The Disciple Named Thomas (or Didymus)

“But Thomas, called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ “ –John 20:24-29 (NKJV)

Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, followed Jesus from early in the Lord’s ministry. He tramped the roads, the hills, valleys and mountains of Palestine with the Lord and the other eleven disciples. He observed many of the Lord’s miracles and heard the parables Jesus told to make memorable points of His teachings. When Jesus neared the end of His earthly ministry and the Jewish leaders were seeking how they might trap Jesus and seek His death, it was Thomas who bravely stated: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” (John 11:16)

Thomas as a name means “twin.” In apocryphal literature, a writing called The Acts of Thomas actually claims this disciple as a twin of Jesus Himself. This supposition, of course, did not take hold, and that apocryphal book was not included in the canon of Scripture. There is no evidence that Thomas was even a half-brother of Jesus, and certainly he was not the Lord’s twin.

Centuries later, in 1945, a discovery of a papyrus in a jar was made in the Upper Nile Valley of Egypt. Eventually, scholars interpreted the ancient writings and among them were what has been called “The Gospel of Thomas.” It supposedly contains some of the lost sayings of Jesus. These Nag Hammadi codices have been published in recent years and widely circulated. A comparison of “The Gospel of Thomas,” one of these, with the gospels contained in the New Testament show a distinct variance from the words of Christ in canonized Scripture.

Thomas is called the “doubting disciple” because he was not present when Christ first made appearances to the other disciples. He made the noted statement that if he could not see the wounds inflicted on Jesus by his death, he would not believe that Jesus was alive again. Eight days later, Thomas was present when Jesus made another post-resurrection appearance. But when Thomas saw Jesus, he did not have to touch His wounds. He immediately made his historic declaration of faith: “My Lord and my God!”

What Thomas had to say then led Jesus to declare: “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed!” And that includes each one of us who confesses Jesus as Lord.

From Thomas we can learn that “seeing is believing,” but more important, we can know assuredly that the Sprit of God works upon each sincere seeker to lead to the belief that “Jesus is Lord!”

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, March 15, 2010