John 20:19-31; Ephesians
1:3-6
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Thomas was no
more a doubter than the other disciples, nor you or I. The difference between
Thomas and us is that he was bold enough to voice his doubts before his peers
and his Lord. Thomas said what he was thinking, and therefore his questions
could be answered and his doubts could be assuaged. When you harbor your doubts
and do not express them, not only do you not get answers and comfort from the
Word of the LORD, but your Enemy the devil will use your doubts against you to
lead you into unbelief and to destroy your faith.
Not so with
Thomas. Thomas came right out with his questions and his doubts. When Jesus set
Himself to go to Jerusalem to face His destiny there, it was Thomas who
despaired vocally to the other disciples saying, “Let us go that we might die
with Him!” And, when Jesus comforted His disciples, assuring them that He was
going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them that He might return
and take them to be with Him, it was Thomas who expressed the confusion they
all felt saying, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how can we know the
way?” But, of course, Thomas is most infamously known for his bold expression
of doubt concerning the Lord’s resurrection, blurting out before the others,
“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the
mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” For
this statement alone, it seems, Thomas has received the moniker of “Doubting
Thomas.”
Yet, because
Thomas was bold enough to ask, He received precisely what He needed to answer
his questions and to alleviate his doubts – and, undoubtedly, the doubts of
others. Our resurrected Lord Jesus beckoned Thomas to come to Him, to see the
marks of the nails and spear in His hands, feet, and side, to place his finger
into His holy wounds, to place His hand into His opened side, with the
exhortation, proclamation, and invitation, “Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
The Evangelist does not record that Thomas actually touched Jesus’ wounds. It
is my belief that he did not, for now, seeing with his own eyes, Thomas’ doubts
were assuaged, his questions answered. Then Thomas was able to give a
confession more bold and true than even St. Peter’s. For, Peter rightly
confessed his Lord Jesus to be “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” but
Thomas now confessed of Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”
It is the
Holy Gospel According to St. John that provides us much of what we know about
St. Thomas from the Holy Scriptures. Seemingly, John used Thomas’s questions
and doubts to reveal important truths about Jesus. In Thomas’ despairing, “Let
us go that we may die with Him!” is revealed the reason that Jesus was going to
Jerusalem and also the way of those who would be His disciples, that they must
take up their own crosses and follow Him. Likewise, Thomas’ confused statement,
“Lord, we do not know where You are going, how can we know the way?” becomes an
opportunity for Jesus to reveal that He is both the way to the Father and one
with the Father saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.” This faith and confession is confirmed
in Thomas, and in all believers, whether they have seen like Thomas or not, in
His confession of Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus, bearing now and forever
the marks of His crucifixion and death, is literally the living proof of our
justification and reconciliation with God the Father. In the resurrection,
Jesus’ wounds have become “glorious scars” and “dear tokens of His passion.”
After Jesus’
resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, there was no more
doubting for Thomas or any of the Apostles. They were empowered by the Holy
Spirit and faith to proclaim Christ crucified and risen to all the world, even
before kings, emperors, and enemies. All of the Apostles became martyrs for
their faith in the Lord. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs states that “Once Thomas left
Jerusalem, there’s no evidence that he ever returned. He left his doubts
behind. […] Thomas traveled north and east from Israel, passing through Babylon
and Persia and making an impact for the Gospel as far as the southern regions
of India.” The Christians of the southern region of India in particular claim
St. Thomas as their patron saint. There is a large group of Christians in
southern India that call themselves Thomistic Christians after St. Thomas the
Apostle. Legend has it that Thomas “ran afoul of the Hindu priests who envied
his success and rejected his message. Thomas was speared to death. The location
of his tomb can still be visited in Mylapore, India.” Christian artistic images
of St. Thomas often depict him holding a spear.
For myself,
St. Thomas is at once encouraging and comforting and inspiring, for he was bold
to express his doubts and to seek answers to strengthen his faith, and he was
even bolder once the Lord had answered him and strengthened him. I can identify
with Thomas, and I hope that you can to. Thomas did not give up, but he
demanded the Lord to convince him. May we be so bold as St. Thomas to cling to
Jesus in faith and not let go, even when we struggle to believe. I am reminded
of the faithful confession of the father of a demon-possessed boy who pleaded
with Jesus, “Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief.” Jesus answered that
prayer immediately and cast out the demon and healed the boy. Ask for faith,
and it will be given to you. Seek Jesus, and you will find Him. Knock upon the
door of His Father’s house, even in weak and struggling faith, and it will be
opened to you. As Jesus answered Thomas’ seeking faith: “I am the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life.” Let us all confess with St. Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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