John 20: 19-31 Wrote:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 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.

There’s so much to look at in this passage, but I want to focus on just one section, that being from verse 24 until verse 29 - the section dealing with Thomas.

Thomas is not a well-known figure among the disciples and is generally either associated with this passage or the apocryphal ‘Gospel of Thomas’. Either way, Thomas tends to be viewed poorly by a large portion of the Christian community. In the case of this passage, that poor reputation has to do with his doubt.

The Bible speaks about doubt or the doubting of individuals on a number of occasions and the general trend is that doubt is indicative of the division between God and humanity caused by sin and is, therefore sinful in itself. This viewpoint makes sense, as disbelief in or lack of trust in God is inherently opposed to God’s revelation of Himself through Scripture and the world as pure and holy and righteous. Our doubt may be a very honest, human thing, but it is a product of the sin which is inherent in human nature, not something laudable.

It is this viewpoint, taken from Scripture, which seems most to pervade the attitudes of some Christians towards the issue of doubt and towards Thomas’ doubt in particular, but it is not the complete picture that Scripture gives us, which we can clearly see from Jesus reaction to Thomas in this passage.

Rather than condemning Thomas for his doubt, or rebuking him (as he did Peter in Matthew 16: 23), Jesus shows incredible compassion. He responds to Thomas’ doubt by showing him exactly the kind of evidence that he had said he required in order to believe and Jesus does this in the context of the traditional Jewish greeting: Shalom - peace, wholeness, wellbeing!

Jesus’ concern is not that Thomas has revealed his sinful nature in doubt, but to correct that doubt that Thomas might be made whole in faith. This is Jesus’ whole attitude to sin because in Jesus sin is dealt with once and for all and we can be made right with God at last. In the context of Jesus’ death and resurrection, his taking the punishment for sin on the cross and his defeat of the consequences of sin - that being death, sin is no longer a matter for immediate harsh condemnation but compassionate correction and healing.

And Jesus does not stop there but commends Thomas for accepting what he has seen. He makes it clear that faith is always preferable to doubt, but that doubters will be accommodated and their faith restored.

As a Christian who has struggled with doubt on a number of occasions, I’ve always felt a certain affinity for Thomas in this passage and take comfort from the way Jesus responds to the situation. Contrary to what some Christians would have us believe, my moments of doubt are no longer deserving of castigation and punishment but are a chance for God to work in me to some greater purpose. And I know from past experience that when my doubts have been resolved, I will have grown in my faith and, like Thomas, will know the blessing of Christ.