What Thomas Doubted

My wife and I discussed Thomas yesterday after listening to someone comment on the reasons why he may have doubted at the time of the Savior’s resurrection.  After Christ’s death and resurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene and then to most of the apostles: “When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20).  This must have been a marvelous experience when they had been in such despair over the death of the Savior.  But Thomas wasn’t there among them, so apparently it was only the 10 other apostles: “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.”  Those who saw the Lord said, “We have seen the Lord,” but Thomas replied, “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:24-25).  So Thomas had the testimony of ten of his closest friends plus Mary Magdalene, all of whom he surely trusted greatly.  He also had the incredible miracles he had witnessed the Savior perform over the previous three years, including the raising of the dead on more than one occasion.  For example, he was there when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, for when Jesus went to Bethany despite the danger to Himself in doing so, Thomas declared, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”  Having all of these witnesses, how did Thomas doubt that Jesus had been resurrected?  Did he really believe that all of his closest friends were lying to him?

                I think the traditional interpretation is that Thomas simply couldn’t believe what he couldn’t see, at face value that’s what the words recorded in John seem to say: “Except I shall see… I will not believe.”  It may be that Thomas simply couldn’t believe that Jesus was resurrected since he had not seen Him alive.  But perhaps what he didn’t believe was something slightly different; perhaps his doubt was not about the reality of the Savior’s resurrection or His power—for he had so many witnesses of that—rather, perhaps it had more to do with his own value before the Lord.  Perhaps, because the Savior had come to the other ten but had skipped him, Thomas did not believe that the Savior loved him or that he was of value in the Savior’s eyes or that he was worth being ministered to. Thomas may have been hurt that he was not included in that magnificent manifestation of the Savior to everyone else and lost confidence in himself because of it.  That must have felt like a very long eight days between the time he heard of the Savior’s visit and when He actually came to visit Thomas.  Surely he wondered all that time, “Why did the Savior not come to me?  Was I not a faithful follower?  Was I not willing to follow Him anywhere, even until death?  Am I not a worthy enough servant?”  It may have been a time of great soul searching where he doubted not the power and righteousness of the Savior, but his own. 

We don’t know why Christ made Thomas wait those eight days, but Jesus did indeed come to him, and gave Thomas the same experience as the others: “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”  Thomas, it seems, was overcome with emotion, for perhaps he now saw that the Lord did want to minister to him personally, and he declared, “My Lord and my God.”  Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”  Perhaps the Savior’s words here really meant, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed that I do love you: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed in my love for them.”  And perhaps all of us face that same difficulty at times, for we hear of the great spiritual experiences of others, the miracles that happen in their lives, and we say, “Except I can see the same thing in my life, I can’t believe that the Savior really loves me.”  But the Savior’s counsel for us is to believe even when we don’t see His hand so prominently in our lives as it appears to be in others; for in His time, and in His way, He will indeed minister to us just as He did to Thomas.