Jesus said to him [Thomas], “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:29 (ESV)

Are you a have-to-see-it-to-believe-it kind of person? I’m not. I can read a fantasy novel and drink it up and have no problem believing in other dimensions, alternate universes, or time travel. Call me crazy.

Thomas, on the other hand, was a touchy-feely kind of guy. He had to touch Jesus’ wounds before he could confirm that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead.

But what about Mary Magdalene? Earlier in John chapter 20, Mary is one of the first people on site at the empty tomb. A man appeared before her asking whom she was looking for. She saw the man yet did not recognise him. But when he said her name, she knew immediately who stood before her.

Where Thomas needed to see to believe, Mary had to hear.

We’re not all going to see Jesus standing right in front of us. But we all have the ability to hear his voice.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

John 10:27 (ESV)

Even if you are not like me, easily able to believe in the supernatural, you can still listen. Mary, in her firm belief that Jesus was dead, did not recognise him in appearance, but his voice, his voice she knew. After years of sitting at his feet listening to him speak, she would know his voice anywhere.

Have you been listening? Even if you can’t see Jesus, can you hear him? Do you know his voice? Is his voice proof enough for you?

Daily Bible reading: Ezra 3-5; John 20