One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. John 20:24-28 NLT
Thomas has been the victim of bad, partial reporting for centuries. Known as Doubting Thomas in most people’s minds because of the account recorded in John 20, Thomas has a much larger story that shows his faith was far greater than his momentary doubt. His before story tells us that Jesus chose him to be one of the Twelve. That’s a great vote of confidence. Then John 11 tells us that Jesus was heading back into Judea, an area controlled by those who wanted to kill Him. The other disciples tried to dissuade Him, but Thomas was the one who spoke up and said, “He’s going – let’s not let Him go alone. Let’s go with Him and die with Him.” Doesn’t sound like a man who deserves the moniker “Doubting Thomas.”
We do think of Judas as “the Betrayer,” which he was. His fatal failure was not the betrayal, but that in his regret and remorse he turned from God, help, and hope. But we don’t think of Peter as “the Denier,” although he was that, not once but three times. And all the other disciples had already seen the Risen Lord. They had already seen His hands and His feet. They had firsthand evidence. He hadn’t had that privilege yet. The whole group of them doubted. They all hid. They all went back to fishing or whatever life they still had. Thomas was not the only doubter.
When Jesus saw Thomas, He welcomed him to completely investigate and settle his doubts. He did criticize him – His message to Thomas was a message to the whole group: “Stop doubting. Believe.”
Thomas responded with the greatest faith confession possible. He exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” And the rest of the story? When Thomas said he would follow Jesus anywhere, little did he know his words would come true! Church history tells us Thomas traveled to Persia and India, perhaps even China, becoming a bold evangelist and church planter. History tells us he died by the sword in southern India. Interesting. Thomas touched Jesus’ side where the sword had pierced Him, and he too was pierced by a sword for his faith in Jesus. Not a doubter – a strong believer who sometimes felt doubt and always defeated it.
- Don’t allow the doubts you sometimes experience define you. Declare that Jesus is your Lord and your God. You are a strong believer who will defeat your sometime doubts.