Learning From Thomas
A guest post by Chad Ramsey.
The twelve apostles selected by Jesus were with Him throughout His entire earthly ministry. They heard Jesus teach. They saw Jesus perform miracles. They followed Jesus wherever He went.
Although some of the apostles are mentioned more frequently in Scripture, each man was important, for they all served as His witnesses. Jesus emphasized this important task just prior to His ascension.
Speaking to His apostles, He declared:
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses of Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
What we know about Thomas.
One of the men Jesus chose to be an apostle was Thomas.
Besides being listed as one of the chosen twelve (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15) and being with several of the apostles when Jesus appeared to them by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:2), Thomas’s name is mentioned on only three other occasions in Scripture.
In the first, he confirmed his allegiance to Jesus by suggesting his willingness to die with Jesus, if necessary (John 11:16).
In the second, he asked Jesus for further explanation, when the Lord spoke of going to heaven (John 14:5-6).
In the third, Thomas was given the opportunity to touch the body of Jesus after His resurrection (John 20:27-29).
Read more here for a brief overview of all the Lord’s apostles.
Thomas’ Request.
Because he was not present when Jesus first appeared to the apostles, Thomas expressed his doubts about the risen Lord. He said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:26).
Thomas wanted physical confirmation.
Interestingly, the text does not reveal whether Thomas actually touched Jesus. It simply records his astonished confession: “My Lord and my God!” (verse 28).
“Doubting” Thomas?
Although it is easy to dismiss Thomas as a doubter, his faith was not weak. Thomas merely sought proof, and we should do no less.
It should be noted that Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for his doubts. The Lord patiently presented the evidence of His physical resurrection.
We do not have the opportunity to touch the nail-scarred hands of Jesus today, but we do have the ability to examine the evidence supporting Christianity. We can do as Paul instructed the Thessalonians: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Jesus was speaking about us when He concluded: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
Chad Ramsey preaches for the Gloster Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can access their Bible classes and Chad’s sermons on Gloster Street’s YouTube page.
Chad was - and still is - “my preacher” from when I spent my high school and early college years at Gloster Street. I’m thankful to be able to share some of his writings with you.
