More Than a Doubting Thomas

Joshua Harris has a terrific cartoon of three disciples, one of them, notably, Thomas, exasperated, who asks the other two...

“All I’m saying is that we don’t call Peter ‘Denying Peter’ or Mark ‘Ran away naked Mark.’ Why should I be saddled with this title?”

And one of the other disciples answers back...

“I see your point, Thomas, but really, it’s time to move on.”

Poor Doubting Thomas.

He really gets a bad rap.

But before you and I feel too smug about ourselves, let’s check out the story of Thomas (John 20:1-31) and see just how much he actually resembles us.

First, a little backstory...

In verses one through ten, everyone is doing their best to cope with the death of their beloved Jesus. For Mary Magdalene, especially, this involves visiting the tomb. Only one problem: He’s not there.

 “...‘They have taken away the Lord... and we know not where they have laid him.’

Verse two

This is worse than losing your keys. The fear and despair that must flooded them.

And part of the reason involved the ignorance about His resurrection...

⁹ For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

So exhausted and afraid, most of them decided to call it a day.

¹⁰ Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Okay...

But Mary, undeterred, hung around (verse eleven). And eventually, she had a spiritual experience...

¹² And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Angelic intervention? Okay, that’ll qualify.

And she has some angelic conversation...

¹³ And they say unto her, ‘Woman, why weepest thou?’ She saith unto them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.’

¹⁴ And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

I guess this speaks to the trauma of grief. We get so overcome, we cannot recognize what is in front of us...

¹⁵ Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?’

 She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, ‘Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.’

And then, “Surprise, surprise!”

¹⁶ Jesus saith unto her, ‘Mary.’

She turned herself, and saith unto him, ‘Rabboni;’ which is to say, ‘Master.’

Now, Jesus knew He had to head her off at the pass. We can only imagine how overwhelming her need to hug Him was at that second.

¹⁷ Jesus saith unto her, ‘Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.’

So, overcome with joy and excitement, she had to do something...

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

And the Big Reveal continues further...

¹⁹ Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, ‘Peace be unto you.’

²⁰ And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Then said Jesus to them again, ‘Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.’

And then there was talking of receiving the Holy Spirit (verse 22) and a quick tutorial on remitting/retaining sins (verse 23).

²⁴ But Thomas, one of the twelve... was not with them when Jesus came.

But Thomas, ah, dear, sweet Thomas...

I guess he could not be bothered. Maybe he thought it was hopeless to talk anything more about this God stuff.

²⁵ The other disciples therefore said unto him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said unto them, ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.’

I’ll believe it when I see it?

 Alrighty. So, we now know why the title “Doubting Thomas” stuck...

Therefore, here we go again with the Big Reveal...

²⁶ And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be unto you.’

He really knows how to make an entrance.

 ²⁷ Then saith he to Thomas, ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.’

All right, Buddy, here I am. Seeing is believing now, right?

²⁸ And Thomas answered and said unto him, ‘My Lord and my God.’

Finally! It’s about time.

²⁹ Jesus saith unto him, ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’

³⁰ And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

Translation: there’s more to the story.

³¹ But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

John 20:1-31

And that’s a huge key for us to keep in mind, even concerning our recovery issues.

Belief and doubt...two sides of the same coin...

 “...‘Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.’”

Mark 9:24

And that coin cuts to the heart of us: of our neediness, our potential and of our relationship with the Most High...

And, like it or not, they’re all tied together.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

“…I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure… yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”

Isaiah 46:9-11

“I have chosen you and have not cast you away.”

Isaiah 41:9

 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

Just like Jeremiah speaks of thoughts and plans beyond our understanding, just like God being

God, ergo, being in complete control, as spoken in Isaiah, which also speaks of our “chosen” status, and finally, 2 Corinthians and its reminder of our “in-process-ness,” we see, yes, indeed, there is more to the story.

There is more to us than...

Just an alcoholic...

Just a drug addict...

Just an anorexic...

Just a bulimic...

Just a gambler...

Just a struggling soul...

There is more...more...

A label is not our final say. God is. And He has some incredible things to describe us.

We are more than addiction; we are more than imperfection. We are more, not less.

Copyright © 2020 by Sheryle Cruse