Main Text: John 20:19-21 (Acts 5:27-32; Revelation 1:4-8)
Thomas was not with them when they encountered the resurrected Lord. We are not told where he was, but only that when others told him that they had seen the Lord he would not believe. He had lost his relationship with Jesus when he died on the cross. He had been a witness to his brutal death and believed the story ended there. Have you ever been in the locked room for fear of the world? Have you ever been through an event or a loss that left you locked away from the world and others in fear? How did you make it through? How did you find your way out of that room? Maybe you are still there. Ask anyone who has found their way through the fear and they will tell you that something broke through that locked room and offered them peace that they could never have found on their own. Faith says that this is the resurrected Lord. “I have seen the Lord!”, the disciples proclaimed. Jesus came back and invited Thomas to experience the resurrection. Christ comes to us as well and invites us to move from fear to faith. Jesus tells the disciples, “as the father has sent me, so I send you.” Now we are called to move out in faith to witness to the resurrected Christ in our lives and in this time. We are called to be witnesses!