John 20:24-29
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.”
As we look at how the disciples followed Jesus and see what they did, we see some confusion, some amazement, and much fulfilment...They listened to His teachings for three years, and were students of His...As students they would try to teach what He did after He left them...And at the end of all four gospels the disciples come to a place where they know that Jesus is LORD...And in fact, Thomas says to Jesus after he sees Him after His death, my LORD and my God...Because Thomas had seen Jesus after His death, He believed...But Jesus tells us blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed in Me...In the end, Jesus is everything to His followers and disciples...His teachings, His forgiveness, and especially His LOVE goes far beyond that of any man...Jesus tells us that He is the Only Way to God and our Mediator to Him...Jesus is our Savior from our sins...
So when we think of His disciples let us believe that they wanted to be as much like Him as they could be...They wanted to teach like Him and bear fruit like Him...The Original Disciples wanted to be like Jesus...Let us do the same...