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Bible Study

John Bible Study, Day 38: Thomas Believes

Today’s passage: John 20:19–31

Focus verse: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

The Bible writes that faith is having confidence in the things we hope for and assurance in what we don’t see (Hebrews 11:1). Today this definition of faith applies to us.

We cannot see Jesus, so we must accept his resurrection and the salvation that he provides through faith. We have confidence and assurance that he overcame death to save us.

The disciples and Jesus’s other followers have it better than we do. Some of them see the empty tomb and eventually all of them meet the resurrected Jesus. It doesn’t take so much faith to believe what their eyes perceive. John, “the other disciple,” sees and believes (John 20:8).

We can assume that Mary and Peter also believe once they see the evidence of Jesus’s empty tomb (John 20:1–2 and 6–7). The rest of the disciples believe when they see him (John 20:20)—or at least everyone except Thomas.

Though Matthew, Mark, and Luke only mention Thomas once, John tells us more about him than the rest of the Bible combined. He shares three accounts about Thomas. 

The first story is Jesus telling his disciples what to expect and encouraging them to believe. He talks of preparing a place for them in heaven and coming back to get them so they can hang out with him forever. Then Jesus adds, “You know the way.”

This confuses Thomas. He wants clarification.

Jesus responds with what has become a familiar verse. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The second story is what Thomas is most known for. This is where we get the phrase doubting Thomas. When Jesus rises from the dead and sees his disciples for the first time, Thomas is absent.

He doesn’t believe the disciples when they insist that Jesus is alive—again. Thomas does the reasonable thing and demands proof.

In the third story, the disciples, including Thomas, hide in a locked room. Jesus materializes in their midst. He shows Thomas the nail scars in his hand and invites him to examine his side, pierced by the soldier’s spear. “Stop doubting,” Jesus says, “and believe.”

At last, Thomas does. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas now believes. He is no longer doubting Thomas but believing Thomas.

Though doubt characterizes him for a time, belief is where he ends up. He finishes strong. May we do likewise. May we have a firm belief in Jesus and who he is.

Jesus blesses Thomas because he sees and believes. We’re more blessed because we haven’t seen and still believe.

Questions:

  1. Do you doubt that Jesus is who he claims to be? Why?
  2. How do you define faith?
  3. What should you do when your faith wavers?
  4. Is faith the absence of doubt or is it belief in the face of doubt? Why?
  5. Which of John’s three stories about Thomas do you most identify with? Why?

Discover more about faith in Hebrews 11:1–40. What insights can you glean from this passage?

Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.


Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Study

John Bible Study, Day 25: Jesus Is the Way

Today’s passage: John 14:1–14

Focus verse: Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

Jesus has but a few hours left on earth. He wants to make the most of every moment. The teacher gives last-minute instructions to his disciples, trying to encourage them, which they’ll need in the days, months, and years ahead.

He talks about his father’s house with many rooms, about him preparing a place for them, and about him coming back to get them so they can be with him. If this isn’t cryptic enough, Jesus adds, “You know the way to where I’m going.”

Thomas, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, doesn’t. Speaking for the rest of them, he seeks clarification: “We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know how to get there?”

Jesus gives him a five-part answer, which John records for us. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Let’s explore this.

First, Jesus opens with, “I am.” Don’t miss this. In the Old Testament, God the Father tells Moses to think of him as I am. When Jesus repeats this phrase in his concise answer, it’s intentional.

We’re reminded that Jesus also exists as God, as God the Son. Jesus is the I am, just as much as the Father. (See Day 17 Bonus Content: “I Am.”)

Next, Jesus gives the first of three instructive phrases, saying that he is “the way.” Jesus himself serves as the path to God the Father. As our Messiah, he points us in the right direction.

He provides the means for us to get there. Soon he’ll do this by serving as the ultimate sin sacrifice for all of humanity, past, present, and future.

Jesus adds that he is “the truth.” He personifies what is real. He exemplifies truth, proclaims truth, and models truth. We can always rely on the words of Jesus as dependable. His words will set us free (John 8:31–32).

After confirming that he is the way and the truth, he adds that he is “the life.” Not only does Jesus give us life, but he is life. After giving us life at creation, he continues as one who lives forever. We, as his followers, will enjoy eternity with him.

The final of the five key phrases in this verse is “through me.” Jesus is the door to Father God. The first four parts of Jesus’s answer culminate in his conclusion: through him we reconcile with God the Father, our spiritual Papa.

Jesus supplies what we need for our journey in this life and into the next. He is the source of life, of truth, and of the way to the Father.

