💫WEB · John 20:27
What does John 20:27 mean?
"Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”"
— John 20:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
After eight days again his disciples were inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being locked, and stood in the middle, and said, “Peace be to you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.”
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed.”
Therefore Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book;
Explanation
John 20:27 captures the moment Jesus directly addresses Thomas, the disciple who had declared he would not believe Jesus had risen from the dead unless he could personally touch the wounds from the crucifixion. In this verse, Jesus invites Thomas to do exactly what he said he needed to do—place his finger in the nail marks on Jesus's hands and his hand in the wound in Jesus's side. Jesus then follows this invitation with a direct exhortation: stop doubting and start believing.
The context is essential to understanding this passage. John's Gospel was written, as the author states later in this same chapter, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (John 20:31). This scene takes place about a week after the resurrection. Thomas had been absent when Jesus first appeared to the other ten disciples, and when they told him they had seen the Lord, he refused to believe without physical proof (John 20:25). Now Jesus appears again, this time with Thomas present, and demonstrates that he knows exactly what Thomas had demanded—showing both his supernatural knowledge and his patient willingness to meet Thomas in his doubt.
Theologically, this passage affirms the physical, bodily nature of the resurrection. Jesus is not a ghost or a vision; he bears real wounds and invites physical contact, confirming that the same body that was crucified has been raised. At the same time, the verse reveals something about the character of Christ—he does not rebuke Thomas harshly or abandon him for his skepticism, but graciously
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