A Doubter and a Lover

I’m just gonna say it—I think Thomas the disciple, commonly known as “Doubting Thomas,” gets a bad rap. When the other disciples witnessed the risen Christ, Thomas was absent. Thomas said he wanted visible, tangible proof of Jesus’ resurrection, saying, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my hand into his side, I will never believe” (John 20:25). It’s easy to criticize Thomas for his unbelief, but I’m not sure I would be any better. Would I take the word of the other eleven disciples? Would I really believe Jesus had risen from the dead? Thomas loved Jesus deeply. So fervent was his love for the Savior that in John 11:16 he was willing to follow Jesus into possible death when Jesus wanted to go to Bethany. Perhaps Thomas wanted evidence of the risen Christ not because he was apathetic but because he felt the intense hurt when Jesus died. Death is painful, separating loved ones and drawing us into profound grief. Even Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35). Death is unnatural, a consequence of the curse of sin, yet Jesus has overcome the power of sin through His death and overcome the power of death through His resurrection. The good news is, the story doesn’t end with Thomas’s doubt. A week after Thomas’s statement of unbelief, Jesus reappeared in the upper room where the disciples had gathered behind locked doors. Jesus confronted Thomas and invited him to touch His hands and His side—to touch the very wounds Thomas had said he needed to see. Thomas immediately believed, saying “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28). In fact, church tradition says Thomas spent his life as a missionary and died at the point of a spear. He devoted his life to sharing the good news of the resurrection with those who had not seen the risen Christ in person. He may have doubted in the upper room, but he had no doubts about Jesus for the rest of his life. • Mike Hurley • Do you think “Doubting Thomas” is an accurate label? • Why is it hard to believe Jesus without seeing Him? Read John 20:30-31 and 1 Peter 1:3-12. Why was the gospel of John—and the rest of the Bible—written? • Read Psalm 34:8, Hebrews 4:14-16, and James 1:5. Why can we come to God when we have questions? Why can we trust Him? But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 (CSB)

Read Verses:

John 20:24-31