“Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
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.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 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.””
John 20:24-29
Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection. When the others told him what they had seen, he struggled to believe. He wanted proof—something tangible, something undeniable.
His doubt was honest.
When Jesus later appeared again, He did not reject Thomas or rebuke him harshly. Instead, He invited him to see and touch the evidence. This moment highlights the continuing significance of the incarnation. Even after the resurrection, Jesus remained fully embodied. He was not a ghost or an idea. He was the living Christ.
The incarnation did not end at Bethlehem, and it did not end at the cross. It continued into the resurrection and continues even now.
For believers today, this story offers reassurance. Faith does not require pretending that questions or doubts do not exist. The incarnate Christ meets us in those moments and provides assurance of His presence.
Thomas responded with one of the clearest declarations of faith in Scripture: recognizing Jesus as both Lord and God.
The incarnation ultimately leads us to that same recognition. The child born in Bethlehem is the risen Savior who invites us into relationship, trust, and worship.
And because He lives, the significance of the incarnation is not confined to history. It remains alive in the present.
”God came to us in the incarnation; in atonement He reconciled us to Himself, and by faith and love we enter and lay on Him.” A.W. Tozer
Something to prayerfully consider today: How has the reality of the living Christ shaped the way you trust Him in moments of uncertainty?
