Thought I might post a weekly (or so) essay, Bible study, story, joke, or whatever, for your enjoyment.
This week's topic:
Doubting Thomas
Thomas got a bum rap. It so happened that he wasn't present when Jesus first appeared to the rest of the disciples. We all know the story: when they told Thomas that Jesus was alive, he didn't believe them. But what about the others? Even Mary had to see and hear Jesus before she knew He had risen. When she told the disciples, they
didn't believe her!
Mark 16 says Jesus appeared to two others, who
also told them about it, and they
still didn't believe. It wasn't until Jesus showed up in person that they believed.
It was exactly the same for Thomas, except he had the bad luck of being somewhat chided by Jesus for not believing what he heard. "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." So he gets the dubious honor of being known as "Doubting Thomas". But why not add the tag to all of the disciples? Why not Doubting Peter, Doubting John, etc.? I wonder if they squirmed a little, when Jesus was picking on poor Thomas, realizing that they were guilty of the same thing.
Of course, why Thomas was singled out and given his embarrassing nickname isn't the important thing. We shouldn't miss the bigger point being made: that we should always believe whatever people tell us, even if there is no evidence to see or substance to touch.
Today, we are all in the same boat with Thomas. Or, rather, the boat he
was in until he actually saw Jesus, and from that standpoint, Thomas was very lucky indeed. We don't have the luxury of doubting until we see Him. Our only option is to be in that "blessed" group of folks who just believe what we're told. We have to have more faith than
any of the disciples did.