John 20:24-29 (NIV)

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In Touch 

Thomas, often called “the doubter,” is not shamed for his need to see and touch. Instead, Jesus invites him directly into the most intimate and wounded part of his resurrected body. “Put your finger here,” Jesus says, “see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.” It is not abstract theology or triumphant proclamation that brings Thomas to faith, but intimate contact with the wounded body of Christ. The place of pain becomes the place of deepest communion.

Wounded Healer 

“The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” -Henri Nouwen “

Nicodemus, a curious Pharisee, came to Jesus at night and asked, “How can someone be born again when they are old?” Jesus spoke of a spiritual rebirth through water and the Spirit, explaining that only through this can one see the kingdom of God. Out of Nicodemus’ inquiry, Jesus gave his most famous teaching “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16 

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus….He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. -John 19:38a-40

The Body of Christ Can Hold Our Daily Doubts 

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Teresa of Avila (1515–1582)

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Before beginning your time with John and the message, consider catching each other up on your time since you last met together.

CONNECT WITH GOD (Use one of the below practices or choose one from a previous week.)

• Stillness

Alone: Sit in silence. Breathe deeply.

Pray: “Jesus, I bring you my faith, and I bring you my doubt.

Meet me where I am, as you met Thomas.”  

• Read: “A Liturgy for Now and Not Yet” by Ruth Chou Simons. Enter into an extended time of prayer and stillness. Use this prayer to ground you and posture you towards the Savior, who meets you in your wandering.

You, O God, are…

the Lord of my wrestlings,

the King of my yearnings,

the Creator of my giftings,

the Rescuer of my wanderings,

the Sustainer of my insufficiencies,

the Provider of my impossibilities,

the Way in my wanderings,

the Alpha of my beginnings,

the Omega of my endings,

and the Keeper of all that is yet to come.

Praise you, O God, for all that is yet to come.

Amen. 

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Together: Read John 20:24-29

• Before digging into the scripture and message more, pray together. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate and enlighten, and to speak to each one of you through the passage. 
• Alone: Reflect/journal on the following prompt:  
• What questions, doubts, or wrestling are you holding right now?
• As a whole group or in smaller pairs: Share your personal reflections from the prompts above. Encourage one another to engage curiosity, confusion, or bigger questions.  

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read the passage again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.  

• Review the main points from the sermon outline. 
• How did God meet you in the message this week? 
• What questions, observations, or reactions do you have after reflecting on the passage and sermon? 
• Contextualize the passage. What has happened just before this story? What might be the emotion in the room before Jesus appears? 
• How does Jesus respond to Thomas’ doubt?  
• How would you describe Thomas? 
• What image most sticks out to you as you read verses 20:24-29? 
• Consider Thomas’ response to Jesus in verse 28. What’s meaningful to you about his reply? 

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: Explore the prayer below by Teresa of Avila in connection with John 20:24-29.  

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,

Yours are the eyes, you are his body.

Christ has no body now but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks

compassion on this world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours. 

PRAYER 

This week, pray for one another in your wanderings and wrestlings. Pray deeply for one another. End in the Lord’s Prayer together.