Persevere in Doubt
Which disciple of Jesus has the worst reputation?
(Judas. Duh! But other than him…)
You might say Peter because of his denials.
Or James and John because of a prideful and misunderstood request for positions of power in Jesus’ kingdom.
But only one disciple has been given a nickname by church history: Doubting Thomas.
What I remember of the Doubting Thomas Sunday-School lesson was something like: Doubt is BAD & you just need to have faith. And Thomas was the cautionary tale of a believer with doubts.
And frankly, I think this is wild a disservice to the historical Thomas and a problematic way to bring this lesson to people sitting in our churches, especially as we hope to see people come back after Easter.
For starters, scripture never titles him as “Doubting Thomas”. This story comes from John 20 which is part of the resurrection narrative. Here’s what it actually says:
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “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.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 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.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
This church nickname boils down an entire life to a moment of doubt then COMPLETELY overlooks a staggering confession of faith at the conclusion of the text. Have you ever experienced something like that? Having your whole life defined by your worst moment?
A lot of people walk away from the church because they experience this very thing. I can recall several testimonies from church members who returned to their faith later in life; and part of their story involved being spiritually ostracized because of moments of doubt or rebellion.
Rather than “Doubting Thomas”, here are the best and biblical lessons from Persevering Thomas’ story:
Thomas’ faith persevered even with his doubts.
This passage from John 20 happens a full week! after the other disciples encountered the resurrected Jesus. It just so happened that Thomas was not with them that first Easter evening (John 20:19). Thomas had a week to contend with his doubt, or come up with reasons why his friends had made it up, or rationalize they’d been mistaken about what they had seen.
And what did Thomas do? He still showed up at the gathering of the disciples. Thomas had not abandoned the cause or written his friends off. Doubts and all, Thomas was still there.
You can have doubts and still participate in your faith.
Jesus met Thomas at the source of his doubts
The text doesn’t suggest that Jesus is annoyed or angry at Thomas. Instead, Jesus directly addresses the root of Thomas’s doubts:
Was the man Thomas saw nailed to a cross actually alive again?
And despite Sunday school lessons or medieval paintings, the text does not say that Thomas actually touched the hands and side of Christ. Jesus invited him to do so, but the next action we see from Thomas is a full-faith, doubt-free confession of Jesus as God. Thomas’ doubts vanished in the presence of the savior.
Jesus will gladly meet you at the place of our doubting.
Thomas’ makes a full, doubt-free, confession: “My Lord and My God!”
I’m not building the case that we should indulge all our doubts.
But …
I am trying to say that Jesus can use our doubts to bring about a deeper, truer, and more robust faith.
To this point in John’s gospel, none of the other disciples had articulated such a clear confession of understanding who Jesus truly was. Theologian F.F. Bruce writes in his commentary on John’s gospel, “Thomas might have been slower than his fellow-disciples to come to faith in the risen Christ, but when he did so, his faith was expressed in language which went beyond any that they had used.”
Jesus can use our doubts to grow our faith.
We just need to keep showing up. So bring your doubts with you to church. You do not have to check those at the door. Trying to check your doubts at the door might actually rob you of the very thing in which Jesus could meet you.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:2-3.
We had a great Holy Week and Easter Sunday. The Wednesday of Holy Week pastor Bryce led the youth through stations reflecting on Jesus’ final moments. On Good Friday we gathered with area churches at the South Hardin High School for a time of music and somber reflection. You can watch that service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdEZG_Vr8yU
On Easter morning, we celebrated the resurrection with three services filled with beautiful music from our choir and worship teams, a baptism of one of our students, a Resurrection sermon, and lots of good food! The congregation sang so loudly in the 2nd service that the drummer, even in his plexiglass cage with headphones, could clearly hear you!
So, Happy season-after-Easter. In this season, like Thomas, keep coming back and Jesus will certainly meet you and grow your faith!