24 Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn’t with the others when Jesus appeared to them. 25 So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But Thomas said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”
26 A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples 27 and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!”
28 Thomas replied, “You are my Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”
30 Jesus worked many other miracles for his disciples, and not all of them are written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you will put your faith in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. If you have faith in him, you will have true life.
Read John 20:24-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Following Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas gets the reputation of being a doubter because he missed seeing Jesus while the other ten remaining disciples were present when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room. But Thomas doesn’t get the “doubter” label for being absent; he gets this label because of his response when finding out that the other ten had seen Jesus.
On learning the news of Jesus’ visit to the upper room while he wasn’t there, Thomas replied, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!” (v. 25b)
By basing his belief on seeing and touching Jesus and specifically Jesus’ scars, Thomas gets labeled a doubter. While this label has stuck with him throughout history from that point forward, the label itself may be misplaced in Thomas’ situation.
John records what happened the following weekend. Thomas has determined to not leave the group of disciples in case Jesus returns. Part of me wonders if Thomas had doubts about whether Jesus would come to him personally or not, but perhaps in his mind, Thomas believed he had a better chance seeing Jesus if he was part of the group rather than alone. Maybe for this reason Thomas stayed close to the group of disciples looking forward to the next one of Jesus’ visits.
Thomas’ plan worked, and that following weekend, Jesus appeared to the disciples while Thomas was with them. While greeting the disciples, Jesus directly invites Thomas to touch Him and His scars. However, while this may have happened, John doesn’t record that it did. Instead, simply from seeing and hearing Jesus, Thomas had enough evidence to base his belief in the resurrection. While Thomas’ request was seeing and touching, He was satisfied simply seeing and hearing instead.
This isn’t typically how a skeptic acts. Someone who is looking for reasons to not believe in something will always find some fault in the evidence they are given. A skeptic is quick to push aside evidence that doesn’t support their views regardless of the validity of that evidence. Thomas’ response when Jesus appeared that second weekend tells us that Thomas was not a skeptic.
Also, this event includes a subtle third thing that Thomas used to base His belief in Jesus on. This third thing is that Jesus knew of Thomas’ earlier statement about seeing and touching. Jesus was not physically present when Thomas made his faith challenge, but that didn’t stop Jesus from referencing it.
This subtle third basis for faith is significant for us as well. Thomas’ story following Jesus’ resurrection helps us see that even if we don’t see or feel Jesus’ presence, we can trust that He is with us watching over the details of our lives.
Thomas’ doubt was brief, and when Jesus gave Him evidence for belief, Thomas was quick to accept the evidence and believe. This tells us that Thomas wasn’t a skeptic, but a disciple eagerly looking for something to base his faith on. When we look for evidence to support our faith in Jesus, we begin to see examples everywhere – and while these examples may not be a physical sighing of Jesus, the examples God sends us are effective foundations we can use to support our faith in Him.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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