of failure, remember what the angel said to the women on that first Easter morning, especially Peter. So, today let me remind you, when you fail, when you are burdened by guilt, Jesus is saying tell my disciples, especially you, that I am risen, that I am coming again.