Doubting Thomas: Model Disciple?

I’ve always found it unfair that among the disciples, Thomas is given the nickname ‘the doubter.’ Sure, he did say that his belief was conditional on being able to dig his hands into Jesus’ wounds, but we would do well to remember that this was a man who just days before, had witnessed his Master being beaten to a pulp, disfigured and then die excruciatingly on a Roman cross. Who could blame him then, if his first reaction to the claims of Jesus’ resurrection, was that He would believe Jesus was alive when he saw him alive?

Furthermore, the proof that Thomas had asked for was nothing more than what the other disciples had experienced. John records that when Jesus appeared to the group of disciples sans Thomas, it was only when he showed them his hands and sides that the disciples rejoiced “because they saw the Lord.” So, if Thomas was a doubter, the other disciples were no better. They were simply at the right place at the right time. No amazing feat of faith there.

So why did John’s Gospel single Thomas out?

I think the clue lies in John’s statement of intent at the end of the passage: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30–31)

If John’s goal in writing his gospel was that his readers would come to believe in Jesus, what good does highlighting Thomas’ skepticism do? Why plant a seed of doubt at such an important moment in history?

Unless for John, in that kernel of doubt lies the potential for strong and true faith. For what is doubt but faith that is suffering from malnutrition? And what is unbelief but faith that has been mistreated and destroyed? Yet unbelief and doubt in the Christian understanding is not the same thing. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, nor is it the same as unbelief. Doubt is a state of mind suspended between faith and unbelief so that it is neither of them completely and it is each partially. It is caught between a desire to believe and a desire to negate. The prayer of the father with the possessed boy describes this state well: “Lord I believe, help my unbelief”. (Mark 9:29)

From this perspective, far from being a disciple of inferior stock that Jesus chided, John holds out Thomas for us as a model of how one becomes a disciple of Jesus. In other words, what happens to Thomas is exactly what John hopes will happen to each of us when we read his story.

Thomas is neither naïve, nor a fool who accepts every wild claim and seems to require no evidence whatsoever for his beliefs. In that, he represents many people today who approach things realistically and with varying doses of skepticism. If we have an understanding that true faith is doubt-free, then not only does it lead to a view of faith that is unrealistic for many today, it also results in a view of doubt that is unfair.

The phrase by Anselm of Canterbury, which has become a classic definition of theology, is worth repeating here — “faith seeking understanding.” This means that faith in God revealed in Jesus Christ often awakens an investigative search for deeper understanding. Is it not true then that doubt is not an obstacle of faith but an essential ingredient in it?

Thus, if ours is an examined faith, we should not be afraid of doubt. If we find that our doubt is eventually justified then what we were believing was not worth believing in the first place. But if our doubt is answered or as we doubt our doubts, our faith subsequently grows stronger still. It knows God with greater clarity, and it can encounter God more deeply. Faith is not doubt-free, but there is a genuine assurance of faith that is truly beyond a shadow of doubt.

Consequently, when ‘doubting’ Thomas did finally encounter the Risen Jesus in person, his reaction was more profound than the other disciples. Not only did he declare Jesus as ‘my Lord’, a title reserved for the Roman Emperor — but also “My God,” — the highest affirmation made of Jesus in all the Gospels.

At the end of the day, it is not enough to believe that Christ is risen just because others have said so. The Apostle Thomas reminds us that true faith comes from the desire to search and encounter the Risen Lord for ourselves.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29

O Risen Lord, I find it difficult for my heart to rejoice in what my mind rejects. Give me a hunger and desire to search out for You. Let me know you and love you so that I may rejoice in you.

[This article was first published on the Oxygen Blog]