For three years, Thomas had been with Jesus and had heard firsthand Jesus say He would rise again. He was with Jesus when Lazarus walked out of the tomb and when Jesus had raised the daughter of Jarius and son of Nain from the dead. Now his own comrades tell him Jesus is alive but he doesn’t believe it. Author and Bible teacher, Charles Price, suggested four reasons that might have caused Thomas to doubt so much, and when applying the same reasoning to ourselves, a clearer picture may emerge, assisting us in our own struggles with doubt.
Isolation: It is significant that Thomas was not with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them after His resurrection. Standing alone, apart from other believers, is going to leave us vulnerable to doubt. Thomas was absent from their fellowship and, in considering our own situation, if there is no regular attendance in congregations of believers, it is usually detrimental to our faith. Isolation will inevitably take the fire out of our hearts and our lives.
Incredulity: Dead men don’t rise. There are fundamental laws of nature and a dead person raised to life again, goes against them all. It is ridiculous from every human perspective and we either dismiss the whole thing or realize there is something bigger in control than the laws of nature. Anything outside our experience, we tend to treat with caution. Resurrection of the dead is outside the laws of nature and as such, gives evidence to the fact God is involved.
Temperament: Our temperament can condition our outlook and understanding. There are those who will see the negative side and easily dismiss things that are hard to believe because that is their nature. They have to see it to believe it, or they’re naturally inclined to become pessimistic about it. On all three occasions when Thomas speaks in the Bible, his nature leans towards pessimism. (See John 11:16, 14:5 and this week’s topic, John 20:25) Are our temperaments inclined to have to see it to believe it?
Stubbornness: Thomas does not say, “I cannot believe it.” He says, “I will not believe it.” We can make up our mind not to believe and find a hundred reasons why we shouldn’t because we don’t really don’t want to believe. Sometimes stubbornness can be mingled with insecurity and if we weren’t a part of what happened, we’re not going to believe it. Our reasons for unbelief are not intellectual, though we put up that smoke screen, but are volitional because they are actually psychological and it can be sheer pride that stops us from believing.
It is entirely reasonable that Thomas wanted physical proof. John writes in 1 John 1:1, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” John is not proclaiming a theory or philosophy. We have heard, seen, touched, handled, which gives evidence to what he is saying is true. In 1 Corinthians 1:22-24, Paul talks about people wanting certain things in order to be convinced of the Gospel. Jews demand miraculous signs and the Greeks demand wisdom, but Paul says, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Resurrection from the dead is not enough for people to believe. Luke 16:31 says, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” It is Christ crucified that is the power of God and His resurrection affirms God’s acceptance of Christ’s death as our substitute. We need to be careful of trying to speed people through the process of doubt. There is a lot of churning going on, a gestation of numerous ideas and thoughts people need to work out for themselves. It is a good thing when doubting leads to inquiry and searching but never good when it becomes an excuse from facing the truth. Jesus had left Thomas alone for an entire week and when He did appear to him, He offered the proof Thomas needed but Thomas didn’t have to put his hand to Jesus’ side, nor his fingers to Jesus’ hands. “My Lord and my God!” he said with unwavering conviction. And Thomas went on to become the furthest travelled apostle, taking the Gospel into the far reaches of India.