"Doubting” Thomas

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John 20:24-29 Now ‍Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, ‍“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. ‍Although 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, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, ‍“My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? ‍Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

If impostors and deceivers had compiled the Bible for their own private advantage, they would never have told mankind that one of the disciples of Jesus had behaved as Thomas here did. Just look what Thomas missed by not being with the other believers first time Jesus appeared. Throughout history Thomas has been known as the doubting disciple. We don't know a lot about him. We certainly don't know as much about Thomas we do about Peter, James and John. He was one of the Twelve who were chosen, out of all the disciples, to be close to Jesus. So Thomas was important and it may help our Christian walk to see what John has to say about him. Matthew, Mark and Luke simply list him among the names of the Twelve. These three earlier Gospels leave this story out possibly because Thomas was still alive. John, writing much later, tells us more.

Thomas spoke up when he needed to.
One of those times was when Jesus was headed into danger. John 11:14-16 tells us, “Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 ‍So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, ‍that we may die with him.”” Jesus and his disciples had been staying away from the vicinity of Jerusalem. The religious leaders had been trying for some time to arrest him. Jesus knew that the arrest would come but he also knew it wasn’t time yet. Thomas was with him, along with the others, when word came that Jesus' dear friend Lazarus was very sick. Jesus’ first reaction was to wait two more days and then say, “Let us go to him.” That was when Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Thomas was disappointed in his desire to die with Jesus. He would yet be given the opportunity to die for Jesus a long time after. The tradition of the early church is that Thomas left the Holy Land and founded the first church in Babylon. Then he went on to India. There are Christians living today who believe they are descended from people who were converted by Thomas before he was killed for his faith.

Jesus’ followers often expected to die for him. Many years later Paul would go to Jerusalem expecting to die there — but he was disappointed! He was beaten by the crowd who intended to kill him but he was rescued by the Romans! After Paul was examined and locked up in prison Jesus came and stood by him and said, “Take courage, for ‍as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ‍testify also in Rome.” (Acts 23:11) After Paul had borne witness in Rome — knowing that he would soon pay the price of discipleship — he wrote to Timothy, “For ‍I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ‍departure has come. 7 ‍I have fought the good fight, ‍I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is ‍laid up for me ‍the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, ‍the righteous judge, will award to me on ‍that Day, and not only to me but also to all ‍who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

In 1724 Isaac Watts would write a song as part of a sermon entitled, “Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” It goes like this:
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

Thomas also spoke up when he didn't understand Jesus. John 14:1-7 tells us, “‍“Let not your hearts be troubled. ‍Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In ‍my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that ‍I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you ‍to myself, that ‍where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 ‍Thomas said to him, “Lord, ‍we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am ‍the way, and ‍the truth, and ‍the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 ‍If you had known me, you would have ‍known my Father also. From now on you do know him and ‍have seen him.”
I am sure that the disciples often failed to understand what the master had to say. This was a prime example. At least three times Jesus had told them that he would be crucified and would rise again on the third day. He was going away but they didn’t understand it! Instead of sitting there confused, like the rest of the disciples, Thomas spoke up, “Lord, we do not know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” This seemed like a good question to him and Jesus patiently explained, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Thomas needed to know that and so do we. Our Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.

He was not there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples.
He simply did not expect the risen Lord. No matter how many times Jesus had said he would be crucified and come back to life the disciples didn’t get it! So after the crucifixion of Jesus, apparently, Thomas stayed away. Maybe he had trouble settling with his grief. If he didn’t believe Jesus would rise from the dead he might’ve thought the rest of them were a little crazy pretending Jesus had been raised from the dead

In fact, he openly rejected the idea. John 20:25b Thomas said to the other disciples, ‍“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” This is utterly amazing!
Think of what Thomas had seen. He saw five thousand men, not counting women and children, fed with a boy's lunch! He saw Jesus, and Peter, walk on the water! He had seen lepers healed! He had seen the eyes of the blind opened! He had seen Lazarus raised from the dead! He had heard Jesus’ teaching and had even been willing to die with him! But after seeing him die he wouldn’t believe that he would come back from the dead. All of us slip into times of doubt and we can be encouraged by Thomas. If the Lord Jesus would patiently bring Thomas around to faith he will surely do the same thing for us when we doubt.

But he was open to discuss it. On the next Lord’s day, when the disciples gathered together in the upper room Thomas was with them! His doubt did not turn him away from the fellowship of believers. He knew there was something special about these people and he needed to be there with them. I don’t believe he went expecting to see the risen Lord. It could very well be that Jesus appeared the second time just for Thomas’ sake. The thought of that is encouraging to me! I’m often slow to catch on to what God is up to and I need him to reach out and draw me along. The story of Thomas’ doubt should encourage us all to come to the throne of grace and trust that the one we are unsure of is sure of us. Even when we are faithless he is faithful! J. C. Ryle, in his commentary on The Gospel John, wrote, “Our Lord has many weak children in His family, many dull pupils in His school, many raw soldiers in His army, many lame sheep in His flock. Yet He bears with them all, and casts none away.”

Thomas confessed Jesus to be his Lord and his God!
For a second time Jesus came to a room where the door was locked yet he entered because he cannot be locked out. No matter how often we turn away he will come to us by his will not ours. He will not leave us alone — praise God for that! Jesus had the promise of the Father, “And ‍this is the will of him who sent me, ‍that I should lose nothing of ‍all that he has given me, but ‍raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who ‍looks on the Son and ‍believes in him ‍should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6: 39-40) Paul would later write to the Romans, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, ‍“For your sake ‍we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than ‍conquerors through ‍him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39) Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! We may turn away, we may drag our feet, we may doubt and even consider ourselves without faith but he will remain faithful — Praise God!

Thomas proclaimed Jesus "Lord". In Romans chapter 10 verses 9 & 10 we are told if we confess Jesus as Lord with the mouth and believe with the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead we will be saved. The term “Lord” is used a number of times in the Gospels for God himself. It was not a casual term like it might be today. When Thomas recognized that all that Jesus had said was true his relationship to Jesus was forever changed. Jesus had been his Rabbi, or teacher, but now Jesus was his Lord! Now, Thomas belonged to Jesus! The doubting one was convinced because of the patient love of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Then Thomas proclaimed Jesus as "God". This is a much more serious confession! At that time one might call a social superior “Lord” though it was a serious term to use. Now, Thomas adds, “My God”. If there was ever any doubts as to the divinity of Jesus this should settle it. When Cornelius fell down at the feet of Peter and would have worshiped him, the Apostle refused such honor at once--"Stand up; I too am a man." (Acts 10:26.) When the people of Lystra would have done sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, "they tore their clothes, and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you." (Acts 14:14.) But in this case, there was not a word of rebuke. Instead Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? ‍Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus could hardly have made it clearer. He is God!

There is no doubt that the divinity of Jesus is a foundational truth for Christianity. If Jesus was not God then there is a limit to what he can do for us. He can’t be our mediator. He can’t bear our sins since he would have sins of his own. He can’t give us salvation since he would need salvation himself. Many years ago C. S. Lewis put forth the idea that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or he is Lord. There is no middle ground. It Jesus is not Lord then everything we know about him is false. If Jesus is not Lord he was a deceiver, he was deceived or he was insane. Where do you stand? Is he your Lord?

All Scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Jn 1:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.