To me, this is an absolutely STUNNING PICTURE!!! It reminds me of those "AH HA" movements that change your life forever. You know, the kind that you write of the calendar because you want to always remember when you "GOT IT"!!! Here is one such moment from the book of John...
John 20:20-31 NASB
(20) And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
(21) So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
(22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
(25) So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
(26) After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
(27) Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."
(28) Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
(29) Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
(30) Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
(31) but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
(20) And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
(21) So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
(22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
(24) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
(25) So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
(26) After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
(27) Then He *said to Thomas, "Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing."
(28) Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
(29) Jesus *said to him, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
(30) Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
(31) but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Frankly, I don't know how Thomas could utter the words from verse 25 above, but he did. How could a person be with Jesus for so long and still not believe??? Fortunately, Jesus gave him material proof, but for those of us who don't have that- What do we do? The answer that seems most logical to me is to investigate and question everything until your mind is satisfied. There is an abundance of archaeological and historical data that backs up the Bible and for most of us that should be enough. For the rest, I say- live a few more years and sooner or later you may just get to the point in your life when you can get past disbelief and trust in God. In the meantime, try reading the first five books of the New Testament. Who knows, you just might see a beam of light... and NO, do NOT start with Acts chapter 9!!!!