Doubting Thomas

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "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 it."

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:19-31).

It is from this Bibkle passage that we get the term "Doubting Thomas." Jesus’ disciple has the dubious distinction of being the most famous doubter in history. And this is truly unjust, because Thomas is not alone. You and I, as Americans, are some of the greatest doubters that have ever lived. Thomas has nothing on us.

We weren’t always such a negative society; our country was founded on optimism. Immigrants to these shores came because they believed that a better life awaited them here—they came with this hope, even though few of them had any real knowledge of what awaited them in America. Most immigrants had never left their hometowns, let alone their countries; most had no relatives waiting to greet them as they got off the boat at ports along the Atlantic or Pacific coast. They came with hope, not fear; they came in faith, not as doubters.

But the events of time have severely eroded America’s optimism. I think it started with World War One, the so-called ‘Great War.’ For the first time in history, a single conflict involved nations from all around the world. The death toll was staggering; no one could believe that any war would ever again be so large, so terrible, so costly. Then came the Great Depression, demonstrating that nation-wide hardship could strike even America at home. This was followed by World War Two, an even worse conflict than the Great War. Yet through all these hardships, Americans still remained cautiously optimistic.

This all changed in the 1950s, as an entire generation grew up in fear of nuclear war ending all life on earth. Then the 1960s seemed to undercut all of America’s traditional values as our nation confronted Vietnam, racial prejudices, open sexuality, and drug use. The final blow came in the 1970s, as the nation lost all faith in its government due to the Watergate scandal. By the 1980s, no one seemed to have any trust left to give anymore; the "great generation" of the 1930s had given way to the "me" generation of the 1980s. Most university professors now teach that there is no such thing as ‘absolute truth’. Truth, if it exists at all, is relative—what is true for me may not be true for you. They echo Pontius Pilate in asking: what is truth? (John 18:38) They have come to doubt whether even truth itself truly exists.

We have grown up in a nation of cynics and skeptics. Take a look at your own belief system. Do you believe the police to be fair and helpful, or do you doubt that they have your best interests at heart? Do you believe that the merchants you do business with are honest, or does doubt cause you to check your receipt carefully before leaving the store? Do you believe that your elected officials will try to keep their campaign promises, or do you automatically assume the worst from them?

Doubt drives our lives. Doubt results in schools mailing report cards to parents rather than trusting the children to carry them home. Doubt causes the IRS to audit a random sampling of tax returns. Doubt leads to calls for ‘country of origin labeling’ on foods. In a country where odometers on used cars are rolled back, age is disguised by cosmetic surgery, and news agencies filter their reporting according to political bias, doubt would seem to be the sensible response. A healthy dose of skepticism is needed, we think, to protect us from being taken advantage of.

What a challenge today’s Gospel lesson is to us. Instead of living comfortable lives as cynics, Jesus calls us instead to have faith! Instead of demanding proof, our Lord wants us to build our lives on trust! What a truly difficult, life-changing thing Jesus asks of us.

It isn’t hard to step into Thomas’ shoes. He was at the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested. He was well aware of Jesus’ public execution on the hill of death just outside the city gates. He had seen the sun darken that Friday afternoon; he had felt the earthquake that came with Jesus’ last breath. He knew that Jesus had died. And, from his experience, no one rose from the dead. The only person who had ever raised a corpse to life had been Jesus Himself, and with Jesus dead and buried, there was no one left to raise Him.

So when the disciples tripped over each other in their eagerness to tell him that they had seen Jesus alive, you can hardly blame Thomas for being skeptical. Most likely, the disciples hadn’t been eating much in their sorrow; the stress of the past few days combined with being undernourished probably had them seeing things, seeing what they wanted to see. No, Thomas would need more than mere words--"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 it."

