The Lord said to me…”I will test my people with a
Plumbline, Amos 7:8 (TLB)
The Plumbline is a blog to bring hope and encourage
to the Body of Christ.
The Man Thomas
THOMAS was one of the twelve apostles. In the lists of the Twelve,
which are arranged in three groups of four each, Thomas occurs in the second
group (Mt. 10:2–4; Mk. 3:16–19; Lk. 6:14–16; Acts 1:13). He is linked with
Matthew in Mt. 10:3 and with Philip in Acts 1:13. The name comes from Aram,
meaning ‘twin’; John three times uses the Greek. version of it, ‘Didymus’
(11:16; 20:24; 21:2). The question whose twin he was cannot be answered with
certainty. “Apostle” comes from the root world, which means to send out with
purpose, a mission or a commission with the authority of the sender.
It is only in the Fourth
Gospel that there are any personal references to Thomas. He was prepared to go
with Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus and to possible death at the hands of the
Jews (Jn. 11:16). He confessed himself unable to understand where Jesus was
going when he warned the Twelve of his impending departure (Jn. 14:5). The
chief incident for which he has always been remembered, and for which he has
been called ‘Doubting Thomas’, is his disbelief in the resurrection. He missed
the appearance of Christ to the other apostles (Jn. 20:24) and said that he
needed visual and tactual proof of the resurrection (20:25). A week later
Christ appeared again to the Eleven and he offered Thomas the opportunity to
test the reality of his body.
Jesus sets up a great
insight for us. Look at what John 20:21-22 reports. “Peace be with you! As the
Father sent me, so send I you”. Jesus then breathed on the Apostles and said
“Receive the Holy Spirit…” This act by Jesus possibly changed the course of the
Apostles.
Thomas’ confession of
faith, ‘My Lord and my God’ (20:28), marks the climax of the Fourth Gospel;The Scriptures declare
that Jesus is God. This is the foundation of the Christian faith and is utmost
importance for our salvation. Thank you Lord Jesus for your commitment to the
Father’s Will making atonement for the sins of the world. Mark 1:11 (NKJV) Then a voice came from
heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
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