We, like Thomas doubt what we cannot see. Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us the faith that we can see Jesus in Word and Sacrament and believe in him.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 20

• On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.
• When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
• Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
• And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
• If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
• Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
• So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord”. But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
• Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.
• Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
• Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

LESSON

Jesus shows his disciples his side and hands to show that it was truly him. Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit and through it gives them the authority to forgive sins in his place. Today, pastors use this authority to forgive our sins as Christ’s representative, forgiving our sins and assuring us of God’s love. This God given authority is explained as the Office of the Keys in Luther’s Small Catechism.

Three times in John 20, Jesus told his disciples (and us as we read) “Peace be with you”. They and we have peace in the presence of Jesus through the Word and the Sacraments. We are assured of forgiveness through the death of Jesus on the cross.

Sin blinds us from believing in Jesus as our Savior. When we have doubts, the Holy Spirit moves us to repent and ask God to help us in our unbelief. The Holy Spirit promises to strengthen our faith in Jesus through the Word and Sacraments.

Prayer: At times, we are all like Thomas. Please forgive us when we doubt You. Strengthen our faith with your Word. Help us to remember our Baptism and rejoice that You have made us your children and have washed away our sins. Help us to trust Your Word of forgiveness spoken to us through our pastors. Help us, like Thomas, to say of You that You are our Lord and God. In Your name we pray. Amen.

ACTIVITIES Card Game: I Doubt It

Place a deck of playing cards; face down in the center of those playing. One person picks up the top card and holds it so only they can see the face value.

The person holding the card can either say to the person on the left “This card is a …” and correctly say what the face value of the card is or say some other face value. That is be, be honest or not be honest.

If the person on the left thinks that the face value they hear is correct should say, “I believe it” or if they do not think the face value they hear is correct should say “I doubt it”.

The card is then shown to all the players. If the person guessing is correct (believed when the face value they heard matches the card or doubted when the heard face value does not match the card); then they are given the card to keep. If the person guessing is incorrect, the card is returned to the bottom of the deck.

Then the person that guessed draws the top card from the deck and repeats with the person to their left guessing. This should continue for at least 10 rounds.

At the end the person with the most cards is the winner for being the best at believing or doubting.

We, like Thomas, when we cannot see what is going on have to depend on our human nature to decide what is true. Faith is believing in something without seeing it. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith to believe in Jesus.