And so a week goes by. Thomas probably feels sorry for his fellow disciples, that they have deluded themselves with wishful thinking; perhaps he even feels a little smug, being more levelheaded than they. But then, as they are dining together in a locked room, there, unexpectedly, miraculously, Jesus appears! Appears in the flesh! The Lord holds out His hands, hands scarred by the large iron nails that had fastened them to the cross as He suffered and died to make atonement for every human sin—even Thomas’ sin of doubt. Jesus invites Thomas to touch Him, touch the scars, verify for himself the undeniable truth that Jesus has risen from the grave. Stop doubting and believe.

Incredible joy washes over Thomas; for more than a week he has been grieving Jesus’ death, beating himself up that he had abandoned his Lord to suffer and die alone. All for nothing! Jesus is alive—He who had the power to raise others from the dead had raised Himself as well. Thomas’ response is one of pure relief and joy: "My Lord and my God!"

And then Jesus says something that sobers Thomas, sobers the other disciples, sobers us all: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Jesus gently chastises Thomas for being a doubter. Jesus isn’t hard on his disciple; our Lord loves him dearly, and knows how hard it is to find faith in a world of despair. But doubting is not the way of the Christian; the way of the Christian is believing without the security of tangible proof.

Doubt is the opposite of faith. Thomas had been with Jesus for nearly three years; he had seen Jesus’ power over weather, over diseases, over demons, over death itself. He knew that Jesus kept His promises. He knew that Jesus had said: The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father (John 10:17-18). If Thomas had faith, he would not have despaired when Jesus died; if he had faith, he would not have been surprised at the news that Jesus had risen from the grave. No, what got in the way was doubt—doubt that Jesus could or would make good on His promise to come back to His disciples, resurrected from the grave.

Faith in Christ and His ability to keep His promises is essential for our eternal welfare. Hebrews chapter eleven tells us, without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Jesus died for your sins; Jesus is alive forevermore to hear your prayers; Jesus will forgive your sins if you ask Him to, because He has the power and the authority to do so. If you believe this, you will take your mistakes to Him for mercy and receive eternal life; but if you doubt, then you will not pray, you will not seek His forgiveness, and you will die in your sins, die forever in the torments of hell. That is where doubt leads—it leads to hell.

St. John wrote: Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The whole purpose for the Bible being written is to eliminate your doubts about God’s care for you, which is ultimately expressed through His Son Jesus Christ. God so wants to put your doubts to rest that He inspired four different men to each record our Savior’s death and resurrection for our benefit.

You know that there are many experts who dismiss the Bible as myth or legend or wishful thinking. They might acknowledge that a man once lived who was named Jesus and that he was a wise man, but they cannot accept his heavenly parentage, his miracles, or his resurrection. They can accept as true things that were written centuries ago by various individuals, words carved on a stone uncovered in a desert, or inked on a piece of rice paper buried in an ancient tomb, or painted on the wall of a prehistoric cave—but the testimony of four men who agree, that they cannot accept. In a court of law, no judge or jury will be satisfied that the truth has been fully revealed based on the testimony of only one witness; but if there are four witnesses, all of who agree on what happened, the resulting verdict is secure. Why do many so-called experts ignore the combined witness of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John regarding Jesus? Because they are doubters; like Thomas, they will not believe in something incredible unless they can touch it, see it, experience it first hand. And because they are doubters, there is no comfort for them when life dumps loads of grief on them, there is only despair when death beckons them.

Of course, faith is hard. Hebrews tells us, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. It is hard to imagine how we can have such a faith when everything in our experience makes us want to doubt. Thankfully, such faith is not brought about by our effort—it is given us by the Spirit of God. St. Paul writes, no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). The Spirit uses God’s testimony recorded in the Bible to work this miracle of faith within us. This is why it is so important to spend as much time immersed in God’s word as you can—because these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Don’t be a 'Doubting Thomas'. Resist the American temptation to view everything with suspicion. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus died to end your slavery to sin, death and Satan. Jesus lives to forgive you, make you wise, and welcome you at the last into paradise. This is a truth that you can count on. This is a truth that can give your life meaning in a world of uncertainty and pessimism. Make time with God and His word your top priority, and let His Spirit drive away your doubts. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.