The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the LORD. But he said to them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
We.
John 20:14-20 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus…
John 1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
Except.
John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Job 9:16 If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.
But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands,
Thomas's response reflects a common human desire for tangible evidence. The mention of "nail marks" is significant, as it confirms the method of crucifixion, a Roman execution practice. This detail aligns with Psalm 22:16, which prophetically describes the Messiah's hands and feet being pierced. Thomas's skepticism is not unique; it mirrors the doubts of others who initially struggled to believe in the resurrection (Luke 24:11).
and put my finger where the nails have been,
Thomas's demand to physically touch Jesus' wounds indicates a deep need for personal verification. This request highlights the physical reality of Jesus' resurrection body, countering any notion that the resurrection was merely spiritual or metaphorical. The emphasis on touch recalls 1 John 1:1, where the apostle speaks of having heard, seen, and touched the Word of life, affirming the tangible reality of Jesus.
and put my hand into His side,
The reference to Jesus' side points back to John 19:34, where a soldier pierced Jesus' side, fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 about looking on the one they have pierced. This act of touching the side would serve as undeniable proof of Jesus' identity and the reality of His resurrection. It also symbolizes the intimate and personal nature of faith, where belief often requires a personal encounter with Christ.
I will never believe.”
Thomas's declaration of disbelief unless he sees and touches Jesus' wounds highlights the struggle between faith and doubt. This moment sets the stage for Jesus' later appearance to Thomas, where He invites Thomas to touch His wounds, leading to Thomas's profound confession of faith in John 20:28. This interaction illustrates the grace and patience of Jesus in addressing doubt and the transformative power of encountering the risen Christ. Thomas's journey from doubt to belief serves as an encouragement for those who struggle with faith, reminding believers of Jesus' words in John 20:29, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John records, “So the other disciples told him” (John 20:25).
• The ten present on Resurrection Sunday evening (John 20:19–20) have already encountered the risen Christ.
• Luke 24:33–35 echoes the same enthusiastic relay of news: “The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon!”
• The verb tense conveys repeated sharing; they kept on telling Thomas. This is loving accountability—believers encouraging a brother who missed the gathering, just as Hebrews 10:25 urges.
• Their testimony is unified and eyewitness-based, fulfilling Deuteronomy 19:15’s standard that multiple witnesses establish truth.
This exclamation is the heartbeat of apostolic witness.
• It mirrors Mary Magdalene’s earlier words in John 20:18 and anticipates Peter’s later proclamation in Acts 2:32.
• The disciples are not offering second-hand rumor but first-hand sight, paralleling 1 John 1:1–3: “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes… we proclaim.”
• The definite article “the” Lord (ho Kyrios) underscores Jesus’ divine identity—“the Lord,” not merely “our teacher.” Compare Romans 10:9, where confessing “Jesus is Lord” is central to saving faith.
Thomas answers honestly, yet skeptically.
• His candid response shows God welcomes real questions (cf. Psalm 73:2–3, 16–17).
• Still, Thomas’s stance contrasts sharply with the immediate joy found in the others (John 20:20).
• Mark 16:14 reminds us unbelief is a universal struggle; Jesus later rebukes all the apostles for the same hardness of heart.
Thomas sets a personal condition: visual proof of crucifixion wounds.
• Zechariah 13:6 foresaw Messiah’s wounds.
• Jesus had already shown these marks to the others (John 20:20), validating continuity between the crucified and risen body.
• Thomas’s demand underscores that the resurrection is bodily, not spiritualized; Acts 10:40–41 says He was “made visible… who ate and drank with us.”
He wants tactile confirmation.
• Luke 24:39 records Jesus inviting touch: “Touch Me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones.”
• 1 John 1:1 again emphasizes sensory evidence—hearing, seeing, touching.
• Such physical interaction dispels any docetic notion that Jesus only appeared to have a body.
Thomas references the spear wound from John 19:34.
• Prophecy met fulfillment when Psalm 34:20 declared none of His bones would be broken, yet Zechariah 12:10 predicted Israel would “look on Me whom they have pierced.”
• The still-open side verifies that the same Jesus who died now lives, sustaining Revelation 5:6’s description of “a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.”
Thomas draws a hard line: belief conditioned solely on sensory proof.
• The phrase translates a double negative—an emphatic resolve.
• Contrast with John 20:8, where the beloved disciple “saw and believed” even before touching Christ.
• Jesus later blesses “those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29), linking to 1 Peter 1:8: “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him… and believe.”
• Thomas’s stance highlights the difference between empirical certainty and faith grounded in trustworthy testimony (Romans 10:17).
John 20:25 shows the community of faith sharing eyewitness testimony of the risen Lord and the honest struggle of a disciple who missed that moment. Thomas’s demand for physical proof underscores the bodily reality of Jesus’ resurrection, fulfilling Scripture and refuting any notion of mere spiritual survival. While Christ graciously meets Thomas’s conditions in the next verses, the passage calls readers to trust the reliable witness of Scripture and the apostles, joining the blessed company who believe without seeing yet are certain that “Jesus is Lord.”
(25) Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails.--This demand for the evidence of his own senses, and refusal to admit the testimony of eyewitnesses, though these were the whole of his ten brethren in the Apostolic band, remind us of the demand made to Christ Himself, "We know not whither Thou goest, and how can we know the way?"The reading of the second clause varies between "print of the nails" and "place of the nails." The Greek words vary by only one letter (?????, "print"; ?????, "place"), so that copyists may easily have taken one for the other. If we read "place," it answers to the touch of the finger, as "print" does to the sight of the eye; but, on the other hand, there is in the repetition an expression of determination, almost, we may say, amounting to obstinacy, which corresponds with the position which Thomas is taking.
And thrust my hand into his side.--Comp. John 20:20. The feet are not mentioned, but the hands and the side would be demonstrative evidence. We cannot properly infer from this verse that the feet were not nailed.
I will not believe.--The determination is expressed in its strongest form by the double Greek negative, "I will by no means believe."
Verse 25. - The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. Mary, Cleopas, Peter, John, bad all tried to animate his drooping spirit. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands (as I presume you have) the print of the nails, and (yet more than you have done - touch as well as see) put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will by no means believe - not merely in the Resurrection, which you attest, but in the grand reality I was fain to admit so recently, the supposed fact that he came from the Father, that he is the Way to the Father, that he is in the Father, that he is all he said he was. If Themas could grasp the new life, the new and hitherto unrevealed order of being, if he could spiritually see the realization of all the mystery of love in the Resurrection, then all that he was doubting would flash forth at once from its hiding-place. Perhaps, if he had been present with the rest, he would have accepted it; but how can he "believe through their word"? The extent of his doubt is further seen in this: he did not say, "If I see the print of the nails... I will believe;" but, "Except I see... I will by no means believe." The first manifestation of our Lord seemed to correspond with the first portion of the Savior's high-priestly prayer, viz. that he might himself be glorified; the second manifestation of the day corresponded with the prayer for the disciples; and now the third manifestation is to meet the difficulties of the third and more numerous class, who must gather all their conviction from the evidence of others. This subtle relation between parts of the Gospel shows how profound is the principle of its construction.