Faithful Thomas

Ever heard of that guy? I came across a couple of passages shortly after I had heard someone make a “Doubtful Thomas” comment. So I just want to go on record in defense of Thomas. If you remember how the story goes, Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection from the dead. Thomas however was not there. When the others told Thomas about Jesus being alive he said “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” John 20:25. That single statement ruins a guy’s reputation. I want to remind you of a couple of other things to try to redeem this guy a little.

John Chapter 11 tells the story of the death of Lazarus. Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has died and says they are going to go to Lazarus. The disciples remind Jesus that the Jews had tried to kill Jesus there not long before. Jesus still makes plans to go and we have this statement. “Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.” The others seem to be trying to talk Jesus out of going to Bethany out of fear for his life, and possible their own, but Thomas is the one that says, let’s go die with him.

Now let’s take a look at Matthew 24. This is the Chapter where Jesus is telling his disciples about the future and about his return. Verse 4 says “Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will lead many astray.” Then in verse 26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!” So Thomas was following the instructions of the Christ. That is why he said unless I put my hands in his hands and side, I won’t believe it. He wanted to make sure that it was Jesus so he wasn’t being “Led astray” like Jesus had told them.

Finally let’s look at the death of Thomas. Thomas traveled and shared his faith in Jesus Christ. According to the story of his death, it would have taken place on July 3. Regardless of whether the date is accurate here is what happened to him. While in India Thomas was preaching about Jesus. He had been converting people to the Christian faith. Because of his preaching he was speared to death.

As I looked at these things I was shocked to see “The Doubter” being so faithful. He was willing to go die with Jesus. He followed Jesus’ instructions. He gave up his life preaching the Gospel of Christ. We should pray for that kind of faith and devotion.