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Thomas gets a bad rap from people in the area of faith. He's called "Thomas the Doubter" and has been cited as an example of what we Christians should not be. Here are recorded conversations Jesus and he had:
John 14:4-6 - "'And where I go you know, and the way you know.'” Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.No one comes to the Father except through Me.'"
And then, after the resurrection:
John 20:27-29 - "Then He said to Thomas, 'Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.' Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.'"
If I were to give a critique of Thomas' questions, I would say that in the first instance Thomas wanted to know a process, but Jesus pointed to Himself, a person. (That sentence deserves its own post, but let me move on!) I can understand that, because our first tendencies are to want to know the plan, the steps, or the principles to anything important to us in life. We want things lined up properly. In fact, the nature of the Old Covenant show us just how attracted we are to a list:
Isaiah 28:13 - So the word of the Lord to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,..."
Look, there's more!"...that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive." (Isaiah 28:13)
The list was given because people refused to rest and trust God. Read Hebrews 4 for greater understanding about that. So, I can't fault Thomas at all; in this passage he merely demonstrates how we all want a list, instead of just resting, as we see our Father tells us to do.Isaiah 28:12 - "He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
As for the second instance found in John 20, I'm not convinced that the normal interpretation of this passage is correct. We've all heard the subliminal message saying that those who believe without seeing are somehow more blessed than those do believe, but only after seeing. I believe this passage is referring to something else entirely. Why do I say this? Because there is a difference between seeing the promise and the Promiser.
Look at how Abraham and Sarah saw the Promiser and based their faith on Him, not the promise:
Paul agrees with this:Hebrews 11:11 - "By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised."
Hebrews 11:19 - "He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead..."
2 Corinthians 3:4-5 - "Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God...."
Hebrews 3:1-2 - "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He [Jesus] was faithful to Him [the Father] who appointed Him."
In the four passages above, we can easily see that biblical faith is founded in a person, not an action. Jesus says that those who don't see and still believe are blessed, but I do not believe He meant to contrast them with Thomas, who did see, as we have come to read this verse. Moreover, I believe it's wrong to set that precedent and subtly shame people for a "lack of faith", especially when one's understanding of faith itself may quite well be unbiblical. Faith has nothing to do with how well or earnestly one believes--but more on that later.
How can we honestly read into this passage that it's better to believe without seeing than to see and then believe? That stealthily puts the burden on us, but hear me: No one can believe in Jesus without first seeing Him. For one to have faith in Christ, His grace and reality must be given by revelation, and only Holy Spirit can do that--and He has done that for the whole world! Man must choose to accept or reject, but only Holy Spirit can reveal.
Isaiah 9:2 - "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them."
John 1:9, 11, 14 - "There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.... He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Titus 2:11 - "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men...."
So, what is Jesus talking about when he mentions those who will believe without seeing? He is referring to all those who would be brought into the Kingdom through His life in the apostles:
John 17:18-21 - "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me."
May this post bless you. Since we've talked a bit about belief in this post, I'll give you a little teaser for a future post:
There is no such thing as unbelief!
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
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