One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later… (John 20:24-26 NLT)
I was reading through the passage describing Thomas’ lack of faith in the testimony of his brothers and sisters and it struck me that Jesus could have immediately appeared and dispelled his doubt. Even more, Jesus could have arranged it so all were present when He first visited them. This whole situation could have been avoided! But God ordained it for a purpose and He let Thomas wonder for a week.
Were those eight, silent days a punishment or just coincidental? Is anything at all coincidental? And if it was so hard for Thomas to believe, what hope is there for us to have faith? Do we also require empirical evidence before trusting in God?
In a very real way, we find ourselves in the same position as Thomas. When Jesus appeared, many years ago, we weren’t there and we are forced to rely on the witnesses of our brothers and sisters in this messy, organic fellowship and in the inspired, stable (but old) Scripture. We know that when Jesus comes again (whenever that is), we will have no trouble believing. Until then, we are always tempted to doubt. And this doubt is not irrational- we have been lied to many times by people, there is more than one piece of literature claiming divine origins, and evidence for the supernatural is not naturally (empirically) conclusive. What hope is there for us to have faith? I would say, naturally speaking, none.
The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26 NLT)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8 NIV)
I love reading books and listening to intelligent people who can skillfully explain the reasons for faith. People who can show that, though faith rises above our understanding, it is still reasonable. Some even claim that faith is the only reasonable option when all the evidence has been gathered and weighed impartially. However, all it takes to disbelieve is one piece of perceived anecdotal evidence against God. One unanswered prayer, one unresolved theological conflict, one wicked church, one merciless parent, one unfaithful spouse… the list could go on and on. And the reasons for faithlessness are very real, powerful and logical. To be honest, sometimes I understand the old Steve Taylor lyric, “Don’t you know why the chosen are few? It’s harder to believe than not to.”
Thomas had some pretty strong evidence against faith in the resurrection of Jesus. He had the testimony of everyone in Jerusalem along with the Roman government that Jesus was dead. All the disciples and all the women who followed the crucifixion saw him beaten bloody with a whip designed to tear flesh. They saw him struggle, bleeding out all the way to the hill where He was nailed to a cross and stopped breathing. They saw the guard ram a spear up under his lifeless rib case and they saw what was left of His blood pour out from that heart piercing wound to the dirt. They saw him murdered and buried- condemned and covered up by hypocritical religious people and self centered politicians. Thomas probably witnessed almost all of this with his own eyes. It was surely a long, torturous, faith-crushing day for Thomas. How can we expect him to readily believe the testimony of so few against the emphatic word of so many along with his own experience? Would I believe at that point?
Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” (John 20:26-29 NLT)
Thomas was “faithless” until Jesus appeared to him but he hadn’t abandoned fellowship with the other disciples. He was still seeking belief by putting himself in the place where faith existed. He made demands that he had no right to make before believing but Jesus condescended with love and grace.
Once he believed (and later received the power of the Holy Spirit), Thomas became a powerful missionary spreading the good news of God’s salvation for mankind even past the Roman borders. His belief was so strong that eventually he was also murdered because he wouldn’t stop spreading the message of faith. I wonder how many times he looked back on those eight days of doubt when he was later tempted to disbelieve in the face of persecution.
The transforming power of God to overwhelm doubt with the knowledge of His glory is still at work today. The scars of Jesus can still be felt in His church (the people not a building)- the place where faith exists- and the reflection of His dazzling, humbling nature can still be glimpsed in creation. His holiness and righteousness are just as blinding in His Word as his mercy and grace are comforting. And His hands are still reaching out to individuals lost in the days of doubt.