CHAYYEI YESHUA

A Devotional Commentary on the Weekly Besora Reading

Rabbi Kaplan

We often depend upon signs before we will believe in the reality of God's work in the world. A classic example of this is the exodus from Egypt. In Exodus 15, Israel rejoices at the capacity of their divine warrior king to destroy the Egyptian army and lead them from bondage in Egypt. In Exodus 16, they are already grumbling for food, doubting that God will be able to provide for them. They want God to show them.

Thomas is like us, like our ancestors in the wilderness. He has seen Yeshua's miracles. He helped to feed thousands with only a few loaves and fishes. He watches countless people healed and even some resurrected through Yeshua. In this week's reading, we encounter Thomas, incredulous, listening to the report of the visitation Yeshua had paid his followers in their locked room in Jerusalem.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Yeshua came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Yeshua said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 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 retain the sins of any, they are retained."

John 20:19-23

Thomas hears the report of the disciples encountering their risen Lord who entered a locked room to visit them. He hears how they saw his wounds and that he is alive. He hears Yeshua's sending of them and the gift of the Holy Spirit empowering them for their work of forgiveness and reconciliation. Yet, Thomas does not believe. He wants the same experience the other disciples had received or he "will not believe" (John 20:25). What are we to make of Thomas' doubt? Is it out of jealousy for the experience of the other disciples? Or does he, like our ancestors, not trust the capacity of God to do such a wondrous thing even when others tell him? In fact, Thomas did come to experience the risen Lord one week later.

Much has been made of Thomas' doubt and the belief of those in later generations who had not seen yet believed. Indeed many of us count ourselves blessed because we have not witnessed the wounds of our resurrected Messiah in person. But are we really that much different than Thomas? Many of us indeed continue to seek signs to encourage our faith, but that should not distract us from the task of following Yeshua's mandate and sharing the news of our risen Messiah. Certainly, this was not a task which Thomas and the other disciples forsook. For after having seen the risen Lord they began the task of proclaiming the good news with their whole heart. How much more should be who have not seen, and yet believed, live out the commission of our Messiah!