The Appearance of Christ to Thomas
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 NIV)
The weight of Thomas’ words have echoed through the centuries. Though we call him “doubting Thomas” his true legacy is one of faith and profession, not one of doubt. According to tradition, Thomas became a missionary to India and remains the patron saint of the nation. He was said to have been martyred there in about A.D. 72, and though there are many other legends and stories about Thomas, the true impact of his life and ministry is only known to God.
His initial doubt about the resurrection: This was Christ’s sixth appearance. Thomas was already a disciple of Jesus. He had followed him faithfully for three years. He also expressed his commitment to Christ when Christ began His final journey to Jerusalem, according to John 11:16, he said, “Let us also go that we may die with him.” Though there is a definite hint of pessimism in these words, it is only a hint and not enough for a full character assessment. For some reason he was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them a week earlier.
We might simply say that Thomas was a realist, and when the disciples were excited about the resurrection, he thought they were overcome with some sort of mania. He told 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” (John 20:25 NIV). This reveals a plain-spoken-ness about him. He was not one to be carried away with emotion, certainly not enthusiasm, rather he wanted the facts. He told them exactly where he stood on the matter.
The appearance of Christ: The next Sunday evening, one week after the resurrection Sunday, Christ appeared to the disciples, this time including Thomas. Christ knew what he had said earlier and spoke to him directly inviting him to “put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27). The word “faithless” is also translated “doubting.” Literally it means to have no faith — apistos in Greek — or to be unbelieving. Jesus description was not one of over-contemplation or over-thinking the resurrection, rather it was one of unbelief. What some people call doubting God calls unbelief. In everyone’s life there comes a time when we must believe. Though these matters are left in the hands of God, from the record of God’s dealing with people we can say that a time does eventually come when, if faith is not exercised, the door is shut by God and the inner witness of the Spirit is silent.
Thomas’ faith: The change took place immediately. He saw and believed and professed. Christ was both Lord and God. These titles were said “to him” or to Christ. Some false cults that deny the Trinity try to explain away this verse by saying that Thomas said, “My Lord” to Jesus and then looked up in the heavens and said, “My God.” This is utter nonsense and an irresponsible handling of the Word of God. The passage is clear. He called Jesus both Lord and God.
Thomas’ strong confession of the deity of Christ has held through the ages. Jesus said that Thomas was blessed because he had seen and believed, but then He added, “Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believed” (John 20:29). Again we see the nature of Jesus’ communication was one of encouragement and promise. He chided Thomas for his lack of faith only briefly and then when faith was present He affirmed him and spoke of the blessing he had received through his faith.
Faith always goes one step further than sight, and Thomas said that Christ was not only resurrected but that He was Lord and God — a profession that came only on the inner conviction of the soul as the Spirit of God bore witness (1 Cor. 12:3 and Matt. 16:17). At Peter’s confession of Christ, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Christ said that His Father had revealed that truth to Peter.
Salvation must always come from an inner witness, from a personal visitation by the Spirit of God. We call this special revelation. General revelation is the witness of creation to the existence of God, or even the proclamation of the gospel that all may hear. But special revelation is the personal voice of the Spirit in each person’s heart that leads them to faith.
This story of Thomas speaks to us because we, too, have had our questions, our doubts, our moments or years of unbelief. Faith embraces the truth and lives by it and dispels doubts and fears. Faith liberates us to live in the power and life of God. We should heed these words of Christ to Thomas and hear His Spirit say them to us, “Be not faithless, but believing.”
