August 2024
According to a recent study by the Barna Group in 2023, they found that nearly 52% of U.S. adults and teens have experienced religious doubts in the past few years. This onset of doubt could have been brought forth by a large number of things like the pandemic, the economy, conflict in the world, and so much more. The root of all doubt that needs to be addressed is this - it is a lack of belief, trust, and conviction. When we doubt, our minds can be clouded to recognize what is true. While it is normal to have doubts, when we doubt more than believe, our purpose and calling might have a negative impact on ourselves and those around us. This comes into play when we look at what the opposite of doubt is – trust. Instead of doubting, Jesus simply wants us to trust Him. Why? Because we have plenty of work to do just like His apostles had work to do. During His life, death, and resurrection, He spent three years with a group of men who He would send out after He left, and the Holy Spirit came to empower them.
These past few months, we have been looking into how Christ interacted with His followers before and after His death and resurrection. While we have plenty of accounts before His death and resurrection, there are only a few interactions that take place before He ascended into Heaven, but there was an intentional weight He carried and taught to His followers before He left because He knew full well the impact it would have on us. This month of August, we make no exception as we look into the character and the teaching of Christ after He conquered death. This month, we are going to focus on the biggest doubter of them all – Thomas, better known as “Doubting” Thomas.
We can see in John 20:24-29 that Jesus had appeared to the other apostles except for Thomas, so when the other apostles told him, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas replied back with the sure statement, “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails where, and put my hand in His side, guess what? I’m refusing to believe.” A whole week later, Thomas still had not seen Jesus, but this time, it happened. John 20:26-29 says the following. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
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Thomas declared that he would have to see Jesus with his own eyes and to feel His wounds to believe, and what did Jesus do? He met Thomas right where he was and made his declaration come true. Jesus told Thomas to touch His wounds and what happened? Thomas believed and replied, “My Lord and my God!” Now, Jesus did not chastise Thomas. He did not condemn him for his unbelief. No, He met Thomas in his time of fear and doubt, and He showed Thomas so that he would believe and doubt no more. That is how Jesus worked and still works to this day – He knows how we feel, and in His goodness and mercy, He helps us believe him. This is why after Thomas confessed his belief in Jesus, Christ said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus knew if Thomas had a hard time believing without seeing, then how difficult would it be for those Thomas ministered to? How difficult is it for us to believe all these years later? It can be, but we need to remember Christ’s words, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Had it not been for the conviction of Thomas, the rest of the apostles and the countless followers of Christ who have come before us, where would we be now?
Here’s a thought, maybe instead of calling Thomas, “Doubter”, we should call him “Seeker of Truth”. He sought the proof and truth in Christ’s resurrection, and once he saw it, he went as far as he could go. In Christian tradition and belief, Thomas is last mentioned in Acts 1:13. The significance of Acts 1:13 was the list of people who were in the Upper Room praying for the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, the Good News spread like wildfire. Here’s the kicker, he took Christ’s command quite literally to go into all of Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth and is believed to have traveled the farthest of any of the apostles. It is widely believed that Thomas traveled to modern-day India. In the day and age before planes, trains, and automobiles, that meant that most travel would mostly be on foot. If we were to leave Jerusalem today and travel by foot to where he was killed for his faith in Chennai, India in 72 AD, it would take roughly 1452 hours of travel. That is about two months of traveling by foot, nonstop. Now why would anyone in their right mind travel that far for something they were not convinced about? Why would the name of Christ and faith in Him travel throughout the whole world if there was a little bit of doubt in the hearts of those who loved Him?
Just like Thomas went so far to proclaim the Good News, how far are we willing to go within our own lives? We might not need to go to a different country, but there are plenty of people we can reach in our city and in our neighborhoods. Let’s stop doubting and just trust that Jesus is going to do great things. May we lead with love and conviction to help grow our trust in Him to heal the broken. Next month, we will take it a step further to discuss how we are building trust in Christ and in our community. Until then, let’s take the trust we have in Jesus and proclaim Him to those around us. †