Doubting Thomas, Apostle
In the New Testament of the Christian scriptures there is an Apostle named Thomas. He is known as ‘Doubting Thomas’ because of the story of his not believing the other Apostles when they say that Jesus has come back to life after having been crucified, declared dead and put in a tomb. His response to their amazing story is to say, “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.” At that point they drop the subject and go about their business.
An entire week passes before they are all together in the same room, including Thomas. Jesus appears again and tells Thomas to come look at his hands and put his hand in his side. Thomas does so and declares to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus uses the event as a teaching moment for them all by saying, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
This story has been used for centuries as a way to tell disciples belief should come before evidence. It is a singularly important passage for those extolling faith in the church. There are other moments in Jesus’ story that put forth the message of faith, but none do it with the graphic nature of this story. So, faith is what it’s all about, right? Not necessarily.
Blind Faith vs Absolute Evidence
If absolute and blind faith was of utmost importance then why would Jesus take the time and energy to appear to Thomas? Why wouldn’t he just say, ‘too bad for you, you didn’t believe so out you go!’? He didn’t because he understood that while some might have blind faith not all will. He didn’t come, teach and be an example for just the heaven-minded types. He came for the down-to-earth, grounded-in-reality types too. He understood that some need absolute proof, some need none, and some (probably most) are in between. His response did include that those who didn’t need proof are ‘blessed’, it’s true. But he did not condemn or judge Thomas for not being in that crowd. He came back specifically to give him the proof he desired.
And the church, as a supposed extension of Jesus, should do the same. If someone doesn’t need proof, doesn’t care about evidence, fine. But for those who do want those things in order to believe they should be given every opportunity, with grace and understanding, to pursue them.
Thomas’ History
You can read more about what Thomas did after this story took place here. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Thomas . However, it should be noted that ironically the evidence is scarce about whether any of these events actually took place.
Drawing and commentary © 2018 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com
Quotes are from John 20:24-29 NIV