Dear Friends;

NKJV John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”

This particular piece of Scripture and the disciple behind it always make me think of a famous cartoon character or two! Now, you might think that strange but, let me explain and I think you will agree. Do you remember Thomas---(a.k.a. ‘Doubting’ Thomas)?  This was the fatalistic guy who had all the disciples, ‘Going to Jerusalem to die with Jesus,’ when Christ went back to raise Lazarus (John 11:16)!  Remember? This is the same Thomas, after Jesus explained how He was going to prepare a place for His disciples (John 14:5)  that said; ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how could we know the way!’  Is it any surprise that he would not believe his fellow disciples when they told him they had seen the resurrected Christ?

Thomas reminds me of ‘Grumpy,’ one of the seven dwarfs in the Disney classic, ‘Snow-white and the Seven Dwarfs!’ I remember distinctly watching the movie with my family when my daughter was a little girl. As the dwarfs approached their little cottage in the woods, after a  long day at the ‘gem mine,’ they noticed signs of someone or something being in there house! I remember Grumpy turning to the others and pointing at them, while waggling his finger saying, ‘Mark my words, there’s trouble a brewin’!’  Every scenario he described was disastrous from ‘witchcraft’ to ‘ghosts’ to a ‘monster!’ Even after they found Snow-white and had seen she had cleaned the cottage and fixed supper, it was ‘ole Grumpy who stated that women were, ‘Full ‘o wicked wiles!’  He didn’t know what ‘wicked wiles’ were---but he emphatically exclaimed, ‘I’m agin ‘em!’  Like Thomas, he had the ability to see a dark ominous cloud in every silver lining! The major difference with Thomas is that even though he displayed the temperament of a Melancholy, his love for Christ is what overshadowed the mistake he made in not believing his brothers. Indeed, he DID see the risen Lord who met him exactly where He needed to be met and gave him the empirical evidence he demanded! Upon placing his fingers in those nail pierced hands and in Christ’s spear-driven side, Thomas’ reply of, ‘My Lord AND my God, was the ‘good confession’ ALL of us should have this Easter season! It is not about the Easter Bunny! It is ALL about the risen Savior!

Come Meet Jesus with US!

Pastor Tim