I would not like to be remembered throughout history from my most unflattering moment, and I’m pretty sure you would not, as well. Yet, that’s what happened to Thomas, called the twin, who was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. We know him as “Doubting Thomas.” His failure to believe his brother disciples on Easter night when they told him that Jesus had risen, is certainly not Thomas’ best moment! But forever “Doubting Thomas” is both harsh and unfair. Have you ever referred to Simon Peter as “Denying Peter?” Is Paul known to you as “Persecuting Saul?” You might think that the only thing we know about Thomas is his doubting, but that’s not the case.
One week after Easter, Jesus returns to His disciples, and this time Thomas is there. Jesus offers to meet Thomas’ doubt on Thomas’ own terms. Jesus has a glorified body, but it’s a body indeed. Thomas is invited to touch His wounds, still present. We are not told that Thomas did that, but we are told what he said. “Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God !’” (John 20:28 NIV) That is the highest confession of Jesus anywhere in the Gospel of John! Maybe we should call him “High Confessor Thomas.” There’s something about a hard-nosed skeptic, who comes to faith, however reluctantly. They powerfully believe!
Later, and I’ll speak of this when I preach this coming Sunday, Thomas is one of the seven disciples who fished in the sea of Tiberias[1] in Galilee of the Gentiles (Matthew 4:12-16), and then had breakfast with the risen Jesus. No doubts expressed there. Tradition tells us that to the Gentiles he went:
According to the 4th-century Ecclesiastical History of Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, he evangelized Parthia (modern Khorāsān). Later Christian tradition says Thomas extended his apostolate into India, where he is recognized as the founder of the Church of the Syrian Malabar Christians, or Christians of St. Thomas.[2]
How much of that is historical is difficult to know. Yet, who would proudly identify as Christians of “Doubting Thomas?” but Christians of “Saint Thomas?” YES!
There’s more to know about Thomas in John’s Gospel, found first in John 11. This event will explain my unusual title.
John 11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (NIV)
One of my favorite characters in C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, is cleverly named, “Puddleglum.” He appears in The Silver Chair, where he leads two children into an underground and dangerous realm with, yes, another wicked witch. While he always expects the worst to happen, he goes on anyway. One of my favorite Puddleglum quotes while in the underground is, “And you must always remember there’s one good thing about being trapped down here: it’ll save funeral expenses.” [3] Why does Puddleglum go ahead in the face of danger? He is faithful and obeys.
That’s Thomas. His doubts didn’t cause Thomas to leave. He is still with the other disciples one week after Easter. Thomas may have doubted, but he didn’t desert his faith. This is important for those of us who struggle with doubt. Hang in! The Lord has a way of showing up in the events of our lives, saying “See, touch, and believe.” As with Thomas (and “Doubting Habakkuk”), we will not be defined by our doubts, but by understanding that “the righteous person will live by his faithfulness (Habakkuk 2:4 NIV).”
We can learn much from this hard-nosed skeptic. I think I’ll simply call him “the Apostle Thomas.”
Tim Kelley