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12 April, 2026Pastor John Strelan

The title ‘Supreme Leader’ is one commonly used to refer to the rulers of Iran and North Korea. These are rulers that demand and maintain absolute power and control by force, coercion, threat and violence which often leads to death. A synonym would be the title ‘Lord’. So, when the disciples say to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord” they are saying, “We have seen our Supreme Leader”. Thomas’s demand to see the nail marks on Jesus’ body as proof of who he is, really is a profound and insightful reflection on what kind of ruler Jesus is: a Supreme Leader who gives up absolute power and control and dies so that his people might have life. Thomas knows it’s the scars that prove it.

 Supreme Leader is also a Korean restaurant on Unley Rd, but I don’t think that’s what the disciples were referring to.

~ Pastor John


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John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

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.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

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