Doubt
John 20v24-29
Part 1
11th April 2026
The last few days had been unimaginably stressful and bewildering. Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem in triumph on the foal of a donkey, in fulfilment of Zechariah’s ancient prophesy. The people had cheered Him, and thrown palm branches and cloaks on the road for His donkey to walk on. They’d joyfully acknowledged Him as Messiah and King. It had all seemed wonderful but Jesus was weeping and prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19v41-44). Thomas and his friends couldn’t understand why.
Jesus entered the Temple and drove out the merchants and money changers (Matthew 21v12-13) which didn’t make him popular with the authorities. He called the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs" (Matthew 23v27) which didn’t make Him popular with them, either. He warned the disciples that he would soon be crucified (Matthew 26v2). A woman anointed Him in preparation for His burial (Matthew 26v6-13). The disciples didn’t understand.
They celebrated what we call the last Supper together, where Jesus told Judas Iscariot "What you are going to do, do quickly" (John 13v27). Judas left the table and went to the chief priests to betray Jesus. Jesus was arrested, questioned, and put on trial. Why Jesus would allow any of this to happen? The disciples didn’t understand.
Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, found no fault in Jesus and tried to have Him released. The Jewish crowd demanded Jesus be crucified. Pilate washed His hands of Jesus and agreed to do the mob's bidding. Jesus was abused, insulted, whipped and crucified. He died on the cross and was buried.
Thomas and the other disciples understood almost nothing of what was going on. They were bewildered. They were heartbroken. How could Jesus, who claimed to be God, be killed? Why would He allow Himself to be killed? Was He truly the Messiah after all? For 3½ years Thomas and the other disciples had watched as Jesus healed the sick, preached the most beautiful words ever spoken, befriended outcasts, loved sinners, and – yes – raised the dead. What had it all been for? What was Jesus doing? They didn’t understand.
Three days later, Jesus gloriously rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and the women with her, who had gone to the tomb to embalm Jesus’s body, thinking He was still dead. He then appeared to Peter (1 Corinthians 15v5) and then to the twelve disciples who, by then, were only eleven, since Judas had walked away. In fact only ten of the disciples were present at that appearing; Thomas wasn’t there. We don’t know why.
John 20v24-29
Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus
came.
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them, "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."
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
"Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out
your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."
Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Over the last 2,000 years or so, Thomas has had a rather bad press. That's a long time to be insulted, don't you think? He's known almost universally as "doubting Thomas". But who among us has never doubted?
Luke 24v9-11 tells us that the women who'd first seen the resurrected Jesus went to the eleven disciples and told them what had happened, but the eleven didn't believe the women. They all doubted. Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. They didn't see Jesus at that moment, but they saw the strips of linen in which Jesus had been buried lying empty. Luke 24v12 says Peter "went away, wondering to himself what had happened".
This was all new to them. They didn't have 2,000 years of Christian theology to help them.
All the eleven disciples except Thomas had seen Jesus when He appeared to them on the evening of Resurrection Day, which we call Easter Sunday. Then, they believed. Then, they stopped doubting. They'd seen the evidence. Thomas hadn't. They told him, but he needed evidence, as they had. He didn't believe them any more than they had believed the women.
I think Thomas should be respected for his honesty. We all have doubts, but some of us are too careful to protect our Christian reputations to admit it. Thomas was so traumatised by the events of the last two weeks or so that he couldn't just take his friends' word for it. He needed to know for himself. Don't we all need to know for ourselves? Somebody else's faith isn't enough to save us. We need to put our faith in Christ for ourselves, and we need enough reason to do it.
Thomas wasn't going to take Peter's word for it. Before Jesus was crucified, Peter had denied even knowing who Jesus was, three times. His testimony was hardly reliable. Before we condemn Peter, let's remember that all this was new for Him, too. Are we sure we wouldn't have panicked and started lying if we'd been there when Jesus was arrested and interrogated?
Thomas, Peter and the others were just men, like us. They were fallible, weak, afraid, bewildered and uncertain, as we would have been.
Thomas had seen too much to just take somebody's word for it. He needed to know. And God bless him! And God bless everybody who finds in their heart a desperate need to know who Jesus is, and why He died, and whether He rose from the dead, and what it all means. Saying this reminds me powerfully of the time, over 50 years ago, when I was seeking the truth, seeking God, needing to be sure. I had all sorts of doubts then.
We all doubt sometimes.
Eight days after the Resurrection, the eleven were together in a locked room. Jesus entered the room – which was impressive, wasn't it? – and said "Peace be with you". He didn't criticise Thomas. He didn't reject Him. He didn't complain that Thomas didn't have enough faith. Instead, He said, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." Jesus gave Thomas the evidence Thomas needed. This is the grace of God.
Do you have doubts? God doesn't want to reject you for that; He wants to give you the evidence you need. Thomas was bold enough, honest enough, to admit he needed evidence. Are you bold and honest enough?
One word of warning here, though. God will give you the evidence you need, but He may not give you more evidence than you need. Once you've seen the truth, don't keep asking for more evidence; just accept it. People who keep asking for more and more evidence may really be looking for reasons not to believe.
When Thomas saw the evidence, he responded by saying "My Lord and my God!" He'd asked for proof. He'd been given proof. Now he gladly worshipped Jesus, the risen Lord.
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
You and I will never be in that upper room. Jesus will not invite us to put our fingers into the wounds in His hands and side. We need a different sort of proof. God gives us the Bible and He sends witnesses, friends, evangelists, teachers and the Holy Spirit to convince us that the Gospel is true, that Jesus is who He says He is, that His sacrifice on the cross does what the Bible says it does, and that we can be set free from sin, guilt and death. The Holy Spirit enables us to put our faith in Jesus. As a result, we're born again into God's kingdom, and into God's family. We're given eternal life. We are blessed indeed!
1 Peter 1v8-9
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him,
you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled
with glory,
obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Hallelujah!