Was Thomas That Bad?

John 20:24-29

Introduction

Did you or do you have a nickname that has been given to you by others? There are families that give everyone among them nickname, never calling them by their legal names. Sometimes nicknames are imposed in school, sometimes within a work setting, sometimes by friends and sometimes by enemies. You may be either proud of or embarrassed by your nickname. The word “nickname” comes from the Middle English eke-name, meaning also-name. It was just an additional name that did not require either a positive or negative meaning. For example, one of my favourite authors is C.S. Lewis but none of his friends called him by his legal name of Clive. He was known by his nickname of Jack.

Having said that, there are nicknames that we would prefer over others. For example, there is Charlemagne, whose name literally means Charles the Great. His grandson Charles II was named after him, but his nickname was Charles the Bald. You can determine which is better.

This brings us to the Bible and specifically the disciples. Simon, son of Zebedee, was given the name Peter by Jesus, a name than means rock. This is a good solid nickname. There there were Peter’s friends James and John. They got to share the nickname Sons of Thunder. That is also a pretty impressive nickname. And then there is Thomas.

Now the nickname is not actually found in the Bible and using the phrase “Doubting Thomas” to describe anyone who is skeptical only goes back to 1883, but that nick name is firmly in place now. I suspect that most of us when asked about Thomas, would immediately think of the story of him doubting the resurrection.

In this message, I want to do two things. First, I want to ask if Thomas was really that bad. Secondly, I want to ask if doubting is really that bad.

Redeeming Thomas

Unlike other disciples, such as Peter, James, and John, we do not have a lot of information about Thomas. What do have about Thomas comes from the Gospel of John. What we want to know was whether Thomas was a bad disciple in general and if his doubt of the resurrection was just the pinnacle of his failings.

The only other glimpse of Thomas we get is when Jesus announces that Lazarus is dead. This created a dilemma as Jesus was very close to Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha. He should go and be the family in the time of their greatest need. The problem was that they lived dangerously close to Jerusalem and it was there rather than in Galilee that Jesus’ life was under threat. With such high stakes, how a disciple responds would say a lot about their character. Only one individual disciple speaks and it is Thomas. “Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’” (John 11:16) Thomas believes in Jesus so deeply that if Jesus is going somewhere where he might be killed, his conviction is that all of the disciples should share his fate. Now it did not work out quite that way but obviously Thomas’ heart was in the right place. He was willing to die with Jesus.

So why did Thomas doubt? This would really seem to suggest that Thomas was not a very good disciple. A disciple should be a person of faith and Thomas doubted!

But let’s take some time to work through this. Why did Thomas doubt? There are two reasons. The first one is very easy to understand. When the risen Jesus first appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not there. Why did some disciples believe and one doubt? It was not various levels spiritual maturity but physical location. Do we have any reason to believe that things would be different if Thomas was present and one of the other disciples was away for that appearance? So we need to give Thomas some grace.

The second reason is a bit more complicated. What did Thomas doubt? I don’t think Thomas would have had a problem with the disciples seeing a vision or even having interacted with the ghost of Jesus. But what they were talking about was seeing the physical Jesus risen from the dead. Thomas had a place in his theology, as did many of the Jews, that there would be a resurrection, but it would be all of God’s people being risen at the same time. Since that had not happened, the resurrection of Jesus seemed unlikely. This is why Thomas insisted that he would need to physically touch the wounds to be sure. 

The final thing I will say about Thomas is that Jesus showed up for Thomas. If Thomas was so bad for doubting, Jesus could have kept avoiding him as a punishment. But Jesus did show up and invited Thomas to touch his wounds. That is an incredible invitation that is worth much reflection.

Redeeming Doubt

Even if Thomas is not all that bad, we are still left with some complicated thoughts about doubt. Is doubt bad? I have been taught that in the past. When praying, you had to work yourself up so that there was no trace of doubt. I have seen some people do some pretty radical, and I would say even reckless, things to demonstrate the strength of their faith and the lack of their doubts. But is doubt always wrong?

I will say that there is a kind of doubt that is unhealthy, especially to our spiritual life. This is what I call persistent skepticism. It is not the natural appearance of doubt that comes up whether we like it or not. But there is a kind of doubt that cannot imagine anything good ever happening and assumes that God has completely forsaken us. That kind of doubt is never helpful.

But that does not make doubt itself a sin. The truth is that we will all experience doubt, it is part of being human. I would also recommend that you read through the stories in the Bible of the people we consider heroes of the faith. Many of them have their doubts recorded quite clearly in their stories. Even someone as incredibly faithful as John the Baptist expressed doubts. He actually sent messengers to Jesus asking if he was indeed the one he had been expected because John’s life circumstances seemed to call that into question.

One of the reasons that doubt is not wrong is that it is often really just about asking questions. Asking questions is about how we learn and grow. The best way to stagnate is to just accept everything we hear without question.

There was a time when people were expected to accept what churches and clergy said without questioning. The perceived authority was seen as trumping any concerns of the congregation or of individuals. Our world does not tend to accept that paradigm anymore. I looked at some research and out 18 professions, clergy only ranked 11th in terms of trustworthiness. While I hope I am considered trustworthy as a person, I would never want my interpretations or opinions to go unquestioned. When someone questions one of my positions in a thoughtful way, I do not see as disloyalty but rather as a sign of spiritual maturity. Most of my spiritual growth has come by asking questions and wrestling with doubts. I believe churches should be places where people can be honest about their questions and safe places to explore our doubts. I see the Baptist tradition as being especially conducive to asking questions. One of our distinctives is that of soul liberty. This means when it comes to our beliefs, we are only responsible to God for how we have interpreted the Scriptures. The measure is not about how we sat in quiet submission to our pastor against our conscience. My argument is not for a wild west theology where everything goes and there is no common belief. My point is only that there is room for us question and to even explore doubts, not because individual preferences reign supreme, but because the Scriptures invite us to ask these questions.

Conclusion

What if you are sitting here in church and you are aware that you have questions? You might even describe them as doubts. There are things about God or the Bible that you just don’t understand. It’s not that you haven’t heard teaching on it, but you are struggling to make sense of it. You might think that you don’t want to be a doubting Thomas. I would say that there is nothing wrong with being a doubting Thomas. God gave us brains to use and we are going to have questions that do not have easy answers. We might be trying to juggle our religious upbringing, our reading of the Bible today, what we see in the world around us, and the way our brains work. The good news is that we don’t have to have all the answers, even if no question is off the table. The other good news is, like in the story of Thomas, is that Jesus shows up with what we need. Thomas and his experience gives hope to the doubter.