Questions:

  1. How can you encourage others, as Jesus encouraged his disciples?
  2. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the way?
  3. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the truth?
  4. What does it mean to you that Jesus is the life? 
  5. How does Jesus being the way, truth, and life influence how you live your life?

Discover more about Jesus being truth and life in Luke 20:21, John 11:25, and John 18:37. What insights can you glean from these passages?

Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.

Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.


Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

The Source of Life, Truth, and the Way to Father God Is Through Jesus

The disciple Thomas wants to go where Jesus will go but doesn’t know how to proceed. He seeks clarification. Jesus gives him a five part answer, which another disciple John records for us.

Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6, NIV).

I Am

In the Old Testament God the Father effectively tells Moses to think of him as “I am.” When Jesus repeats this phrase in his concise answer we are reminded that Jesus also exists as God, in the form of God the Son.

The Way

Jesus is the path to God the Father. Jesus points us in the right direction and provides the means for us to get there.

The Truth

Jesus personifies truth. He exemplifies truth, proclaims truth, and models truth. We can rely on the words of Jesus as true.

The Life

Not only does Jesus give us life, he is life. As taking part in creation, he emerges as one with life eternal.

The Door to Father God

The first four parts of Jesus’s answer, culminate in his conclusion: it is through him that we are reconciled with God the Father.

Jesus is the way. He provides all that we need for our journey in this life and into the next.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is John 13-15, and today’s post is on John 14:5-6.]

Read more in Peter’s new book, Living Water: 40 Reflections on Jesus’s Life and Love from the Gospel of John, available everywhere in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Christian Living

How to Deal with the Faith Versus Doubt Problem

Struggling with Doubt Isn’t a Sin, But We Must Avoid Letting Doubt Squash Our Faith

I once listened as a friend wrestled with the issue of faith versus doubt. She groaned in anguish over her struggle to believe with full faith, dismayed over the arrows of doubt that assaulted her.

I blurted out, “Faith without doubt isn’t faith. It’s a sure thing.”

I said this without thinking, and I’m still pondering it today. I hope it came from God, but I’m not sure. I think it’s profound, but maybe it isn’t. Yes,

Jesus affirms that great power results when we have faith without doubt. It’s a faith that can actually move mountains (Matthew 21:21). But does anyone have that kind of faith?

However, I suspect that to have faith without doubt isn’t a command. Instead it’s something to strive for, a goal to pursue even though we may never reach it.

As a result we’re left to contemplate the faith versus doubt problem.

What the Bible Says about Faith Versus Doubt

The word faith appears hundreds of times in the Bible, most prominently in Psalms (74 times), followed by Romans (40 times) and Hebrews (39 times).

In Hebrews we read that “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).

The chapter goes on to talk about the great faith of people in the Old Testament. Nowhere in the whole chapter does the issue of doubt come up. And surely some of these patriarchs did have a tinge of doubt assaulting their faith.

Yet they moved forward in faith anyway.

Interestingly the word doubt only appears fourteen times in the Bible, with the book of Matthew taking the lead (3 times).

In it Jesus criticizes his disciples for their lack of faith and for their doubt (Matthew 14:31). Later he tells Thomas to stop doubting and to believe (John 20:27).

I don’t view doubt as a sin, but I do see doubt that keeps us from acting in faith as disobedience. Ideally God would like us to have a faith with no doubt, but I don’t think it particularly bothers him when we struggle in the faith versus doubt department.

If our faith wins out over doubt, we’re good. However, we must avoid doubt that squashes faith, causing us to cower in fear instead of acting in boldness.

As long as we’re human, I suspect we’ll struggle with faith versus doubt.

But if we follow Jesus, we’ll have the power to overcome our doubt through faith.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

What Does the Bible Say About Easter?

Read What Scripture Says about Jesus’s Resurrection

Happy Easter! And Happy Resurrection Day!

Today is the time when we remember—and celebrate—Jesus overcoming death and rising from the dead.

Each gospel account of Jesus in the Bible tells us about Easter:

Matthew

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. 

“Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him’’ (Matthew 28:5-7).

Mark

“Don’t be alarmed,” [the angel] said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him” (Mark 16:6).

Luke

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again’” (Luke 24:5-6).

John

Simply confirms that the tomb where Jesus’ body lay was found to be empty, John simply records that he then appeared to Mary Magdalene, ten of the disciples, and lastly to Thomas, thereby confirming his resurrection from the grave (John 20).

Have a Happy Easter!

Celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and his return to heaven in The Victory of Jesus. The Victory of Jesus is another book in Peter DeHaan’s beloved Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series. Get your copy today.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.