by Mike Wallace
Somehow, Thomas missed the call and did not make the meeting.
It had been a tumultuous week, ending in the crucifixion of his friend and mentor, Jesus. Jerusalem was in an uproar, and the few disciples who followed Jesus had gone into hiding, locking themselves in a room to discuss the situation.
Thomas missed this initial meeting when Jesus appeared to the disciples and proved He was alive. Later, when Thomas was told about this, he proclaimed that unless he could see and touch the Lord, he would not believe. He had seen Jesus’ brutal killing on the cross and knew Jesus was dead. How could He be alive?
“Aha moment”
We call him “Doubting Thomas” because of his unbelief in this setting. Yet a short eight days later, the disciples gathered in the same locked room, and this time Thomas was there. Jesus miraculously appeared and went directly to Thomas. He had Thomas put his fingers into the nail holes in His hands and his hand into His side. Thomas then proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).
Thomas believed — his “aha moment” of conversion. Jesus was alive! He was God! The Lord said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (v. 29).
Don’t doubt Thomas! Since his eye-opening encounter with Jesus in the locked room, he never doubted again and became one of the most widely traveled of the apostles.
Faithful disciple
There is much more to Thomas than we normally hear about. In fact, as a disciple, Thomas was full of bravery, loyalty, humility, and faith in Jesus.
After Lazarus had been resurrected and the Pharisees put a bounty on Jesus’ head, Thomas wanted to follow Jesus: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (11:16).
Thomas showed bravery and loyalty to Jesus. When Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled” (14:1), a humble Thomas asked where He was going and how they could go with Him.
Finally, when Thomas’ hand reached inside Jesus’ resurrected body, his life forever changed. A purity of faith few have ever experienced was forged into the heart of this follower.
Don’t doubt Thomas!
Faithful preacher
Thomas was there when Jesus announced the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19, 20). He was there when Jesus told the apostles they would go from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). On the day of Pentecost when all the apostles gathered to receive the Holy Spirit, Thomas was there.
When Luke, the author of Acts, listed the apostles in Acts 1:13, it is the last time that Thomas is mentioned in the Bible. Even though he never seemed to miss an apostolic meeting again, he disappears from the biblical narrative into the abyss of human history. But don’t doubt Thomas, because he was there in the midst of history preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
There is more historical information as to where Thomas went and what he did than any other apostle except for Paul, Peter and Barnabas. Thomas truly was a hero of Christ as he obeyed Jesus’ command to “go.” He was anything but doubting once he went forth to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Thomas’ travels
So where did Thomas, the non-doubter, go to preach?
There is strong and reliable historical evidence of his travels. According to Merrill Unger in his Bible dictionary, the earliest traditions represent Thomas as preaching in Parthia and Persia, and we see him appear even farther to the east.
Let’s look at some of the sources showing that Thomas went east from Jerusalem. In Who’s Who in the New Testament, by Ronald Brownrigg, we find historical claims that Thomas “found his way to Persia and south India, where he was reputedly the founder of the ancient Mar Thoma Church, in Travancore and Cochin, now called Kerala.”
In After Acts, Bryan Liftin provides extra-biblical archeological evidence of Thomas in India. Many literary and archaeological records attest to his connection with the lands east of Jerusalem. Continuing with information from After Acts, there is archeological evidence of Thomas in northern India. Other sources put him all the way to China before the end of the first century.
Thomas is alleged to have visited China, mentioned in the books and church traditions of Saint Thomas Christians in India. These believers claim descent from the early Christians evangelized by Thomas as far back as ad 52. Most assuredly, Thomas was at least as far east as India.
We cite two items of interest from A History of Christianity. Author Owen Chadwick states, first:
Indian Christians attributed the origin of their faith to St Thomas the apostle . . . They believed that Thomas came to Kerala in the south-west of India, founded seven congregations and was martyred near Madras. . . .
Chadwick points out the second, and most amazing, part about Thomas concerning some sixteenth century historical evidence. History shows that in 1500, a Portuguese seaman, Pedro Cabral, landed on the southern coast of India and was astonished to find Christians.
The Portuguese were disturbed that these Christians had never heard of the pope, indicating the attitude of the ancient Christian church in India. These Christians had to be converted to Catholicism, as they were not keeping the Catholic traditions of the pope. Apparently, the believers were still following the ways of the first century apostles’ doctrines and had not been corrupted by history.
When Jesus gave instructions to “go,” Thomas had no doubts!
Remembering Thomas
We have seen Thomas as brave, loyal, humble, and faithful in his service to Jesus. Because he initially missed a meeting and did not see what the other disciples had seen — the risen, fully alive Jesus — we can understand his misgivings.
But once he put his finger into Jesus’ palms and put his hand in Jesus’ side, he knew that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Far from being remembered as “Doubting Thomas,” this faithful follower of Jesus should be remembered for his zeal and his mission to the east, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, His living God.
This helps us understand and appreciate Thomas, not doubt him.
