Jesus Reveals Himself Raised from the Dead

The Holy Apostle Thomas was not present when Jesus first appeared to the Apostles after the Resurrection. So eight days later, He appeared again, this time so that Thomas might believe. When Jesus appeared, He said, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20.27)

We all need a boost from God every now and then so that we can strengthen our faith in Him.  As we heard during the Resurrection Liturgy, the beauty of the entire story of Jesus Christ, from His birth through to His death and glorious resurrection, is that HE CAME TO US, and “As many as received Him, to them [that means us] He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1.12)

Some did not, and still do not, believe in His Gospel, and each person has the freedom to accept or to deny Him. But for those who DESIRE to believe, Jesus always appears in the fashion needed. St Thomas wasn’t the only one who needed physical proof, which is why Jesus didn’t remain separate from us in Heaven, but came to reveal Himself to us.

But for those of us living in 2014, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20.29) For us, we can take comfort in the words of Saint Paul, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by the Cephas [St Peter], then by the twelve. After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once.” (1 Corinthians 15.5-6)