Doubt and Faith
“Doubting Thomas” has got to be one of the harshest nicknames given to a disciple of Jesus. It’s right up there with “Judas, the one doomed to destruction” (John 17:12) … ouch! So why does Thomas get such a label that still sticks 2,000 years later? The answer is found in the Gospel of John.
John 17 recounts the events of that first Easter Sunday. After Mary encounters Jesus at the empty tomb, she immediately tells the other disciples. That evening, while they are hiding in a locked room, Jesus appears to them, speaks peace, and breathes the Holy Spirit upon them. Except for Thomas. He wasn’t there to witness this miracle. He missed out.
When his friends tell him “We have seen the Lord,” he responds “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 (John 17:25).” And for that response, his reputation as a “doubter” and his new nickname is sealed for good!
But maybe we can have a bit of grace on Thomas, and even learn from his response. In my understanding of this story, Thomas doesn’t doubt his Lord. He doubts his friends. They had just had a remarkable experience, and they were trying to tell him all about it. But Thomas was not about to simply to take their word for it. He needed to encounter his Lord for himself. (And also, in his defense, Jesus had told his disciples in Matthew 24:26 “If anyone tells you…’Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” So… there is that.)
Some of us hear stories of other peoples’ encounters with God, and we are quick to believe. We say “I’ll take your word for it.” Others may be more cautious and say, “No offense, but I’m going to need to see this for myself.” They. like Thomas, are not going to rely on the experiences of others to give them faith.
When Thomas does have that face to face encounter with the resurrected Jesus, he boldly declares. “My Lord and my God! (John 17:28)” He responds in faith, and is in fact the first of the disciples to acknowledge the divinity of Jesus. And he does this because he has encountered Jesus for himself.
This Easter season, I pray that we all would have the opportunity to personally encounter the resurrected Jesus. I pray that Almighty God would reveal himself to all of us, those who believe, and those who do not yet believe. And to those longing to see their loved ones find faith in Jesus, let me encourage you. They, like Thomas, may be just one Jesus-encounter away from responding in great faith.
