Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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Poor Thomas. Of all of the disciples, only Thomas is branded with a nickname that will never let us forget his mistake. We remember this disciple of Jesus not for his courage, as when he rallied the others to go with Jesus to visit Lazarus knowing that the Jews were seeking to stone him. "Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, that we may die with him.'" (John 11:16). But we don't call him, "courageous Thomas."

Nor do we remember him as the one who was unafraid of asking questions that might reveal his slowness to catch on, as when Jesus said the twelve, "I go to prepare a place for you . . . and you know the way to where I am going," and Thomas spoke up and said, "Lord we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14:5). But we don't call him, "questioning Thomas."

No, poor Thomas is forever remembered for that time when the other disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, and he replied, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." For that single episode, he will always be remembered as "doubting Thomas." (more…)